It’s For You

An Alleycat Crew Short

Kash had been too quiet for too long, so Calynn went to check on him.

She peeked into their bedroom from the hallway and saw him in bed, fast asleep. She stepped into the door and leaned into the frame as she watched Kash’s chest rise and fall with each breath. He looked so peaceful.

Next she checked her scanners. His heart rate, body temperature, and oxygen levels all looked right. He was the picture of health. He was just…

“What is that?” Calynn said softly to herself.

The corner of an E-tablet was sticking out from under his pillow. Kash using an E-tablet wasn’t unusual, but the fact that the E-tablet didn’t show up in her scans… was.

What was he trying to hide? And why?

Calynn crept into the bedroom, watching Kash closely. Sometimes, just her presence was enough to wake him, but other times she had to touch him for him to stir. She hoped that today was the latter.

Slowly, step by step, she closed the distance between her and the mystery E-tablet. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between the device and Kash’s face until she was close enough to touch the E-tablet.

Now she just needed to get it out from under the pillow.

Kash’s arm was partially in the way, so she couldn’t just pull it out flat on the bed. She would have to keep it low so she didn’t move the pillow under his head, but then had to angle it up to lift it over his arm.

She slowly and carefully reached down to try and grab the E-tablet, when Kash suddenly moved, forcing her to pull her hands back to her chest quickly.

Kash grumbled, smacked his lips, and rolled over onto his side away from her and the tablet.

She waited until his breathing slowed and she was certain he was still asleep before gingerly retrieving the hidden E-tablet.

Her heart was pounding with anticipation as she tapped the screen to wake up the device and she immediately sighed.

Biometrics, she thought to herself.

The only reason for that would be to keep her out. He was definitely hiding something.

Now she needed his fingerprint… from under the blanket… wrapped around his body pillow that he hugged when she wasn’t in bed with him. Plus, she had no idea which finger he used.

Kash grumbled in his sleep again. This time he scowled too and the muscles in his arm tensed.

Oh, no… a bad dream.

Calynn didn’t hesitate. She dropped the E-tablet on the bed and quickly crawled in bed behind Kash, wrapping her arm around him as she tucked in close.

Kash jerked awake. Tense. Confused.

“You’re okay, beloved,” Calynn said soothingly. “I’ve got you.”

His body relaxed as he took a deep breath. Then he rolled into her and buried his face in her chest.

She held him. Stroked his hair. Waited until his breathing matched hers.

“What am I lying on?”

Then she reached up near her head, found the E-tablet, and pulled it where he could see it.

“What’s this doing here?”

Kash looked up at the tablet and touched the scanner with his right index finger.

“It’s for you,” he said as he cuddled back into her chest.

Calynn swiped up on the screen to reveal what Kash had been working on… a note… a note to her.

My dearest Calynn,

This shouldn’t be as hard as it is, but it has become increasingly harder to adequately express my love for you. Maybe they haven’t invented strong enough words to convey…

Calynn paused and looked down at Kash. Her heart fluttered.

“I wish I was better with words,” Kash mumbled sleepily into her chest. “If I could write you poetry, I would.”

Calynn swooned. He wasn’t hiding anything from her. He was trying to surprise her. Because he loves her more than he has words to express.