Hope

Lucy went to her apartment to change and get ready to head over to Kyle's condo. Once she arrived, she let herself in as she had an extra key. She tried to be as quiet as possible while placing her bag and the picnic basket down by the door. The doorway led into the living room, and she could see that he was not there. There was an open floor plan so she could see into the kitchen, and he wasn't there either.

Since he was supposed to be working, Lucy figured he must be in his office, so she carefully made her way through hallway to room he used for that purpose. The door was open, so she crept up to it, jumped in, and yelled out, "Surprise!" To her own surprise, he wasn't there.

"Hmm," she thought, as she made her way back out. She wondered if he was maybe resting in the bedroom. Heading in that direction she wondered why the door was closed. When she opened it, she was surprised to see it empty with a few of shirts and pants lying on the bed and the closet door open. "I wonder if he had to go somewhere?," she considered.

Lucy called up the assistant who worked with Kyle and a couple of his colleagues. She had met Patricia at a few company functions and had called the office many times over the years so they knew each other fairly well. When Patricia picked up and made the formal greeting, Lucy said, "Hi Patricia, it's Lucy, how are you?"

Patricia responded, "Doing well, thanks! It's been a while. I assume you're looking for Kyle?." She chuckled.

"Now how do you know I didn't call to just talk to you?," Lucy laughed back.

"Hmm, because it's working hours?," Patricia teased.

Lucy laughed again, "Ok you got me. Yes, I'm looking for my lost boyfriend. Is he in? I want to surprise him so that's why I didn't call him directly."

Patricia's voice sounded confused when she reported that Kyle had gone on a one-day overnight business trip that day.

"Oh, that's what happened. He thought I was working a double shift, so he probably didn't want to bother me. Okay, well thanks Patricia!," Lucy said, trying to seem more confident than she felt.

"You're welcome. Talk to you later," Patricia responded.

After they said their goodbyes and Lucy hung up the call, she sighed and walked around the empty apartment. She was about to call Kyle, but thought of something else instead.

At the same time, Selene had decided to venture out of the bedroom to make herself some lunch. She did not like the awkwardness that was building up even just in a couple of days between her and Ben, so she ate her lunch in the kitchen. She knew Ben wasn't home, but she wanted to get used to being outside the room she'd isolated herself in.

She was on her laptop talking to Dianna from the lab later that afternoon, when Ben came home. When she heard the door, she told Dianna she'd call her right back. He saw her on the couch in the living room, walked over, and said, "Hey. I'm back."

Selene looked up when he was walking over, and they made eye contact as he spoke. She gave her usual greeting of, "Hey, welcome back," but with a small smile.

He pointed his thumb behind him toward the direction of the office and told her he was going to talk to Johnny. She nodded.

After a little while, both men came back out and Ben walked Johnny out. Ben walked passed the living room toward the office, when he heard Selene call out quietly, "Umm, do you have a minute?"

He turned around and said, "Of course," with a tone that indicated his disbelief that she could ever doubt he would not have time for her.

When he sat down across from her, so as not to intrude on her space, she admitted, "I don't like this awkwardness and I'm sure you don't either. I don't want it to be like that. I just need some time to myself to think but I don't think staying in my room and staying away from you is the answer either."

Ben leaned forward and nodded. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable though if you need your space," he said.

"I know. I just don't know how to do it without avoiding you, you know? Maybe after I talk to the therapist it will be easier," she sighed.

"When is your appointment?," he asked.

"Not until next Friday," she replied.

He looked surprised and wondered, "Why is it taking so long? You need to see somebody today or tomorrow. I mean, this just happened."

She nodded, "I agree, but I have to go by what insurance says and the first available I could find with what seemed like a decent counselor was on that day."

Ben was quiet for a few moments, thinking about the best way to offer to help. He knew Selene was sensitive when it came to money, but he also needed her to get help as soon as possible. He finally offered, "Would it be alright if in this situation, since it's about your mental health, that I pay the fee out of pocket for the therapist?" Before she could respond by shaking her head, he went on quickly, "Just hear me out a second. Maybe it would be just for the first few sessions and then your insurance could do the rest but I think if they get full price then they may see you more quickly. If you want, you can pay me back for it over time. I just really think you should talk to someone sooner than next Friday."

Selene saw the concern in his eyes and she really did want to talk to someone soon. So, she relented, "Thank you. I would appreciate that."

Ben tried to contain his huge sense of relief and just asked for the information for the therapist and he said he would take care of it right then. He went into the office and then about 15 minutes later, he came back and said the therapist could see her that night via video call. Selene's eyes grew as far wide as they could go. "What?!," she exclaimed. "How did you manage that?"

