Free Just One Night by Caridad Piñeiro

lips snapped
closed and into a harsh thin line.
    She understood.
    What other words could
they possibly say to each other?   What
words could possibly make any difference in what they both knew had to happen
that morning?
    She inched higher on her
tiptoes and kissed him, a hard and urgent kiss that she hoped communicated all
that she was feeling.
    When they broke apart,
she sniffled back her tears, scrubbed her face with shaky hands, and offered
him a watery smile.   She didn’t outright
cry, but she couldn't speak past the tightness in her throat and was thankful
that he remained silent as well.
    With a quick, almost
curt nod, and another hard urgent kiss, he rushed out the door, leaving her
behind to deal with the emotions swirling around in her brain.   Emotions she didn't have time to fully
explore because she knew that she had to be downstairs soon for the big bye-bye
breakfast that her parents had planned for the Hart family.
    Only she wasn't sure she
was ready to say goodbye.   Not when she’d
confessed her love to the man of her dreams.   The man of her fantasies who had turned out to be so much more than she
ever could have imagined.
    She hurried to the
bathroom and splashed cold water on her face to keep away another bout of
tears.   She had no energy or desire to do much with her hair, so with a hurried brushing
and a few quick twists she put it up in a messy top knot.
    Ignoring the quick
glance of the pale strained face of the woman in the mirror, she rushed back
into her bedroom.
    She grabbed the suitcase
where she'd carted home her clothes for the weekend, snatched a pair of faded
low-rise jeans and panties from it, and put them on.   Without much care, she grabbed a bra and a
pale blue and white baby doll t-shirt that Tommy had gotten her at the
university store just before graduation.
    Fortifying herself with
a deep inhalation, she hurried from her room and down to the kitchen.   She breezed over to where Rosie was working
at the large island peninsula in the middle of the room.   Hugging the plump woman who was almost like a
second mom, she asked, “Is everyone down for breakfast already?”
    “Everyone's down and
you're dad is giving Jason a very determined glare. He seems to think Jason is
the reason you're not at the table yet,” Rosie said and glanced back over her
shoulder and toward the dining room.
    She plucked a ripe
strawberry from the plate Rosie was preparing and earned a lighthearted slap on
the hand.   “Can’t you wait until you’re
sitting down at the table like everyone else?”
    Nickie craned her neck
and peered through the doorway to the dining table where her family and Jase’s was gathered and where her chair next to her dad sat
conspicuously absent.
    “Why would my dad think
that Jase is the reason I’m not there yet?” she asked,
dragging a sharp chuckle from Rosie.   Her
laugh was followed by her hushed whisper as Rosie leaned close and said, “Your
dad was up early and came down to make himself some coffee just as I arrived.”
    Which meant that
he might have seen her and Jase sneaking in from the
beach.
    “Shit,” she muttered.
    “Yes, I think that's
what he said when he saw you and Jason heading up the stairs together.”
    Rosie put the finishing
touches on the large platter of fruit salad and eyed her, the glance thoughtful
and surprisingly supportive.   “It's time
to face the music, Nickie .”
    Yeah, it was, but she
hoped the music didn't turn out to be a funeral dirge.
    She followed Rosie into
the dining room, a bright smile on her face, not that she was feeling all that
happy.   She hugged her dad, mom, Tommy,
and Jase’s parents before taking her spot at the
table at the empty chair beside her dad.   The spot beside her was normally reserved for her brother, but he was
sitting next to their mom and Jase's mom.   As she met his gaze, hers questioning, he
winked and then shot a quick glance at Jase , who was
sitting in Tommy’s normal