Free Reaching Hearts (Hearts Series) by Sabrina Lacey

male says to me.
    “You
always say that.”
    “And
we always do it.”
    My
eyes flutter over to his face. Resolutely he looks back. They are doing
everything they can.
    I
look back to the mask covering Brendan’s mouth and nose, to his eyes shut
gently like he’s sleeping, to the paleness of his skin. “Please stay with me,
Brendan. Please stay.” Arms go around my shoulders. The female E.M.T. holds me.
The human tenderness is crushing, breaking down the wall of shock. Everything
starts to spin.
    She
looks to the driver. “Can you go any faster, John?”
    He
looks back and gives a brief nod, but we all know he’s going as fast as he can.
Nausea overtakes me. My vision blurs and I see the male E.M.T.s mouth move. I
don’t hear him as he says, “She’s down.”

16
Brendan
    So
tired. But it’s a good tired. When: Three Years ago.
    ________
     
    A
persistent stream of sunlight heats up my face, trying to wake me out of a
dream. But I resist it. I’m having that reoccurring dream again where I’m
walking through a field in Italy. No one is there, but I keep searching,
compelled. It’s beautiful and peaceful and I don’t want to leave. The wind
rises and something brushes my bottom lip. I touch it, thinking it was just the
wind, and find a hand there. Soft fingers…
    “Hey
you. You have a coffee maker?” A feminine arm slides around my waist in the
real world. Reluctantly I awaken, feeling a naked body sliding up close against
my back, spooning me. My shoulder gets kissed twice. “I was thinking of getting
up and making some, but I don’t know my way around your kitchen.”
    I
stare forward out my window, thinking I want to move soon. This place is
getting to be too small. I need to rise up in the company fast, if I’m going to
afford it. Plus I’m still thinking about the dream. I want to go back to sleep,
but that’s not an option. “Yeah, I have one.” I roll around to face Rebecca,
see her looking beautiful with no makeup or need for it. “Morning.”
    A
slow sexy smile spreads across her lips. She accepts a kiss from
me and murmurs into my hair, as she presses herself against me, “What a
surprise to see you again.”
    I
laugh. “Oh, you saw me alright.”
    “Yes,
I did, didn’t I?”
    “That
you did. Since this is your first time here, I’ll make the coffee. But after
that, if we ever do this again, it’s all you.” I kiss her again, and climb out
of bed, my cock bouncing with my walk as I rub my eyes and rake a hand through
my hair.
    Rebecca
watches me, but I don’t know it. I’m thinking of one thing and one thing only.
Coffee. Make the coffee and separate from the dream world, so I can shake this
feeling of emptiness that dream always leaves me with.
    Within
a couple minutes, Rebecca joins me, wearing her shirt and panties and nothing
else, her long dark hair still tousled. She takes a seat at the small dining
room table, picks up the donkey shaped saltshaker and plays with it. “So, how’ve
you been?”
    I
pour beans into the grinder. “Since Mendocino? I’ve been good. Moved in here
with my buddy Mark right after I met you. Got a job at the Ad agency I’m
working at, but I’ve got my eye on another job higher up.”
    “Yeah?”
She smiles, curious and interested. I know she’s gotta be almost forty, but she sure wears it well. “Where?”
    I
hit the grind button and pause for the four seconds it takes to finish.
“Location Times Three.” Pouring the grounds into the French Press, I add, “I’ve
been taking some risks where I am now, coming up with new ideas they didn’t see
coming. Word is spreading, that’s what I hear. I think now’s my shot. I’m
aiming for Creative Director.”
    She
leans back, puts the donkey back on the table. “That’s a big leap, isn’t it?”
    I
glance at her. “Yeah. So?”
    She
shrugs, looks away. “Well, you’re pretty young.”
    Staring
at the water pouring from the faucet, I say again, “So?”
    “Don’t
get upset.” She rises