Falling into Exposure by A. Zavarelli Page A

of water lull me to sleep.
    ***
    Gabriel
     
    When I wake, Victoria is snuggled against me, sleeping soundly. She looks at peace, and I know I made the right decision in bringing her here. Whatever it is that frequently plagues her thoughts is nowhere to be found right now.
    I want her to be this relaxed all the time. To tell me her secrets so I can help her somehow. I don’t like her not being open with me, but I also want her to come to me on her own when she feels like she can trust me. I made a mistake earlier, talking about the future, and I could feel her tense up when I said it. It was stupid, but I don’t know why she wants to leave. And more importantly, I have no idea if I can let her go now.
    I reach down to touch the soft skin of her back. She is beautiful, and for right now, she’s mine. I can’t believe that any man before me would have been stupid enough to let her go. The things that she did for me today were so simple, yet thoughtful. None of the women I’ve dated before have taken care of me in that way. Not genuinely, at least.
    She stirs beneath my touch, rolling over to face me. She smiles up at me sleepily as I continue to run my fingers along her delicate collarbone.
    “You look beautiful when you sleep,” I whisper.
    “If you say so.” She flushes.
    “I do. All of your thoughts and your worries are far away. As opposed to when you’re awake and I’m left to wonder what’s going on in that head of yours.”
    “Trust me, you wouldn’t want to know.” She laughs.
    “I think I would,” I say carefully. “So tell me, Victoria. What are your plans?”
      “Well,” she says in a playful tone, “you standing over me, naked… with a whip, and…”
    I shake my head and try to keep a serious expression. “As much as that thought appeals to me right now, I won’t let you distract me. I want to know what you imagine your life being like a few years from now. What do you want?”
    She’s silent for a few moments, and I think she’s going to brush me off again. I’m surprised when she doesn’t.
    “Well, do you want to know what my plans are,” she says, “or what I want them to be? Because they are two entirely different things.”
    I frown at her response. “What you want them to be.”
    “What I want is to settle down somewhere,” she says in a soft voice. “Somewhere I could actually take photos for a living… that would be amazing. I’d like to have a cat since I’ve always wanted one. And maybe a dog too, I haven’t decided on that yet. They are kind of hard work. But I guess the main thing is just to be happy, being surrounded by friends and feeling like I’m part of… I don’t know, a family, I guess. Oh, and my own house too.”
    “That doesn’t seem like it would be too far out of reach,” I reply. “I’ve seen your photos. You have real talent, Victoria. I don’t know why you haven’t shown them to someone.”
    She doesn’t respond, and I can sense her discomfort, so reluctantly, I change the subject.
    “Tell me about this house. What’s it like?”
    “Oh, that’s easy,” she says. “It would be a Spanish style Villa. The kitchen would be decorated in hand painted tiles and it would definitely have a brick oven. The inside would be warm and comfortable, with a big dining room so I could have people over for dinner all the time.”
    She pauses for a moment, brushing her hand through her hair as she thinks about it some more. “I would have a reading nook, like a giant padded area with lots of pillows where I could cuddle my cat and just lose myself in a classic. Oh, and one of those giant couches that are like a couch and a bed combined. I would have to have one of those in the living room. A big bathtub… that’s a necessity. The whole place would be colorful and vibrant, a happy place.”
    “Is that all?” I tease. “Doesn’t sound like you’ve put any thought into that one before.”
    “You wanted to know.” She grins.
    Without another