DreamOutLoud13
Blue Crack Addict
Hola, mi muchachas. How has everyone's week gone? I had a lovely Valentine's day, got addicted to Ferrero Rocher chocolate, and got a new skirt.
Now I bring you chapter 9, which seems a bit shorter and maybe slightly rushed compared to previous chapters, but that's alright, I still think it's a good one.
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Despite his impatient excitement about seeing Heather the next day and his ever-present nagging worry at having to leave her the day after that, Adam managed to sleep like a rock. As he crawled between the crisp white sheets he was strangely content, and it wasn’t long before exhaustion from a full day on little sleep overtook him and he drifted into deep, dreamless sleep.
Upon awaking in the morning, he went down to breakfast with the others, as usual, but given that today was Sunday, their minds were on other things. Edge, Larry, and Bono were always quiet during Sunday breakfasts. Adam knew why. They were set to leave for church directly afterward, and surely had that on their minds, but they were careful not to burden Adam with it. He chose not to include himself in that part of their lives, and they didn’t try to change that in any way, which included respectfully refraining from too much religious talk around him.
The meal finished, the other three were on their way, and Adam was left alone. He stayed downstairs in the restaurant a while longer, sipping coffee and leafing through a newspaper. Soon Paul appeared and they shared a cup of coffee and one another’s company, before both leaving the restaurant. Paul had business to attend to, Adam had nothing at all to do.
He returned to his hotel room, but didn’t turn on the TV as he might have done otherwise. There was no point, there was never anything good on American television on Sunday mornings. Instead he lay down on the bed, too awake to nap, but too bored not to try.
Two cigarettes later and Adam decided that he was simply too restless to lay in bed any longer. He got up and decided to take a walk instead. At the very least, it would pass the time. The air outside was cooler than it had been the last few days, and Adam found it refreshingly like home. He walked slowly, aimlessly, letting his feet take his body wherever they pleased. It wasn’t long before he realized he was heading in the direction of Heather’s apartment. Adam glanced at his watch. The plan was for Heather to meet him at the hotel, as she had the day before, but now that he was this close, he decided instead to surprise her.
Two blocks from her apartment, Adam passed by a delicatessen, which gave him another idea. Instead of simply picking Heather up and taking her out to lunch, he could bring lunch to her. Adam was hardly an expert in romance, but he had a good idea that a surprise picnic would turn out to be a very romantic occasion.
Heather was virtually ready to go out and meet Adam for lunch, although it was still too early to leave. When the time came, she’d simply slip on her shoes, grab her purse, and go. But for now, she sat at the kitchen table with today’s oversized newspaper spread out before her. The initial plan was to scan the want ads for new listings, but once she had it open, she opted to read it instead. Heather was halfway through a somewhat interesting article when she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
As Heather walked to the door to answer it, she was slightly annoyed. She hadn’t been expecting any visitors, and while she normally didn’t mind surprise guests, she simply didn’t have the time for any right now, as she would be leaving to go see Adam soon. But much to her surprise, when Heather opened the door, she found Adam standing their bearing a loaded plastic bag and a smile.
“What are you doing here?!” Heather said happily as she embraced him.
“I thought I’d surprise you by bringing lunch to you instead.”
“That is so sweet!” Heather said, and kissed him on the cheek.
“Which way is your kitchen?”
“Right to the left.” Heather said and moved aside to let him through the door. As Adam made his way past her and toward the kitchen, Heather glanced quickly around the living room to survey its tidiness. The last thing she wanted was for Adam to stumble across a mislaid bra or something. Everything seemed fine though, and so she followed him into the kitchen. Adam was already standing at the kitchen counter, unloading the bag. He smiled at her when she entered.
“I hope you like roast beef.”
“I do. Here, let me help.” Heather said, reaching over to assist him.
“Oh no you don’t. I’m going to serve you. Have a seat.”
Adam spun Heather around to steer her toward the table, but when he did, her feet which were still clad only in socks, slid across the linoleum. Heather let out an involuntary squeal and fell back against him. Adam caught her and propped her back up on her feet. “You’re slippery today, Heather.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Heather said, laughing as she made her way over to the table.
“Of course it is.” Adam winked.
Heather cleared the newspaper away from the table and sat down. She smiled to herself as she watched Adam preparing their meal and offered suggestions only when asked. Adam seemed genuinely happy with the chivalry he was showing her, and Heather found herself falling even deeper for him.
In the end, their meal consisted of roast beef sandwiches on kaiser rolls, macaroni salad, potato chips, and soda from Heather’s refrigerator. The food was filling, and although they both ate until they were full, they still only managed to finish about half of it. When they were done, Heather insisted that she clean up and pack away the leftovers in the refrigerator, and sent Adam to the living room to wait. When she’d finished that, Heather joined him on the sofa, snuggling herself into his arms.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” She asked.
