Infinite

Is this your card?: Part 2

Houston, Texas, in the Clarke Home, Thursday, September 19th, 2030 at 6:30 pm

Lucas

My story took up the entirety of dinner, and Rachel stayed quiet during most of it, but chuckled at the parts about Cooper. She didn't make any comment on what he said about him and Anne, so I'm assuming she knows about it already. She and Anne spent almost every evening together while Cooper and I were gone, just like they've done in the past.

I'm beyond grateful for my friendship with Cooper because of his immense support and comradery over the years, but also because of the relationship that blossomed between Anne and Rachel. It makes Cooper and I feel much better about leaving for long periods of time knowing that they have a support system in each other.

I sit down at my desk and flip through the blueprints I have scattered everywhere. I find the one that I'm looking for at the very bottom of the stack. I can hear the sink running in the kitchen. I begin tapping my pencil on the top of my lip as I review my project. I got over chewing on my pencils in college, but I still tap them on my mouth out of habit. I get lost in my modifications until I hear a soft knock on the door.

"Hey, all done?" Rachel is leaning in the doorway. The light from the hall glows behind her. She has her hair straightened today, her bangs fall below her chin and her hair reaches her elbows.

"Yeah, it's like nothing happened in there." She smiles widely as she crosses her arms, pushing up her breasts slightly. My breath catches and I try to glance away from her, but I can't. "Did I interrupt you?" she flashes me a flirty smirk while she drops her hip, leaning more against the white trim of the door. The fact that she's teasing me right now is making my stomach turn with anticipation.

"Yeah, but I was waiting to be interrupted," I wink at her and pat the wine colored loveseat next to my desk. "Come and sit down, beautiful."

She walks over slowly, the skirt of her scarlet dress swishes as she moves to sit next to me. I watch her closely as she crosses her legs. I imagine how smooth her skin would feel under my palms. All I want to do right now is pull her onto my lap.

Rachel avoids my gaze at first, moving her rings around on her delicate fingers. She clears her throat a few times before looking up at me.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear about it like that." Her voice is quiet and she isn't smiling anymore. "You didn't deserve that."

I scoot my office chair closer to her so I can grab her hands. The wheels squeak under my weight as I move.

"Hey," I say softly. "You had no way to tell me while I was gone."

She nods quickly and looks away from me again. I find myself admiring her figure once more; her dress has short sleeves and a rounded neckline, with two strings that pull the top of it closed. They're hanging there loosely, waiting to be undone. It's been so long, and the emotional torment between us makes the physical distance unbearable. I just want to make her feel how much I love her; I'm not great with words.

Rachel looks up at me and catches me ogling her. She smiles sweetly, her cheeks turning pink.

"Why didn't you send me anything while you were away, Lucas?" her lips slowly curve down again, and her eyes follow. I've thought about my answer to this question for a long time. I clear my throat and rub the backs of her hands with my thumbs.

"The short answer is that I was a coward," I start. She furrows her eyebrows slightly. "I didn't want to tell you about my problems with the drinking yet, so I didn't know what to say to you to make the situation any better." I glance away from Rachel for a moment and close my eyes.

"I guess I just told myself that you didn't want to hear from me anyways as an excuse not to reach out," I add. I look back at her and see that her eyes are shiny. She squeezes my hands.

"You shouldn't take all of the blame for feeling that way," she says softly.

She presses her lips together for a moment, and I study their shape. They're thin and rosy, and very tempting. I know that a kiss from her would send me over the edge.

"I did sort of yell at you before you left," she giggles as she plays with my fingers. I chuckle lightly as I start to remember the ultimatum she gave me. I rest my elbows on my knees and lean closer to her.

"I didn't know if you'd be waiting for me when I came back," I whisper, my voice catching slightly. "When I heard about the flowers, I just..." my voice trails off and I start to shake my head. I'm trying not to work myself up when Rachel and I are having these kinds of conversations, but this Sam guy infuriates me and I know nothing about him.

"I thought that I had lost you forever." I gaze at her, searching her face. Her expression is pained yet endearing. She tilts her head slightly, causing her beautiful locks to fall across her breasts.

"Oh, Lucas," she whispers as she gets up from the loveseat.

Her hands pull on my arms until they're stretched past my hips as she sits down gingerly in my lap. She rests her arms over my shoulders while I wrap mine around her waist and lean back with her into my office chair. She falls against my shoulder and nuzzles against me.

"I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I made a stupid decision," she mutters as she buries her face in my neck.

"So did I," I whisper into her ear. She pulls away from me and places her left hand on my cheek. She plays with a stand of my hair for a few moments as she tenderly looks over my entire face.

"Do you really not have any other questions about it? You can ask me anything, I owe you that much." She looks down at my chest before meeting my eyes again.

I swallow, trying to decide if I can handle knowing more right now. I have hundreds of questions about it that have accumulated over the last three months.

"What made you want to sleep with him?" I blurt out. Her eyes widen before she looks away from me. I tilt my head so she will meet my gaze again. "What did he do that pulled you away from me?" I tighten my grip on her waist, as if I'm going to lose her again.

She turns to look at me, her cheeks bright pink. Rachel swallows hard as her eyes become shiny again. She clears her throat a few times before beginning.