Consequences

dream, but she remembered feeling that way before she fell asleep. She questioned herself, Is this real? Her soft skin rolled on the silky sheets, felt radiating warmth. Hesitantly, she slowly opened her eyes. Right in front of her, close enough to touch, was Tony’s firm broad chest. Again, the questions. Is he really here? He usually left her bed before she woke. Why is he still here? Now as Claire rolled onto her back and saw the beautiful ornate ceiling she wondered, Where is here? This isn’t my room.
    With a rich raspy tone, he greeted her, “Good morning, Claire.” His smile revealed the winner of his internal monologue; adoration and love showed through. He leaned down to kiss her head.
    “Good morning, what are you doing still in bed?” The room was quite dark. “Or is it early? It is so dark.” The eyes that watched her weren’t.
    “I have been watching you sleep.” He slid his arm under her back, placing her head upon his shoulder. His aroma was exhilarating. His hard strong shoulder made the perfect pillow as his arm gently surrounded her warm body.
    “Why would you do that? I need a shower and probably look awful.” She buried her face into his chest, allowing his hairs to tickle her cheeks. She inhaled deeply.
    He took her chin and turned her face toward his, gently kissing her lips. “I have been watching you because you are so beautiful. Your face is flawless.” Claire tried to look away from his eyes. They were light, honest, and real. The candidness made her uneasy. “Please don’t look away. I see you now and think about what your face looked like, what I did to you. I am not going to keep bringing this up, but I want you to know how much I regret it. And how amazing I think you are. You went through so much. I don’t want anything like that to ever happen again.”
    She couldn’t stop the tears that trickled down her cheeks. She wanted to hide her face, but he held her chin firmly. “Tony, I am glad to know you are sorry. I am sorry too.” He let go of her chin, but she continued watching him as she spoke. “I am sorry about Meredith. I really didn’t say anything to her. She walked up and recognized me. Like the article said, we were sorority sisters. I never suspected that she was a reporter. She asked if she could join me. I didn’t want her to, I thought about your rules, but then I thought about appearances and I decided telling her no would be rude. I am sorry I made the wrong decision.”
    He rolled her over onto her back. The skin of his chest pressed against her bare breasts. Looking up into his face she saw his eyes darken only slightly. His features looked like those of a model, prominent cheek bones and strong jaw line. His gaze went on for an eternity before he finally spoke. “I can’t promise I will never get upset. I can probably promise I will. However, I promise I will do my best to never hurt you like that again. But I need something from you.”
    She assumed it involved gratification and she didn’t mind. “What do you want me to do?”
    “I want you to make me a promise.” Claire raised her eyebrows as if to ask him to continue. “A promise that you will do your best to follow my rules, that you will do your best to never give me cause to hurt you again.”
    “Tony, I promise I will do my best to make you proud. And I accept your apology. You do not need to keep apologizing.”
    Looking at his expression she read a mixture of emotions: gratitude, adoration, and relief. “Have I told you how amazing you are? I’ve watched you and Dr. Leonard fifty times. You were in such pain. God, even water made you sick. Yet you were perfect and made me so proud. I listened to your answers over and over. I understand his concern. Our story didn’t hold water. I was just so worried about you, lying on the floor and I couldn’t get you to wake up. I had to get you some medical help. I was upset about what I thought you’d done. The longer I waited for you to get home that night, the more betrayed I felt, I lost control.” Claire saw such honesty in his eyes. It was like a window that exposed his soul, one she didn’t think he allowed many people to see. “When you quit moving I realized what happened and I became more upset about what I had done. Suddenly, getting you help was more important than appearances.” He gently smoothed her hair. “You had the chance to tell someone about me and what I did. I deserved that and more. But no, even in your