HC_4_my_birthday!!!! *hugs* How could I have forgotten to thank you!?!?!
Good news - I'm almost finished typing up the next update. However, RL is trying to make me do homework and save my boyfriend from the evil Spicebag of Doom... don't ask
, so it might not be up for awhile.
Never mind! At long last, here it is... Oh and the boyfriend's fine now BTW :lol:
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October 2007
The clock in the Hummer dashboard read 5:36pm. Behind the wheel, I glanced momentarily at Julie before setting my eyes back on the road. She had her arm against the door, her head in her hand with her eyes deep in thought. Neither of us said anything until we got on the highway.
"Are you staying in a hotel?" I asked.
Julie nodded.
"If I can find one." she replied, a smile on her face.
I glanced at her, stupefied. Why hadn't she gotten a hotel room? Instead of questioning her like a suspect, I smiled as an idea formed in my head.
"Why don't you stay at my place?" I offered. "I have a guest bedroom. You can stay there tonight, and we'll pick up your car in the morning."
Julie turned her head to look at me, her hazel eyes sparkling.
"I'd like that." she murmured, her voice music to my ears.
I chuckled, turning the wheel in the direction of my house. I saw her smile out of the corner of my eye.
"Home sweet home!" I told her, parking the car in the driveway.
I led her up the stone walkway, opening up the old wooden gate to reveal the house, half-hidden by a white wall. Inside the sheltered garden, a wrap-around wooden porch led into my house through a pair of French doors. A couple birds had flown through the gate, flying around Julie's hair and startling her a little. Grinning, I opened the door and led her inside. She was laughing, and I couldn't help but laugh along with her.
"Aren't there any birds in Louisiana?" I teased, motioning for her to go sit on the couch.
"Yeah," she nodded, "But they aren't as friendly as the ones in Miami."
She sat down on a grey leather couch, crossing her legs and sighing comfortably. Her black skirt came up a little, revealing her still-lean thighs and her perfect legs. Noticing my gaze, she blushed and pulled the hem back to her knees. I looked away politely and went into the kitchen, wondering how she managed to look exactly like the same beautiful nurse I fell in love with.
"Would you, um, like something to drink?" I offered, my face burning up embarrasedly.
"Yeah," she called back, "Do you still have that chilean red wine?"
I paused for a moment, smiling. She remembered.
"Yup." I whispered, opening the pantry and pulling out a bottle.
It was covered in sixteen years of dust, the age marked on the label. 1990. I never opened it. I had brought it home that night, the night she left, to apologize for being late. I couldn't drink it myself, so I put it away and left it with a dream of finding her again.
I popped the cork, and swore I could hear the string music as it played all those years ago the first night we tried it. Our first date, we agreed. The real first one didn't turn out so well, and that night had been our make-up date. Nothing had changed in my mind. Julie had never left. It was all here, marked on a green bottle of wine.
As I poured the drinks, I heard Julie's heels clicking across the floor. I heard some music begin to play and I smiled. Old piano the music, the kind we used to danced to. We didn't like the songs of the late eighties and nineties; we had a taste for the classics.
I walked into the living room, holding the glasses and chuckling as I saw Julie fiddling with the sound system.
"Bored?" I teased, startling her.
"No," she stammered. "I just..."
Grinning, I moved closer until I was just a few inches away from her. She smiled back, taking her glass and looking up at me.
"You remember, right?" she asked me in a low whisper, "You remember... that night?"
I didn't know which one she was referrring to. I remembered all the nights we spent together. Hell, every minute I spent with her was engraved in my memory.
Nodding, I touched her cheek with the back of my free hand. She leaned her head into my touch, melting my heart and making me want more. I gently moved my hand to her chin, taking a quick breath before kissing her.
It was 1990 all over again, the sound of rain that poured down around us replaced by the crescendo of piano music. Her lips were still sugar-sweet, her skin as soft as ever. My fingers were tangled in her auburn curls, her own in my red hair. We were just a couple of young adults, falling in love for the first time. Sixteen years later, we were doing it all over again.
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I have more for this chapter, but I'm a little concerned about the content so whenever FF starts working again I'll post it there :devil: :lol:
Sissi