by Rachel Harris
Part 14
Parts 1 through 13 can be found at Rachel's home page -- A Whole Other Life
Marsha could barely breathe from all the crying she had been doing and yet her mouth gave in to the loving pleasure of Duncan's lips. She was totally taken aback by how much she felt at home there in Duncan's arms. How could this be? How could she be crying uncontrollably one minute for another man and then turn around and fall into her brother-in-law's embrace?
She pulled away from Duncan's kiss began fidgeting with a strand of her hair. "WOW! Where did that come from?" She asked.
Duncan felt himself turn bright red as he quickly apologized. "I am so sorry Marsha. I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me?" he implored.
"There is nothing to forgive Duncan. It just happened. I am not sure WHAT happened... but it just did." Marsha noticed herself fidgeting and tried to redirect some of her nervous energy by getting them something to drink. In the kitchen, she could busy herself without having to think of all the implications of the tenderness she felt in that kiss.
"Life is funny, isn't it Duncan?" she began, "Just when I think I am sort of figuring things out a bit, something comes along that jostles me right back into 'haven't a clue-land.' I never would have thought that I would be on the computer, let alone fall for someone. Then, once I got to know him soooooo well, I never would have thought he would throw away our relationship because I wanted to practice safe sex. On top of all that, when I am feeling so down about that, now, all I can think about is what happened with us."
"Marsha, I sure can't explain it myself. In fact, I am at a loss for words altogether right now. Maybe I should go," Duncan said tentatively.
"Please don't go on my account, Duncan," Marsha said hurriedly, "Everything will be O.K. We have known each other too long and been through too much together."
Duncan breathed a sigh of relief. "Maybe that impulsive kiss was not so terrible after all. She didn't slap me or order me out of the house," he thought to himself.
"Well, I seem to have the whole night without any plans," Marsha said with a pout. "Have any ideas of something fun to do?"
"I am sure if we put our heads together, we could figure out something to do that is fun," Duncan teased, trying to break the ice a bit. Was it his imagination or did that comment actually ADD to the tension between them. "Where was this sexual tension coming from?" he wondered.
"Do you have to head back to w*rk?" Marsha wanted to know.
"Nope, I took the rest of the day off. They sure are good to me there. Granted I w*rk 60 hours a week some weeks, but lately they sure have been letting me slack off more than a bit," Duncan confided.
"Shall we go to that cyber place?" Duncan asked.
"I think I will pass for right now," Marsha said. "I know he won't be home yet, but I am not into visiting right now online after all that has happened."
Duncan turned another shade of red. "Sorry, Marsha! How could I be so insensitive. I am so sorry!"
"No worries, Mate" Marsha said with her best fake Aussie accent, trying to reassure Duncan.
"How about if we do something like catch a movie and go out to dinner. It is so early, we can catch the economy hour shows I bet. You up for Bento?"
"I am up for just about anything right now that will keep me from misusing this mouth of mine," Duncan teased.
Marsha thought back to that kiss. It was a wonderful blend of familiar and new. In some ways Duncan felt like family, almost like Ben even. In other ways, he was this exciting, fresh energy that she found very attractive. "There I go again, thinking off the wall thoughts about my BROTHER-IN-LAW for g*d's sake," she admonished herself. She forced those thoughts out of her head and started arranging to leave.
"Shall we take two cars?" she asked, keeping to the practical.
"We could go together," Duncan suggested. "No sense in wasting resources. What movie would you like to see?"
"Anything but a LOVE story," Marsha said with a bittersweet smile.
Duncan smiled back at her as he gathered his things to leave with her. "Let's be really impulsive," he requested. "Let's just go to the movie house and pick out one of the 10 movies there."
"O.K. I am with you, you wild and crazy spirit!" Marsha said playfully.
The evening went amazingly well for them both. They chose the same movie and while it wasn't the best around, they found it a pleasant enough distraction. At times, it felt just like a date. They shared popcorn and a drink and even some tender moments together with the movie stars. Dinner was just as fun and while they steered clear of the topic of that earlier kiss, they found they chatted the afternoon and evening away.
Duncan parked the car and walked Marsha up to the door. Arm in arm, chuckling about some funny incident at the restaurant, they found themselves hugging each other in a very different way. The hug melted into another embrace where Marsha initiated the kiss this time.
Just then, Marsha noticed that someone was sitting on one of the benches in the yard. Scared at first, she then was relieved to recognize the person. It was Joel sitting there watching her kiss Duncan.
"I can see that you found other plans for tonight," Joel said in the driest of tones.
