Lucy wound a soft, fluffy towel around her damp, freshly-showered
hair as she cautiously stepped onto the cool tile floor. Glistening water
droplets quietly pattered onto the pattered tiles as she surveyed her
reflection in the wide mirror that graced the bathroom wall. Her brilliant
blue eyes wandered along the expanse of her body: the gentle curves of her
breasts, to the dips of her waist and the smooth flow of her sun-kissed
legs. Her flat, toned stomach, the nestle of honey blonde curls at the apex
of her thighs, her dimpled knees, the arch of her bottom.
Lucy knew that once she could have been called lovely, even beautiful. She always kept clusters of hormone-driven boys at arms length, and every time she sashayed into a room, a handful of hungry eyes followed her. She could have had any boy she wanted. any man she wanted.
But when Kevin Kinkirk, with his soul-melting caramel eyes and his heart-warming smile walked into her life, Lucy felt something she hadn't before. Lucy Camden fell head over heels in love... perhaps too far.
With trembling fingers, Lucy outlined her sapphire eyes with black eyeliner. It had been so long since she had taken the time to care for herself... too long. Her untrained fingers quivered, and her thick black lines came out uneven and rough. Her smooth forehead furrowed in concentration as she leaned against the cold Formica countertop.
Kevin was always so predictable, so steady and rhythmic like a heartbeat. She always knew what to expect from him; he was familiar, comfortable. That was why she had fallen in love with him at first. He was easygoing and even-tempered... he was the one thing in her life that was constant. He didn't surprise or astonish her, and that made her pleased. She had to deal with enough drama in her life already.
---FLASHBACK---
The moon was bright, like a polished gold coin against the stark blackness of the velvety night. The shimmering stars twinkled in the sky like glittering beads on a dark evening dress. The night was silent, except for the occasional scamper of animals' feet across the soft ground, and the creak of the loveseat swing as it swayed back and forth in the gentle breeze.
"I've been thinking," Kevin murmured into Lucy's wind-tossed blonde hair as they rocked together. "Kudos to the Police-Man... he can think..." Lucy giggled softly, rubbing her cheek against his rough leather coat, breathing in his sweet, musky scent.
Kevin batted her arm playfully, growling softly underneath his breath. "Just for that, no goodnight smoochies for you..." he threatened, a mock frown spreading across his face. Lucy pouted, her lower lip jutting out like a child's, batting her lacy brown lashes. Kevin eyed her lips with hungry desire. "Maybe we can make... an exception... just this once..." he compromised, tipping her chin up with a gentle finger. Slowly, their lips met perfectly in the middle, like they always did. Lucy waited for the fireworks to start in her heart, for an icy tingle to shoot up her spine, for her knees to melt into jelly, for her heart to bloom like a flower. It never came.
Kevin groaned softly and deepened the kiss, his tongue lightly tracing the seam of her lips, then slowly easing itself inside. Lucy's forehead scrunched with confusion as she searched for that shiver, that tremble, that leap within her heartbeat. That explosion of lights and colour and sound within her soul. Nothing. There was nothing.
Startled, dazed, and somewhat perplexed, Lucy pulled away. Kevin was panting hard, his lips swollen, his dark blonde hair ruffled, his eyes half- closed in contentment. Lucy waited for her heartbeat to gallop and match in time with his. Her teeth clenched in frustration as she looked deep within herself, she searched for that tremor, that quake. There was something missing. Something was wrong.
---END FLASHBACK---
Lucy gasped at her reflection in the mirror. She had taken the eye pencil and outlined her eyes again and again in a thick black circle. She looked awful. Wrenching the handle of the tap open, icy water gushed out of the faucet, splattering against the counter and mirror. She scrubbed at the dark makeup with her black-stained hands, furiously trying to rub out the mess she had made. The murky grey of the makeup swirled in with the clear water, streaming down into the drain. Twisting the handle shut, Lucy breathed in deep and gazed at her reflection. Angry, dark grey streaks crisscrossed her pale, ghostly white face, making her pale eyes seem larger, fuller, haunted.
Lucy knew she was still in love... but not with the man she had hoped.
Lucy knew that once she could have been called lovely, even beautiful. She always kept clusters of hormone-driven boys at arms length, and every time she sashayed into a room, a handful of hungry eyes followed her. She could have had any boy she wanted. any man she wanted.
But when Kevin Kinkirk, with his soul-melting caramel eyes and his heart-warming smile walked into her life, Lucy felt something she hadn't before. Lucy Camden fell head over heels in love... perhaps too far.
With trembling fingers, Lucy outlined her sapphire eyes with black eyeliner. It had been so long since she had taken the time to care for herself... too long. Her untrained fingers quivered, and her thick black lines came out uneven and rough. Her smooth forehead furrowed in concentration as she leaned against the cold Formica countertop.
Kevin was always so predictable, so steady and rhythmic like a heartbeat. She always knew what to expect from him; he was familiar, comfortable. That was why she had fallen in love with him at first. He was easygoing and even-tempered... he was the one thing in her life that was constant. He didn't surprise or astonish her, and that made her pleased. She had to deal with enough drama in her life already.
---FLASHBACK---
The moon was bright, like a polished gold coin against the stark blackness of the velvety night. The shimmering stars twinkled in the sky like glittering beads on a dark evening dress. The night was silent, except for the occasional scamper of animals' feet across the soft ground, and the creak of the loveseat swing as it swayed back and forth in the gentle breeze.
"I've been thinking," Kevin murmured into Lucy's wind-tossed blonde hair as they rocked together. "Kudos to the Police-Man... he can think..." Lucy giggled softly, rubbing her cheek against his rough leather coat, breathing in his sweet, musky scent.
Kevin batted her arm playfully, growling softly underneath his breath. "Just for that, no goodnight smoochies for you..." he threatened, a mock frown spreading across his face. Lucy pouted, her lower lip jutting out like a child's, batting her lacy brown lashes. Kevin eyed her lips with hungry desire. "Maybe we can make... an exception... just this once..." he compromised, tipping her chin up with a gentle finger. Slowly, their lips met perfectly in the middle, like they always did. Lucy waited for the fireworks to start in her heart, for an icy tingle to shoot up her spine, for her knees to melt into jelly, for her heart to bloom like a flower. It never came.
Kevin groaned softly and deepened the kiss, his tongue lightly tracing the seam of her lips, then slowly easing itself inside. Lucy's forehead scrunched with confusion as she searched for that shiver, that tremble, that leap within her heartbeat. That explosion of lights and colour and sound within her soul. Nothing. There was nothing.
Startled, dazed, and somewhat perplexed, Lucy pulled away. Kevin was panting hard, his lips swollen, his dark blonde hair ruffled, his eyes half- closed in contentment. Lucy waited for her heartbeat to gallop and match in time with his. Her teeth clenched in frustration as she looked deep within herself, she searched for that tremor, that quake. There was something missing. Something was wrong.
---END FLASHBACK---
Lucy gasped at her reflection in the mirror. She had taken the eye pencil and outlined her eyes again and again in a thick black circle. She looked awful. Wrenching the handle of the tap open, icy water gushed out of the faucet, splattering against the counter and mirror. She scrubbed at the dark makeup with her black-stained hands, furiously trying to rub out the mess she had made. The murky grey of the makeup swirled in with the clear water, streaming down into the drain. Twisting the handle shut, Lucy breathed in deep and gazed at her reflection. Angry, dark grey streaks crisscrossed her pale, ghostly white face, making her pale eyes seem larger, fuller, haunted.
Lucy knew she was still in love... but not with the man she had hoped.