322: LATE NIGHT CHUCKLES ARIEL’S POV “But I have a question, Ariel,” Luke vocalized, and I wondered what it was that he wanted to say. Moving my hand around his chest, I uttered, “Go ahead, sire. Speak out whatever is on your mind.” “Since you’re not living with Laura anymore, I’m just wondering.” He fixed his eyes on me. “Where will you be working now?” I arched my eyebrow. “Oh, seriously? Is that your question?” “Well, yeah. I mean, come on, I’m just curious. And concerned around here. If your want, I can let you work at my company.” “Thanks, but t won’t be necessary,” I brought out. Luke looked at me for seconds and finally spoke, “Oh, I see.” But his tone was low. gripp “Don’t forget that about the Vitality Group. I grinned at him. “Oh, right. The Vitality Group. I totally forgot. You’re going to be working with your‘ second husband.“” I sighed promptly. “Please don’t say that.” “Don’t get upset; I was just joking.” “Well, don’t joke like that,” I told him. “Okay, then. I guess it’s time to go to sleep,” Luke stated, covering our bodies with the bed sheet. “Goodnight, Ariel,” he said softly, kissing me on the forehead. “Goodnight, Luke.” I smiled at him, closing my eyes while he caressed my hair. And with the next minutes in silence, I drifted off to sleep. When my eyes opened, I looked everywhere and realized that I had woken up in the middle of the night at the wrong time. Glancing back at Luke, he was still sleeping peacefully. I so hated this, waking up in times like this. It seemed like it happened regularly when I was with Luke. And I was glad that I didn’t have a nightmare. Boy, that could have been fucked up, and I could conclude that I was jinxed. Minutes passed as I lay on the bed, repeatedly closing and opening my eyes, but I still couldn’t sleep. So, what to do now? Exercise? Nah, not really. Maybe I should just get up and walk around. It might make me drowsy, I guess. But now that I think about it, that was a stupid idea. There was no way walking around was going to help me sleep. I quietly slipped out of bed, making sure not to disturb Luke, who could wake up at the slightest sound despite his seemingly peaceful slumber. I tiptoed across the room, feeling slightly ridiculous about the idea. Who seriously walks around in the middle of the night expecting it to help them sleep? While I paced, my thoughts wandered aimlessly. I considered the idea of counting sheep but quickly dismissed it as too cliché. Perhaps I should count something more interesting, like the number of times Luke snored in a minute. The thought made me chuckle softly to myself. In the midst of my silent laughter, I accidentally stepped on a particularly vocal floorboard. It squeaked under my foot like a trumpet in the quiet of the night. I froze, holding my breath, then slowly turned to look at the bed. Luke was sitting up, rubbing his eyes and blinking at me in confusion. “Ariel, why are you marching around the room? Did you decide to join the night’s gu something?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep. Γ I bit my lip to keep from giggling. “No, I couldn’t sleep. I thought walking might help,” I admitted, feeling a bit foolish. He squinted at me, then looked around the dark room as if he expected to find some hidden answer to my insomnia. “Walking, huh? Because nothing screams ‘sleep‘ like a midnight parade,” he remarked, the corners of his mouth twitching. “I know. It sounds silly when you say that,” I told him, and despite my best efforts, a smile escaped. 392 LATE NIGHT CHUCKLES He then swung his legs off the bed, his eyes lighting up with mischief. “Well, if we’re going to do this, we might as well do it right. Wait here,” he declared before disappearing into the closet. He emerged a moment later, donning a fluffy bathrobe and holding another one out. for me. “If we’re going to be part of the night’s guard, we need to look the part. And nothing says ‘guard duty‘ like fluffy robes.” I couldn’t contain my laughter any longer. “Oh, is that right? The ancient order of the Fluffy Robe Guards?” I teased. “Exactly,” he said, putting on a mock–serious face. “Now, let’s march. Maybe if we tire ourselves out, we’ll actually get some sleep.” “Are you seriously going on with this?” “I’m not the one who was walking around like a night guard or something.” The room was silent for seconds, and I stared at him with my hands fixed on my waist. After a little while, I had to move the lips. “Okay, let’s go on with that.” So, there we were, marching up and down the room in our fluffy robes, trying our best to muffle our giggles so as not to wake the entire household. After a few minutes, we collapsed onto the bed, out of breath and grinning from ear to ear. Luke looked over at me, his eyes soft in the dim light. “I think that’s the most fun I’ve had at 3 AM,” he said. I nodded. “No doubt about that. Who knew insomnia could lead to such an adventure?” So we settled back found us more eased, this time with smiles plastered on our faces, sleep found us more easily. Perhaps it was the laughter, or maybe it was just the comfort of knowing that together, we could turn even a sleepless night into a cherished memory. The day was now bright, and my eyes were now open. But after a yawn, I widened them immediately, seeing Luke on the floor. What in the world was he doing there? He was with me on the bed when we slept next to each other. Or wait, don’t tell me I pushed him off the bed. I didn’t do that, did 17 As I watched Luke stir on the floor, confusion etched across his face, I couldn’t help but wonder how he ended up there. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head with one. hand while looking around in bewilderment. “Um, Ariel,” he started, his voice groggy from sleep. Why am I on the floor? Did the bed finally decide it couldn’t handle the two of us?” I tried to stifle a giggle, feeling a mix of concern and amusement. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just woke up and saw you there. Maybe you were sleepwalking and decided to explore the floor?” He frowned, considering the possibility. “Or maybe,” he said with a sudden sparkle of humor in his eyes, “you decided to throw me off the bed in your sleep. Were you dreaming of being a wrestler or something?” The thought was so ludicrous that I burst into laughter. “Yes, that must be it. I was dreaming of being in the wrestling ring, and you, my dear, were my unfortunate opponent.” Luke stood up, dramatically clutching his back as if injured. “Well, it seems I’ve lost the match. But don’t get too comfortable, champion. I’ll demand a rematch tonight.” I laughed even harder, watching him play up his pretend injury. “I’ll make sure to train in my dreams then. Maybe I’ll dream of being a gymnast tonight, you and no chance.” He chuckled and made his way back onto the bed, pulling me into a gentle hug.” How about we just stick to being teammates in our dreams? I think the floor, and I have had enough of a tussle for one night.”
