Lipstick

"Then I'll appear beside you

And be close enough to touch."

My senses reeling, I stood there for the longest time as my gaze was riveted upon the lipstick. Slowly turning clear, then fading from view, the words disappeared. The rest of the world went to black, and the next thing I knew, I was laying on the floor staring at the ceiling. I stood and on shaky legs found my way to the bedroom, collapsing on the bed. How long I laid there, I can't say for sure, but the shadows had darkened into night before I was able to ruse myself to try and get dressed. As I was searching my closet for something to wear, my mind not really focused on the task at hand, my phone rang.

Picking it up, I recognized the voice of a long-time friend. He asked what I was doing that night, and when I replied I didn't have any plans, he invited me to come along with him and his girlfriend to a new club they had found. Quickly I said I would go. We chatted for a few seconds longer, and he told me they would be there in about 30 minutes to pick me up. I threw on something I hoped would look nice, or at least not too tacky. A pair of brown slacks, a blue button down shirt, no belt, and boxers underneath with a pair of tennis shoes. Hurrying downstairs, I freed myself from the apartment, but not from the image of those words in deep red lipstick. Out in the coolness of the night though, even that lost much of it's hold.

Once my friends had picked me up, we went to grab a bite to eat first. Throughout the meal I laughed and joked with the both of them. To me however, my laughter felt hollow and my jokes seemed strangely empty. If either one of my companions noticed, neither gave any sign. Finished, we paid the bill, generously tipped the waitress, and left for this new club my friend had spoken so glowingly about. Sitting in the backseat of his car, my mind wasn't on the club. As I stared out the window, vaguely seeing my own reflection, I replayed in my mind the events earlier in the bathroom.

Had I really touched a feminine hand, or something else? My towel, perhaps? No matter what I thought of, my mind rejected it, screaming at me in it's own way that I already knew it was a very female hand which had brushed mine. I was so wrapped up in this discussion, I didn't hear the conversation from the front seat until the girlfriend had turned around and poked me in the shoulder. I came out of my trance in time to hear her say we were there. It took a moment for me to realize what she was saying. I climbed slowly from the backseat only to be visually assaulted by rather garish neon lights decorating the front of a fairly large building. The crowd passing in and out of the doors didn't give me hope of finding a nice, quiet corner and hiding in order to go over my thoughts. Entering, I could see a massive dance floor dominating the center of the room. Strobe lights flashed across the sweaty faces of people gyrating together in an almost tribal beat.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed my way to the bar and tried to get the bartender's attention. Whether it was the loud music or simply the fact he didn't like the way y face looked, I was unsuccessful for the first 5 or 6 tries. Finally getting eye contact, I ordered a very strong drink. Once in hand, I wandered the club before finding some stairs near the back. Curious, I climbed upward to find myself on a nearly deserted balcony over-looking the dance floor. One couple stood over in a corner, oblivious to the rest of the world as their faces mashed together.

Only one other person occupied the balcony, and I could only see whoever it was as a shadow, a vague outline. Stepping to the low wall surrounding the ledge, I surveyed the mingled crowd below me. Watching to crush of people, I wondered at the fact no one was up on the balcony. The lights pulsed across the floor and I began to wonder if I should even be up here. Just when I decided to make my way back down the stairs, I heard a soft step behind me and a low, sexy voice crawled it's way into my brain.

"For a while there, I thought you might not show." I spun around and my eyes filled with the sight of red hair framing a face angels might have made. Her eyes, however, were the devil's own work. Dark green and twinkling, they shone in the balcony's half-light. Her lips curled upwards in a deep red smirk that me want to cringe and yet excited me at the same time. I could feel the heat forming in my veins and my blood pooling in my groin. My mouth was slack and for the life of me, not a single word could filter through my mind but for one. Her. It was her. The thought spun around inside of me. My body was frozen as one of her hands came up to lightly graze down the stubble on one of my cheeks. Her thumb caught on my lower lip and tugged it for a brief second before her hand continued on to rest against my chest. I caught a quick whiff of her scent, a mix of jasmine, lavender, and something indescribable. A hint of something sensual and exotic. Of midnight dreams and sweaty summer days. Her body sidled up close to mine and waves of heat blasted through me. My eyes fixed on those deep red lips and I dimly realized it was the same shade as was on my mirror. Of course it was. When I finally was able to speak, my voice sounded as if it were coming out of a tube and not my throat.

