Lucky #7
by Audrey Bresar
Moonlight casts an iridescent glow on the crystal prism perched on the sofa table. Tonight, we celebrate our 7th anniversary curled up under a blanket watching a movie and sipping on wine.
My heart pounds as the actress charges toward her co-star. “You cheating son of a bitch!” I mouth the words coming off the TV screen. I know this movie verbatim but still get goosebumps from the excitement of these last seconds. The line between right and wrong disappears. Whack! The sound of the rock smashing against his head like a golf club connecting with a ball is satisfying. I roll my wedding band around my finger, biting my bottom lip to hold back a smirk.
I watch him, searching his expression for a connection. He smiles and runs his hand along my leg draped over him. Buzz! The goosebumps reappear. My heart pauses for an instant and then resets to an unfamiliar tempo. I wonder what I would feel if I crossed that line. My skin tingles with that thought.
Leaning forward, he brushes his lips with mine. His breath is warm, and I feel moisture bead on my upper lip as he lingers above my mouth. My eyes tell him it’s okay to explore. His touch sends a thousand tiny charges of electricity running through me.
An intimate dance from long ago begins, and the unknown ahead sizzles with anticipation. His kisses are like this empty home void of passion but filled with duty. The choreography is clumsy and graceless. My lips stay still. Buzz! Buzz! I breathe out heavily and finally kiss him back. And as the forced hunger of the kiss strengthens, the line erases.
He doesn’t hear the credits rolling on the TV screen or the impatient buzzes from his cell phone. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! It’s the same buzz that has kept him whispering and grinning all week. But I hear it all and am reminded of the text I found earlier that day.
Reaching behind the sofa, I wrap my hand around the cold prism that lies waiting there.
Audrey Bresar is a writer from Toronto, Canada. She holds a BA from the University of Toronto and her Editing Credentials from Simon Fraser University. Words, images, experiences, and people are the fabric of her soul. She is well-travelled, and her dream is to live abroad, capturing the essence of life through her words. You can find her on Twitter @ABresar or at audreybresar@gmail.com.