Today's a throwback Thursday and I'm sharing an excerpt from one of my first novels. Davina is feeling a bit lonely tonight. With her husband and children away, she's thinking about meeting up with a special friend. Will her loneliness lead her to trouble? Is The Grass Really Greener on the other side when your husband takes you for granted? The walls of the apartment were brick, with one wall filled with windows spaced approximately two feet apart. The windows ran from the top of the ceiling to two feet above the floor. Wood floors polished to a high gleam ran the length of the space. Davina’s eyes were easily drawn to the thick wood beams hanging overhead. To her immediate left in front of the bank of windows sat a black, shiny Steinway, with a caramel colored leather couch positioned beside it and two matching footstools in front of the couch. Beyond that was a small dining area that faced built-in book shelves on the wall, which stood opposite the front door. To the right was the kitchen area, showcasing high end appliances all lined up on one wall. Dividing the living space from the kitchen area was an island with a built in range, a hood exhaust dropped down from the ceiling over it. “I didn’t know you played,” Davina said indicating the piano on the wall to her left. “Most people don’t know. It’s my special way of relaxing, to get away from the exercise, the business of running my gym, the lonely nights…” he said as he pulled her into his embrace. He bent his head down and pressed his lips against hers. They softly kissed with a light dancing of their tongues. He pulled out of the embrace first and led her to his couch to take a seat. He walked to the wall with the bookshelf, which held an opening that led to a small open closet. He switched on the radio and soft rock music poured from speakers located somewhere in the ceiling. She watched him as he went into his kitchen and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of wine and poured some for them. He walked back into the living area and sat next to her on the couch. Handing her a glass of wine he smiled at her, “So what brings you my way tonight?” “I needed to get away from the lonely nights,” she countered with a slight smirk. “You have a beautiful view of Olympic Park,” she pronounced, changing the subject with a sudden abruptness and then sipping her wine. “Yeah, I chose this specific apartment because of its view and the availability of the space downstairs to be converted into a gym. When the building had just finished construction I toured this exact apartment. My purchase offer was based on getting this apartment and if I couldn’t have it I was willing to find another place to live,” he explained. “Wow, you sound like you drive a hard bargain,” she replied. “Mmmm a little bit of that and I was willing to pay a pretty penny for it, too,” he confessed. “Ahhh. I can relate because that was the reason we purchased our home. It sits on a beautiful lake in a well-lit community with cobblestone roads, and nice sidewalks and it has the small town feel we were looking to raise a family in. A close knit community where everyone knows one another,” she reflected. “Soccer mom and all that jazz, huh?” he teased. “Yeah, something like that,” she smiled, “a little bit of football, dance, basketball, softball, and singing lessons.” “Sounds like your life is full and busy, how do you get to lonely nights?” “Well it started off full and busy with both our careers; we took turns with our neighbors shuffling kids from one spot to another. It worked. When Ronnie was laid off, he took on the burden of it and I stepped back, focusing more on my career. But it wasn’t so hard by then, anyway, because the kids had gone to middle school and they weren’t participating in so many activities. I don’t know how I got to lonely nights, but I did all on my own,” she shrugged looking back out the window behind them. “What changed?” “I blame it on the business, he says it’s not. He feels like there has to be a lot of time invested to get it going and while I agree, I think he also has to take care of home. I don’t feel as if he’s doing that anymore. It’s like he’s married to the business instead of me; almost like there’s another woman,” she said, drifting off into thought. “Do you think that it is?” he asked, with hopefulness coloring his tone. “No, I honestly don’t.” “So is that what this is?” Keith asked. “What?” “You’re getting back at him because you feel like he’s cheating on you? You’re trying to get him to pay you attention again?” She sensed rather than heard the hurt in his voice when he asked the question, but she had to contemplate the question thoroughly. No it wasn’t about revenge; she was really feeling Keith. She was careful about how she answered his question. “I don’t know what this is, Keith. What I do know is that we met at a time in my life when everything was not going good. When I returned home, somehow we started a beautiful friendship. You listen to me and I listen to you, we share with one another and laugh together. You are genuinely interested in my thoughts and helping me improve myself. Everything in my life has always been family centered, including my friends. Everyone needs my support and friendship, and I nurture them. But I have no one that I can get that from in return. Not until you. And I don’t know where this is leading, but I like it and that scares me,” she confessed. “Davina, I like it, too. And if it’s any consolation, it scares the shit out of me, too. I look forward to seeing you come in the gym every day and I’ve missed the hell out of you the past two weeks. But I won’t sit here and pretend like I know why you haven’t been coming around; I’ll just say it has been hell trying not to pick up the phone and call you. I missed you, Davina,” he stated. She blew out a long breath and just stared at him for a moment. “I missed you, too, Keith,” she said before reaching up and taking his face in her hands. She kissed him again more passionately than they had before, as if she could communicate her desires to him in that one single kiss. I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Is The Grass Really Greener? To read more click here. Join me for more reads, motivational posts, author interviews and more. Simply click "Follow This Blog," in the right panel. Living Life Beautifully Inspired!
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Inspirational women's fiction author, writing the script to my beautifully inspired life! Be Inspired, Follow Me!Archives
June 2019
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