Morning Love I woke to the sound of a phone ringing, shrilly piercing the early morning atmosphere and more importantly my slumber. I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed myself closer to the other human in my bed, letting her warmth sooth me back to sleep. “Dammit Mort, its 3 o’clock. What do you want?” The ringing stopped and words were whispered quietly as if not to wake me. I tried to bury myself more into the person lying next to me, as they struggled to get up and answer the ringing phone. “Chris, honey, you got to let me up.” She cajoled, laughing a little when I wrapped my arm around her waist in protest and mumbled incoherently. She eventually pried herself away, pacing on the hardwood floors around the room. I listened to the footsteps that surrounded the bed, a nice tempo that further pulled me into a daze. She sat back down on the bed, placing a hand on my forehead. She laughed again when I nuzzled against her. “Trixxi.” I mumbled, sleep lacing my voice, she laughed again, a sweet sound I never got tired of hearing. “No, no, that’s Chris, he’s still half asleep.” Fingers pushed through my hair, repeating and petting. “Mort says she loves you.” Trixxi said to me. I couldn’t form real sentences so babbling would have to do. I must have drifted out again because when I almost woke up the second time, no voiced and on the phone conversations filled the silence, only soft music in from the speaker. So cautiously I opened one eye and then the other, blinking to clear the eye buggers and haze. I watched her pull a Disney sweater over her tights and shorts before pulling her mess of curls into an even messier bun. She was absolutely gorgeous,. “Trixx?” I said in a tired voice. She turned and smiled, walking over to the mattress and kissing my imprinted check. “Mort and Andy are somewhat tipsy, so Mort called, gotta go pick them up.” She summarized, not waiting for a reply. When she was almost out the door she called “You’re cute when you sleep.” The door closed behind her. I woke for good after a crash came from somewhere in the kitchen and a very cute “Dammit!” I stumbled out of bed, cold hitting my bare legs and chest, my feet pounding the freezing hardwood floors. The only light came from the window, where the newly rising sun was hidden by clouds, casting blue and gray shadows along the walls and floors. I slipped into the crowded hallway, with pictures, memorabilia and posters covered the walls from the bottom to the ceiling. Each step I took creaked the aging the aging wood, so I was surprised when I arrived at the kitchen and she jumped. She looked up and smiled guiltily, hands busily picking up broken pieces of glass. “I broke the teapot,” She muttered sadly, “It was my favorite.” I knelt down next to her and placed fragments into her cupped hands. “I’ll get you a new one.” I nudged her shoulder with mine, in what I hoped was a reassuring way. “I love you.” She gasped as soon as she said it, fixing her gaze on the colorful shards of glass in her hands. A blush was already reaching up her neck onto her cheeks. Warmth pooled in my stomach and bubbled into my chest, making me giddy. “I love you too.” I said immediately. Hesitantly, she glanced my way once again, she looked shy, coy, nothing I had ever seen her display. “I love you too” I said again, assuring. Once the glass had been picked up and she explained why she’s up at six in the morning, saying she couldn’t go back to sleep after dropping the newlyweds off at their place. We settled on the couch with tea made from the spare, cereal, and Saturday morning cartoons playing on the TV.