The sky above my front porch was the colour of a television tuned to a dead channel. It was the middle of winter as I sat in silence at the dead of night wearing nothing but my underwear and a thin t-shirt. I was shivering as I exhaled and observed the smoke escaping my parted cracked lips. I sucked in the frosty night air as my jaw clenched from the cold. It was nights like these that I would often sit here on my front porch and just watch as the bats would soar through the sky, immune to the cold. They intrigued me, with their leather like wings and how they only came out at night. Sometimes I think I’m nocturnal. I mean, I’m constantly tired during the day and all I can think about is sleep yet when the sky is black and all I can see is the street light at the far dead end of my street, my mind is more awake than ever, and the thought of sleep kills me. My thoughts go far and deep at night, it’s the only time I’m really by myself. Everybody is asleep and as I sit there to myself, the only sounds I hear are the flapping of the bats wings and the gust of wind that surrounds me every minute or so. You can imagine my startle when I felt two warm arms embrace me from behind. I only needed to see the small V on his left forefinger to know who it was, that and the scent that was permanently entwined into the t-shirt I was wearing at the time. He rested his chin on my shoulder and as if we were synchronized, we let out a deep breath into the eerie cool air, which I felt like I had been holding in for minutes. I slowly arched my back as he placed small kisses along my shoulder blade and up my neck where a previous bluey purple bruise lay. I slightly turned my head where I was met with a pair of piercing blue eyes which seemed to be the only colour in sight at the time. I studied his face, looking at his structured jaw line and defined cheekbones. It wasn’t until he smirked that I realised I was caught staring in a daze at his lips which he somehow managed to keep soft and plump, without any sign of damage despite the cold. Again, Immune. I traced the small tattoo under the corner of his left eye with my finger and drowsiness started to kick in. My eyes began to slowly shut and my body felt weak but not before my head dropped to his shoulder as he held me while I slept. I didn’t fight it, not this time.