“Mmm.” Adam murmured in agreement, kissing her on the temple.
“I don’t want to move, I want to stay like this forever.” Heather said, closing her eyes. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this content before. Everything about being with Adam just seemed so perfect.
“I wish we could.” He said softly, tracing his fingers along her arm.
“Don’t.” She said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to think about that. Not today. I don’t want to have to say goodbye to you. I just want to pretend that it’s not a big deal, and that everything will be alright, and that we can stay like this forever.”
“Okay.” Adam said softly.
They stayed like that for hours on Heather’s sofa. Cuddled together, enjoying one another’s company, and going farther with one another’s bodies than they had before. But still, they both held back from taking their pleasure too far, despite the growing temptation. When things got too hot or heavy, they’d pull away from one another and focus on idle conversation. Or else one or the other of them would get up and put on a record from Heather’s meager collection.
As their peaceful evening wore on into evening, the sunlight
faded and Heather eventually forced herself to get up and turn on a lamp. The darkness brought more temptations than she could resist. It wasn’t long after that however, before both Adam and Heather’s stomachs began rumbling with hunger for an evening meal. Hand in hand, they moved from the living room sofa to the kitchen table where they unpacked the leftovers from lunch and satisfied their hunger. It was there at the table that they stayed, Adam leaning back in his chair contentedly, and Heather with her legs slung across his lap until, while sweetly kissing the back of Heather’s hand, he got a look at her watch and noticed the time.
“It’s getting late.” He said.
“I know.” Heather agreed, although neither of them were making any move to get up from the table.
“I have something for you.” Adam said, reaching into his back pocket.
Heather sat up straight, her face shining with curiosity, and watched as Adam pulled out her present. It was a silk scarf, dyed in a gradient of blues. The shade of blue midway across the scarf was the exact colour of Adam’s eyes. Heather took the scarf and clutched it to her chest.
“I love it!”
“I got it at the street fair yesterday. I thought you’d like it.”
“I do, I really do. But I don’t have anything for you.”
“That’s alright.” Adam said, smiling.
“No, wait. Hold on.” Heather said, getting up. “Wait here.”
Heather went into her bedroom and straight over to the dresser. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but felt that she’d know when she’d found it. Heather’s wooden jewelry box sat atop the dresser. She opened it, and pushed aside the top shelf which held the jewelry she normally wore. Plunging her hands into the bottom compartment, she began feeling around in the mess of rarely-worn necklaces and bracelets. She hadn’t turned on the light, and the streetlight that filtered through the room’s single window didn’t illuminate the room much, but before Heather could even wish for more light, her hands closed around the perfect item. She pulled it out from the tangle of beads and chains, and made her way back to the kitchen.
“Close your eyes and hold out your hand.” Heather said, holding her own hands behind her back. Adam obliged, holding out his right hand. “Your other hand.” Heather said, smiling, and when he had, Heather slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, among the numerous bracelets he already wore there. As she did, the thought crossed Heather’s mind that the act of slipping a bracelet onto Adam’s left wrist was all too similar to slipping a wedding band onto your new spouse during a wedding ceremony. Heather was slightly embarrassed by the intimacy of that, and hoped the same thought hadn’t crossed Adam’s mind as well.
Adam opened his eyes and looked at the bracelet, tracing his fingers over it’s smooth surface. It was a dark green bangle. “Wow.” He said softly.
“I thought one more wouldn’t hurt. It’s jade. My uncle brought it back from China for me when I was a teenager, but it was too big, and I’ve never worn it. It seems to fit you well though.”
“Thank you.” Adam said, standing up to hug her.
Once she had her arms around Adam, Heather didn’t want to let go. She held him tight and they stood together, very still, next to the table. She could be unsure how much time passed, but eventually she loosened her grip on him enough to look him in the eyes. They stared intensely into each other’s eyes until Adam broke the focus with a kiss.
When they broke apart, Adam smiled at Heather and rubbed her back a bit. “I need your address.”
“Oh!” Heather said, pulling away from him and stepping toward her bedroom. “Hold on just a sec.” Adam began to step toward her, as if to follow her into her room, but Heather stopped him and ducked into her room alone. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him in her room, he’d in fact already been through it, in order to use her bathroom. It was that she didn’t want to be alone with him in her room. There was too great a chance that they’d start kissing again and end up on the bed, and with no pending chance of anyone walking in on them, what would there be to hold them back? Shaking those tempting thoughts from her brain, Heather grabbed her address book from her dresser and returned to Adam.
