Author's Note: First line challenge. It was a bout of mental diarrhea, coming out in about an hour or two. Written with Brooke and Sam in mind.
---
There she comes wearing a leather skirt. I thought I had gotten her out of my system long ago, when my heart was unbruised. I thought I would never feel that thrill along my nerves again, that I would never know the heights of ecstasy that only she could take me to.
I guess I was wrong. She's spotted me. Shock clouds her beauty for a moment before she breaks into a forced smile and begins to walk to me. For my part, I do nothing, sitting on my barstool as impassionately as I had been before she walked in and changed everything.
You see, this was a lesbian bar. What the hell was she doing in a lesbian bar? She had no business here. She was a straight girl. She had said that to me long ago, after she and I spent the night tangled in sweaty sheets.
Before she went back to him, back to his fucking letter jacket and his fucking Beamer.
There's no ring on her finger. No tan line. Did she not marry him like she said she would?
What was she doing here?
Didn't she know she doesn't belong?
She stops in front of me, her smile small and slightly uncertain.
"What do you want?" My voice rumbled from me in a gruff accusation.
"Tanqueray and tonic." Her smile is just barely curving the corner of her mouth. I remember how those lips felt against me.
I turned my face, sighing heavily. I raised my hand and signaled for Betsy to come down and take my order.
I refused to look back at her when she placed a hand on my side, near my hip. To the rest of the bar, it must have looked as though she was claiming me. A defiant growl nearly escaped me at that thought. No woman had ever claimed me. Not since her.
I ordered a whiskey on the rocks for myself. I shot a pleading glance to Betsy, who missed it completely. Damn her and her needing to earn a living.
"I missed you."
I laughed. Dear god help me, I laughed when she said that.
"You have a funny way of showing it." I took a bracing gulp of the whiskey. The subtle woodsy flavor slid down my throat in a welcome burn.
"Maybe I just didn't know what I wanted."
"And now you do?" I finally looked at her.
She had grown up nicely. Her cheeks had lost all residual baby fat and her sculpted looks appeared to be straight out of one of those fashion magazines. A comment from a lesbian comic flitted across my mind. Something about when lesbians started to dress better, everyone would want to be one.
Her hair was still as short as it had been when I saw her last, those years ago. It was styled now, falling in gentle layers around her face, accenting her features. Those deeply expressive eyes still bored through me, seeking all my secrets and making me feel like I was the sheetrock and she was the two ton drill bit ready to eat into me.
"I spent a lot of time after you left wondering what I had done wrong. I didn't take it well. I guess..." She raised a hand in a dismissively questioning manner. "I don't know. It was a hard and confusing time for me. After I came out-"
"You came out?" The incredulity laced my words with venom. She flinched slightly at that.
"I couldn't lie."
I pressed my lips together to surpress my response and dropped my gaze. It fell nicely onto her breasts, still looking as soft and mouthwateringly tempting as the first time I saw them bared in a low cut top.
"I stayed close to home. The parents actually turned out to be really supportive, not that you'd know." A muscle in my cheek twitched. I was rather proud of myself for not making any other response.
"I went to college. Got a degree. I'm still studying for my graduate degree." I raised an eyebrow. Impressive. "Got a job offer out here. I was sick of the sun, so I figured why not give Seattle a try?"
"Yeah...why not. Coffee and rain."
She laughed. A few bulls over by the pool table quit trying to hide their stares. I glared and placed a hand on her hip. They raised their glasses in tribute.
I turned my gaze to her. She smiled that same mysterious smile she used to smile before she convinced me to do something I didn't want to do.
Then, she leaned in and kissed me. Long enough to set my hair on fire.
When she pulled away, her lips looked inviting. She opened her eyes and I forgot about the years of pain. There was desire in those eyes.
"Do you think we can make up for some lost time?
I smiled.
~fin~
----
Site design and layout by Taka Tenou.