Matt/Adrien's POV
My job essentially involved creating apps for a company and I was brilliant at it. It was a remote job that I could do from anywhere. That was the part I liked best, I preferred to stay indoors and stare at my screen all day. Human interaction was overrated to me and the job paid well too.
I grabbed my phone that was charging on the bedside table and moved to my home office. It was a tiny room next to the bedroom that was probably meant for storage, but I optimised the space and was able to fit in a desk and chair, and also a sofa. It was comfortable and suited the purpose I needed it for.
When I powered on the computer, it took me to where I left off the night before. I sat and went straight to work. An hour later, Aly peeked in to tell me goodbye and I went back to working.
Sleep came to me after some hours like it usually did, so I made myself comfortable on the sofa.
Then, I dreamt...
I was in a field, the air was hazy and white lilies covered the ground for acres. A hand pulled me along and we ran around the field.
It was Aly, but it wasn't her. The same heart shaped face and brown eyes, her hair was white though and it fell to the same length, but her aura and the very air around her was different. Tendrils of her white hair went crazy in the summer breeze as we ran around the field. We laughed as we did. Her laughter echoed beautifully, like the light tinkling of several bells.
The tinkling gradually became a loud ringing and abruptly, I let go of her hand. The ringing was loud and it threatened to blow up my eardrums. I fell to my knees, bending and covered my ears with my hands praying for the sound to go away.
I jerked awake and fell off the sofa in that instance, the ringing continued still. It was my phone notifying me of a call. I reached for the annoying device and put an end to the disorienting sound.
I sat on the floor, confused still. The dream didn't feel like a dream and the feelings stayed with me, as if I had re-lived a memory. I could still feel the warm sunlight on my skin and the breeze on my face. The smell of lilies in the air was so thick that I could taste it on my tongue. I looked at my hand, and recalled the feelings. Her hand was soft to hold and my heart felt full in that instance with her.
Could a dream feel this real??
In my confused state, I heard the front door slamming shut, and I scrambled up from the floor. I didn't want Aly to see me that way; she would have questions I didn't want to answer. Aly sashayed into the room just as I stood from the floor. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and she had an air of enthusiasm about her. It was infectious, in her excitement, she failed to notice my unease.
"Hey, babe." She greeted, moving closer and planting a loud kiss on my lips. Her touch was very warm, and for a moment, I forgot about the lingering unease from my dream. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had!"
I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "Tell me everything."
Aly launched into a lively narrative, recounting her day in vivid detail. As she spoke, her gestures and facial expressions animated the story, and I couldn't help but smile. I listened intently, letting her words wash over me, and little by little, I forgot all about my haunting dream. With Aly in my arms, her voice became soothing, and the sense of fear, and confusion that had gripped me just a while ago started to fade.
She sounded like she'd had a lot of fun. While staring into her brown eyes which were lit up from the excitement, I felt privileged to be the one she could turn to and confide in, and it reminded me of why I cherished every moment with her. Aly was my anchor, she was a gift that kept on giving. Everything else, like my puzzling dreams, could wait.
As she continued to talk, I hugged her a little tighter, the warmth of her presence banishing the ill thoughts that plagued me. This right here was my Aly, she was what was real and nothing else mattered.
She pulled me out of the office and I followed, it had gotten dark already. I didn't know I'd slept for that long.
As Aly continued her narrative about her day, my concentration started to drift away, but I put in a few words and the occasional exclamation to let her know I was still engaged. I was grateful for her yammering.
"It's been so long since I last hung out with Giselle, I'm going to make it a constant" she said as she pulled me into the bedroom. "I only just realised this today"
"Of course babe. Spending time with family is very important"
Her narrative paused for a second when she went into the bathroom, she popped her head back out soon after wearing a mock stern expression "don't go anywhere" she warned playfully.
I laughed heartily and nodded. Her head disappeared back into the bathroom. I proceeded to sit at the edge of the bed. A long sigh leaving my lips. This moment when I was alone, the effects of my dream washed over me anew.
Aly emerged from the bathroom, a cloud of steam behind her, her skin was flushed as she got out of her clothes. Her narrative continued but I wasn't listening anymore. My eyes followed the movements of her hands instead as she got out of her clothes. Moments later, she was clad in a bathrobe.
"I'm going to spend ages in the bathtub, I've had a long day" Aly joked as she tied her hair up in a towel. "Come with me Matt" she said and stepped in between my legs. "let's have a soak together" she smiled a sultry smile.
