Things happened too fast for me to think about it. I know I should have been paying attention to my shopping--trying to find my mother a gift, but when I saw her walk past the window of the gift shop I could think of nothing else but her. She looked exactly the same as she did when I met her 5 years ago--short, tan, and blonde with those beautiful eyes that were somewhere between blue and green. She didn't turn her head to look at me; she didn't even notice. I dropped the neck pillow I was thinking about getting my mom and walked right out after her.

"Claire?" I was a little too loud I guess, because other people turned around to look at me too. She paused mid step, and turned around with a huge smile on her face. My heart jumped in my chest, and I couldn't help but gasp.

"Gretchen! Oh my god!" She ran towards me arms extended, and with an adorable squeal hugged me as tight as she could. I ignored the pain. She had obviously been working out since I'd last seen her. I laughed nervously as she held on a little too long and I nervously brushed my hair back from my face.

"I figured that was you. You look... well you look the same." Claire's smile didn't falter and she just took my hand and lead me to a bench nearby.

"You have to tell me everything. I've missed you! What are you doing now? Forensics right?" I cringed at the pang it caused in my stomach.

"No. I'm--well I'm married now." The frown on her face was instant, and I couldn't help but feel ashamed for some reason. She was disappointed in me.

"Well...what's his name?" I looked over at a pizza stand so I didn't have took look into her eyes.

"Robert. He's an engineer. We met just after graduation." I turned my head back to Claire, and met her concerned gaze.

"You don't sound too happy about that." I quickly realized how much I'd admitted just from the sound of my voice. I'd forgotten how well Claire could read me.

"We're sort of separated now. Things just weren't working out between us. Compatibility issues I guess?" Claire opened her mouth to say something, then closed it before she could get the words out. She shook her head slightly and took my hand in hers. It was warm, and it made my whole arm tingle. I couldn't believe how fresh my feelings for her still were after all these years. I looked down at our hands, and she misinterpreted the action.

"Sorry." Claire mumbled as she pulled her hand off of mine.

"Why?" I responded. Claire's eyes widened a little in surprise.

"I--I don't know." She started pulling at her purse strap and looking around.

"Am I keeping you from something?"

"What? No, no. It's just... it's been awhile since I've seen someone who knew me so long ago. People have kinda faded out of my life since then. I've gotten accustomed to being alone." I frowned as she bit her lip, and for maybe a second I saw her eyes get watery before she blinked a few times.

"I'm so sorry Claire. Listen, do you want to go somewhere... you know, more private than the food court of the mall? We could go to my apartment or something. You look like you need to talk." Claire smiled shyly at me.

"Sure, okay. I mean I'm only in town for a week so I might as well enjoy some of it." I stood up at the same time she did, and we slowly made our way towards the parking lot.

"Claire?" I asked. "I'm glad I ran into you today. I've really needed someone around who didn't judge me about the separation. All my friends are really just friends of Robert, and he's made me out to be the bad guy in the whole situation."

Claire nudged me and smiled.

"Nah. You're one of the good guys."

When we got to my apartment and finally settled down, the quietness of my suddenly small apartment began to make me a little fidgety.

"You want some water?" I asked, nervously.

"Sure." I walked to the kitchen, and once I was safely out of her view, I breathed out the breath I didn't know I was holding. I poured water into the glass, and walked back to her, handing the water to her as I sat down a little further away from her on the couch. I think she noticed, because she had an expression on her face that made her look like she had been stung by something.

"Uh... so why don't you have friends anymore?" I asked, clasping my hands together in an effort to look relaxed.

"Well, I guess I got tired of keeping secrets. It's just easier when I don't have to try and cover up everything all the time." There was something she wasn't telling me, but I didn't press the issue.

"You could have always called me."

"True. I just thought maybe you wanted to get away from me and my crazy life. You know, live normally." She turned her head a little as she spoke.

"I'd much rather have had you than a normal life." The words slipped out on their on volition. I couldn't take them back. She seemed slightly taken aback, but not disgusted like I'd imagined she would be. Claire had a weird look on her face, and it made me more nervous than I already was. She sat there, looking intensely into my eyes and I could feel the sexual tension fill the room almost instantly.

"I wanted you to be happy." She sounded unsure, and her voice was different. What happened next wasn't sudden. When she leaned over to kiss me she was looking me dead in the eyes, and she put her hands on my face before slowly and painfully pulling my head towards hers. Lips crushed against lips and I felt my heart explode in my chest as our tongues met for the first time. Things got intense as minutes passed, and I very nearly lost control, but I hit the breaks before Claire could make the mistake I knew in her heart of hearts she didn't want to make. She looked back at me with a very surprised look on her face. Her lips were swollen, and her pupils were dilated.

"What..."

"We shouldn't do this. You don't want this." I stood up, quickly stepping away from her like she was trying to stab me. She looked like a deer in headlights, her eyes wildly searching my face.

