Inseparable Strangers by Jill Patten

creating white streaks across the hardwood floor. It
was now a decent and safe hour to leave my room so I headed downstairs to find
bags for my items. 
    I
was hoping to avoid the man of my dreams, (pun intended) until I’d had at least
two cups of coffee. Aaron was sitting at the bar with a steaming cup of java,
staring off into space. When he heard me step into the kitchen his eyes
captured mine. My heart flip-flopped around in my chest. Stop it, dammit.
He’s homeless. Remember how disgusting he was. He’s a leech. He might’ve killed
someone once. I had to remind myself of the person he really was and not
the breathtaking man sitting in my house, drinking my coffee, and sleeping in
my spare bed.
    He
lowered his head, releasing the hold he had on me. “Morning,” he said before
taking a sip of his coffee. “I hope you didn’t mind, but I made some coffee.
Finding all the things I needed, I assumed you drank the addictive stuff too,”
he smiled.
    This
was the first time I was able to see his smile and it was beautiful. His lips
formed a perfect curve, and he had one dimple that formed at the top of his
cheek, right below his left eye. What an odd spot for a dimple, I thought to
myself. Nonetheless, it was a cute flaw and it fit perfectly on his handsome
face.
    “No,
not at all. It’s nice to wake up to the smell of fresh ground goodness,” I
said, pouring me a cup of the warm, brown liquid.
    He
nodded then stared back down into his cup before taking another sip.
    The
silence was stifling, and it disturbed me how I was allowing a dream to
overtake my emotions. I had to get control of myself before he ended up taking
the reins. I’d always had a handle on my life and I wasn’t about to stop that
now.
    Taking
the bull by the horns, I decided to test him. “So, how did you sleep last
night?”
    I
caught him mid yawn with my question.
    “Well,
from the way it looks, not well, but really, it was the best night’s sleep I’ve
had in weeks.”
    Dammit.
That answer could be interpreted a hundred different ways.
    “How
about you?” he asked, catching me completely off guard.
    “Well…um…good.
It was good. I had a crazy dream, but other than that it was just like any
other night.”
    “What
kind of crazy dream? Bad? Good? Scary?”
    Was
he challenging me? This was getting very bizarre. I didn’t like the idea of him
molesting me in my sleep, even if it did feel incredible, if that was what
happened. But, it didn’t happen. He was sleeping. I have proof. I saw him
myself.
    “You
know, I’m not sure. Have you ever had a dream that you knew was strange, but
you couldn’t remember what it was about?”
    He
nodded.
    “That’s
how it is for me.”
    There
was no way in hell I was giving up the details of my dream to this chunk of hunk. Oh, my God. What am I thinking? Stop. Just stop.
    “Maybe
it will come back to you later. Who knows, you might be lucky enough to repeat
the same dream.”
    “I
never said it was a good one, just a strange one, so I’m not sure I want to
repeat it.”
    “Huh,”
he shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”
    This
conversation was wearing out its welcome. I was ready to move on to a subject
I’d been curious about since they day I had found him.
    “So,
how are you feeling this morning? How are the ribs coming along?”
    “They’re
still very sore, but I’m able to maneuver a little better than yesterday. I
guess it’s just going to be one of those ‘dealing with it one day at a time’
sort of things.”
    “How
about the lacerations you had on your shins? One of them was pretty deep. I
don’t know a lot about first aid and shit, but I swear that one gash could’ve
used a few stitches.”
    “Nah,
it wasn’t as bad as it looked. After I cleaned it up, and put a butterfly
stitch on it, it looks as if it’s healing nicely now.”
    “That’s
good to hear. I guess when you begged for me not to take you to the hospital you
knew what you were doing.”
    He
raised an eyebrow with