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12
Years Makes a Difference FREE
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by PneumaSender |
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Assorted
Silliness Chapter 18 Mandy
stood up to her full, if limited, height to greet him and kissed his cheek.
"My, you do look like a stranger in those clothes." He nodded, not
trusting himself to speak. He hadn't realized how much he missed his dear
friends, until now. Clearing his throat, he finally said, "It's me, same
as always." Yet he knew he wasn't the same. Loving
Christa had changed Patrick, and it had made him into a man in a matter of
months. It didn't matter how old he was--he had never felt the need to grow
up more than he did now. To be responsible for her and provide for her needs
was the foremost goal in his mind. For that, he would endure everything, and
gladly suffer a world of hardship. His love for her had toughened him, and
softened him--so much. Finally, he turned to Colby. "Patrick,
son, how are you?" Dr. Colby's hand engulfed his, making him feel like a
kid again. He always did have such large hands, and it was amazing how he
managed to crush Patrick's hand with his grip and still handle his patients
so tenderly. Such was the enigma that was Dr. Colby. "I'm
fine, Sir--just more eager than ever to enjoy these days with Christa while I
have them." Colby's laugh was heartfelt and teasing. "I remember
the feeling, Son. It wasn't too long ago, either..." He glanced at
Mandy, his eyes loaded with sparks. She blushed and mussed her husband's
hair. "Oh, Colby, stop it now." He
pulled her hand to his chest and spoke one message with his words and another
into his wife'eyes. "We'll leave you alone,
then." Standing and pulling her close, he whispered something in her
ear. Giggling like a girl, she turned and pulled him out of the room. Being
left alone with Christa now was all he wanted, yet he dreaded it. Knowing how
much he had missed her and how he ached to spend time getting close to her,
it was too much emotion for one person to control. "How about we get
outside," he said, pulling her up beside him and walking toward the
door. Though
she was quite a bit shorter than he was, she looked tall and elegant in that
purple dress and high heels. Admiring the way her leg muscles showed through
with each step, he felt himself shudder slightly, making him want to turn
away and shake himself. A longing for what the Colby couple shared crept
through him and he felt like he could hardly wait to be married to Christa. "To
think that they're still like that at their age, and after all these
years." Patrick hadn't realized he had said it aloud until Christa
answered him. "I like it." He turned to her and she went on,
"When I was a kid, I thought it odd that my parents seemed like
boyfriend and girlfriend. It was kind of annoying, you know? But then, after
seeing so many of my friends endure the pain of a parental divorce, it's a
joy to know my parents are so devoted to one another and love each other so
much." Patrick took her hands in his, facing her, smiling. "Well,
get used to it, because that's the way we're going to be." Breathing
deeply, contentedly, he stared at her and then continued. "I want to
feel like this every day, and I intend to. There'll be no divorce in our
family, and we'll make up quickly any day we fight." Pulling her into
his arms, but holding her loosely, he added, "I don't want anything to
come between us, ever." Then, seeing her lift her face to his, he popped
a kiss on her mouth, turning and leading her to a bench. Christa
realized right then that every touch, every kiss, was too much. He had hardly
made contact with her lips for more than a millisecond, and it warmed her to
her toes. "How did we end up such passionate people?" she asked
Patrick. He laughed, "That's not exactly the word people generally use
to describe me." Christa agreed. "My
friends and family--they never think of me that way, either." Turning to
face him, chuckling a little to see that he had seated himself all the way
across the seat from her, she said, "So how did we suddenly get so all
fired hot?" He reached over, moving closer, and touched her cheek,
smiling into her eyes, "I know what happened to me--you did." She
smiled shyly. "Ditto."
He laughed and added, "Apparently, we make a very lethal combination."
Then, he pulled back. It was smart move, for she had been about to be swept
up into another kiss. "This is crazy," she said. He agreed, all the
way down to his feet. "Maybe we need to be strapped into steel cages
across from each other." She laughed genuinely then and said, "I've
got just the thing." A
few minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot at a gym. "So
you work out?" he asked. "Well," she said timidly, "I
thought that my excess energy needed an outlet." He felt like jumping
and running a bit, himself right now. So he only responded, "Well, let's
get to it." After
returning from the locker room, he found her in a rowing machine. Warming up
took no time at all with her gazing at him. Seating himself into the
adjoining machine, he said, "You didn't have to take me so
literally." She countered with, "Well, I didn't strap you in, did
I?" He almost wished she had, and he told her so. She blushed and said,
"Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. I'm sure we can exercise that
while we work out our bodies." His smile caused her to turn away,
blushing. Apparently, everything she did these days pleased him. |
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