Continued from part 6…
Kate let out a sigh, failing to control her tears any longer. “Des…” Again, she had to concentrate on taking a deep breath. “What are you doing?”
He stared at her until he reached her. Without speaking a word, he grabbed her into his arms. One of his hands sank into her hair, gently keeping her head against his chest. The other spread out over her back holding her body close to his. Kate couldn’t stop crying. She tried but she didn’t have the strength any more. She dropped her bag to the floor and let her arms hold him.
“Katie,” he said softly, “Please don’t tell me to go. I’m not leaving.”
She struggled to catch her breath so she could speak. But she didn’t need to. Her nod was enough.
He slowly let his arms fall away from her. His hand touched her face and brought her eyes to his. “Let’s go inside.”
Kate nodded again and reached down for her bag. She fished around for her keys, having a little more luck this time. Inside, she dropped her things and headed for the refrigerator. But before she did anything more, Des stopped her.
He stood behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Honey, what do you need?” He bent to her and kissed her head.
She mumbled to him, nearly whispering. “My head is killing me.”
“Go lie down. I’ll bring you something.”
Kate nodded gently and disappeared into her bedroom. She changed her clothes and fell onto her bed. The moment her head hit the pillows and her eyes closed, the pain of her headache began to ease.
When Kate heard a soft knock on her half-open door, she turned her head toward the sound and spoke quietly. “Des.” That meant ‘come in,’ but her mind wasn’t working clearly. With Des, it didn’t have to.
He walked in cautiously, trying not to make a sound. After resting a glass of water by the bed, he sat beside her. “Katie, take this,” he whispered. She pulled herself up and took the pill from his hand. He smiled for her and handed her the water.
Kate tossed the pill into her mouth and followed it with a few gulps of water. Her head fell back onto the pillows and her tired crying eyes closed again. She heard Des quietly kicking his shoes off. He laid himself down and turned to face her, resting his head on his hand.
“Katie? Are you okay?”
Although it was a bit of a struggle, Kate opened her eyes and turned to him. “No.” She was finally honest. She wasn’t okay. She was upset and hurt and betrayed. Her tears returned and she lost her will to stop them.
“Honey,” Des sweetly ran a few fingers along the side of her face, gently pushing her hair aside. “You know you’re going to be all right, don’t you?”
“I guess so,” she whispered. She closed her eyes again, wanting to hide. But Des wouldn’t let her.
His hand covered her cheek, his thumb wiping her tears. “Look at me.” He needed to convince her she’d get through this.
She sighed and opened her eyes for him. “Des, I am so… stupid. I mean, how long was he seeing someone else? Why didn’t I know? How could I be so blind? I feel like such a fool.”
“You’re not, Katie. God, you are completely the opposite.” He leaned to her and kissed her forehead. “You’re okay,” he said softly. He smiled when he saw her eyes closed again. He knew she was exhausted, but he couldn’t let her sleep. Not while she was still broken. “I promise you’re okay,” he repeated in a soft whisper. Again, his lips fell to her, sweetly comforting her with a kiss on her cheek. He stared at her, reading pain in her expression, even with her eyes closed. He hated to see her hurting. He had to fix it. And he couldn’t stop touching her.
His fingers wandered over her cheek, along her jaw. His lips followed the same path, delicately covering her with sweet, gentle kisses. Cautiously, he let his thumb run softly over her lips. They parted and a sweet breath fell from her. Again, Des smiled when he looked at her. But this time, a frantic racing heart accompanied his smile. A flood of emotion washed over him. My God, she is beautiful. Sweet. And beautiful. And sad. He was desperate to make her happy.
He took a deep breath, but his pounding heart wouldn’t slow. When did my best friend become the most beautiful person on earth? God, she always was, wasn’t she? Honest and sincere. And sweet and… stubborn. And violent toward insects. He made himself smile. My killer… so trusting. Maybe too trusting… with that ass Michael. I can’t have her in pain. I just… can’t.
He kissed her cheek while his fingers gently touched the other. He adored her tiny sigh. His soft little kisses followed a wandering trail on her warm skin until they finally arrived at her lips. The moment his lips touched hers, he felt everything inside himself awaken. She has the softest, sweetest lips I’ve ever kissed. Oh God. Is this wrong?
His racing thoughts, his pounding heart – he ignored them. His lips on her warm skin, on her mouth, brought him somewhere new. Somewhere beautiful. Somewhere perfect – if she wanted to go with him. But he couldn’t focus on that. He could only think of her. Making everything better for her. Taking away her pain. And touching his lips to hers again.
With Des’ fingers in her hair, Kate’s headache melted away. And his sweet tiny kisses calmed her. Is this real? Am I awake? In her blurry mind, she thought she may have fallen asleep. His gentle touches made her feel like she was in a dream. But when his lips touched her own, she knew she wasn’t sleeping… or dreaming. She could barely breathe.
Oh my God. This is real. And… oh my God. My best friend… what is happening? It’s Des. We don’t kiss… we have never kissed. Why have we never kissed? Until now… Oh God. Is this wrong? But she didn’t want him to stop. He took her away from everything that hurt. And he gave her something she didn’t know she needed. But he knew. How did he know?
Her mouth played with his, sharing gentle innocent kisses. Every little nip and gentle touch felt sweeter than the last. But Kate didn’t feel innocent anymore. And she definitely wasn’t calm anymore.
Des reluctantly took his lips from Kate’s. He needed to see her eyes. He needed to know if these beautiful moments were real or if they only existed in his imagination. He backed away just enough to see her face. She opened her eyes and found his. They stared into each other, panting softly, breathless with surprise and amazement at what had just happened. Without a thought, without intention. It just happened.
Whatever led them to this beautiful new place wouldn’t let them leave. They remained still, caught in each other’s eyes, motionless on the outside, hearts pounding madly inside. When she lifted her hand to his shoulder, his fingers returned to her cheek and slipped back into her hair. She inhaled a sharp breath and slid her hand over his shoulder to his neck. When he felt her touch there, he sighed softly and whispered to her.
“Katie…” He found it impossible not to lean back to her sweet mouth. Kate’s hand sank into his hair and pulled him closer. Their lips touched again, still cautiously teasing. But it wasn’t enough. Not anymore. Their tongues finally met, tangling and loving the sweet taste of each other. And once they fell into their beautiful tryst, they couldn’t stop.
~~
©2016 what sandra thinks
All my life I’ve been told to stop being so negative. Stop thinking the worst. Stop assuming everything will go wrong. ‘Don’t be such a pessimist!’ they’d say.
what sandra thinks 