was exhausted. I expected to fall into a deep sleep, but surprisingly, I was restless all night.
It all began with a realistic dream. I could almost feel the gentle touch of his large hands caressing my bare skin. My breath quickened as his fingers trailed along the curve of my breasts. The tingles traveled through my body as his warm lips moved from my neck to my collar bone. When he lifted the weight of his body off of mine, I was able to see his face. Those dark eyes yanked me from my sleep.
I chastised myself for the dream, but there was no doubt that I was excited. I could feel the warm dampness between my legs. I couldn’t understand why I was reacting that way to Neil. He was barely older than my daughter. Regardless, I couldn’t put him out of my mind. I finally gave up on sleep when I could see dawn breaking through the curtains.
Chapter Two
I was just putting away the last of the groceries when I heard the knock at the door. Puzzled at who it could be, I looked through the tiny hole before answering. Involuntarily, I smoothed down my long blonde hair and opened the door.
“We never had that formal introduction yesterday,” he said with a devious smile. “Hi. I’m Neil. I live down the hall in 210.”
I laughed out loud as he extended his hand to me.
“Nice to meet you, Neil,” I said, taking his hand. “I’m Rebecca. Won’t you come in?”
“You said you had an empty kitchen, so I picked up a couple of things for you. I wasn’t sure if you liked beer or wine, so I got both.”
“Actually, I like both,” I answered. “Why don’t you open a couple of the beers and I’ll get us some of mugs.”
“The bottle is fine with me,” Neil said as he set the bag down on the coffee table.
“I’m good with that too. Have a seat.”
“It looks like you got most everything unpacked last night,” he commented as he looked around the living room.
I was very curious about this young man. It seemed odd that a handsome man of his age would be so friendly with a woman my age. I’m sure he had plenty of girls his own age that would gladly spend time with him.
“Yeah. I worked pretty late getting everything organized.”
“You don’t have a husband to help you out?”
I took a long sip of the cold beer and thought hard before I answered his question. I knew the subject of a husband would come up eventually in my new life, but I didn’t expect it that soon.
“My husband and I are separated,” I finally said.
There was an awkward silence between the two of us, but Neil was the first to break it.
“How long have you been married?”
“Twenty years,” I said softly.
“Wow! That’s a long time. Mind if I ask what happened?”
I squirmed a little on the sofa. I had never spent a lot of time around younger people, much less younger men. I wasn’t sure how I should answer his question. One part of me wanted to tell him that I’d prefer not to talk about it, but another part welcomed the opportunity to confide in someone.
“We just grew apart, I guess. It happens a lot with couples, but I never thought it would happen with us.”
“That’s terrible that you invest so much in a relationship and it just goes away.”
Neil’s sympathy seemed genuine, but above that, I couldn’t stop thinking about the dreams from the night before. I was growing more and more uncomfortable, but I hoped it didn’t show.
“Yeah, but I can’t dwell on that. I need to move on,” I said. “Speaking of moving, could I enlist your help one more time?”
“Sure. What do you need?”
“I pulled everything off of the entertainment center and moved it out from the wall to hook everything up. With all the stuff back on it, it’s too heavy for me to move back by myself.”
“That’s easy enough to fix.”
I watched as Neil easily moved the heavy wooden shelves back against the wall. His muscles rippled under his tight shirt and I thought back to my dream again. It had been way too long since
It all began with a realistic dream. I could almost feel the gentle touch of his large hands caressing my bare skin. My breath quickened as his fingers trailed along the curve of my breasts. The tingles traveled through my body as his warm lips moved from my neck to my collar bone. When he lifted the weight of his body off of mine, I was able to see his face. Those dark eyes yanked me from my sleep.
I chastised myself for the dream, but there was no doubt that I was excited. I could feel the warm dampness between my legs. I couldn’t understand why I was reacting that way to Neil. He was barely older than my daughter. Regardless, I couldn’t put him out of my mind. I finally gave up on sleep when I could see dawn breaking through the curtains.
Chapter Two
I was just putting away the last of the groceries when I heard the knock at the door. Puzzled at who it could be, I looked through the tiny hole before answering. Involuntarily, I smoothed down my long blonde hair and opened the door.
“We never had that formal introduction yesterday,” he said with a devious smile. “Hi. I’m Neil. I live down the hall in 210.”
I laughed out loud as he extended his hand to me.
“Nice to meet you, Neil,” I said, taking his hand. “I’m Rebecca. Won’t you come in?”
“You said you had an empty kitchen, so I picked up a couple of things for you. I wasn’t sure if you liked beer or wine, so I got both.”
“Actually, I like both,” I answered. “Why don’t you open a couple of the beers and I’ll get us some of mugs.”
“The bottle is fine with me,” Neil said as he set the bag down on the coffee table.
“I’m good with that too. Have a seat.”
“It looks like you got most everything unpacked last night,” he commented as he looked around the living room.
I was very curious about this young man. It seemed odd that a handsome man of his age would be so friendly with a woman my age. I’m sure he had plenty of girls his own age that would gladly spend time with him.
“Yeah. I worked pretty late getting everything organized.”
“You don’t have a husband to help you out?”
I took a long sip of the cold beer and thought hard before I answered his question. I knew the subject of a husband would come up eventually in my new life, but I didn’t expect it that soon.
“My husband and I are separated,” I finally said.
There was an awkward silence between the two of us, but Neil was the first to break it.
“How long have you been married?”
“Twenty years,” I said softly.
“Wow! That’s a long time. Mind if I ask what happened?”
I squirmed a little on the sofa. I had never spent a lot of time around younger people, much less younger men. I wasn’t sure how I should answer his question. One part of me wanted to tell him that I’d prefer not to talk about it, but another part welcomed the opportunity to confide in someone.
“We just grew apart, I guess. It happens a lot with couples, but I never thought it would happen with us.”
“That’s terrible that you invest so much in a relationship and it just goes away.”
Neil’s sympathy seemed genuine, but above that, I couldn’t stop thinking about the dreams from the night before. I was growing more and more uncomfortable, but I hoped it didn’t show.
“Yeah, but I can’t dwell on that. I need to move on,” I said. “Speaking of moving, could I enlist your help one more time?”
“Sure. What do you need?”
“I pulled everything off of the entertainment center and moved it out from the wall to hook everything up. With all the stuff back on it, it’s too heavy for me to move back by myself.”
“That’s easy enough to fix.”
I watched as Neil easily moved the heavy wooden shelves back against the wall. His muscles rippled under his tight shirt and I thought back to my dream again. It had been way too long since
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