Free A Breath Until Forever by Keira D. Skye Page B

instantly reacted the pain through big eyes, and outstretched eyebrows.
     
    She sat there, enjoying her tea, and wondering how many places he had seen. How many places he had gone too. Traveled to. Sailed to. She thought she had probably seen a lot more of the world then he ever had. By far, too many nice restaurants and local hot spots and touristy places and so many wonders of the world left secret, and kept hidden within this big open land. However perhaps maybe he had seen more then her. He had been out to Berkeley, which spanned across the United States, and along his journey there, maybe he stopped at places, and took a long road trip before jumping into medical school. Or perhaps when he was younger he traveled, and maybe he had seen Australia, a place she still had yet to honor her placement with. At the same time, she wondered how many woman he had been with. How many other woman he had spent the night with. Slept with. Giving his love and all of his manhood too. She tried hard not to think of it, but it kept popping back into her head, no matter how hard she tried to push it away. She instantly became jealous of the woman, even though she had no idea who they were or what they looked like or what kind of life they came from. How many times had he touched a woman with his soft tender touch? Kissed a woman with his lips? Practice love making in the middle of the night? In hot sweaty summers and cold winter isolated nights? How many woman he had gotten drunk with and shared a few shots of whiskey. Then tasting the alcohol on the exchange of their wandering tongues and meshing mouths. Rocking those boats while anchored in the harbor of Martha's Vineyard? The water slapping hard against the beach the port being pound by waves with a reckless endangerment.
     
    Meredith finished her tea. The kitchen light was a little too bright and Meredith felt like all of her wrinkles were being exposed. Every wrinkle that chronicled her years of age, but also every memory of hardship and pain, and every tear that she cried. She saw herself in the reflection of a silver toaster and saw that her skin was starting to look a little dry again and aged. 'Too much sun on the road.' She said recklessly to herself, feeling instant pity for never putting on sun screen. She wanted to leave as soon as she saw herself. Go somewhere, and hide. But if she only knew that it was her wrinkles that really attracted him to her. The fine lines of life that he wished to earn over the course of his lifetime. Lines were prizes; rewards of getting the job done. They were the physical richness of going through hurtful years of pain and tears that made a person stronger – better. Wrinkles weren't something to be angry about, rather they were the celebrations of the human soul.
     
    Meredith looked over to him. Ten shots in, he was wasting away. His eyes were glossy and ambiguously lustrous, and his very blue eyes, although still drawing her like a moth to a flame, were glazed over with a drunken laziness.
     
    Meredith got up, poured herself another cup of tea, then went back down to sitting across the table from Joshua. She raised her teacup, and he mirrored her action, by raising his shot of whiskey to her ceramic cup. They lightly tinked.
     
    She made a toast. “To enchanting nights like this, and the beauty of poetry.” For some reason she stopped breathing for a moment. She gasped for air. The moment had drawn her into an unbelievable magic, and it was within this spell, that had taken her breath away. He didn't repeat her toast, but he only lightly smiled and just looked at how beautiful she was. How amazing she looked. He admired all of her features, like her cute little button cut nose, her two soft dimples that appeared when she was happy, and her almond shaped eyes. And yes, even all of her wrinkles. However, while he had noticed and liked her wrinkles, he noticed how youthful she suddenly became, as they seemed to wondrously disappear within the