Petal [h.s.]

TWENTY-NINE - TWIST THE KNIFE

I had never felt anything close to this before.

This closeness to another person. I never knew that it was missing so viciously from my life until this moment. Laying with Arabella on my chest, my hands stroking up and down her skin, feeling her breathing softly with me... it was an intimacy I wasn't used to. An intimacy I had never experienced. I hated the thought of her getting up and leaving me. I wanted to spend the entire day like this.

Work could wait. This feeling couldn't.

Her head was nestled perfectly in the crook of my neck and she tilted it slightly to look up at my face. I felt her staring at me for a moment before she spoke with a timid voice.

"Did you mean it?" She whispered.

I turned to look down at her, a smile pulling at my lips when I saw her face.

Her cheeks were still flushed pink from our activities, her dark hair slightly mussed, lips swollen from kissing me so harshly. Her eyes were clear and wide as they studied me. She looked like the type of woman that men chiseled statues out of stone for in ancient Greece, desperate to create something that immortalized her beauty. Her face was the type that hopeless men gazed upon from their bruised knees, seeking her powerful, unmatched guidance. She was the type of woman that was worthy of worship and yet here she was, looking up at me as if she were the one in awe. But I was. God, I was.

"Mean what?" I teased her, still smiling.

She narrowed her eyes at me, pouting, "You know what."

I kissed the tip of her nose and pulled back to look at her.

"I meant it. I want to keep you..." I trailed off with a sad sigh, because the words 'but I can't' were readying themselves to come out of my mouth. I pressed my lips together tightly. I didn't want to say those words.

We stared at one another for a quiet moment. She looked so beautiful, her skin glowing in the gentle orange of the sunrise. I could stare at her all day long, shining like this in my bed. She looked as if she wanted to say something. I had a million things to say to her, as well, but neither of us spoke. We didn't want to ruin the quiet, ruin the calm. It was too perfect.

It was too fucking perfect.

My heart stopped when I heard what sounded like a key sliding into my apartment door. It was quiet, so quiet that I was sure I was only imagining things, but I sat up anyway. I was still inside of Arabella, so when I moved, I took her with me. My one arm locked around her waist to hold her still and when she gasped, my free hand flew up to cover her mouth.

We stared at each other as I listened more intently, hearing what was definitely a key turning in my lock. The only person who had a key to my apartment was Jessie.

Our eyes went wide at the same time.

Arabella looked like she was going to be sick.

"Fuck... fuck!" I whispered to her, my hand still against her mouth to keep her quiet.