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It was their morning ritual.

He always woke up first. He found it hard to sleep sometimes with her lying beside him. They had shared a bed for almost a year now and he hadn’t yet grown tired of watching her sleep. He didn’t think he ever would. He rolled over and looked at her sleeping face. The blinds in their apartment were half-closed, so streams of sunlight were starting to pour in and shine on her creamy caramel skin. He sighed, taking in all of her. Her long, silky auburn hair, her cute little widow’s peak, her big brown eyes that were like two sparkling spheres when awake. Her rosy lips, still swollen and puffy from their night of lovemaking. Her soft, round shoulders, leading down to her long, lean arms that were draped so casually over her stomach. Her round breasts perfectly set off her defined abdomen. She was the picture of beauty and grace. His goddess of love. His Venus.

He slipped out of the tangled sheets, stepping into the black silk boxers crumpled up on the floor. He walked over to the window, opening the blinds to half-mast. This was the only way to shake her out of her dream world.

“Five more minutes…” She moaned. He looked over from the window and grinned. They had been going to Boston University for four years and he still hadn’t tired of opening up his window and seeing all the hustle and bustle outside. It was so different from where they grew up. No cowboys. No tumbleweeds. He walked back over to the warm bed and slipped in between the sheets. He began tickling her.

“Max!” She cried, squirming around. “Max, stop it! Ok, Ok, I’ll get up!” She cried, laughing. She buried her head in his chest and kissed it.

“That’s better.” He said, smiling. “I don’t want you to be late for your bioethics class again.”

“Remind me never to take 8 AM classes again…” She groaned. “It’s so cold…” She said, shivering. After four brutal winters in Boston, she didn’t think she could make it through another one. He walked over to her closet, grabbing her robe. She wrapped it around her nude body.

“You’re going to be in trouble when you get out of med school…babies come at all hours of the night- even 8 AM. They don’t wait for mommy’s doctor,” Max said, getting up and walking into the kitchen. He got a tin out of the refrigerator to make coffee for them like he did every morning. She had tried to make coffee a few times, but according to her, it was never as good as his was. She walked into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around his back.

“Aren’t you cold?” She asked, shivering. He turned around and kissed her- their first kiss of the day.

“Nope.” He said, smiling. “I feel warm all over.”

“Mmm,” She moaned into his mouth, pulling him closer to her. “You always feel warm.” She kissed him again, this time longer and more forcefully. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, massaging his gently.

“Liz- let’s not start.”

“Why not?” She groaned.

“Cause neither of us will get to class today.” Max replied, smiling. “And we both have exams this week so we can’t afford that right now.” He turned to the cabinet, pulling out two mugs. She grabbed his chin, looking into his eyes.

“You want to meet for lunch today?” She asked. “We can go down to Harvard Square after your chem class, sit out in front of Au Bon Pain, feed each other croissants and strawberries…” She asked.

He smiled, putting his arms around her once again. “And then we can come back here for dessert.”

Liz smiled. “Hmm…tempting.” Max kissed her forcefully. The feeling of her soft silky skin up against him was making him weak. He was thirty seconds away from skipping his human relations class and taking her back to bed. Between sensual, soul stroking kisses, Max broke away.

“If we keep this up, neither of us will be graduating in May…” He began.

“May…” She said, smiling at him. She seemed to be drifting away. “The month before June…”