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Slowly, Tim awoke from the sun sneaking into the bedroom. Next to him, Lucy was still curled on his side, sound asleep. It was normal for him to awaken earlier than Lucy as it was his habitual nature to do so, honed from discipline. Pressing a soft kiss to her forehead and pulling the blanket up to cover her better, he discreetly left the room and padded over to the kitchen.
Noticing his presence, Kojo excitedly wagged his tail as if greeting “Good Morning!”. Tim, ever so reluctantly, bent down and began to give the dog belly rubs.
“Hey buddy, did you sleep well?” Tim softly said, continuing to rub his belly. Kojo’s excitement got the best of him and he began to roll all over the floor. Chuckling softly to himself, Tim continued over to the kitchen to begin making breakfast.
As breakfast was being cooked, the smell made its way to the bedroom, awaking Lucy in the process. Tim looked up to see her and he smiled, a genuine smile only one that can incite from an endless feeling of love. With the way Tim looked at Lucy at any time of day, anyone would think the expression of his eyes can say a million things words cannot say.
“Good Morning”, he began. “Did you sleep well?”
“Mhm,” she said, lazily walking over to sit on the couch beside where Kojo had ended up after exhausting himself from the morning excitement.
“What are you cooking?” Lucy asked while scratching Kojo’s chin.
“All kinds of breakfast for us to eat as we will be needing the energy for today,” he said with a mischievous, but serious grin on his face.
Lucy, ever so confused, walked towards him with a flirtatious look on her face. “And what type of exercises are we doing today that will require all this energy”, she began pausing momentarily to come around the table wrapping her arms around him from the back, “bedroom exercises perhaps?”
Smiling, Tim turned around to look at her, his hands moving to her waist. Pulling her closer, he momentarily got lost in the warmth of her, completely forgetting the table of food prepared for today’s activity.
“I was thinking more like backyard exercises.”
“Oh, I am all down for exploring places we can get intimately active but-”
He cut her off explaining, “Intimacy isn’t exactly what I had in mind for our ‘exercising’ activity today”.
Disappointed and mildly confused, Lucy looked up at him. “Then what else will we be doing in our backyard?”
“I was thinking we could practice our judo throws together.”
Lucy’s initial disappointment quickly dimmed as the competitive spark in her eyes ignited. “Oh you are so on Bradford.”
After devouring their breakfast, cleaning up, and changing into appropriate clothing, they both set up the mats out in the backyard. Tim finished adjusting the final mat, pressing his foot against the edge to keep it flat while Lucy stretched nearby. The morning sun cast a golden warmth across the backyard, the soft breeze carrying the faint scent of breakfast that still lingered from inside. Kojo circled around them excitedly before eventually collapsing dramatically onto the grass as if he too was preparing to spectate an intense competition.
Lucy rolled her shoulders before smirking confidently at Tim. “Just so we are clear, I am not taking it easy on you.”
Tim mirrored her expression while adjusting the sleeves of his gi. “I would be insulted if you did.”
Without another word, Lucy stepped forward first, gripping onto his sleeve and collar attempting to off-balance him immediately. Tim reacted quickly, shifting his footing to stabilize himself before countering with a pull of his own.
“Oh, aggressive already?” he teased.
“You taught me well,” she replied.
Lucy attempted to sweep his leg, but Tim saw it coming at the last second, narrowly stepping over it. Using the missed attempt to his advantage, he tugged her forward causing her to stumble directly into his chest.
For a brief moment neither moved.
Lucy looked up at him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “You did that on purpose.”
“Did what?” he asked innocently.
“This.” She gestured between them despite making absolutely no effort to move away from his hold
.
Before Tim could respond, Lucy suddenly hooked her leg behind his and twisted her hips sharply. Tim’s eyes widened realizing too late what she was doing. In one swift motion, she flipped him clean onto the mat. A loud thud echoed through the backyard followed by Lucy’s triumphant laughter.
“Oh my god,” she laughed breathlessly. “Did I actually just throw you?”
Tim groaned dramatically from the mat beneath her. “I think I felt my spinal cord vibrate.”
Still laughing, Lucy remained kneeling beside him while brushing loose strands of hair away from her face. “You are getting slow, Bradford.”
Tim turned his head to look at her, amusement flickering in his eyes. “Or maybe I got distracted.”
Her competitive grin softened slightly under the intensity of his gaze. “Distracted by what?”
“You.”
Lucy rolled her eyes affectionately though the faint shade of pink spreading across her cheeks betrayed her composure. “That is such a weak excuse.”
“And yet it worked.”
She opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted when Tim suddenly grabbed her sleeve and waist, using her imbalance against her. With one quick movement, he reversed their positions, pinning her gently against the mat beneath him.
Lucy stared up at him in complete shock. “That was cheating.”
“That,” Tim corrected calmly, “was strategy.”
“Oh really?”
“Mhm.”
She attempted to buck him off but only ended up laughing when he effortlessly kept her pinned. Kojo barked excitedly nearby, tail wagging wildly as if cheering the match on.
Lucy finally sighed dramatically in defeat. “Fine. You win this round.”
Tim smirked down at her. “Only this round?”
“Do not get cocky now.”
He leaned down slightly, his voice lowering just enough to make her heartbeat betray her. “I thought you said you wanted bedroom exercises earlier.”
Lucy’s eyes widened before she immediately shoved at his chest. “Timothy Bradford!”
His laughter filled the backyard while he finally released her, helping her back onto her feet only for Lucy to immediately attempt another throw the second she regained balance. However, Tim was quick to react and pulled her into him and let gravity do its work taking them both down onto the mat. With him cushioning the impact with his body, he tightening his hold onto her, not wanting to let go now, or ever. Without having to say anything, Lucy understood him and just enjoyed the moment of them cuddling up on the mat outside, as a soft breeze continued around them.
Kojo, ever so confused as to why the match was over, got restless and decided to join in the “cuddle pile” himself. Jumping on them both, he began to wiggle his way in between them both, making sure he was comfortably lodged between both of their bodies. In doing so, laughs erupted from both Lucy and Tim in consequence of Kojo’s actions.
Enjoying the comfort of love and family for a couple of more minutes, both Tim and Lucy got up, making their way inside with Kojo trailing slowly behind them, the excitement of the day slowly catching up to him. Eventually, the exhaustion caught up to Kojo and he knocked out on his doggy bed, quickly falling asleep.
Tim and Lucy looked at Kojo and then at each other and smiled. Anyone looking at these two could feel the love oozing off of them both, causing even those who never knew love was a possibility in their life until seeing it first hand how it truly does exist.
“I still have some energy in me if you are still up for ‘bedroom exercises’.” Tim whispered softly, slowly guiding Lucy towards the bedroom.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Lucy said, allowing herself to be guided.
With that, the bedroom door came to a shut and another day to its end.