| Jackie hung back and observed them undetected. The small crowd that had gathered dispersed but she stayed and watched as Brian followed Shelby from the lake. Words were spoken and from the look of it, Shelby was angry. She pushed Brian away only to lose her balance and then her son was kissing her. It was gentle, tender and Jackie just stood and watched taken in by the romance of it all. She could feel her heart swell as she watched them and slowly she backed away and turned and left. When his lips touched hers Shelby was shocked. It was the last thing she expected and totally not prepared. Part of her wanted to push him away but another part wanted more and before she could think rationally she opened her mouth and gave over to the demands of the only man she would ever love. Their tongues fought for dominance, neither one winning and finally Brian broke the kiss, both of them panting as their hands ran along each other�s body. He pulled back and stood up and took her hand, a look of raw need in his eyes. �Come with me.� Shelby didn�t question and they walked quickly to his car. Shelby was still in a state of bewilderment. She wanted him more than anything but somewhere in the recesses of her mind logic was trying to creep in and tell her to stop this foolishness. What would she gain from this? She tried to ignore her conscience as they pulled up at Brian�s building. She wanted him and if it was only one night she would have that to treasure for the rest of her life. Shelby followed him without any protestation. Once inside his front door he took her lips again and Shelby laced her fingers around his neck letting her body mold to his. Brian removed her shirt and jeans and tossed his outer clothes on the floor with hers. He picked her up and walked down the hall to the bathroom. He opened the shower door and stepped inside and turned on the spray letting her body slide down his. He unclasped her bra letting the wet article drop to the floor of the shower. He gently brushed his thumbs across her breasts and Shelby moaned at his touch. Even though the water was tepid, Shelby felt like she was on fire as Brian�s hands worked over her body. If this was a dream she never wanted to wake as they stood together flesh touching flesh, their mouths sucking and nipping at each other. When all vestiges of their food fight had been rinsed away Brian took a towel and wrapped it around them. Her head was swimming as he carried her into his bedroom and laid her on the bed. No words were spoken as he made love to her. Her body responded to the simplest touch and when he slid his length inside her tears fell from her eyes as her body arched to meet his. It was as she always imagined. He took his time bringing her to edge and then slowing down again. Over and over Shelby felt the crest rise inside her only to be quelled again until finally Brian thrust deeper and there was no turning back. Her walls contracted around him and Brian looked into her eyes as he slammed into her. �I love you,� he murmured as they both shuddered and their releases peaked carrying them both on a wave of abandonment as their bodies took from each other until they lay spent. When their breathing tempered Brian brushed her lips as he rolled on his side holding her close to him. Shelby should have felt euphoric. But the words she had longed to hear fall from his lips were uttered in the throes of passion. It was an old clich�. It was a running joke among women and Brian had been like all the others. Shelby had waited so long to hear him say those three little words and yet they spilled from his mouth so matter of factly. She had let herself get caught up in the sheer craziness of this whole situation. This would only make matters worse. There would never be a chance for anyone else in her life now, not after today. Even though Shelby knew he didn�t mean what he said, he acted as if he did. They didn�t have sex with each other. They made love. And her heart broke knowing she would never experience anything like it again. She had each touch, each kiss, each caress memorized. It would become a constant film in her head as she relived it over and over again. Brian�s arms loosened around her, as his breathing became steady. Shelby slipped from his embrace and took in the sight of him lying on his side asleep. A hint of a smile curled his lips. He slept peacefully, with the look of a sated lover. Shelby didn�t want to leave, but she had no choice. He would never be hers and even though he had given her a memory for a lifetime, if she stayed they would wake in the morning as awkward friends trying to return to a place that no longer existed. Shelby gathered up her clothes and shrugged into her wet jeans and tee shirt. She took one last glance at the bed and closed the door and left. