Disclaimer: All characters are property of the seven network.

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Red Wine

She moved swiftly around the room, collecting her clothes. My eyes followed her supple form, ignoring the feelings that were slowly beginning to set in. She pulled her red skirt up swiftly over her long, tanned legs, pulling her long hair back into a loose bun with the remaining hair elastic she had in her bag. Shimming into her tight top, I mourned at the loss of that lovely belly as it was hidden between the dark crimson materials.

She looked up suddenly, and smiled a little when she caught my staring at her. Her body swayed as she moved towards me, falling onto the bed and crawling on top of me. She smiled down angelically as her hand reached down to touch my cheek.

I melted under her soft touch and leant up, capturing her lips with my own. She tasted of chocolate and red wine and something else, something truly her, and as I ran my hands through her messy hair that had fallen out, I knew that I could never get enough of her… I could never have enough of her.

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His hands were in my hair and his lips were enticing me into our sinful state once again. His plush lips sucked gently on mine as I smiled into the kiss. Pulling away, I watched as he licked his now red lips, his eyes flicking over my crumpled form once more. I tasted beer in my mouth, and grinned a little as I watched him lean over for the beer that was sitting on the bedside table.

But then I caught a glimpse of the gold band that was sitting comfortably around his left ring finger, and the pit of my stomach lurched a little. My right hand instantly flew to my left where I subconsciously fiddled with the small diamond ring that glimmered in the morning light that was peaking through the blinds.

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Turning back around, cool beer in my hand, I watched as the flushed red colour drained from her cheeks, her face turning pale, her body becoming stiff as I reached out to her. I could no longer taste her sweetness, rather the guilt and regret that I felt when we reached this stage. It always came, like clockwork, flooding the sweet memories we'd made the night before.

And then we'd leave one another, and go our separate ways. The taste bitter sweet, the feelings numbed, because we knew what we were doing was wrong. We knew it could never last. We knew that if they found out, we'd be shunned. Because we knew that we could never be together for longer than these fleeting moments we savoured.

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I watched as his eyes fell, and I knew that the moment had passed. That the time had passed. That it was time to shut the door and walk away. Until another time and another place, when I'd be lost in my own world, my red lips smiling at anyone and anything, when he'd find me, and his arms would snake themselves around my belly, and once more we'd become lost in the taste, the feel, the need for one another.

His hand reaches out to me, but I shy away from him, crawling off the bed slowly as I collect my bag once more. The salty taste of tears reaches my mouth before I even realise the tears are cascading down my face. Furiously I reached up to wipe them away, but his hand caught my own, and he turned me gently to face his, his eyes looking down into my own, searching for something, anything. I looked away as his hand reached up and cupped my face, wiping away the tears, although the flow seemed endless.

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"We could run away together." I said to her suddenly, as her eyes snapped to mine, and I saw in them the crushed hopes and dreams of a woman who was stuck in a world she hated.

"We can't." She replied finally, shaking her head and pulling away from me, refusing to give in to the red hot desires I knew she felt too.

"You've got kids. And a family… another life… and I've got… I've got…" She tried to say his name, but chocked on her own words, the guilt overwhelming her.

"Forget them. I know we could. We'd finally be free to be together like we should be." I cried, pulling her towards me as she melted into his embrace.

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It was so tempting. Running away, skipping out on all our problems. On all our mistakes… our failures. Running away to begin a life we should never have led, running away from the life we were fated to lead. Leaving the taste of regret, of loss, of hate… in our families mouths, with the guilt and suffering growing in our own stomachs day after day.

I couldn't do that. I couldn't live a lie. No matter how badly I wanted to.

"I can't Jack." I said finally, pulling away from him and walking towards the door. "I can't live a lie, no matter how green the grass is."

-

I watched as her figure retreated from the motel room. Peaking out the window, I watched her red skirt move as she climbed into her care and drove off into the sunrise. My hand ran through my hair as tried to control the anger that surged through me. Unable to contain the rage, the jealous monster that brewed within me, I grabbed the wine bottle that was sitting next to me and threw it against the wall, watching it shatter into a million pieces. Like my heart.

"Dammit." I screamed angrily. "Dammit Matilda Hunter… I love you." I sobbed, sliding down the wall into a broken heap on the floor.

Alone, unloved.

The taste of love and rejection in my mouth.