"Who…," I croaked, "Who are you?" Just saying that sapped my energy till I was barely standing, but I had to know. She merely smiled that mysterious smile and ran her tongue seductively over her lips. My knees were rubber and I was so in her grasp, if she had asked me to put a bullet in my head, I would've found the nearest gun. Jump off the balcony? With a smile on my face. Amputate a limb? Not even a second thought. There was nothing inside of me except for the shock and amazement she actually existed. A few moments ago I was half convinced I was losing my mind. Now here we stood. She let her hand drop the rest of they way and curled her fingers around mine, leaning her face forward until her cheek brushed mine. Her voice forced it's way past my frozen exterior and deep into my over-heated core.

"I'll tell you," she purred into my ear, "but not here. We have to talk and we should do it someplace more private." With that, she tugged on my hand and led me back towards the stairs. The drink I was still holding in my other hand crashed to the floor, the glass shattering into a million pieces. On the way down the stairs, we passed a giggling couple up. They barely paid us any attention, they were that wrapped in one another. It was then I realized my attention was focused on the woman in front of me, but at the same time I was taking in everything around me, almost as if my senses were cranked up all the way. From the music pulsing in my ears to the minute cracks in the tile of the stairwell, I was noticing it all. The entire time though, I never took my eyes off of her. We crossed the doorway back into the night and she led us straight to waiting cab. While we were climbing inside, she quickly spoke an address I knew very well. The address was mine. When we were both seated, I turned to her and began to speak, but she placed her fingers on my lips and shushed me. Her fingers radiated fire and my head spun again, this time bad enough I needed to lean back in the seat and close my eyes. I felt her body come in and press against me, her fingers lightly stroking the side of my face and muttering soft phrases to me I couldn't make out. Every time I tried, she fell silent until I relaxed, then she would begin again. I began to wonder almost incoherently if it was possible to love someone you had never met. Never knew existed until only moments before. Suddenly, I heard her breathe on word clearly.

"Yes," was all she said, but it was enough to send me spinning off into the twilight zone again. I found myself believing she could see into my mind. I opened my eyes and her face only inches from mine, her green eyes focused on mine. As these thoughts ran through what was left of my mind, I barely perceived the taxi coming to a halt. She pulled her body from mine and quickly paid the driver before climbing from the vehicle. I followed somewhat slower. I made my way up the stairs almost on autopilot with her following close behind. As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside, she slipped through, closing it softly. I heard the snick of the lock echo through the room like a gunshot. She beckoned with one finger, leading me unerringly toward the bedroom. Once there, she spun on one heel and propelled me toward the bed where I fell sprawling across it. She still stood, not having fallen with me. She stared down at me with those gloriously green eyes. A small beginning of a smile creased her lips. Without even realizing I was saying anything, the words came to my lips unbidden.

"Who are you?" my whispered voice sounded loud and strained in the silence of the room. She merely gazed at me a few moments more before kicking off her shoes and crawling up on the bed to straddle my hips. She placed her hands on either side of my face and spoke in a voice that sounded as thunder in my ears.

"What would you have me be?" she asked, her eyes never losing contact with mine, "Angel? Devil? Or just a devil's minion come to claim your soul?" The hint of a smile which had touched her lips all night widened just a little bit further. "You know who I am and I am none of those things. I am part of you, yes, just as you are part of me." Realization began to dawn in my frazzled mind as she continued, "what I am is the one destined for you, as you were destined." She lowered her hand to my chest and began unbuttoning my shirt, all the while keeping her eyes looked on mine. "Our souls are intertwined and have been for millennia. All that you have been through in the last few weeks was to prepare you." Light dawned inside of me and a door opened I hadn't even known existed. Warmth flooded through my bones as she gently stroked her fingers across my chest. When I looked upon her, my eyes perceived what they had not before. A golden glow surrounded her and suffused me. My hands came up to slide along her jawline, her skin silky and smooth to my touch. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into my hand. I brought her face close to mine and dared to brush my lips across her brow. Her sigh blew warm breath across my neck and I skirted my way around her face, placing light kisses here and there. Eyes, cheeks, nose, chin, and finally upon those curved lips so red and full. My heart shuddered still as I waited for her reaction. When she pressed back into me, it began it's ragged beat again. I slid my arms around her, closing our bodies together and our kiss deepened.