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Brian woke to the sound of birds chirping, telling him it was near daybreak. He reached out and found the bed empty next to him. He sat up with a jolt and called out but there was no answer. He stumbled off the bed taking the sheet and wrapping it around his waist. There was no sign of her. The bathroom was empty and he noticed her clothes were gone. Bolted, but when? After they had made love he had fallen into a deep sleep. He never heard her leave and he still had no idea where she lived. He had to find her especially after last night. It had been perfect. She was perfect and he wanted her more than ever. Would he ever get a break? He was not about to let the woman he loved get away. He dropped the sheet on the bed and went into the bathroom. He would find her. Last night was more than sex. He knew it and he knew Shelby knew it too. Brian felt it in the way she had responded to him. She couldn�t just walk away like this. He turned on the shower. He would find her and by God she would listen to him. Across the woods and two buildings away Shelby lay in her bed awake. To find that Brian lived in the same development had come as a surprise. Why she didn�t notice it yesterday was a mystery. No it wasn�t. She had been so caught up in her desire for Brian that she never saw the familiar surroundings and it was only upon leaving late last night that she realized he lived across the woods from her. Her sleep had been restless. He would be angry when he woke and she was gone. But it was better this way. She no longer would wonder what it felt like to be kissed by him. The pressure of his lips on hers was permanently etched in her brain along with the touch of his hands on her body as well as their joining. And yet now knowing only made it harder. To have tasted the sweetness and know you would never experience it again brought more tears to her eyes. She was a fool and she would have to live with this ache for the rest of her life. Shelby rolled on her side and knew what had to be done. It was time to leave, make a clean break and forget him yet again. She was foolish to think that this job would actually work. She had been kidding herself. She took it so she could still feel connected to him, even if he was hundreds of miles away. His arrival only proved what should have been obvious to Shelby. She needed to find a job totally unrelated to Brian and the music industry. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ �Hello.� �I found her.� Brian said excitedly. �Brian?� �Yeah, Bone, it�s me. I found Shelby.� Brian paced his bedroom. �Where?� AJ sat up in the lounge and took a sip of his coke. His interest peeking quickly. Maybe his instincts about Rok were right. He sounded anxious. �Right here in Lexington. She�s working at the foundation. She�s been here since she left Florida over a year ago.� �Well, I�ll be a son of gun.� AJ chuckled. Why would she work there? Was she a glutton for punishment? Seemed odd considering she wanted to put some distance between herself and Brian. �Have you seen her?� He questioned wanting to confirm his suspicions. �Ah, yeah.� AJ heard the hesitancy in Brian�s voice. �Come on Rok, don�t beat around the bush with me. What�s going on with you and Shelby?� He could almost taste Brian�s answer. �AJ listen, I mean, I know you are going to think this is coming from out of left field, but the truth is I love her.� �Yes!� He smacked his hand on the arm of the lounge. �I knew it.� He got up and started dancing around the deck. God was he good or what? Yet he wasn�t ready for the rest of Brian�s revelation. �You knew it? You knew from the beginning?� How could he have known? I never told anyone. �The beginning? What are you saying Rok?� It couldn�t be. They both, but neither one, and then Laurie�Whoa. AJ was a bit confused. �Brian back up here. What beginning are you talking about?� �From the very beginning, AJ, when Shelby first came to work for us. But she didn�t seem interested in me, no matter what I said or did so I just backed off except my feelings didn�t.� �And the whole bit with Laurie? What was that?� Boy did he have them all fooled. �A mistake, a big mistake. I know that now. But listen I need your help. I want you to call her office and get her address and phone number.� Brian knew that Elise just might give it to him. �Tell them you are her old friend Alex from school and want to catch up on old times.� �But if you saw her,� there was a piece missing somewhere. �Brian, what did or didn�t you do?� �I talked to her once six weeks ago. Then we worked the carnival yesterday and had this huge food fight and then I dumped her in the lake after which I kissed her and took her back to my place and,� Brian stopped. �And?� AJ prodded him. �I made love to her but when I woke this morning she was gone.� �You and Shelby?� AJ was stunned. Brian, who took forever to ask a girl out, let alone kiss her, had Shelby in his bed on the first pass. �Age, you�ve got to help me, please. I need to see her, talk to her, tell her that last night when I said I love you it was sincere and not just because I thought she was good in bed.� He knew he should never had said it then, but it slipped out and the more Brian thought about it, it�s what had scared her off. He had to talk to her and make her see that he truly meant it. �Okay, okay,� AJ pacified him. �Geesh Brian, I should charge you, you know. First for putting up with all that moping after Laurie screwed you around and now this. My God, Rok, if you had just told Shelby in the beginning you could have saved yourself a lot of heartache.� �She wasn�t interested, AJ. She ignored me but I can�t let go of these feelings.� �Yeah, well,� she asked him to promise and never tell him, but this was crazy. She loved him. He loved her. �What if I told you that she ran because of you?� |