I grabbed her waist and held her tight. "Who would say no to that?" I bent her for a kiss" go ahead, I'll be with you in a second" I pushed her a little and slapped her ass as she walked away. It caused her to giggle wildly.
I was out of my clothes and clad in a bathrobe the next minute and on my way to her. I even tied my short hair in a towel too, I knew it would make her laugh. My scary dream was long forgotten at that time.
The bathroom was clouded with steam, and its layout became evident as I stepped in. The shower and toilet space were adjacent on one side of the bathroom, while a gigantic golden tub occupied most of the space in the middle of the room. The chocolate brown wavy tiles gave character and the mirror and sink were to the other side of the bathroom.
Aly was fully immersed in the tub, the lights flickering from the candles she lit around the tub gave her an otherworldly glow, she looked like a goddess with the water reaching up to her neck. It was foamy and the steam danced a magical dance at the surface of it. Her eyes were closed and her arms rested at the edge of the tub.
"Looks like someone started without me" I murmured as I loosened my bathrobe. Her lips stretched into a smile but her eyes remained closed. I nudged her forward, and got inside the tub behind her. It was big enough to house the both of us comfortably.
The water was just the right temperature and my muscles relaxed in relief as I sat. The jasmine scent of the bath teased my nose and I breathed deeply as I pulled my wife backwards, snuggling her body close to mine. My lips then stretched into a smile too and my eyelids fluttered shut.
We stayed in that position, letting the water do its magic to our bodies.
"Babe, do you remember that we met 5 years ago on this day?" Aly whispered. I felt my heart grow bigger. "Our anniversary is coming up. I can't believe it's been 2 years since we got married already"
"Really? time really does fly, doesn't it? I whispered back
There was wonder in her voice as she spoke "I'm glad you found me, you're my soulmate Matt, the only one thing that's just mine, I've always had to share everything and everyone else but you're totally mine."
My heart grew some more and I dropped a kiss on her neck.
"I'm yours Alyssa, just as you are mine" I moved her in the tub so she could sit astride me.
The position pushed her halfway out of the water. Foam and water ran down her body in rivulets and dripped from her luscious breasts. I gently pinched a nipple while looking in her eyes and her pupils widened in response.
I palmed that breast before pulling her in for a kiss. The kiss was delicious. Our tongues danced a slow dance against each other, lips nibbling and sucking and biting, with the steam from the water enveloping the both of us.
We were cocooned in our own little world, unaware that life as we knew it was about to change.
We stayed in each other's arms in the water till it lost all hints of its warmth and our bodies became pruned before we drained the tub and left the bathroom in our bathrobes and head wear. Aly found my hair tied up in a towel to be very funny like I knew she would.
Getting ready for bed was a fun filled affair with the 2 of us laughing loudly and even having a pillow fight. Despite the happy atmosphere, a tiny niggling of worry stayed with me, no matter how hard I tried to banish it. I just prayed that it was still the effect of my weird dream.
The days before our anniversary blurred into each other. Aly would go to work on weekdays and I would work as well. The dream and other weird happenings gradually became a thing of the past. The sun shone brightly on our lives and things only got better.
A day before our anniversary, Aly left for work as usual and I stayed home and worked on apps. After working for hours, I went downstairs to get a cup of water. As I stood in the kitchen, drinking from my glass of water, I observed our richly green garden from the kitchen windows. The beautiful greens were a sight to behold and I stepped outside the house to be closer to nature.
The porch had two chairs and I made myself comfortable on one of them. Our garden was filled mostly with vegetables; a lot of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. There were several herbs as well, a few rose bushes were there too but they weren't in bloom yet.
As I sat enjoying the cool breeze, I noticed Aly's blue Acura pulling into the driveway, pulling me from my reverie. Something about her seemed off as she got down from the car and walked to me with a smile on her face.
I dropped my half empty glass in time before she deposited herself on my legs, and hugged me. I held her in return.
"Hello baby" she murmured, clinging to my neck.
"Are you tired, love?" I said while rubbing her back.
"Yesss.." She whined. "I've had a really long day." Her heels got kicked off and she shifted around and made herself more comfortable on my legs.
"Tell me about your day hon." I was still trying to pin down what it was that was off about her.
Her pliant body went stiff in my arms. Aly sat up straight so she could look me in the eye. "I've just realised that I'm tired, but I don't know how." She stood, worry and fear marring her face.