Heather flipped open the book to the first empty page under the ‘C’ section and handed it to Adam, along with a pen. Adam jotted down a few lines before handing it back to her. “Here’s my home address, my parents’ actually, I’m still with them when I’m home, and our number. And this is the number for our management.”
“Okay.” Heather said, glancing at the numbers before flipping back to the front of the address book where there were a series of pockets for business cards. She pulled out a card bearing the name and number of her former employer, which she turned over and used to jot down her own address and phone number. When she was done, she gave it to Adam who tucked it delicately into his wallet.
These tasks completed, the two of them stood awkwardly together for a moment, neither of them willing to admit that it was nearing time to say goodbye. Finally, when Heather felt that she could stand it no longer, Adam reached forward and, taking her face in both of his hands, kissed her full on the mouth. Heather relished in it, wrapping both of her arms around him until he had no choice but to reciprocate the embrace.
Heather’s eyes were closed and she focused on every tactile detail. His fingertips had worked their way underneath the hem of her shirt, and were pressing gently upon her spine. Her own fingertips were spread across Adam’s shoulderblades, and she could feel the mild pressure of his lungs each time he inhaled. Heather worked her hands upward until she could sink them into his hair. It would be for the last time.
When the embrace finally ended. Heather took Adam’s hand wordlessly and began leading him to the front door. She didn’t want him to leave, she didn’t want to say goodbye, but she knew she had to eventually, and she would rather it be as painless as possible. She would rather have him leave while her heart was still overflowing with happiness. They kissed once more at the door, just briefly, before murmuring their goodbyes, and then he was gone.
Heather walked slowly back through the apartment. She stopped to pick up her new silk scarf from where she had left it and then drifted into the bedroom. As she did, she brought the scarf up to her face and inhaled. It smelled like Adam. She closed her eyes in pleasure and took another deep breath. Smiling contentedly, Heather lay the scarf on the bed. She would sleep with it tonight.
She continued her dreamlike walk into the bathroom. When she turned on the light, something caught her by surprise and made her smile. The lipstick heart she’d made on the mirror the day before was still there, but now a second heart had been traced clean inside it. Adam must have done it when he’d used the bathroom earlier. Heather smiled and placed her palm lightly over the concentric hearts. He’d left a piece of himself behind for her.
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It's bittersweet, like fine dark chocolate.
Now I bring you chapter 9, which seems a bit shorter and maybe slightly rushed compared to previous chapters, but that's alright, I still think it's a good one.
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Despite his impatient excitement about seeing Heather the next day and his ever-present nagging worry at having to leave her the day after that, Adam managed to sleep like a rock. As he crawled between the crisp white sheets he was strangely content, and it wasn’t long before exhaustion from a full day on little sleep overtook him and he drifted into deep, dreamless sleep.
Upon awaking in the morning, he went down to breakfast with the others, as usual, but given that today was Sunday, their minds were on other things. Edge, Larry, and Bono were always quiet during Sunday breakfasts. Adam knew why. They were set to leave for church directly afterward, and surely had that on their minds, but they were careful not to burden Adam with it. He chose not to include himself in that part of their lives, and they didn’t try to change that in any way, which included respectfully refraining from too much religious talk around him.
The meal finished, the other three were on their way, and Adam was left alone. He stayed downstairs in the restaurant a while longer, sipping coffee and leafing through a newspaper. Soon Paul appeared and they shared a cup of coffee and one another’s company, before both leaving the restaurant. Paul had business to attend to, Adam had nothing at all to do.
He returned to his hotel room, but didn’t turn on the TV as he might have done otherwise. There was no point, there was never anything good on American television on Sunday mornings. Instead he lay down on the bed, too awake to nap, but too bored not to try.
Two cigarettes later and Adam decided that he was simply too restless to lay in bed any longer. He got up and decided to take a walk instead. At the very least, it would pass the time. The air outside was cooler than it had been the last few days, and Adam found it refreshingly like home. He walked slowly, aimlessly, letting his feet take his body wherever they pleased. It wasn’t long before he realized he was heading in the direction of Heather’s apartment. Adam glanced at his watch. The plan was for Heather to meet him at the hotel, as she had the day before, but now that he was this close, he decided instead to surprise her.
Two blocks from her apartment, Adam passed by a delicatessen, which gave him another idea. Instead of simply picking Heather up and taking her out to lunch, he could bring lunch to her. Adam was hardly an expert in romance, but he had a good idea that a surprise picnic would turn out to be a very romantic occasion.
