August
The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes[\i]
"We can't keep doing this." She'd forced herself to speak finally, after enjoying the blissful silence for far longer than she should have. It was easy to ignore everything else when she was in his arms, to believe they could shut out the world and just be…but it wasn't that easy—it never had been. That had always been their problem.
Joey sighed, feeling the tension returning to her body as he wrapped his arms slightly tighter around her waist. Logically, he knew she was right, but foolishly he'd hoped she would have waited a while longer to come to this inevitable conclusion.
"I know," he said softly. He looked at her as she turned to face him. "This was…"
Kelly nodded. "It was perfect. It was everything I wanted it to be, but it's not reality, Joey. It's not the real world. Living in this room, shut away from everyone and everything…that's not real life. We can't stay in bed forever."
"We could give it a try," he said, smiling at her and kissing her neck, only half joking.
"Joey," she groaned, forcing herself to pull away. "This isn't easy…believe me. I wish it could be different, but…"
"But it can't, can it?" Looking at her now, he tried to understand. He'd been as honest as he knew how and yet she still couldn't let it go. The mistakes he'd made were too big this time. He'd lost her this time—for good.
"You know I'll always love you," he said softly, touching her hair and feeling his throat tighten as he said the words.
Kelly nodded, unsure if her own voice would cooperate.
"Me too," she managed. "I should go." She stood, grabbing her robe off the chair and wrapping it around herself as she walked away quickly.
Joey lay back as he watched her leave the room. A cold chill swept through the room as if the warmth left right along with her. He glanced out the window, noticing the rays of the setting sun as the filtered in through the curtains. No more long, summer days—which meant longer nights…
"Just what I need," he groaned.