The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One With The Rucksack

It was a little after 10pm when Jen pulled into her subtly illuminated driveway, the security gates closing swiftly behind her as she parked her car and killed the engine. She leaned over and collected her purse, before exiting the vehicle and making her way into the house, tapping a series of controls which activated numerous lights, instantly transforming the harsh darkness into cosy, warm white glowing spaces. Her next task was to bend down, unzip and remove her knee-high boots, carefully placing them neatly together in the large shoe closet on the opposite side of the hallway. She turned and walked barefooted into the large kitchen area, depositing her things on the counter and making her way over to another entrance behind which she could hear excited scuffles and whimpers. "Hey guys! Did you miss me today?" she said as she opened the door and was almost knocked off her feet by three energetic dogs bounding into the room and bouncing excitedly all around her. She immediately dropped down to her knees, giving them all the fuss and attention they needed after being shut away for the past couple of hours. "Did you have fun with the girls today huh? Did you? Did you get lots of extra treats? I bet you did, didn't you? I bet you did...." she said as she fondled the neck of her largest and most boisterous dog, Lord Chesterfield, the latest addition to her canine brood.

She pulled herself upright again after a couple of minutes and made her way over to a vast and incredibly well stocked wine fridge, pulling out one of her favourites from the middle shelf, before closing the door behind her again and setting the bottle on the counter top alongside her purse, before turning to the cupboard where various sizes and styles of glasses were housed. "Is white ok with you? It's a good one, well I think so at least" she asked of the broad shouldered, dark-haired man who had been stood watching with a large smile on his face as she had greeted her 'babies' as she loved to call them. "Or I've got red if you prefer, or something stronger?"

"White would be great thanks" he replied as he removed his khaki green hoody and set his backpack down on the floor beside him, laughing as two of the dogs instantly came sniffing around both him and it, just in case there might be any food on offer as they caught the scent of recently consumed pizza.

Jen washed her hands before half-filling two large glasses, handing one of them over to him, then raising her glass to meet his. "Cheers!" she said, taking a long sip as the clinking noise rang through the air. She made her way over to a beautifully soft, teddy bear fleece covered, cream sofa, gesturing him to follow her as she settled herself down, one foot tucked up beneath her thigh as he sat down beside her and made himself equally comfortable.

"What a day this has been..." she said as she took another large sip of her wine, and ran her fingers through her honey blonde hair, smiling warmly at her companion, ".... what a day. I'm not sure I have ever cried so much but laughed so hard in the space of ten hours before. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions, and you know me and my emotions" she added with a wry giggle.

"It's certainly been emotional" David replied, enjoying some more of his wine and relaxing further back into the comfort of the seat, "but good emotional I think overall, despite the somewhat bumpy start."

"I know, I'm really sorry about that" she apologised again, for about the tenth time already, "I have no idea what I would have done if you hadn't come to my rescue. I honestly think I would have ended up on the floor. I'm not sure I've ever had anything like a panic attack before but if that's what they feel like, then I pity anyone who suffers from them regularly as that was pretty horrible, the not being able to breathe or see properly, and legs feeling like over cooked spaghetti...." She shuddered as she felt a wave of anxiety wash over her again just thinking about it. "Urgh... sorry, that's more than enough of that, I'm done talking about it now." Her fingers had strayed to the pendant that was now on show over the top of her polo neck sweater, and she was rhythmically moving it back and forth along the chain, enjoying the tiny vibrations through her fingertips and the soft scraping sound.

"I still can't believe you kept that for all this time" David said, mesmerised by the almost hypnotic movement and sound it was making. "I thought you would have got rid of that long, long ago."

"Never! I was devastated when I thought I had lost it. I hadn't seen it in so long and I thought it probably got missed when I packed up to move into the Malibu beach house, but I always hoped one day it might turn up, and then when I was clearing out loads of old school memorabilia boxes during lockdown, I found a box full of mementos from the show and it was safely in there, still in its little white box and with your note still tucked away inside."

"You still have the note too? Wow Jen, you never cease to surprise me. I love that you kept that as well though."

"Can you remember what you wrote?"

David thought for a brief moment. "I'm pretty sure it said something along the lines of 'my first thought every morning is you', because that was true, it was." He sipped some more of his wine before setting his glass down on the shiny, pearlescent white coffee table in front of him. "And to be honest, since we've been in contact more for the past year or so, it's pretty much true again...." He shifted position slightly so that his knees were angled towards her, watching her fingers that were still massaging the coffee bean pendant as he spoke, her sparkling blue eyes looking directly into his, "... I don't know how you do it, but you seem to be able to wield an incredible spell over me and I am powerless to stop myself falling under it.... even from a distance."  He watched as she drunk some more of her wine before placing it on the table next to his, and now that her hand was free, he reached out and took it into his own, linking their fingers together and letting them rest easily on her leg.

"I wasn't trying to lure you in I promise. I never thought you would ever even consider me in that way again after..... well after everything. But then when you said you might be open to at least talking about the possibility of our story not being over yet, I gotta tell you, you made my heart very, very happy." She stopped playing with the necklace and ran her fingers through her hair a few times as she spoke, before moving herself somewhat closer to David, her knee now gently pressed against his leg as her hand landed in one of its favourite spots, high on his inner thigh, her fingers beginning to tap a merry tune as she continued, "... and if I'm completely honest, I was hoping that you might end up here with me tonight, not expecting, but definitely hoping..."

David gave a little laugh in response. "You know I've carried my rucksack around all day.... you want to know what's in it? A little overnight kit..... just in case..." He squeezed her hand tightly in his as his eyes met hers once more, "and please don't think that means I was expecting either, but I was definitely hoping too that maybe, just maybe......" His words trailed off as he felt Jen's hand begin to caress its way higher and higher up his inner thigh and he was knocked off guard by the sudden rush of desire such a simple movement summoned deep within him. He watched her eyes gleaming with intent as she studied his face carefully for some kind of reaction, intensifying her movements as she saw they were absolutely having the desired effect upon him. He swallowed hard as her fingers continued to dance insistently around his upper leg. "Do you remember what happened the last time you did this to me?" His voice was already filled with longing as the primal instincts in his body began to take overwhelm his senses.

Jen leaned in, lingering for a long moment in that finite space between friends and lovers, before breaking the invisible barrier and kissing him softly, her lips gently pulling at his in a way that was so tender and sensual, her hand continuing its exploration. She felt his fingers loosen their grip on hers so he could hold onto her leg tightly and urge her even closer into him. She pulled her lips away from his and planted a line of delicate kisses across his cheek to his ear, where she murmured "of course I remember, how could I ever forget? The last time this happened, you gave me the best night of my life.... and tonight I hope I can return the favour...."