Skin

Just a few minutes after 3 am, I reached out for you.

The fingertips of my right hand found your t-shirt and I slid my right hand between your ribs and the mattress. Your lungs expanded for one, slow, even breath, filling my lifeline. I rolled to my right side and pulled up closer, fitting my ribs to yours, and my belly to the small of your back. I wrapped my left arm around your torso, and slid my hand under the bend of your left elbow. The palm of my left hand found the inside of your right forearm, where it was warm.

You hardly moved; just a slight increase of pressure from your left elbow where I’d weaved my arm through yours.