Another Lifetime

She walked quickly, always
looking around her, always aware of her surroundings and he had to keep his
distance. Once or twice he thought that he had lost her, the train had been
difficult but he had managed to keep up. Now he stood at the end of the street
watching her run up the stairs of the house with the blue door. Key in the lock
and then she disappeared inside.

It was now or never.

His knock at the door was firm, once, twice, trying to think of what the hell
he was going to say.

“Hello?” It was not her; a blonde in a blue tracksuit had opened the door, eyes
sweeping over him appreciatively. “Can I help?” one eyebrow raised, oh yes he
knew that she was weighing and measuring, wondering what a bloke like him was
wanting.

“Is Kat in?”

“Kat…er yes she is. Just a moment”

She talked posh, did blondie and he instantly felt defensive, he had met stuck
up bitches like her before.

He could hear her voice in the other room, and Kat’s questioning who is it, what
do they want and then finally footsteps. Heels on wooden floors and the door
opened.

Her hand flew to her mouth “Peter…how did you…what are you doing here?” she did
not come any closer and he felt anger begin to bubble. He could see blondie
hovering in the hall; he was not going to be having this conversation with her
hanging about.

“There somewhere we can talk?”

“Yes…no..I don’t think we have anything to talk about”

“Well I do love” now he crossed the room to grab her hand “where is your room?”

“Peter please….”

Blondie’s voice from the hall “you alright in there Kat?”

“Yes, yes thanks Natalie.” But her eyes were telling him to leave to go away
and to never come back.

“Your room?”

“All right, but only for a minute” she turned and stalked out of the room,
brushing past Natalie who was watching with avid eyes. Opening a bedroom door
and holding it so that he could walk in, obviously wanting to slam it but
instead shutting it quietly. Leaning back against it, she looked so calm, icy,
but he saw that her hands were shaking before she tucked them behind her back.

“What do you want Peter?”

“I don’t know Kat, what do you think I want, you just disappear, I don’t hear
from you. What the fuck do you think I want?”

“I don’t know, you tell me?”

“What has happened to you?” he felt numb, as if this woman was a stranger, so
unlike the Kat that he had known.

“What do you think happened? You were there, he tried to kill me. I am making a
new start, putting that all behind me…”

“So I am a part of all that then…and that is it”

“I can’t live that life anymore Peter, and you are a part of that, no matter
how I felt…” she looked up at him “I have a good job…am making new friends….I
have started seeing someone…”

He felt like he had been punched in the gut “some fancy wanker I suppose…to
suit your fancy new life..” bitter words spat out.

“Lawyer actually and he is very nice”

“Nice, very nice…fuck I don’t need this” he went to push past her, intent on
getting out of the house, what an idiot he was to have come here.

“Peter I am sorry”

This close he could see the tears in her eyes, the way that they trembled on
the thick lashes. He seized her chin in his hand tilting her face and kissing
her. Her lips were unyielding, hard, closed to him, hands pushing at his chest,
pushing him away “Peter…please, please don’t….”

She was shaking and crying and he could feel himself beginning to shake as he
wrapped his arms around her. Lips touching her hair, forehead, kissing the
tears that rolled down her cheeks, then her mouth again, now soft and yielding,
parting for him, returning his kisses. Hungry so hungry. Devouring each other,
tears still falling while her hands moved over his chest, pushing his jacket
from his shoulders. His hands moving over her legs, up under the skirt.

“Jesus” a long exhalation as silk stockings gave way to soft flesh “you wear
these for that other bloke…” and he had her lifted up against the door, skirt
around her waist, “Christ” slippery slick wetness as he touched her and she
pushed against him, legs wrapping around him as both hands fumbled at belt and
buttons.

A soft moan and then that same raw heat that had been there that first time,
from the door to the bed, flimsy scraps of silk and lace littering the floor as
they rolled onto the smooth duvet bodies still joined, over once, twice so that
she was above him, eyes closed, moving with him, faster and harder and then she
looked at him and he wrapped his arms around her moving to meet her, pulling
her towards him.

“So how did you find me”?

“Pretended to be National Health”

“Oh…that was clever”

“Umm hmm” he was undressing her, slowly, watching her face, watching her think.


“I can’t come back Peter”

“I know, but I left there.”

“You did” she looked at him eyes curious “ where are you now?”

“Working for your Aunt Beth” he sat back waiting for the exclamation, the
surprise.

“I don’t have an Aunt…”