"What are you talking about Gretchen? I've always wanted this." Her lip quivered a little as she stood up on shaky legs.

"Claire, I'm sorry. I just... I thought..."

"I guess this was for the best. I mean, who am I kidding? I shouldn't expect you to want me, especially after all these years." She began to walk towards the door, but I quickly gripped her shoulders.

"Stay. Please." I put my resolve face on and tried to will her into doing what I wanted.

"Really?" I melted at the look on her face, and I guess she knew my love was still there, because she smiled through her tears.

"You don't have to spend the night at some shitty motel. You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch." Her gaze got intense again, and I felt heat run down the front of my body.

"I'd rather you stayed with me in your bed." I blinked, processing what she was saying.

"Is that what you want? It's really no big deal." Her lips silenced me and I realized I had nothing I needed to say anyway. She pulled away and wrapped her arms around me. She started shaking, and suddenly I realized she was crying.

"Oh Claire what's wrong?" I put my hand to her head like it was second nature, and her tears wetted my silk blouse. She sniffled, not pulling her head away.

"I just missed you. You don't know how long I've thought about this. Being with you." My chest tightened at the thought.

"Really?" She looked back at me, completely surprised.

"Couldn't you tell?" She replied. I laughed, startling her.

"No. I really really couldn't." She pulled back with a look on her face I hadn't seen before.

"Well now you know. You think I could drive back to my hotel room and get a few things? I mean, if I'm gonna stay the night I need my toothbrush and stuff."

"Oh yeah! No, that's no problem at all. I'll be right here." She smiled, running her finger down my chest lazily. To say I was aroused would be the understatement of the century, if not all time.

"Kay. I'll be back soon." And she was gone. I stood there for maybe three minutes, trying to figure out what just happened. I ran a shaky hand through my hair and sighed. In just an hour or so we'd gone from old friends to something way more than I'd ever hoped for. I looked at the clock. It was 5:00.

"Wow." I mumbled to myself, sitting on the couch to wait for her. Time went by a little quicker than I'd imagined.

It was about 30 minutes later when she knocked on the door, carrying her essentials and smiling meekly at me. I showed her to my room, and she looked around at the various decorations that I'd put on the walls so it didn't feel so much like a dingy apartment but my new home. She smiled genuinely, and turned towards me.

"This is cute. Reminds me of the dorm." I smiled and took one of her hands.

"You can still go you know, no pressure." She sighed, looking at our entwined fingers.

"You're still as insecure as I remember." She reached forward and brushed hair off of my face, hand lingering a little longer than necessary.

"Claire, I still love you." Her face softened.

"I know." I didn't expect her to say it back, but it still stung a little none the less. She walked over to the bed and sat down, scooting herself to the head of the bed. She patted the place next to her, and I complied, sitting down next to her.

"Make love to me." She whispered. I breathed in sharply, and leaned over to kiss her. We kissed with as much passion as we had, putting 5 years of pent up emotions and sexual frustration into our kisses. She ran her hands up my back as I laid over her, and our hips were pressed against each other through our jeans. I had never felt something so right, so necessary as what we were doing. Robert meant nothing, and I absolutely forgot him in that moment. We parted, and she kissed along my jaw before leaning back to look at me. She said nothing, but she was very transparent at that moment. She loved me. She didn't have to say it for me to know. I smiled at her, and she smiled back. The hands that were running up my back reached my bra strap and began to undo it. I gasped, a little surprised at her sudden boldness, but let her pull my blouse off, raising my arms as she pulled it over my head and tossed it on the floor. She instantly had her hands on my breasts, and I hissed at the sensation of her kneading and caressing them. It was obvious that I wasn't the first time she'd ever done this to a woman.

Things went fast from there. Within minutes we were both nude, grinding our hips together in heated passion. Our tongues clashed against each other in our mouths, and I could feel her need against me. I snaked my hand down, and laid my hand over her mound. She moaned and that was all it took. I had my fingers in her suddenly and she was almost a different person. Her hands were gripping at the bed covers as she squirmed in pleasure. She opened her eyes to look at me, and I felt her hand caressing me slowly and deliberately. I spasmed at the sensation, and furiously continued pounding against her with my fingers.

"God!" She cried, orgasming against me with a sudden jolt. I pulled my fingers out and focused on the pleasure she was providing me. She was too good at this, but I quickly dashed the thought from my mind. The build up quickly began to spill over, and I came. She continued her ministrations for a minute, and then pulled her hand away. What happened next absolutely astounded me. She pulled her hand up to her face and licked her fingers clean. I almost died. I pounced on her, kissing her hard. She returned the favor, and I tasted myself on her lips. We pulled away, and she laid her arm over my torso and scooted close to me, laying her head against my chest.

"Can we lay here forever?" She asked quietly.

"We can try."