The intense, urgent heat of his kiss radiated from him and engulfed her entire being while his touch, at once tender and passionate, stoked the fires within her fiercely. The heated core of her femininity readily responded to his all too familiar touch and her heart beat furiously in her chest, wanting him to fill her at once.
"Don't leave me," she sighed, as the heat of his breath scorched the delicate skin on her neck, causing her to shudder. "I need you so much, god I've missed you." Looking into his eyes, she saw the look of sadness there.
"But I've never left you, Kylie," he smiled, threading his fingers through hers. "I'll always be with you..."
***
The loud, piercing buzz of her alarm clock broke through to her consciousness and coldly ripped her from her dream of him. She reached over and hit the snooze button then threw her legs over the side of the bed. The reality of the dream hit her hard, making her breathe in and out rapidly while she fought back her tears. Her emotions however, overwhelmed her and she felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks. "Oh god... Logan..."
Kylie's dream occurred almost every week, and it was always of her late husband, Logan. Almost a year had gone by since his passing and she missed him every single day. Sometimes in her dreams, he would sit and talk with her for hours, and it was as if he never left. Other times, the dreams were as passionate as the one she just had of him. Then daybreak would come and without fail, she would be left broken, empty, and in tears.
Looking over at her night table, she picked up the framed photograph of him and hugged it close to her chest. The chill from the glass of the photo frame, even through her t-shirt, reminded her that he was gone. "Dammit," she managed to say, before falling back onto the bed, her legs pulled close to her body so she curled up in a ball, hugging his picture. "Dammit, dammit, dammit..."
***
The knock on her office door shook her out of her reverie and she realized she had been staring at her computer screen for goodness knows how long.
"Come in."
The door opened and in walked Ridge, her friend and colleague from another department. "Hey, it's lunchtime, princess, and it's my turn to buy. Can I entice you into some crappy
crap-ateria
food? You might even get lucky today and witness my hospitalization for food poisoning."
"Now that might be amusing to watch," she grinned. "Still hoping to have a valid excuse to skip work huh?" She was always glad to see him because he was one of her comfort zones. That and because he always managed to make her laugh, no matter how she was feeling.
"You know me," he rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Always looking for a reason to jump this slave ship. They work us like dogs and what do we get? A crummy party during Christmas with terrible food. Moreover, you can't even get decently shit-faced because the there is never enough booze to do that. I'd definitely have more fun staying home and sticking needles in my balls."
"Oh yes, I'm sure the ballroom was tinier than your living room, that the sit-down dinner absolutely sucked, and the champagne wasn't even decent champagne either, but a Dom Perignon knock-off," she nodded facetiously. "I'll bet you couldn't get anyone to dance with you afterwards either and the whole evening was a total loss."
"Three freaking hours I can never get back, and I still have nightmares of it," he agreed. "And I lost the deposit on my rented tux because I thoroughly ruined it."
Kylie saw the action he made with his hand, simulating masturbation and it made her laugh aloud. "Poor baby," she grabbed her bag and walked to him to give him a hug. "Yeah I'm sure you spent the night alone, just like I'm sure I'm Miss Universe."
Ridge pulled back and smiled. "But you are."
"Am not."
"You could be if you were into the whole sleazy cattle show. You could parade around in a really hot bathing suit, shake your booty and smile that dazzling smile of yours. You'd kill the judges for sure."
"And to answer stupid questions designed to challenge an air-head's intelligence with a idiotic grin plastered on my face. Let me think about it," she paused for a second before continuing. "Umm, no thanks. I have better things to do with my time," she wrinkled her nose. "Like take a chance at food poisoning at the
crap-ateria
." Walking out of her office and into the hallway of the near empty cube farm, she noticed that he wasn't with her, but rather, still standing in the doorway of her office, looking at her with a somewhat unreadable expression on his face. "Ridge, what is it?"
"Nothing, except I think you'll easily beat the competition and be the most beautiful and intelligent winner ever," he smiled and closed the door to her office. "And don't you dare disagree with me."
Blushing at the compliment, she nevertheless tried to brush it off. "Thanks, sweetie. However, I will disagree with you on one thing."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"You remembered wrong. It's not your turn to buy. It's my turn, and I say we skip the crappy
crap-ateria
and head to someplace halfway decent, like a Mickey D's or something," she replied. "I really don't want to risk having a bad tummy ache during the staff meeting this afternoon."
"Lead the way, princess. You know I'll never turn down their fish sandwich!"
***
McDonald's during the Christmas season seemed a little more busy than usual. Christmas songs wafted from their speakers, and little decorations here and there added to the mood. They sat across from each other amid the hustle and bustle of the lunch crowd.
"I don't know, Ridge. I know it sounds absolutely mental, but..." she began then stopped, not sure how he was going to take what she was about to tell him. She let out a self-deprecating laugh and shook her head.
"Ky, you know nothing you say can ever sound, as you put it, 'mental'. That's my department, remember?" He reached out to squeeze her hand over their table. "If anything, you're about the most level-headed person I've ever met. I'm duty-bound to believe you."
Setting down her fish sandwich, she picked up a french fry and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Well, even this would seem like a huge stretch for you but lately? Hmm not exactly lately, but the entire time since he passed on, actually. It's like, I feel Logan's presence sometimes." She looked into his usually gentle, understanding green eyes, fully expecting him to pooh-pooh her revelation, maybe even laugh and dismiss it as silly imagination, but instead she saw nothing of the sort in them. They were still understanding, still gentle, and he gave her a perceptible nod, encouraging her to go on.
"I've been dreaming about him," she finally said, leaning back against her chair with a soft sigh. "And in my dreams, he just... seems so real. I feel everything, just like I did when he was alive. Everything... his touch, his kiss, his voice." She let out a shaky laugh before leaning forward on the table again. "I must be going crazy. God, tell me I'm going crazy, puppy. Tell me I'm losing it."
Ridge set down his own fish sandwich, shrugged and smiled. "No, princess, why would I even suggest that? If you say you feel his presence then who am I to say you're nuts?"
"Because he's been gone for a year? Because, normal people don't actually think they feel their late spouses? Because like I said, I'm being mental," she picked up another fry and stabbed the ketchup with it. "Take your pick."
