Moving On Ch. 02

For the next several weeks, Chloe spent a lot of time catching up with old friends, including Jamie. They chatted on the phone and hung out like old times. She was so comfortable with him but unnerved at the same time. It was apparent she felt a physical attraction and really enjoyed his company but she'd never been one to act on her impulses and she knew a lot of friendships that had been killed by intimate involvement.

The picture shifted, during a hike late one afternoon. She and Jamie had been out hiking most days, watching movies at his place and going to dinner and parties; but not once did he seem interested in more than being friends. As they topped the ridge and looked out at the rolling hills of red, orange and yellow, she turned to say something and he leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her mouth. The silence that followed was awkward. For moments they just stood there; she not knowing what to say and him not knowing what he hoped she would say or do. He just knew the urge to kiss her had been overwhelming him for weeks. " Okay, well, I guess we should start back before it gets dark," he said.

"Yeah, I guess so."

The walk down was quiet but they both felt like they were carrying a heavy weight on their shoulders as they made their way down. When they reached their cars, she quickly said goodbye and left. He stood and watched her go, wondering what he had just done.

A week went by and she could not get the kiss out of her head but, at the same time, did not know what to say to him so she kept herself busy with work. Saturday night came, the cold of winter creeping in and she was getting ready to go to Kimberly's house for a party. Her heart wasn't really in it and she was sad to think she had left her old life behind and thought she was making progress; now this. Were she and Jamie still friends? Why did he kiss her...then act as though he wasn't sure he should have? Well, enough of that, she thought, I'll go for an hour or so then come home.

The party was in full swing by the time she got there. She had pulled her ebony curls up into a clip, leaving the tendrils hanging over like a fountain. The jeans she wore hugged her hips and the black tank top with the cinched over shirt showed off her voluptuous breasts. She caught the attention of several men when she walked in the door but didn't seem to notice the stares.

She walked to the bar to get a glass of wine, stopping to chat with people along the way. As she chatted, she kept her eye out for Jamie but didn't see him anywhere. She did her best to shrug it off and enjoyed several glasses of wine, as she mingled. It wasn't long before she needed to find her way to the bathroom. As she was coming out, she saw Jamie standing at the end of the hall.

"Chloe, can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure, I guess."

He took her hand and led her into Kim's guest bedroom. He didn't bother turning on the light and when the door was shut, he turned to her, took her face in his hands and kissed her so gently she almost believed she dreamed it.

"That, is how I should have kissed you the other day on the ridge."

"I don't understand. Why did you kiss me then and now?" She asked.

"Because I have wanted to kiss you since the day I saw you at the grocery store. The more time I spent with you the more I wanted to kiss you. On the ridge, I kissed you before I could chicken out." He laughed.

"And tonight?" she asked

"I wanted to kiss you the way you deserved to be kissed and the way I wanted to kiss you."

She sighed and he took a step back, thinking he had really messed up.

"Do you know how much I've wanted you to kiss me all these weeks?"

He smiled and looked down at her. Taking the clip out of her hair, letting her hair dance onto her shoulders, he pulled her closer, leaned down and kissed her with more passion.

As he slowly moved his face away from hers, he said, "Baby, I've wanted to do a hell of a lot more than kiss you all these weeks."