Thread: One Night...Forever Changed (Reydan and LingeringDesire)

It was like a dream. He felt Keeley hesitate, their lips brush together, and then she stepped close. Pressing her small body to his. He felt her heart flutter through the teal dress. Felt her breasts, a little bigger than that time two years ago, press against his chest. His mind seemed to fragment, only processing small parts, little pieces of a jigsaw he was too overcome to understand. Unable to step back and see the full picture. Fragments. His name on her lips. The taste of her tongue. His hand tangled in her hair, pulling her close. Her small fingers on his chest. Her smell. Her presence. Her tongue tracing his lips. Passion. Desire. But also...sadness. Then it was gone. All too fleeting. Fled like the stars in the morning. She was backing away, eyes darting, mouthing two terrible words that he never hoped to hear from her. I'm sorry. He started to speak, but then saw her eyes travel upwards and widen in shock. Instinctively he pivoted, following her gaze. From the window of his apartment above the shop he could see the faces of his Mom, Todd, and all the Fraynes. He felt his face flush. They were smiling, clearly interrupted by events below during his mother's self-appointed inspection of his living quarters. He turned to Keeley, but she was gone. His heart lurched. She was already across the street, fumbling with her car keys. He tried to step towards her, feet leaden, but then she was in the car and pulling out into the street. Within seconds the girl he loved more than anything else in the world was gone. Vanished from him. Fuck he murmured into the cool New England night. The party broke up after that, Kenzie using the excuse of getting Todd home finally to usher her embarrassed parents out of the door. His Mom followed, worry clear in her face. She leaned in for a cuddle. Now now my lovely boy she whispered. Worse things happen at sea. Her oldest, and wisest, piece of Mom wisdom. See you tomorrow. Dad wants to see you so much. We all do. Then, with a final reassuring squeeze, she too was gone. He locked up. His actions were mechanical now. Arriving upstairs, he grinned, still sad, but a little cheered to see that Kenzie and his Mom, and probably her Mom too, had made his bed. Pulling off his clothes, save for his boxers, he collapsed onto it, drained. He looked up at the peeling paint of the ceiling and felt the tears come at last. Fuck. Why had it all gone to hell? He loved Keeley. More than a friend. Had always loved her more than a friend. Maybe she had misunderstood? He replayed the events again and again in his mind but couldn't see how he could have been clearer. Maybe this was her revenge for two years ago. But he couldn't believe that. Keel wasn't vicious. He gave up, sleeping fitfully until finally giving up and waking at five. Midday saw him pull up outside his childhood home. He clutched his presents in one arm and a bottle of wine in the other. His mother opened the door and hugged him again before bustling off to the kitchen. He grinned. Clearly she was still a little competitive with Mrs Frayne after maybe twenty years of double family Sunday lunch. His Dad was in a chair, reading the paper. Matt leaned over and wrapped his arms around the small figure. It almost broke his heart to see the once powerful fisherman now frail and thin, muscles gone as he struggled to stave off the cancer that kept returning. Hey Pops he said, trying to keep the emotion from his voice, got a little something for you. He plonked a book in his Dad's lap and winked at him. Page 44 is particularly interesting he said. It was, officially, a book on the Great Barrier Reef, but inside, at page 44, were his company accounts. Richard Browning loved maths, had almost become a maths teacher if he hadn't been tied to a six-generation stake in the fishing industry, and had pushed his two boys relentlessly. Matt knew his Mom didn't want him stressing out going over the accounts, but also knew it would be cruel to deprive his Dad the pleasure he got from checking over his boys' maths. Tired eyes, his father looked back at him and grinned. Thanks Matty he said. Straightening up, he saw Kenzie looking at him from the couch. Her two little ones played on the floor at her feet. She was looking at him sadly, biting her lip in the way both Frayne girls did when nervous. He sat beside her. Is she... he could hardly muster the rest, is she coming today?