[ WP ] A man travels back in time every time he falls asleep .

The sink dripped. Fluorescent light above him hummed. The air conditioner sticking out the window rattled like a pair of tin pans. 
 
 His heart hammered away in his chest at over a mile a minute. It rose above all the other noises in the room, and the blood throbbing through his head deafened him. 
 
 His eyes were little more than bloodshot stains, leering out of his head like a pair of wild, flowering weeds. They trembled involuntarily and at regular intervals, like a cup of water dancing before the approaching footsteps of a tyrannosaurus rex. 
 
 That was a spurious comparison; there were no dinosaurs coming for him. 
 
 What was coming was much, *much* worse. 
 
 He sighed, absently rubbing at his left ring finger, fidgeting with his bare skin as if he were tightening something along his digit. He licked his lips, and even his cheeks trembled in time with his heartbeat. When he breathed it was in a dry and raspy sputter. 
 
 Then he heard it. 
 
 She stirred in bed just outside the bathroom, grumbling under the sheets like a surly kid on a school morning. She peeked her head out at him and cooed: 
 
 `` Hey, you,'' she whispered. `` Come back to bed...'' 
 
 He managed a small smile, and he dutifully shuffled into the room and sank down onto the other side of the bed, sitting with his hands on his knees, staring at the floor. 
 
 `` What's up, anyway?'' She asked. `` I did n't want to say anything earlier, but you kinda looked like hell, today. Did you get *any* sleep at all, the night before?'' 
 
 He smiled wanly. 
 
 `` Only a little...'' 
 
 She lay on her back, smiling coquettishly, and she twisted about on her back: 
 
 `` Still worn our from the night before, huh? Y'know: it's not really my thing, putting out on a first date like that, but *man*...'' 
 
 `` We kinda hit it off, did n't we?'' He said. `` We go together pretty well, huh?'' 
 
 He could hear her pillow shuffle as she nodded. 
 
 `` More than I have with any guy in a long time, I got ta admit. That way we kinda...'clicked', you know, does n't come along very often. Once in a blue moon.'' 
 
 His smile widened and he drew a breath. 
 
 `` Once in a lifetime, even,'' he whispered. 
 
 `` What was that?'' She asked. 
 
 `` Nothing.'' He looked at her out of the corner of one bloodshot eye, and he manged another small smile. `` Mind if I ask you something?'' 
 
 She chuckled playfully: 
 
 `` Only if it's an'intimate' question...'' 
 
 `` You ever wonder where you're going? Like, where the next day will take you?'' 
 
 `` What do you mean?'' 
 
 `` Well, what is it you *want*, in life?'' 
 
 She did n't answer for a moment. Eventually she shrugged: 
 
 `` Most people do n't think that far ahead. I guess I'm like most people: I wan na do something cool while I'm still young enough. Like, I dunno: visit someplace exotic, like Peru, maybe, or-'' 
 
 `` Climb Mount Fuji?'' 
 
 She smiled: 
 
 `` Yeah. Something like that. And I wan na do something important with my nursing degree; I do n't just wan na work in some rich-person boutique hospital. I was thinking something involving kids, like-'' 
 
 `` A pediatrics practice for inner-city youth?'' 
 
 The girl scoffed, tapping his hip with her bare foot. 
 
 `` Alright, Nostradamus: what *else* do I want?'' 
 
 `` A home in the country, maybe?'' 
 
 She scrunched her lips, sighing. 
 
 `` I'm a city girl, you know. But I guess... well, I guess you're probably right: when I finally wan na settle down I'll probably do it in suburbia, eventually. Try to build my dream house. You know, something with a nice, white picket fence-'' 
 
 `` Taupe, maybe,'' he whispered. `` Shows up better from the street...'' 
 
 She chuckled. 
 
 `` Oh, does it?'' She teased. `` Alright. Whatever-'' 
 
 `` Something colonial,'' he whispered. `` Nice trim over the windows. Wainscoting...'' 
 
 She giggled. 
 
 `` Yeah, and my 2.5 kids, and all!'' 
 
 `` Three,'' he whispered, drawing another breath. He looked away from her, and his bloodshot eyes glistened in the moonlight. `` Two girls... radiant blond hair on both, and then you finally get your boy on the last roll of the dice...'' 
 
 She sits up and grasps his shoulder: 
 
 `` Hey: what's wrong? What was that you said, just now?'' 
 
 `` Nothing.'' 
 
 `` You okay? You, uh, you want to go home, or...'' 
 
 He draws another breath and wipes his eyes. When he looked back at her he's all smiles: 
 
 `` No. I'd... I'd like to stay here, tonight. If that's alright.'' 
 
 She cocked her brow and nodded: 
 
 `` You sure you're alright?'' 
 
 His smile widened: 
 
 `` Better than alright. There's no place I'd rather be, tonight, than right here. With you.'' 
 
 She reciprocated the smile, and the pair lay down together. He faced away from her and she rolled over, spooning him, one arm around his shoulder. 
 
 `` I guess before I can do any of that, though, I got ta find the right guy...'' she cooed. 
 
 He rolled over, facing her one last time, and he gently kissed her forehead before rolling back over. 
 
 `` What was *that* for?'' She asked. 
 
 `` For luck,'' he whispered. `` But I do n't think you need it.'' 
 
 `` Mmm.'' She snuggled down beside him and yawned. `` Well, see you tomorrow...'' 
 
 The sink dripped. Fluorescent light above him hummed. The air conditioner sticking out the window rattled like a pair of tin pans. 
 
 Those were the only noises in the room. 
 
 He sank his head down against his pillow, feeling her warm body heat behind him. For the first time in a very long time he was finally at peace. 
 
 For the first time in awhile, he was ready to go to sleep. 
 
 `` H- have a... good morning,'' he whispered. 
 
 He'd do his best to have a good tomorrow.
