Page 52 of Our Final Encore

“God, I missed you so much.” He pulls out of me slowly, our mouths still meld together.

He stares down at me, his heavy-lidded eyes filled with lust as he intertwines our fingers, pinning both my hands above my head on the pillow before thrusting back into me. A rough groan leaves his throat, his mouth dropping open slightly. “Fuck, Opal.”

His thrusts become harder and faster. I grasp onto his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist, begging him to stay buried inside me a little bit longer. I want to stay in this alternate reality for as long as I can, because I know as soon as it’s over, this spell will be broken and I’ll have to face the consequences of my actions.

“Wanna make you come, baby,” he says between heavy breaths. He reaches between our bodies which are now covered in a sheen of sweat, and rubs delicate circles over my clit.

“Alex,” my breath hitches. I forgot how easily this man knows how to drive me crazy. He knows my body just as well as I do, even after years of being apart. The combination of sensations brings me somewhere very close to heaven, and within seconds I’m hovering over the edge of euphoria.

“That’s right, baby. Come for me, it’s okay,” his lips brush against the shell of my ear and send chills down my neck. My nails dig into the skin of his back as I ride out the intensity of my orgasm, and soon he follows behind me, his limp body collapsing on top of mine.

“Stay with me.” His voice is soft and begging as he moves a strand of wet hair out of my eyes.

I want to say no, I want him to think it didn’t matter to me, that it was just sex and nothing else. But right now I feel too defeated and emotionally exhausted to put up another fight, let alone to try and walk home again in the pouring rain. Heavy raindrops are still pelting against the window beside his bed, and the sound of thunder is audible in the distance.

I nod my head once and tuck myself under his arm, relishing in the familiar feeling of his skin against mine that I’ve missed so much, while also telling myself that it’s only for tonight. That’s all it can be. Because despite whatever nice words he wants to throw at me, I know the type of man he is. I know he’ll never be the type of man that stays.

THIRTY-THREE

Alex

Rays of sunlight warm my face, and I blink away the sleep from my eyes as I slowly come to. The faint scent of apricot is left behind on my sheets, and when I breathe it in memories from last night flood my brain. The sound of Opal’s voice, the taste of her mouth mixed with the rain, the feel of her soft skin against my fingertips.

She’s gone, I know it without having to get up and look around for her.

I reach over to grab my phone off the nightstand, anxiety swelling in my chest when I remember that I still don’t have any way to contact her. I know I told her I’d leave her alone if that’s what she wanted, but I have no idea how to do that now. Knowing she’s right down the street, sleeping peacefully in the same bed that I used to crawl into with her on so many nights, it’s going to kill me.

After willing myself to roll out of bed, the first thing I do is grab a beer from the fridge. I’m trying to quit, or at least cutback, but after years of heavy drinking and drug use, it’s not easy to find other ways to effectively cope with stress.

Dad is still asleep in his room when I peek behind his closed door, probably due to the heavily sedative pills his doctor prescribed.

I’m not sure what to do with myself. My whole body is buzzing with electricity, wishing for one more hit of my drug of choice, but she’s gone. What did I think would happen? She’d be sleeping peacefully in my arms when I woke up, as if I traveled back in time five years?

After attempting to watch some tv and check my social media apps, neither of which were enough to distract my restless mind, I walk outside to get some fresh air. My eyes flit to a bit of movement on the other side of the street, my heart skips a beat, assuming I’m going to find Opal walking down her driveway, possibly making her way back to me.

It isn’t her, though, it’s her grandmother.

The last time I saw her, she still had a few strands of brown in her hair. Now it’s completely gray, and cut very short. She slowly makes her way from her porch down the steps, wobbling as she goes, and then proceeds to walk down the short driveway to her mailbox.

After shutting the mailbox, she takes a step backward and it misses her footing, her arms reaching out to grab onto something that isn’t there. My heart swooshes and I spring into action. I rush across the street, running faster than I probably have since ninth grade PE class. Thankfully she manages to regain her balance before I can fully make my way over to her.

“You alright?” I call out to her, my hand covering my chest as I catch my breath.

She looks around, confusion visible in her eyes until they land on me. “Alex? Is that you?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Well I’ll be. A star has decided to grace us with his presence in Willow Grove.”

I chuckle awkwardly, tugging at the collar of my t-shirt. “I guess.”

“Opal didn’t tell me you were back in town. Does she know?”

I assume Opal wouldn’t want me to air out any of our dirty laundry to her grandma of all people, so I shake my head, keeping it vague.

“Well, alright then. Thanks for coming to help me.” She hobbles back up the driveway with as much difficulty as she had coming down.

“You sure you don’t need help getting back up the porch steps?”

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