Life Next Ch. 01

I saw a tear in her eye, and one welled in mine.

“I’m sorry, Addie. I am sorry for anything I have ever done to hurt you.”

“You broke my heart.”

We weren’t crying, but there were tears. When I started the sentence, it was going to be in the past tense, but the word must have a will of its own.

“I love you.”

We were quiet for a long time. Gwen brought our bill. We held hands. I looked around the lounge and realized that we were the last ones in the restaurant. The staff was congregating around the end of the bar, waiting for us to leave. I saw in Addie’s eyes that she was ready to go. I reached for my credit card.

“So all this time,” Addie started, deadpan, “and I thought you were telling the truth when you said I had exhausted and drained you with my oral prowess.”

I just started laughing. I remembered why I loved her – still love her.

Addie used the ladies’ room and I took the opportunity to apologize to the staff for keeping them till almost midnight on a weekday.

“It’s okay,” said Gwen. “You’re a very handsome couple,"she then offered.

“Thank you,” I replied, and my heart clenched.

Outside it was cool and quiet. I had never been in downtown L.A. on a weekday night. It was like a deserted, awe-inspiring stage set. I put my arm over her shoulders and we walked.

When we got to her car we stopped and I turned to stand in front of her.

“Can I ask you a favor?” I said taking hold of her hands. She nodded yes and batted her eyes.

“I just know that if I could kiss you, I could feel young again.”

She smiled. “Of course you can kiss me.”

When our lips touched, there was no movement, just the agonizing, delicate softness. For a brief moment we experienced the dizzying sensation of being alone together, detached from all other existence.

Then we hugged, and my face was buried in her hair, and it smelled so familiar – like home.

“One of these lifetimes,” I whispered just loud enough so that I am certain that she heard me.

We kissed again, even lighter, just briefly, and as our lips parted she said, “You’re still a good kisser.”

“No,” I corrected her. “We are a good kiss.”

We both sighed and closed our eyes.

We said goodbye awkwardly. I held up my hand as she drove away, ostensibly to waive goodbye, but it felt like I was reaching for her.

“Life next, please,” I said aloud to an uncaring city and a dark, empty sky.

*****

The working title to the story was “Life Now,” and I was planning a tender, erotic finish, but Addie and Mark wouldn’t cooperate. So I give up; it’s their story now. Please look for “Life Now (Life Next, Part Two)” If it is not up, it will be soon.