The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One With The Tightrope

"I'm not taking no for an answer, I am dropping you at home" Jen said quietly but forcefully as they stood at the back door of the hotel alongside all the others, waiting for their various drivers to come and pick them up. David's arms were wrapped tightly around her from behind as she leaned into him, partly for stability as she had on extra high heels which didn't combine too well with the numerous margaritas she had consumed, and partly because she was still reeling from his shock confession that deep in his drunken mind, he still thought it possible that they might one day end up together. And that was why she wanted some time alone with him in private, because that thought would not leave her mind right now and it both scared and excited her.

"Hey Carl" Jen called as her black Range Rover drew up outside and her driver jumped out to open the door for her. "We need to do a stop off at Schwimmer's on the way home please" she added as she climbed up into the back of the car and pulled David in alongside her, seating herself as close to him as she possibly could and nestling her head onto his chest, as he wrapped his arm tightly around her and breathed in the scent of her hair. Neither of them said anything beyond confirming his address, but they didn't need to in order for the electricity to begin flowing vigorously between them like it had so many times before. Jen's hand was resting on David's thigh and she began absentmindedly drawing patterns with her fingers, something she loved to do and which he always found both adorably sweet and incredibly arousing. After a few minutes, he placed his free hand over hers, ceasing the movement as he was struggling to stop his body's natural reflex from reacting in the way it always did to her touch. He linked his fingers tightly with hers as she lifted her head to meet his gaze. Their eyes had always been a tool of great communication and they could both read exactly what each other was thinking..... and that was that they were walking the most dangerous tightrope right now, and they weren't entirely sure if they were going to continue walking right into the lion's den, or jump off into a safety net before they crossed the line.

They had barely spoken a word to each other by the time Jen's car pulled up outside David's home, but the sexual tension had risen by a few hundred degrees nevertheless. "I'll be back shortly" Jen called to Carl as she exited the vehicle and followed her co-star, hand in hand, through the large security gates and up the path to his subtly illuminated front porch. They reached the impressive door within seconds where he turned around so they were face to face, locking her other hand in his so they were completely connected.

"So, was that just the wine talking back there or did you really mean what you said, that you could still imagine a future with me one day?" Jen began, her head already feeling slightly less fuzzy from the alcohol.

"Well, me spilling my innermost soul to you about that was definitely the wine, but yes, if the chance was to arise again at some point then I could absolutely still see a future for us together...... but that's assuming that you were free and available to make that choice and still wanted it too by then of course." David's fingers were tapping an imaginary tune on the backs of her hands, squeezing and releasing in an attempt to focus his mind and body on anything but the stunningly beautiful woman stood so close to him.

"Honey, you know that is all I ever wanted" she breathed, inching closer and closer to him, like a moth drawn to a flame. "God, I wish we could turn back time..... I would have fought for you.... for us... so much harder."

"I know, I think we both would" he answered thoughtfully, "but we can't pine for the what ifs and if onlys forever. We made our choices and, for now at least, we have to live with them."

"Living with them doesn't mean we can't question them a little though, does it?" Jen shuffled another small step closer so their bodies were almost but not quite touching. "Because I can tell you, I question my decision to get married more and more often these days. I got swept along on a sea of champagne promises into this golden Hollywood lifestyle that I am pretty sure I was not cut out for. And yes, there are some fabulous moments where I think wow, I am so damn lucky to be living this life, and it has given me so many amazing opportunities that I am eternally grateful for. But there are a hundred more moments when I yearn for those days when you and I would watch the sunset together in perfectly quiet harmony, no fuss, no expectation, just two young people, desperately in love with each other..... and I miss that simplicity....... and I miss you..... and I miss us." Jen freed one of her hands and placed it gently on David's cheek, caressing it softly as she looked deep into his eyes. Instinctively he leaned his head tenderly towards her palm, delighting in her sensitive touch.

"I miss us too" David sighed, feeling so conflicted once again by his feelings for this incredible woman. Here she was standing so close he could smell the tequila on her breath, and it was taking every shred of self-control he possessed not to pull her into his arms and whisk her inside where they could spend a night together making blissful love and rediscovering each other's bodies.

Jen released her other hand from David's grip and placed both of them gently behind his neck, pulling him even closer to her so now they were not just touching, but pressed tightly against each other. His hands instinctively resting either side of her hips as if that was where they were made to be. Her eyes couldn't resist looking up at his lips, her teeth biting down on hers as she fought hard to control her almost overwhelming urges, "I know we shouldn't... but oh God I want to kiss you so much...."

"You're right..... we shouldn't....." he breathed in response, although every fibre of his body was telling him to lean in and enjoy her no matter what his moral compass was screaming at him.

The air around them felt like it had been sucked away, leaving them in a vacuum where neither time nor space existed, only them, with their shallow, lustful breathing and the electric current which was fully charged and coursing between them with such compelling force.

Jen moved in and met David's lips with her own, defeated by the irresistible pull of desire mixed with an alcohol fueled lack of self control. And although in her head, she knew she was crossing a forbidden line, here and now, in the heat of the moment, she didn't care one single tiny shred. The kiss was sensual and intense, Jen's lips gently sucking at David's bottom one as once again they tenderly explored this prohibited territory, their mouths opening wider to allow deeper connection and access for probing tongues. It was a long, slow and impassioned encounter which only ended when David wrenched himself away with the greatest of reluctance, pulling her into his arms for the tightest hug, their bodies pressed so intimately against each other's that Jen was acutely aware of just how much he was enjoying their togetherness.

"I think you'd better go" he breathed into her hair, his voice heavy with eroticism, "....not because I want you to in the slightest, but your driver is waiting.... and more importantly because if you do that again I don't think I will be able to summon up any more will power to stop you."

"I know.... I know.... I think I do need to go because I don't trust myself not to do that again either" she replied softly, leaning her forehead against his and drinking in his scent and the closeness as if she was trying to memorise everything about him and store it away to re-live and enjoy whenever she needed to in the future. "I'd say I'm sorry, but the truth is I'm not sorry at all. I know I should be, but I don't believe what I feel for you could ever be wrong, no matter what anyone else might think." 

 She leaned in and placed a delicate, tender kiss on his still moist lips, before turning heel and walking away down the path, turning when she was half way to blow him an air kiss and treating him to one of her biggest and brightest smiles. "See you on Monday...... I'll miss you" she called with a wave..... and then she was gone, leaving David standing in stunned, partially aroused silence, wondering how the hell they were back here once again, but this time, not entirely anxious that they were. Maybe, just maybe he still stood a chance of winning her back and getting to live out their 'happily ever after' after all. Not right now, probably not even in the near future, but the way she had talked about her marriage to Brad had planted fresh seeds of hope in his heart, and he planned to nurture them and see how well they grew.