Heather was virtually ready to go out and meet Adam for lunch, although it was still too early to leave. When the time came, she’d simply slip on her shoes, grab her purse, and go. But for now, she sat at the kitchen table with today’s oversized newspaper spread out before her. The initial plan was to scan the want ads for new listings, but once she had it open, she opted to read it instead. Heather was halfway through a somewhat interesting article when she was interrupted by a knock on the door.
As Heather walked to the door to answer it, she was slightly annoyed. She hadn’t been expecting any visitors, and while she normally didn’t mind surprise guests, she simply didn’t have the time for any right now, as she would be leaving to go see Adam soon. But much to her surprise, when Heather opened the door, she found Adam standing their bearing a loaded plastic bag and a smile.
“What are you doing here?!” Heather said happily as she embraced him.
“I thought I’d surprise you by bringing lunch to you instead.”
“That is so sweet!” Heather said, and kissed him on the cheek.
“Which way is your kitchen?”
“Right to the left.” Heather said and moved aside to let him through the door. As Adam made his way past her and toward the kitchen, Heather glanced quickly around the living room to survey its tidiness. The last thing she wanted was for Adam to stumble across a mislaid bra or something. Everything seemed fine though, and so she followed him into the kitchen. Adam was already standing at the kitchen counter, unloading the bag. He smiled at her when she entered.
“I hope you like roast beef.”
“I do. Here, let me help.” Heather said, reaching over to assist him.
“Oh no you don’t. I’m going to serve you. Have a seat.”
Adam spun Heather around to steer her toward the table, but when he did, her feet which were still clad only in socks, slid across the linoleum. Heather let out an involuntary squeal and fell back against him. Adam caught her and propped her back up on her feet. “You’re slippery today, Heather.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Heather said, laughing as she made her way over to the table.
“Of course it is.” Adam winked.
Heather cleared the newspaper away from the table and sat down. She smiled to herself as she watched Adam preparing their meal and offered suggestions only when asked. Adam seemed genuinely happy with the chivalry he was showing her, and Heather found herself falling even deeper for him.
In the end, their meal consisted of roast beef sandwiches on kaiser rolls, macaroni salad, potato chips, and soda from Heather’s refrigerator. The food was filling, and although they both ate until they were full, they still only managed to finish about half of it. When they were done, Heather insisted that she clean up and pack away the leftovers in the refrigerator, and sent Adam to the living room to wait. When she’d finished that, Heather joined him on the sofa, snuggling herself into his arms.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” She asked.
“Mmm.” Adam murmured in agreement, kissing her on the temple.
“I don’t want to move, I want to stay like this forever.” Heather said, closing her eyes. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this content before. Everything about being with Adam just seemed so perfect.
“I wish we could.” He said softly, tracing his fingers along her arm.
“Don’t.” She said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to think about that. Not today. I don’t want to have to say goodbye to you. I just want to pretend that it’s not a big deal, and that everything will be alright, and that we can stay like this forever.”
“Okay.” Adam said softly.
They stayed like that for hours on Heather’s sofa. Cuddled together, enjoying one another’s company, and going farther with one another’s bodies than they had before. But still, they both held back from taking their pleasure too far, despite the growing temptation. When things got too hot or heavy, they’d pull away from one another and focus on idle conversation. Or else one or the other of them would get up and put on a record from Heather’s meager collection.
As their peaceful evening wore on into evening, the sunlight
faded and Heather eventually forced herself to get up and turn on a lamp. The darkness brought more temptations than she could resist. It wasn’t long after that however, before both Adam and Heather’s stomachs began rumbling with hunger for an evening meal. Hand in hand, they moved from the living room sofa to the kitchen table where they unpacked the leftovers from lunch and satisfied their hunger. It was there at the table that they stayed, Adam leaning back in his chair contentedly, and Heather with her legs slung across his lap until, while sweetly kissing the back of Heather’s hand, he got a look at her watch and noticed the time.
“It’s getting late.” He said.
“I know.” Heather agreed, although neither of them were making any move to get up from the table.
“I have something for you.” Adam said, reaching into his back pocket.
Heather sat up straight, her face shining with curiosity, and watched as Adam pulled out her present. It was a silk scarf, dyed in a gradient of blues. The shade of blue midway across the scarf was the exact colour of Adam’s eyes. Heather took the scarf and clutched it to her chest.
“I love it!”
“I got it at the street fair yesterday. I thought you’d like it.”
“I do, I really do. But I don’t have anything for you.”
“That’s alright.” Adam said, smiling.
“No, wait. Hold on.” Heather said, getting up. “Wait here.”
