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I came hard, exploding inside her as my eyes rolled back and my head swam. It was like a rush of blood to the head, and I felt like it would last forever. I collapsed on top of her, and immediately rolled to the side, pulling her with me and into my arms. My heart was racing, and I could feel hers hammering against my chest. We lay there for what seemed like hours before our breathing finally calmed and our heartbeats returned to their regular rhythm.
I could have fallen asleep right then and there, wrapped up in her, her soft breath warm against my chest. I didn’t want to get up. Ever.
After a few more minutes, she shifted and looked up at me. “Want to see about that hot water?” she whispered.
I did.
***
We were back before sunset, as promised. I gave Jack the keys and leaned in, whispering thank you and getting a quick slap on the back in return. He winked at me as we walked back to the car.
On the drive back, I caught Andrea looking out the passenger window at the lake. I hoped that, like me, she now had a new memory of the place. A better one.
“Andy?” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Promise me something, okay?”
“Sure.”
She turned to look at me. “If we do this, if we pull it off and do it well, promise me we’ll try to buy a house by the lake.”
I frowned in confusion, a smile creeping up on my face. “You want to buy a house with me?”
“Andy, just promise.”
“Okay,” I nodded, smiling at her. “I promise.”
She nodded and looked back out the window. I followed her gaze and took in the view.
A house by the lake sounded like a great idea.
Bonus Scene: Andrea
Now would be a good time for Andy to be here.
The house was huge, or at least it felt that way after three years in the apartment on Juniper Hill. It had taken us six months to come to a decision on whether or not to buy it, and even then, the hell of calculating our finances was enough to make us think twice. In the end, it was Andy who had pushed for it most, telling me that if we didn’t do this now, we never would.
I loved him for it, even though standing in the empty living room, surrounded by boxes of our stuff, I was beginning to feel that maybe we were in over our head.
You’ve gotten this far. No reason to freak out.
I wasn’t freaking out. Not really. I just felt like so much was happening so fast, I was worried I might miss out on simply enjoying the wins. Ever since Dennis’s arrest, and the swift and almost effortless divorce, my life had taken a turn to the better. The only problem was, after years of living through hell, I felt like I was in the middle of a fantastic dream I would wake up from at any second. That scared me, more than anything, and the better my life got, the more worried I became.
It was almost as if I were being shown what could be, just to have it taken away from me. Like the dream would end abruptly, and I’d find myself waking up in my bed in Manchester, with my abusive husband snoring next to me.
If that happens, I’ll slit my wrists.
I sighed, ran a hand through my hair, and tried to decide which box to start emptying first. The move had been a disaster, the sheer volume of things we had surprising us both. It was funny how much could go into a small apartment like the one we had been living in for the past three years. Looking at the boxes now, I couldn’t even fathom where all this stuff had been.
I turned the first box to my right around and clicked my tongue when I read the word ‘Junk
’ written in my cursive handwriting on the side. Most of this is probably junk, I thought to myself. Andy, though, had been determined to get out of the apartment so quick, he didn’t want to sift through anything. Just pack it all up and we’ll organize later, he had said. I made a mental note to give him hell about that when he got home.
I pushed the box to a side and opened the next one, sighing when I saw the neatly packed memorabilia wrapped in bubble wrap. I’d have to arrange the living room properly before emptying this, so I pushed that box aside as well and went for the third. After four more boxes were set next to their siblings, I realized that I could do this all day and not empty a single thing.
“Now or never, Andrea,” I said to the empty house. Bracing myself, I grabbed the scissors off the mantelpiece and marched towards the bubble wrapped couches. I had to start somewhere.
