Champagne and Chocolate
Finale By Gin
Caitlyn lay back on the bed and stretched,
getting the kinks out of cramped muscles. Luka
watched her a moment, then leaned down and kissed her briefly.
“I’ll be back. Let me go and
take care of the candles in the other room.” She
smiled at him as he turned and walked down the hall to the living
room. Mechanically, he went around the room, dousing the
flames in the various candles he had lit earlier. The last
one he took with him as he went to the liquor cabinet, using it
to find the bottle of vodka and a glass. He poured himself
three fingers, recapped the bottle, and blew out the flame.
Standing at the patio doors, he looked blindly out into the
moonlit garden.
Well, he’d gotten himself right in the
middle of things this time. He couldn’t leave well
enough alone. No, he’d had to have his deeper
curiosity piqued by glimpses of this woman’s uninhibited
nature. He’d had to find out how that response would
react when sparked by his and he’d set out deliberately to
invoke it in her. He’d seduced Caitlyn because of that
need and had done a damn fine job of it. Too fine. Things
felt way out of his control here. He had to leave tomorrow.
His thoughts once again went to the past and his failure to
protect his family. He had been helpless to change
the outcome of their fates. Losing Caitlyn would be
as painful, and he didn’t know if he could protect her any
better than he had Elena and the children. It was
best to keep his distance. Lonelier...yes, it was that.
But he could at least live with lonely. He couldn’t
live with another loss.
Tossing back the rest of the vodka, he could
feel the barricades falling into place around him, creating a
numbing sensation, a distance needed for objectivity. He’d
lost his perspective this past week, blinded as he’d been by
the beautiful scenery, his beautiful companion, and the lure of
something he’d wanted sitting tantalizingly within his
reach. Well, he was tired of it, the worry, the
guilt. No more, no more. Whatever he had to do
he would do. He set his resolve to that end and walked back
to the bedroom. He could tell that Caitlyn had taken a
shower from the steam still lingering in the bathroom. Slipping
into bed in the darkened room, he felt the warmth of Caitlyn
under the covers, and without conscious thought, reached for her.
She snuggled close, not speaking, tucking her head into the crook
of his shoulder. He slowed his breathing and tried hard to
fall asleep.
Luka awakened in the middle of the night,
wrapped around Caitlyn’s body, the smell of her musk-scented
skin and hair strong in his awareness. His body was hard
and ready; the dreams he’d had still lingered in his mind’s
eye. Dreams had translated into reality when he’d
awakened with Caitlyn’s warmth in his arms. Still
half-dreaming, he made love to Caitlyn, her responses coming from
her own dream world. Lying side by side, they’d made
love gently; taking their time, still neither one fully awake.
They drifted in a hazy dreamland. Afterwards he
drifted back into the dream world he arose from, whispering once
into her ear before he became still. Caitlyn’s eyes
opened wide and stayed that way for a long time. In the
morning, Luka would remember that middle of the night experience
like a hazy dream. Caitlyn would remember everything.
The day dawned slightly overcast. Luka
arose and took a shower. Caitlyn went into the kitchen and
put on coffee, standing there watching it brew, her mind a
million miles away. It sputtered to the end and she poured
two mugs. Getting dressed in the bedroom, she waited while
Luka finished up in the bathroom, then entered when he was
through. Going through the motions, she did what she needed
to do quickly and efficiently. She walked out to the living
room.
He turned to look at her. “A taxi
will be coming shortly. I need to get to the airport by 9
a.m. “
“I made you some coffee,” she
said.
He picked up his mug in acknowledgment.
“I got it, thanks.”
“Want anything else? Fruit,
bread, eggs?”
Luka shook his head. “No,
nothing. Thanks.”
There was some sort of awkwardness between
them and Caitlyn couldn’t figure it out. She put down
her mug and went over to Luka, hugging him around the waist.
“Listen, Luka. Do me one big favor...please take care
of yourself, hear?”
He placed his arms around. “I
always do. You do the same.” He looked
down at her. “Don’t forget, if you need anything,
you can always call me.”
He hugged her to him and they stood there
like that. She was facing the front door and saw his bag
packed and waiting. So many different emotions crowded into
her heart and mind that she literally couldn’t speak. She’d
had this man in and out of her life, mostly out. Now, for
the last week he’d moved deeper into her and her life than
anybody in a long time. Watching him walk out that front
door was hard, very hard. Especially not knowing why.
But that wasn’t for her to ask. She had no claims on
this man and gave herself to him with no strings. At least,
that’s what she had believed. Right now she wanted to
yell and scream at him, to find out what was happening and why,
and what he was really thinking and feeling. He had
told her he was tired of running from the past, but it seemed to
Caitlyn that he was running once again.
But she said none of that and soon it was
too late as a car pulled up to the driveway and honked.
Luka stood there still, not moving, and finally pulled back and
looked down at her. He cupped her face in his hands, his
thumbs brushing over her cheeks. She was glad her face was
dry; her eyes felt liquid and she blinked.
He spoke in his native tongue, something she
didn’t recognize. “What did you say?” she
asked him. His mouth quirked up. “It’s...a
bit of a blessing.” He paused for a moment. “Thank
y-.”
Caitlyn put her hand up quickly to cover his
mouth. “Don’t say it. Don’t you dare
say thank you to me. Not for this week. No.”
He looked at her a moment longer, then they
walked over to the door and opened it. The taxi sat waiting
on the driveway. He looked back. “I’ll call
soon.”
“Yes.”
“Take care.”
“Yes.”
He wrapped his arms around her and held her
to him tightly, remembering the feel of her in his arms, the
sound of her laughter. He pulled her off of her feet
slightly and kissed her hard and deeply.
She smelled his smell, felt the silk of his
hair, the flex of his shoulders under the shirt he wore. Then
he was gone, striding out the door, bag in hand. He paused
briefly as he opened the taxi door, looking back at her standing
in the doorway. He stood there for a second, solemn-faced,
then suddenly he flashed her a beautiful smile and winked. She
couldn’t help her automatic response as she smiled back.
He got in the car and it backed out of the driveway and was gone.
They made a quick detour to Jack’s
house where Luka had packed the remainder of his things. Fifteen
minutes later he was finally on the way to the airport.
Soon he was strapped in the plane, readying himself for taxiing
down the runway. Luka sat next to the window. The
plane made its taxi and took off; angling sharply as it began to
head east towards Chicago. As they turned, the sun burst
into view in the small window out of which Luka was looking.
The early morning sun reflected off the water, throwing thousands
of sparkles into his eyes along with the direct light from the
sun itself. He stared out the window, losing himself in the
endlessness of the water and the light. Later, when a drop
hit his hand resting in his lap, he knew it must be from the
extreme light burning into his eyes. He raised the hand and
surreptitiously wiped away the trail down his cheek and closed
his eyes. If he looked away from the light, his eyes would
stop watering. He could think of no other reason for the
tears, no other reason at all. It certainly wasn’t
because he suddenly recognized the voice he’d feared last
night in his head saying, “I love you,” as his own.
End