Heather went into her bedroom and straight over to the dresser. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but felt that she’d know when she’d found it. Heather’s wooden jewelry box sat atop the dresser. She opened it, and pushed aside the top shelf which held the jewelry she normally wore. Plunging her hands into the bottom compartment, she began feeling around in the mess of rarely-worn necklaces and bracelets. She hadn’t turned on the light, and the streetlight that filtered through the room’s single window didn’t illuminate the room much, but before Heather could even wish for more light, her hands closed around the perfect item. She pulled it out from the tangle of beads and chains, and made her way back to the kitchen.
“Close your eyes and hold out your hand.” Heather said, holding her own hands behind her back. Adam obliged, holding out his right hand. “Your other hand.” Heather said, smiling, and when he had, Heather slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, among the numerous bracelets he already wore there. As she did, the thought crossed Heather’s mind that the act of slipping a bracelet onto Adam’s left wrist was all too similar to slipping a wedding band onto your new spouse during a wedding ceremony. Heather was slightly embarrassed by the intimacy of that, and hoped the same thought hadn’t crossed Adam’s mind as well.
Adam opened his eyes and looked at the bracelet, tracing his fingers over it’s smooth surface. It was a dark green bangle. “Wow.” He said softly.
“I thought one more wouldn’t hurt. It’s jade. My uncle brought it back from China for me when I was a teenager, but it was too big, and I’ve never worn it. It seems to fit you well though.”
“Thank you.” Adam said, standing up to hug her.
Once she had her arms around Adam, Heather didn’t want to let go. She held him tight and they stood together, very still, next to the table. She could be unsure how much time passed, but eventually she loosened her grip on him enough to look him in the eyes. They stared intensely into each other’s eyes until Adam broke the focus with a kiss.
When they broke apart, Adam smiled at Heather and rubbed her back a bit. “I need your address.”
“Oh!” Heather said, pulling away from him and stepping toward her bedroom. “Hold on just a sec.” Adam began to step toward her, as if to follow her into her room, but Heather stopped him and ducked into her room alone. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him in her room, he’d in fact already been through it, in order to use her bathroom. It was that she didn’t want to be alone with him in her room. There was too great a chance that they’d start kissing again and end up on the bed, and with no pending chance of anyone walking in on them, what would there be to hold them back? Shaking those tempting thoughts from her brain, Heather grabbed her address book from her dresser and returned to Adam.
Heather flipped open the book to the first empty page under the ‘C’ section and handed it to Adam, along with a pen. Adam jotted down a few lines before handing it back to her. “Here’s my home address, my parents’ actually, I’m still with them when I’m home, and our number. And this is the number for our management.”
“Okay.” Heather said, glancing at the numbers before flipping back to the front of the address book where there were a series of pockets for business cards. She pulled out a card bearing the name and number of her former employer, which she turned over and used to jot down her own address and phone number. When she was done, she gave it to Adam who tucked it delicately into his wallet.
These tasks completed, the two of them stood awkwardly together for a moment, neither of them willing to admit that it was nearing time to say goodbye. Finally, when Heather felt that she could stand it no longer, Adam reached forward and, taking her face in both of his hands, kissed her full on the mouth. Heather relished in it, wrapping both of her arms around him until he had no choice but to reciprocate the embrace.
Heather’s eyes were closed and she focused on every tactile detail. His fingertips had worked their way underneath the hem of her shirt, and were pressing gently upon her spine. Her own fingertips were spread across Adam’s shoulderblades, and she could feel the mild pressure of his lungs each time he inhaled. Heather worked her hands upward until she could sink them into his hair. It would be for the last time.
When the embrace finally ended. Heather took Adam’s hand wordlessly and began leading him to the front door. She didn’t want him to leave, she didn’t want to say goodbye, but she knew she had to eventually, and she would rather it be as painless as possible. She would rather have him leave while her heart was still overflowing with happiness. They kissed once more at the door, just briefly, before murmuring their goodbyes, and then he was gone.
Heather walked slowly back through the apartment. She stopped to pick up her new silk scarf from where she had left it and then drifted into the bedroom. As she did, she brought the scarf up to her face and inhaled. It smelled like Adam. She closed her eyes in pleasure and took another deep breath. Smiling contentedly, Heather lay the scarf on the bed. She would sleep with it tonight.
She continued her dreamlike walk into the bathroom. When she turned on the light, something caught her by surprise and made her smile. The lipstick heart she’d made on the mirror the day before was still there, but now a second heart had been traced clean inside it. Adam must have done it when he’d used the bathroom earlier. Heather smiled and placed her palm lightly over the concentric hearts. He’d left a piece of himself behind for her.
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It's bittersweet, like fine dark chocolate.
