Wendy knows that she shouldn’t smell apples in the middle of the night.

She’s lying in her bed now, exhausted from that tiring shift at work. Her girlfriend had texted her to have a good night three hours before and is already asleep by now, as she should be, if she wants to be up for her classes the next morning.

Wendy, though, she’s wide-awake.

She closes her eyes and wills herself to sleep but her mind had other plans.

It relives a cab ride with Irene, just a little over a month ago. Irene sat close, but her thoughts seemed to drift far away. Wendy knew Irene was tired from her trip with friends and she literally went straight to meet her on their way home. However, she was foolish to think it was just that.

“Hey. You okay?”

She gently reaches for Irene’s hand, cautiously playing with her fingers before linking them together when she didn’t pull away.

Wendy succeeds in getting her attention too.

“Yeah.”

Irene’s smile is small, assuring, exhausted.

She leans in before Wendy could take it in, her head resting on her shoulder. Wendy shifts so that she’s leaning comfortably with Irene snuggled close as they sit through the twenty-minute ride.

Irene’s body settles beside Wendy so comfortably it invades her senses. She can clearly see the purple undertone in brown locks when the s