As our tongues twisted together, I closed my eyes to feel the heat of her skin on mine. Behind my closed lids, flashes of pictures formed then fled, leaving me with only slight impressions. Impressions of other places, other times. Her mouth left mine, one hand cupping itself over my eyelids before they could open.

"Relax, " the words came into my ears or my mind, I couldn't tell, "relax, and the images will come with time." Her mouth closed on mine again and I felt myself swept away on the tides of time and space. Our hands danced gracefully over one another. Our mouths ground together, my chest heaving against her. Through my haze, I was dimly aware for the first time that night she was wearing a dark green silk blouse with a short black skirt. Her nipples stood erect under the blouse, pressing with bullet hardness into my bare skin. My hands roamed downward to grasp her blouse and pull it free of her skirt. I hungered to feel that hot, silky skin under my fingertips. The moment I touched her bare lower back, bright light flooded my brain. Suddenly, with startling clarity, I was no longer there, but somewhere entirely…

V

They hay was rough and scratchy against my bare legs as we tussled in my father's hayloft. Gone was most of the clothing from our young bodies and the only thing we wanted now was to be united. Her hands came from nowhere and pushed me back, then stole downward to grasp my fledgling manhood. Fledgling, yes, but no less hard for the fact. A groan escaped my lips, but we had no worries about the noise. My parents had taken the wagon to town 20 miles distant. Having grown up together, our parents farms down the road from one another, we had been friends from a young age. Now, it seems, under a hot western sky, we were going to be more than that. She stroked me gently, fascinated by the silky smoothness of my tool. She fondled me slowly enjoying the texture. Meanwhile, I stared raptly at her budding breasts, reaching to cup one in my palm. The nipple rested pebble hard in my hand. I rubbed my way across both breasts before working my way down to her sparse hair. My fingers slipped between her legs and found a very warm and wet spot awaiting me. A moan came from her as I caressed her sex. Inexperienced as I may have been, I was still a quick learner. Just as my finger slid into her, her mouth came down on mine and her hips bucked forward slightly. I could feel the pressure of some hard piece of flesh against my palm and trailed my finger up to lightly flick at it. When her body jerked at my touching it, I almost pulled my hand away. Then I heard her gasp and her hips bucked even harder. Her grip on me tightened and I felt the blood pounding in my head.

After just a few moments of this, she rolled onto her back, pulling me on top. With a little guesswork and a lot of giggling between the two of us, we finally positioned ourselves and I pushed into the first few inches. Every bit that I penetrated her brought new sensations I had never experienced. A velvet glove encased me and drew me further in. Meeting resistance inside of her, I stopped, not knowing if I had hit bottom. She smiled up at me, her green eyes twinkling, and thrust her hips upward. A quick scream broke from her lips as she drew me down to bury her head in my chest. I stayed still for fear I had hurt her. When I felt her draw her face away from me, I looked down into those glorious eyes again. With a slight nod, she let me know that it was all right to continue. I moved my hips in and out slowly, the friction strange, yet intense and pleasurable at the same time. I lowered my head to take one hardened nipple into my mouth. She arched her back into my and her hands traced patterns along my spine. I tried to keep the pace slow, but I could only hold out so long. Faster and faster I pumped my hips, her moans and cries rising in time with me. Giving a groan from somewhere deep within me, the walls burst and everything I had inside came flooding forth. She called out my name and stiffened under me. The sunlight filled my body and I was falling. Falling into a void…

VI

With a jolt, I returned to the present. Green eyes searched my face, a knowing grin spread across her lips. Without saying a word, she captured my mouth with hers again and ground her hips down onto mine. I throbbed within my jeans, now three sizes too small for my growing arousal. My hands, still on the small of her back, swept around to the front and upwards till they under her breasts. As she ground her hips, her skirt worked up her thighs till it was resting on her hips. Pulling her hands away from me, she quickly unfastened all the buttons on her blouse to expose two beautiful breasts unfettered by a brassiere. I brought my hands to her shoulders and carefully brushed the silken material away. It dropped to her elbows. Not even a second later, it was discarded off to the side. I leaned in and began to feast upon those wonderful orbs. As I ran my tongue over one then the other, she leaned over my head wrapping her arms around my neck and pulled me closer, if that were possible.

