Close Your Eyes

A short story about love forbidden

 

            “Close your eyes,” she said quietly and looked into his dark eyes, the sadness so evident in them that she felt she would cry, but she held back the tears. He knew the reason she had come to his office, knew her intentions, but was confused by her request. He had been sitting in his black leather chair thinking about their situation, his shoulders hunched forward as he lost himself in thoughts of her, his elbows upon his knees, and his face leaning on the palms of his hands pensively. She looked down at him, seated as if in defeat, his hands wrung against each other, the hands she had so admired. He sat up slowly, leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes.

But she still saw the sadness etched in his forehead and leaned closer to him, holding back the tears until her fingertips grazed his forehead. He was about to say something, but she hushed him gently and let her fingertips slowly run down from his forehead, soothing the worry-lines, tracing his jaw-line toward his parted lips, his breath gently caressing hers. He felt her fingers, his heart’s reaction to her surprising him yet again; she did not belong to him and his head knew that he should stop her, but he couldn’t get his body to react the way his head directed it to. He wanted her to continue.

Her tears shed down her face as her fingers played memories of their times together, the moments of laughter and teasing, of openness and understanding. She knew those moments were gone, that each one had crossed a boundary that should not have been crossed and had complicated their relationship.

He sighed in complacency, and her chest tightened. She placed her fingers over his lips, gently caressing what she’d never tasted but had guiltily dreamt of for longer than she admitted even to herself. Her feelings for him had changed in her mind and her heart earlier than she had admitted to him, knowing that he too had crossed that blurry line. It had been so easy to do with their joking, their understanding of one another, their likenesses and commonalities. And then suddenly something happened that drew them to each other, revealing the truth of their feelings. And here they were, finally alone and together, drowning in the sadness of each other.

She grudgingly pulled her hand away from his face, closing her eyes in deep sadness, and arose to leave, tears pouring out from her torn heart knowing she would never return to him. Slowly, resolutely, she walked away from him. He opened his eyes watching her long hair tracing where she had been only seconds earlier; it seemed as though they had missed each other throughout their lives only by seconds. He stared as she exited his office, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. He touched his face where her fingers had been and felt the raw pain of sadness envelope him. He suddenly felt violent like he wanted to punch a wall or scream or growl, anything to release the intensity of emotion he was experiencing. He knew she would never return, knew her resoluteness, and that regardless of how many times they’d cross paths they would never cross this one again. He had found his life-long soul mate, the one person who matched his heart, mind, and soul, and he knew he would lose her again forever.

He arose angrily from his chair, nearly knocking it over and followed her, not knowing what he would say or do, but knowing that he couldn’t simply let her go, couldn’t ignore the realness of his feelings, the palpitation of his sadness against his temples, the agony of the thought of losing her forever. She was still walking away, each step quicker than the one before, and he ran to catch up to her, his heart pounding so loudly in his chest it nearly matched the pounding in his head.

She heard him behind her and was about to bolt into a run when he reached her, grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him in a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and shoved his face into her hair, smelling the lavender that had enticed him so many times before. She pressed her head against his chest, his heart beating with each tear she shed onto his dress shirt and tie, resigning her convictions to him. He held her tightly knowing that if he let her go she’d disappear from him forever and he simply couldn’t bear it. She pushed him back and looked up at him as his mouth descended on hers.

Author's Note

Image by Iobesimben

Reviews

[Julie Dant]

Well, I just loved every minute of reading this. VERY compelling and romantic and full of pathos, despair, hope. Wonderful!

[Karen]

Thank you so much! I've not shared many of my short stories with anyone because sometimes they lack the beauty of poetry. Nonetheless, I try and share it with others at the risk of seeming trivial.