SNAPSHOT
by
Rita laid back on the couch and sighed deeply as Chris reached for her feet, placed them on his lap and began to rub them softly. The persistent ringing in her ears from the explosion momentarily distracted her from feeling the dull ache of the bruises that dotted her legs and arms. It was a close call. In several years of police work, she'd had never been as scared as when the sudden flash of light blinded her just before she lost consciousness. She awoke to the sound of sirens, the smell of smoke and paramedics rushing her to a waiting ambulance. But she was okay, she told them. A little dazed, but okay. After some more poking and prodding, she was bandaged up and left to sort out what had happened. It was then, sitting on the edge of the ambulance, that she saw him running toward her. Before she could manage a surprised hello, he took her into his arms and held her tighter than she'd ever been held by anyone. She almost gasped for air as his arms tightened their grip around her. The funny part was, she didn't want him to let go.
Sitting in his loft together she smiled softly at him as his magic fingers brought life back into her aching legs.
"That feels really good." she said
"Right there," he answered.
"Yeah." She hesitated for a moment, wondering why he hadn't mentioned his trip to Boston, or what had happened with Jillian. She wondered if this meant that they had patched things up and he was waiting for the right time to tell her. Rita winced slightly at the jealousy welling up within her. She had no right to be jealous and Chris had every right to be happy.
"Is there a particular reason why you're not telling me about Boston?" She said, feigning a smile. Chris looked deep into her green eyes and suddenly realized the reason why he was he put on this earth. He was here to love her. Jillian was right, it was always Rita.
"Turn around and let me do your shoulders" he said softly. Rita grinned like a cheshire cat as she sat up and turned her back to him. Here it comes, she thought to herself.
"I'm glad that I went to Boston, my feelings have all been mixed up since Jillian left."
"Uh-huh, is this where I say I told you so?" She managed to say, hiding her growing sense of deep disappointment. She lifted her wine glass and examined the smooth red liquid as if to distract herself from the growing ache that had moved from her bruises to her heart.
"I went there to figure out if I was in love, and I am, but its not with Jillian." he said hesitatingly, almost waiting for her reaction. As he spoke, the room seem to somehow spin around her, and she tossed her head back slowly as if to try and forcibly sink in the words he had just uttered. He's not in love with Jillian, he's in love with me.
"You see, every woman I've ever been with has always been jealous of you, and I would say you just don't understand how it is between us. But Jillian understood, better than I did...." he continued, still rubbing her shoulders as Rita felt shivers down her spine, reflecting out to the farthest corners of herself like ripples in a lake on a rainy day. "She said the reason that I couldn't commit to anyone else is because there wasn't enough left to give."
"We love each other, but were not in love, see, that's why I always told all the men in my life." Rita managed to say, as she reached for his hand and took it into hers. She could feel him trembling as he spoke and knew that he was feeling it too.
"That's what we always told each other, and I guess that was true, but tonight, holding you, so scared I realized....that I've been lying to myself, for a long time." He said leaning into her as she turned to meet his lips. He kissed her long and hard, in the way she'd always wanted him to, in the way she thought would never happen. She returned his kiss hungrily, drawing him closer to her. Suddenly he pushed her away, although she continued to kiss him and nearly fell off the couch before she realized that he had already stood up.
"Um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dump this on you. I'm gonna go upstairs and make the bed, so if you want to go to sleep...." Chris said apologetically. He had no right to do this to her. After all, if Rita had the same feelings she would have said something. Stopped him from going to Boston. He couldn't lose her. He wasn't going to do this. Rita sighed deeply and slowly raised herself up off the couch. She wasn't going to let him off this easy. He was going to finish what he had started.
"Chris...." she began to say.
"Look, I don't want to lose our friendship, you are the most important thing in my life..."
"Shhhhhhhh....." she said softly, silencing him with the touch of her hand to his lips. He could feel her sweet, hot breath as her tongue gently licked his lips before finally entering his waiting mouth.
"Sam, are we doing the right thing?" he whispered.
"This is crazy, we shouldn't do this." she answered, burying her face against his. He uttered a slight moan.
"We, we could stop." he said hesitatingly, breaking away from her. "Do you, do you wanna stop?" Rita looked down for a moment although she knew what her answer was before he'd even asked the question.
"No, I don't wanna stop."
"We can't stop." He said finally, putting his arms around her and kissing her so passionately Rita nearly lost her balance. She reached down and undid the sash tied around her waist, letting the plush black bathrobe she was wearing fall to her feet. Chris reached down and pulled his turtleneck sweater up over his head, feeling Rita's mouth on his chest as he removed it. He buried his face in her neck and kissed her bare shoulders. He wanted her so bad.
They both trembled as their bodies moved together feeling every inch of one another. He lowered her onto the couch, and she leaned back letting him lie on top of her. He planted soft kisses on her cheeks and eyes as her tongue explored his well chisled jaw. She felt his hands on her body and wanted to dissolve into him. She was no longer a tangible being but an entity floating outside of her body and entering his. Nothing else mattered to either one of them but each other. They smiled at one another as two became one, souls intertwining, finally, completely becoming whole.
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