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It's the day after their new chapter as future husband and wife.
Jane thought a trip to the nearest rural state for a bit would be a good idea to take a break from the constant noises and buzzing distractions of New York. It took Michael a little convincing, he was not ready to temporarily let go of his familiar environment. But he reluctantly agreed anyway.
Neither of them could even remember the last time they slept in and cuddled into the summer nights without constant tosses and turns. Or the small drops of saliva from Michael's end that feed into his sleeping problems. Or the annoying heavy snores and irritating blanket stealing from Jane.
To put it simply, they both needed this. As much as they love each other, the repercussions of their work lives started to affect their personal ones. And it's summer, what's better than not getting over fifty calls a day and hundreds of people all over you?
They decided to stay at a cabin near the hills so they could travel easily to those charming small towns. The weather's thankfully cooperating. As it goes into sunset, the sky is in those perfect shades of yellow, orange, and red. So picturesque, just like how Jane imagines them in her books.
Jane just woke up from her nap, still groggy like usual. Michael's sitting outside by the log, with a campfire set up. He toys with the tuning pegs of the guitar, strumming a few chords with some trial and error. Jane leans on the balcony rails, watching him play until he suddenly stops and turns towards their cabin.
"Were you able to have a good rest?"
Jane agrees, wiping her eyes and yawning on her way down. She approaches her fiancé with a warm smile, wearing a black vest that he loves. They planned on going out to the city for a nearby night market with a free concert and they don't plan to miss out on that. But she accidentally fell asleep in her going out clothes and Michael didn't want her to be grumpy for the rest of the night, so he let her be.
As she sits right beside him, he looks a bit serious. Well, there's still a smile but it looks more forced than anything. His hair a bit disheveled.
"Did someone try to call for you again?"
"Yeah. Apparently, it's hard to tell people you're on leave for two weeks."
And he just goes back to playing chords as if it doesn't affect him at all. But Jane knows him better than that. She cups his cheek and leans nearer.
"I'm sure they can handle it themselves. They'll survive a few days without you."
Michael gives a strange laugh that causes Jane to laugh.
"No, I mean it! You deserve this break. You've worked so hard!" Jane adds, giving his shoulder a small massage. Feeling his cold and tight muscles loosen up, the couple relax and Jane rests her head on his shoulder.
"Maybe you can teach me something to keep it off your mind," She points at the guitar, practically giving Michael puppy eyes.
"You know what, sure."
Michael puts down the guitar and tries to hand it to Jane. She sits on his lap, trying to squeeze in the least amount of room between them. As they finally have the right stance for it. Michael holds tight on Jane's waist, looking over her to make sure she can do her best.
"So put your middle finger over here. Then..."
Michael's professional instincts start to roll in and it just makes Jane follow whatever he says. Her cheeks flush whenever his breath is hot on her neck. When he notices her freeze when he looks intently at her, he gives short but sensual kisses that make her do better at playing with slight panic.
Time passes once more. The sky gets in darker shades of warmth, and the humid summer breeze brushes through the couple perfectly. By now, the fire has also died a little.
"Alright, then do the C and E minor chord again."
Jane transitions through the chords seamlessly and Michael can hear her hum to the melody. He won't say anything, but he loves when she does it. For that, his hands run through Jane's long hair and he gives her another kiss on the neck.
"Good job."
He lets Jane shift her position to face him and he gives her a kiss.
"Hmm, I wanna eat some of those marshmallows. I'll get some for you."
She kisses him on the cheek and strums one more before handing the guitar to him.
"Could you play something?"
"As you wish."
Jane suddenly gets up to pierce balls of marshmallow on a wooden stick before immediately sitting beside him again. As she goes to roast it, Michael starts to slowly play an unfamiliar tune. He misses a few chords and strums a few wrong notes, but to Jane, she could only sympathize as he's trying to alleviate his stress.
"A new one today?"
"Been wanting to try something new recently," Michael says, playing with the strings.
The top of the marshmallow finally roasts to a deep brown color and Jane takes a bite. Watching Michael under the golden sun and his playing finally gets better as he goes on. She can see a genuine smile plastered on his face. Her expression goes softer and as she absent-mindedly watches him, marshmallow fluff accidentally sticks to the corner of her lips.
Michael takes a pause and goes closer to Jane, wiping the fluff off her face and eating it. The sticky and sweet delicacy melts in his mouth. He looks at her dead in the eyes while savoring the dessert.
"You know, you could've just asked for some," Jane jokes with disbelief at what just happened.
"It's going in my mouth either way. Might as well go for the better option."
She looks away, blushing. He goes back to playing guitar like it's nothing. While he continues playing, she rests onto him while eating her marshmallows. Time goes by fast, though. Michael is about to wrap up since the sky is now in shades of blue and the night market's concerts are bound to start soon.
"Did you enjoy?"
Jane nods and puts what's left of the toasted marshmallows near Michael.
"Have the last bite," Jane says, with a somewhat mischievous smile on her.
Michael leans forward to have the last bite. Just as he was about to get the last drop of fluff on the stick, Jane leans forward as well.
"Hey, Michael."
"Hmm?"
"I love you...." She presses her lips onto Michael's. Before Michael could let her go deeper, she pulled away.
"We should probably go! Who knows wha-"
Jane tries to get up, but he pulls her back and makes her sit on his lap again. The surprise makes her hug him tightly, just how he likes it.
"Jane?"
"Yes?" She knows what he's about to do, and he knows that she knows.
"I love you too."
They end up kissing again. This time, it's much slower, but still desperate. She holds tightly on Michael's hair, using it as a lever to get closer to him. Michael wraps his arm around her to make her comfortable in his touch. Finally, they pull away for what felt like eternity. Both of them feeling breathless yet ecstatic.
Michael cups Jane's face, with a certain glint in his eyes.
"Do you mind if we're going to be late for the night market tonight?"