A HEALTHY LOVE

CH 16: An Interuptted Kiss

Alex went about the rest of her rounds, thinking about what Nicky had said. She recalled what it felt like being in McCullough's arms, remembering the taste of her lips. Alex pushed the image away, telling herself not to go down that slippery slope again. When her day was done, she had to put the cart back in the library.

She also needed to file the forms for the day, the ones that kept track of who took out which item. While she was filing, McCullough entered the library with a book in her hands. "Hey. I found this in the hall. I think it fell off your cart" McCullough said. Alex gave her a small smile as she took the novel back. "Thanks" Alex replied "It's getting late. You heading home?"

McCullough: "In about 15 minutes, yes."

Alex grinned as she quickly jotted down some film names onto a blank book form. She handed the list to McCullough. "For you. You can find them all for free on that one website I told you about. They're in no particular order, but I'd recommend that first one above the others. I haven't seen it in years, but I remember loving it. Too bad we don't get movie nights here. Not that they'd show any of the movies on that list. Too risqué." Alex explained.

McCullough: "You're probably right about that. I'm looking forward to watching these. Um...Thanks."

Alex: "You're welcome. I wish I could watch them, but I guess I'll have to wait until I'm out. I think I'll spend a whole weekend in bed just binge watching things I've missed out on. I'd have to get up eventually for snacks, but otherwise I would so not move."

McCullough: "If..we were watching the movies together, you wouldn't have to move. I'd bring the snacks to you."

"No, that's no good. You'd be leaving me on my own, and I might get too lonely" Alex replied with a small smile. McCullough couldn't contain herself any longer. She leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Alex's lips. At first, McCullough panicked, thinking she had made a huge mistake. However, Alex returned the kiss with her.

Their kiss lasted for several minutes before the screech of McCullough's radio interrupted them. "All CO's to the meeting room. The new warden wants to take a meeting," Dixon called out. Alex and McCullough looked at each other and quickly parted from each other. "Duty calls again" Alex said with a smirk. "Bye for now" McCullough replied, exiting the library.

After she left, McCullough could not stop smiling. She was grateful for whatever had changed Alex's mind and was slowly bringing the two back together again, yet she was somewhat concerned that Alex might pull away again. She shoved her fear aside, choosing instead to live in the moment.

Alex was smiling as she finished her work for the day. She also was living in the present. Everything else could simply wait for a while. She was enjoying her time with McCullough just how things were, though she could still never have expected where their relationship could go.