I nodded thoughtfully to myself then packed the jar into the backpack. I finished off the bit of food I'd put together, drank some water, then put them both back through the tent then packed it all away. When I was just down to the tent and backpack again, I went to check on you.
It had become a compulsive habit for me now, and I was very aware of it. But I wasn't going to do anything about it, at least right now. Watching your evenly rising and falling chest and seeing your eyelashes quiver as you dreamt was almost calming now to me, or as close to calming as anything was going to get.
I brushed a lock of hair from your ear then leaned forward to press my forehead against yours, checking for fever. There wasn't one but the impulse to kiss you burst to the foreground.
I didn't know what was going to happen next. Maybe this would be the end of me and this quiet time now would be the last I'd get to look at you. Was that justification enough?
