The Way We Were - Part One

The lotion slides over her skin, smoothing over reddened, chafed hands. Tear blurred eyes gaze into a dingy mirror. Newly moistened hands wipe at a lipstick smeared mouth, before traveling to clutch desperately at a gaping shirt, trying to cover a dingy lace bra. She met her gaze in the mirror, took a deep breath, and said "It will be ok. You will be ok." She repeated the words again and again, a personal mantra, as she tried not to think about the ache between her thighs.

The light in the small decrepit bathroom flickered, causing her to gasp, and head quickly for the door. As she passed the trashcan on her way out she could not help one last glance at her ripped blood and semen stained panties. A shudder passed over her at the thought of what she might encounter upon the desertion of her filthy little safe haven. Not what, mind you, but who. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she forced herself to push open the chipped and rusted double doors.

Her face screwed up in a pained wince upon her re entrance into the main room as outrageously loud rock music blasted her ear drums. She quickly glanced around, her heart in her throat, scanning the crowd for a dreaded familiar figure. Uttering a sigh of relief as she did not see him, she turned in the direction of the door and began to shove her way through the raucous crowd. She found herself being jostled on all sides as by bodies that seemed to be in constant motion. Energetic dancers barely even noticed her as she made her escape, simply taking her for an over enthusiatic dancer, or maybe someone trying to start a mosh pit. The green exit sign came within her line of sight, and she held her breath in anticipation. Moving rapidly she breached the distance, and reached a shaky hand out for the door knob, but before she could grasp it a hand reached out and grasped her forearm. Her heart jumped back into her throat, and her stomach doubled up on itself as she jerked her head around to look at the man who was preventing her escape. She let out a relieved sigh as she saw a white long sleeved shirt, completely unbuttoned revealing a wife beater under that, white as well. He never wore white, never had, never would, so it could not possibly be him.

Inquisitive brown eyes peered out at her from a strong handsome face. His skin was tanned, his features sculpted, and his lips soft and full. He had blonde hair, spiked up in what was a very common fashion of the times. The corner of his mouth pulled up in a quirky grin, revealing strong white teeth as he looked down on her from his six foot plus height. "Aw, you aren't leaving already are you? Not after I spent so much time trying to think up an appropriate pick up line?!" In spite of herself, and all that had happened that night, she gave him a wry half smile as she said "And that was the best you could come up with?" He laughed in an unself-conscious manner as he removed his hand from her arm. He had an easy going way about him that was curiously relaxing, and helped to put her at ease.

"Seeing as how you were leaving I decided that honesty was probably the best route. It seemed to be the most logical choice that would not get me slapped, or serve to hasten your departure." She gave him a wide grin and said "Good choice. However, while I applaud your efforts, I really must be leaving. Goodnight, and maybe I will see you again some time." With that she reached for the door again. "Ah fine then, leave, though you are only serving to make my night that much more unbearable." Curious, she paused once more, though she cursed herself for the delay, knowing she was increasing her chances of getting caught. "Oh really, and how is that?" "Because now I will be plagued by thoughts of that 'mysterious vixen' from the night club." She threw her head back and laughed out loud as she grabbed the door knob and pulled open the heavy metal doors., letting in a cold gust of wind. She turned to him and patted him on the arm saying "Aw, pobrecito, Im so sorry! Goodbye!" She then turned to the front and strode out the door, down the steps, and to the curb. Lifting an arm, she hailed a passing taxi cab, and tapped her foot.

The car stopped in front of her, and she yanked open the door, jumped in the car, and blurted out an address as she was sliding across the black pleather seats. Her head fell back against the seat as her shoulders slumped forward and she ran her fingers through her thick black hair. "Tough night lady?" the cabby questioned. "You could say that, you could definitely say that." Silence fell in the cab again, for which she was grateful, being perfectly content to wait in silence until she arrived at her home. After a few minutes, she leaned forward and put her head in her hands, and then did not move again until the cab slowed down, and her driver said "Hey, we're here miss." She paid the fare, got out of the cab, and stood for a moment gazing up at her large brick apartment building, thinking of a different home, in a different place. Shaking her head, she walked in through the door, and trotted up four flights of stairs, enjoying the slight physical exertion, which helped to keep her mind off of other things. As soon as her door was shut behind her, she began stripping off her clothes, leaving them behind her in a trail which led to her bathroom, where she began to run a hot shower.

She climbed in as soon as the temperature was comfortably scalding, to the point where it was hot enough to turn her skin red, but not unbearably so. She stayed in the shower for about an hour, letting the water steam away the tension that racked her body. She stood relaxing under the jets, and let all thoughts flow from her mind. After a while she soaped up her fluffy little green loofa, scrubbed herself down, paying special attention to her tender private areas, and got out of the shower. As she stood in front of her mirror, wrapped up in a thick white towel, she looked herself in the eyes. Her bi-colored eyes were thoughtful, one blue and one green, staring out as if she could use the mirror to peer into her inner most thoughts, into her soul. Frowning, she shrugged off her thoughts, and instead made herself go through her nightly ritual, as if everything was normal. Brushing her teeth, drying and brushing out her hair. As she dropped her towel and reached for the over sized T shirt she had hanging on the towel rack next to the mirror, she caught her gaze once more. This time though, she was not able to brush off her thoughts so easily.

She put her shirt back where she had got it from, and instead grabbed the edge of her mirror and pulled it forward, opening the medicine cabinet that lay just behind the glass. She reached up to the topmost shelf, and pulled down a little round powder container. She shut the cabinet, and pulled off the top of the rounded container. Inside it lay a blue velvet ring box. She put down the outer container, and held the blue treasure in the palm of her hand. She hesitated a minute, before popping the lid open. Inside lay a beautiful engagement ring. It was white gold, and set with a large brillant ruby, surrounded by smaller, glistening diamonds. She reached in the box, and fingered the ring gently, allowing it to move just enough so that she could see the matching white gold wedding band that lay under it. She stared at the duo for a few moments, before looking back up in the mirror. Moving the ring box over to her left hand, she brought the right one up to her face. She held her palm against her cheek, feeling the smooth and soft quality of her skin. It then moved up, and brushed her hair off of her face, and she stroked the smooth tresses from root to end, finally picking up up a small lock and staring at it. She then dropped it, and admired the darkness of her hair against the paleness of her rounded shoulders. She took the tip of her right index finger, and traced the lines of her full pink mouth. Her gaze took on something more at this touch, her eyes darkened with passion, as she dropped her hand to envelop the full curve of her breast. Her eyes closed as she was overcome with the emotion of remembered passion. Suddenly her eyes flew open as she realized what she was doing, and she let out her breath in an angry huff. She snapped the ring box shut, jammed it back into the powder container, yanked open the cabinet, and shoved the box back where it belonged, before slamming the mirror back into place. Her eyes flashing fire, she roughly pulled her shirt down over her head, smacked the light off in the bathroom, and stomped off to bed.