46 A few hours to kill.

The sound of my phone's ringtone woke me up. I made a hurried motion to receive the call, so it wouldn't wake Olivia up, and brought the device closer to my ear.

"I'm on my way." I heard Bella's voice. "Will be at your place in ten minutes."

My still tired brain was working in overdrive, trying to comprehend her words.

"Will you join me for breakfast?" I finally squeezed something from the depths of my sluggish mind.

"Coffee will do," the woman on the other side said after a moment. "I'm hanging."

"See you," I responded, fighting back the yawn.

I glanced at the time, around four thirty in the morning. Ugh, not enough sleep. Not even close. I turned my head to check if our exchange managed to penetrate my girlfriend's ability to stay asleep. It did not. Could've guessed.

Not wasting any more of the precious time, I stood up and stretched out, letting out a drawn out yawn in the process. I needed a cold shower. And about three more hours of sleep, pretty please.

The stream of freezing water, running down my whole body, brought some clarity into my life. Now I just hoped that a cup of coffee and breakfast would do the rest. While drying myself with the towel, I went to the kitchen.

Exactly ten minutes after the call, my phone received a message.

Bella: [At your door.]

How considerate of her! With this thought in mind, I went to open a door for my special woman. Bella looked as magnificent as usual, except for a bit of redness in her eyes. To me, it seemed like her sleep was as abundant as mine.

"Good morning, dear," I said my greetings. "You look incredible, as always."

She did, in fact. Her attire wasn't anything special, a brown leather jacket, black crop top and a pair of low waist blue skinny jeans. A pair of branded sneakers of a complex coloring scheme was the finishing touch. The combination heavily leaned to utility rather than looks. Yet, considering the figure of the one wearing it, the outfit was worthy of a double take for sure.

"And you look entirely too underdressed, dear," she replied in kind. Only now I remembered that I was still naked. "Morning. Where is my coffee?"

"At the kitchen table. Black, two sugars," I paused for a brief moment. "Or did your taste change sometime down the line?"

"Just what I need right now. Thanks." With the words of gratitude, Bella brushed past me and with a quick pace went to the kitchen, leaving behind the scent of her perfume. I closed the apartment door and followed Bella, while shaking my head at her antics.

My breakfast was almost done, going by the smell. Same usual, eggs, bacon, some fresh veggies. Knowing full well that the woman, currently occupying the second seat by the table while sipping her coffee with a smile, would demand a portion of my meal even if she previously declined it, I made extra. And I was right.

The breakfast went by in silence. I was busy waking up, while Bella, seemingly, was busy with staying awake.

"So, when will the team gather?" I finally decided to ask about the business.

"Noon." Her casual answer caught me off guard. I looked at the time. Not even five yet.

"What the fuck, Bella?" I voiced my displeasure.

"I just finished my work, so I decided that you don't need your sleep either," she responded in a smug tone. "I hope you had enough fun for us both, dear."

Her words reminded me about my message to her. Fuck, how could I forget about her vengeful nature? Well, I certainly brought it upon myself.

"We have a few," I checked the time again. "Hours to kill on our hands then. My vote is for catching some sleep."

"Oh, just sleep?" Bella smiled seductively.

"Yes, just sleep," I nodded back.

She let out a bark of laughter at my resolute tone, but a moment later her expression changed into one of complete exhaustion.

"Sounds like an incredible plan, dear," my special woman stated her decree.

Instead of continuing the useless back and forth, and wasting the precious sleeping time, I just shrugged and leaned in to kiss her.

***

The sound of an alarm clock on my phone brought up my second awakening of the day. With a reflexive motion, I extended my hand toward the bedside table to shut it off.

Only to fail to reach the said piece of furniture. With the obvious thought of 'I rolled to the other side of the bed' in mind, I moved closer to the correct edge. Or, to be correct, tried to.

My hand landed on something soft yet firm, warm, and supple. Huh, Olivia preferred the left side of the bed. Did she decide to change the habit somewhere through the night? Something bothered me in that conjecture, though.

"Honey, shut your damn alarm, please." I couldn't put my finger on what exactly though, maybe the fact that the source of this phrase clearly was behind me right now?

"Dear, as much as I like your touch, I'm trying to sleep here, go away." Ah, right, Bella decided to drop by earlier.

"Yeah, sorry, I need to shut off the alarm, and you are kind of in the way," I apologized.

I leaned over the beauty, naked and barely covered by the sheet, and finally managed to reach the damned piece of technology.

"Erm, honey, did I miss something?" my girlfriend asked a pointed question.

"Bella decided to take revenge upon myself for my bad joke, and woke me up at the crack of dawn, arriving at our doorstep. Only to succumb to Morpheus' call later on, since, apparently, we need to kill the time all the way until noon," I explained the situation.

"What time is it?" Another question.

"Nine thirty-two," I responded after glancing once more at the clock. "Hey, Bella, where exactly are we supposed to meet the rest of the team?"

"They will arrive here," muttered the still-drowsy voice. "Now, shut up and either let me sleep more. Or fuck me."

I decided to take my hand off her bust, with a notion of reluctance. As much as I was tempted to choose the latter, Olivia's presence couldn't be ignored.

"Wiser words were never spoken." I heard a voice from behind, followed by the feeling of naked flesh upon my back. She decided to hug me, or so it seems.

"Bella, you are a bad influence upon my girlfriend," I mockingly complained.

"Yeah, sure," followed a sarcastic response. "Now choose, or I will do it for you."

I slowly exhaled, seriously contemplating the possible outcomes.

"Sleep," was my decision. "Neither there is enough time for it, nor do I think it's time for it, yet."

I followed my words by extricating myself from the bed, and got ready for my daily run. Two naked, gorgeous women ain't no reason to break the routine. Yeah, I didn't believe those words either.

"Olivia, whatever this bitch would say, you can just refuse any unwanted advances," I warned my girlfriend. "Bella, I trust you to be a good girl, and just sleep obediently."