Chapter 14 Conversation

Chapter 14 Conversation

Brittney had never been to the place David suggested they meet. As she entered, her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she scanned the room for a familiar face. In the corner, David stood and waved. He walked to her and kissed her cheek before leading her back to the table. She sat nervously across from David.

“What would you like, Brittney?”

She smiled thinking of an alternative meaning she heard in his voice. “I’ll just have red wine.”

David stepped to the bar. Brittney sat alone tapping her fingernails on the oak table next to his beer.

Returning with the wine, David said, “I’ve missed you. Thank you for meeting me here.”

“It’s a nice, quiet place,” Brittney said. “Kinda cold though.”

David stood and placed his sport coat over her shoulders.  

“Yes, it is chilly in here,” David said.

Brittney is so beautiful, thought Daivid. She wore jeans that were just a little too snug around the middle but he liked them. On top, she wore a white sleeveless blouse with little frills around the shoulders and her hair was up in a bun. He'd never seen her hair up. He noticed her slender neck, and remembered planting a few kisses there three days before.

Though she wore a bra under her blouse, her nipples were still discernible. He was sure she noticed his lingering eyes.

“David, being here feels so wrong. I've never been unfaithful to Alex before, and now... I just don't know how to deal with this guilt,” Brittney said, jarring David back to reality.

He reached across the table to touch her hand. “I understand, Brittney. This is new territory for both of us. But sometimes, the heart wants what it wants.”

Brittney’s eyes became moist as she said, “You don't understand. I'd never had sex with anyone but Alex until you.

David looked down at this beer. “I had no idea, Brittney. I can count every woman I’ve been with but it takes both hands,” David said, looking up at Brittney’s face.

Brittney’s lips formed a smile. “Yeah, I knew you were more experienced. For me it was just the way I was raised.”

“I know, and I think it’s wonderful that you saved yourself that way. But that doesn't change how I feel about you. We can't deny what's between us now.”

Brittney looked straight into David’s eyes. “You're the greatest risk I've ever taken. Maybe you're worth it. I just hope I'm not making a mistake.”

David leaned in close. “Life is full of risks. We’ve gotta seize moments of happiness when they come. We don’t live forever you know.”

Brittney took a deep breath. “No we don’t. I’ll die. Alex will die. My daughters will die though I hope I don't live to see it."

David sat looking stunned. Brittney continued, "We all die and then what is there to show for it? Heaven or Hell? I don't think so. I think maybe there's nothing to show for it.”

David looked at Brittney with sadness. “I hope I’m not bringing you down. I just think we have to be realistic.”

“I know. I’m not really that negative about life and living. I love living and watching my girls grow.”

“I’m sure of that,” David said. He placed his hand over Brittney’s hand. She felt the warmth of him and signed.

“Well, what would you like to do?” she asked with a little higher pitch in her voice.

“Well,” said David. “There’s a hallway that leads from this bar to the hotel.”

Later that evening after tucking her daughters into bed and hearing their prayers, Brittney wrote a short verse in a text to David.

Everything we need
is here and now,
in this present moment.
When we make love, I know the now of oneness.
Our lives are not past or future.
We are only in the present.
I taste you now.
I touch you now,
unafraid to let you go.