When the morning sun woke Alan the next day, his back and neck were stiff, but he was more refreshed than he'd been in years. It took him a few minutes to figure out where he was; it had been a long time since he'd fallen asleep on the couch, so he was unused to his surroundings first thing in the morning.
Not that he minded. If he was going to get the kind of sleep he had the night before, he'd always sleep on the couch! Even with the stiffness he was experiencing, he felt like a new man. Energetic, optimistic, even excited about his day.
He took his hand out of his pants (had he slept all night with his hand down there?) and took the earbuds out of his ears. Some sort of white noise. Shannon must have put them in there the night before. She was so nice to him, giving him something to help him sleep. Sometimes he didn't even know why he cheated on her. Of course, it was because that hot piece of ass at work would do anything for him, but that didn't negate the fact that Shannon was so wonderful. Maybe he should buy her some flowers.
A glance at the clock told him that it was still a few minutes earlier than he would normally wake up. Soon the house would be abuzz with activity. The kids would wake up and get ready for school, Shannon would wake up and get ready for the day. He, too, would need to shower, shave and dress for another day at the office.
Since he was up early, though, Alan thought he'd do something nice. After stretching his aches out, he made his way into the kitchen. Pancakes. He hadn't made pancakes in years. An image of his happy family eating while he served them the pancakes he had made popped into his mind, bringing a smile to his face. That was all he needed. Slipping on his wife's apron, he grabbed his ingredients and got cooking.