He shrugged and just responded with, "Like I said, full price goes a long way." He neglected to mention that he was actually paying double the therapist's rate.

Selene was still wide-eyed as she nodded, "I guess so. Well, thanks again."

"So, what are you doing here? Are you working? Shouldn't you be resting?," Ben asked, his voice getting increasingly louder with each question.

She answered him with, "Calm down, geeze. I'm bored. I've been resting all day. I just wanted to check in and see how things were going. It's been interesting to say the least. Thanks for having Dianna's back."

"Of course. Okay, but promise you'll take it easy and not overdo it," he requested.

"Okay," she responded.

Ben took one more look at her and then got up. "I guess I'll go check back in with work then," he said and then left after she nodded.

Later that night, Selene went out of her bedroom into the kitchen to get something to drink. She was still thinking about her first counseling session and just wanted to have a beer. Apparently, Ben had had the same idea as he was already there and from the looks of it, he'd was ahead of her by about three bottles.

She grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and sat across from him. Neither said anything as they drank. After she drank the beer, Selene got up and started to head back to her room. Suddenly, Ben rushed out of his seat and quickly closed the distance between them. He hugged her tightly from behind and whispered into her ear, "Just stay for a little while longer."

Selene was torn. She loved this man with everything in her being. But it was going to take time to build trust, right? She couldn't just start trusting him again, could she? Wouldn't that make her stupid?

But then, here he was, with his arms around her, and it felt right. She turned around to tell him he she had to go. Instead, when her eyes locked onto his, no words came out. Her palms were on his chest, while his were on her waist.

"If there was any way I could make this up to you, I would. I would do anything for you," he whispered.

Selene's lips began to tremble. She believed his words. But still…

She bit on her bottom lip, not knowing what to say. At the same time, she couldn't stop looking at him and she couldn't pull herself away. Slowly, Ben started to lean down. Selene still did not move. When his face was as close as it could get without touching, still she did not move. Her eyes never left his, even as the inner battle went on.

Ben's body seemed to have a mind of its own when it had rushed toward her. He wanted to give her the space she needed, but in that moment, he just needed to hold her. It had been too long. And when she didn't resist, his heart felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from it. He felt as if it was a sign that perhaps she was going to forgive him and give him another chance. She did not pull away.

When their lips finally met, the energy that rushed through them was euphoric, washing away the pain they had been feeling merely seconds before. All that was known in that moment was the feeling of oneness, of love, and of hope. Ben started the kiss gently, but firmly. He wanted to make sure Selene could pull away if she felt uncomfortable, but he also wanted his intentions to be clear. She kissed him back and their embrace became stronger. As their heads moved from one side to the other, trying to get a better hold, a deeper kiss, a stronger connection, the couple lost sight of their need for breath.

When Selene parted her lips, Ben did not hesitate to respond to her invitation. His tongue began exploring her mouth, letting Ben remind himself of what he had been missing--the taste that was uniquely hers mixed with the traces of beer. He licked the top of her mouth, trying to feel every part at once. He then sucked on her tongue and licked around it, the hardness pushing against his pants becoming harder to ignore.

Finally, Selene parted, and they both panted. She was starting to feel the wetness coating her panties and knew they had to stop before they got carried away.

Ben put a palm to her cheek. He caressed it softly as their foreheads touched.

Selene whispered, "I hope you know that I still love you. That hasn't changed. I just…"

"I know," Ben said, "I love you too."

Then Selene pulled herself away from Ben's arms even though she desperately didn't want to and walked back to her room. She knew the drink had been a waste in terms of helping soothe her mind so she could sleep. She still had a lot of thinking to do.

Ben watched her go, and then when she was out of sight, he followed her. He wished he could follow her into her bedroom but alas he had to take the turn to the master bedroom instead. His heart was aching at that loss but at least it felt lighter.

No sooner had Selene closed the door to her bedroom when she heard her phone vibrating. She grabbed it from the nightstand and was surprised to see it was Peter. "Hi Peter," she said cautiously.

"Finally, you've picked up. I tried calling about 100 times!," Peter exclaimed behind her ear.

"Sorry, I was…," she started to explain.

But Peter interjected, "It's ok. I know you have a lot going on. Buuut, I'm driving on my way back from San Diego, and we have a little situation here, okay, big situation." He turned to look at his companion when he felt a poke at his side at the word "little." Then he added, "We need your help."