"You and I share these memories for a simple reason," she breathed into my hair, "we are every lover who has ever lived. Every person who has experienced passion, not lust, but true passion, we were and are them." A guttural moan escaped her throat before she continued, "we are brought together throughout these lifetimes to renew the passion people feel for each other." My hands slipped under her skirt to brush her wondrous behind, feeling at the same time she wore no panties. My fingers danced over her bare skin and she quietly moaned again. With every word she spoke to me, with every phrase she uttered, I believed all that much more. I could feel other memories of lifetimes long ago shifting below the surface of my mind. Memories which wanted to force their way to the top. Memories that wanted me to relive them with breath-taking clarity. My mouth continued to work it's way over her breasts again and again.

My hands began a slow search for the zipper to her skirt. I was sure that I had seen one earlier in the evening. With a small sigh of triumph, my fingers tripped over the zipper and immediately started working it downward. Unfortunately, either through my nervousness or the fact I hadn't done that kind of operation too many times before, I could only get it a few inches before it stuck. The more I struggled with it, the more I felt like a complete fool. She obviously sensed my distress, for she let go of my neck with her arms and placed her hands on mine behind her back. Pulling her chest from my face, she replaced her nipple with her tongue as she guided my hands to unzip the skirt the rest of the way down. Leaving my hands, she straightened and smiled down at me. Before I could wonder what she was doing now, she pushed me in my chest with a laugh and bounded off the bed with the speed of a cat. In one smooth and graceful motion, she had her skirt off and stood there in front of me naked, looking like a goddess come down to earth. I moved from the bed to stand with her. Wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close, she kept her hands between us. Slipping her fingers inside my waistband, she manipulated the button without hurry. My hands went to help her, but she pushed them away.

"All in good time, lover." Her face was softly glowing and I could not resist leaning in and pressing my mouth against her lips. In a flash, her mouth opened and our tongues were sparring as she finished with my slacks and dropped them to the floor. I swiftly stepped out of them, kicking my shoes off at the same time. The boxers I was wearing were tented out in such a way they looked as if they might rip. She pressed her body to mine and that curious sense of detachment fell over me again. She withdrew her lips from mine and pulled my head down to whisper in my ear.

"Just let it flow, lover," she spoke in a low tone beside my face, "I'll be here when you come back." With that, I was falling again, the darkness surrounding and filling me…

VII

The candles bathed the room in a gentle light. I shivered in anticipation as I waited. I wore the gown my mother had fitted me with for my wedding day. It wasn't a large affair as my parents and his were simple people, but it was beautiful in it's own right. And now I stood in the bedroom we would share for the rest of our lives. Soon, I heard his footsteps coming down the hall and my heart starting beating even more wildly. A strange sensation gripped my lower stomach and I could feel a slickness between my thighs. I had felt that same slickness before when he and I were kissing, and had asked mother about it. She told me not to worry, it was a natural thing to happen. Now it was back and stronger than ever.

The door opened and his face appeared in the candle's glow. Olive-complexioned and darkly handsome, his eyes fell on me and he flashed that easy smile I loved so very much. He was still dressed in his suit from the wedding. My heart swelled in my chest with love for him. He walked over, whispering words of endearment to me the entire time. Even though it was summer in southern Italy, goose bumps still prickled my skin. He stepped close and pulled me into the circle of his strong arms. I melted against him and could feel him trembling slightly. I heard the beat of his heart through his clothes and knew that it was beating for me. His finger came up under my chin and tilted my face so I was looking him in the eyes. For what seemed like forever, we simply stared in each other's eyes, the love flowing between us. Then his mouth swept down and captured mine in a kiss so intense, I thought he might be trying to steal my very breath. Other than that, he made no move to do anything else. I knew what generally should be done next, so I made the first move by starting to unbutton his jacket. That act got him moving and his hands explored my body as they never had before. I finished with the jacket and moved it off his shoulders. Getting it off, I threw it over in the corner. Looking in his eyes, I smiled. When he caught the look in my eyes, we both started giggling. That seemed to be the signal and we both worked at his clothing in a frenzy. Clothes flew everywhere and soon he was standing there in just his pants and they were unbuttoned. A tiny fluff of hair poked out and something under that was bulging outward. Was it the same something that was pressed against my stomach? It must be. I placed my hands on his trousers, preparing to push them down, when he stopped me.