Chapter 8 By the time Kari made it back to her hotel, it was late.  Her eyes stung from all the crying she had done on the plane.  She threw down her bags and then threw herself onto the bed. A thousand thoughts were still running through her mind:  "I wasn’t the one who wanted this relationship.  He brought it to me.  Why would he do this to me?  Loved me all his life.  What a load of crap!"   Then Adrian’s words popped into her head, "it is just a physical thing."  Adrian.  She felt this sudden urge to go see him.  Whether it was an urge to lash out and hurt Jeff, or just the need to be with someone, she wasn’t sure.  Before she knew it, she was standing on the walk that led to his front door.  She stood there for a minute trying to decide if she should knock or just go back to the hotel.  Suddenly, the door opened. Adrian smiled, "What are you doing here?  I thought you went back to the states."   "Can I come in?", she asked.   His smile faded as he could tell that something was wrong.  She silently walked into the house.  She wasn’t sure of what to say. "Can I get you something to drink?", he asked with concern.  He didn’t want to pry. "A glass of wine would be nice.", she said. He went into the kitchen.  It was as if she was in a trance as she made her way out the door and back to that place on the bridge that overlooked the pond.  Once again, she was mesmerized by the peacefulness. "I thought you might be out here.", he said holding out the glass for her to take. She quickly wiped away a few stray tears as she took the glass.  She looked at him and smiled before looking up at the bright stars that filled the sky.  There were no words.  They both just stood there, she stared at the stars and he stared at her. "Why did you come here?", he asked.  She looked at him, "I don’t know." He leaned beside her on the rails of the bridge.  He looked at her, longing to take away whatever pain she was trying to force down inside of her.  She stared into his eyes.  He leaned in and kissed her.  She hesitated at first.  Then she let herself go.  The passion grew stronger each time their lips touched.  Then involuntarily, she began to cry.  He pulled her head to his chest and held her.  "I’m sorry.", she said through her tears. "Shhhhhh.", he said as he stroked her hair.  "Let’s go inside.", he said taking her hand and leading her. She still wasn’t ready to tell him that he had been right - that Jeff had cheated on her.  All she wanted was to make herself feel better.  They sat close on the sofa. "Is it me?", she asked. "Is what you?", he asked. "Is there something wrong with me?  Cause it seems that men have this real need to hurt me in some way.", she said, "At least the bruises that Tommy left would go away." He put his hand on her face. "I’m sorry.  I should go.  I didn’t mean to come here and dump this on you.", she said as she stood up and walked towards the door.   "Do you really want to leave?", he asked following her.   She stopped and pondered his question.  She could feel him standing directly behind her.  She quivered slightly as she felt his chest press against her back.  And again as he wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her neck.  If she gave in, then she was no better than Jeff.  But at that moment, she didn’t care.  She let it happen.  She let his hands caress her body.  She let him lead her to his bed.  She let him in.  She let herself go.                  Last Chapter ..*.. Next Chapter ..*.. Chapter Index ..*.. Home