Chapter Seventeen: When temptation meets drink

"How have you guys been doing? I wanted to come earlier to check on you but work has had me strangled the last several months". Elizabeth didn't know how to respond yet she had so much to say. "It's been tough but we're working on getting there I guess" she answered. He could tell from her face that she was holding back. He leaned forward and added "You don't have to be strong with me Lizzy. I am your friend". She sank into the couch. "We are doing alright. We're getting there" she said. Lenny was not convinced but dared not make her uncomfortable. He leaned back, picking up the glass in front of him and inquired "What's your secret? I am trying to figure it out but I can't really". She was all sorts of emotions. It seemed he could see through her. "My secret?" she asked desperately trying to hide the fact that she was hiding a lot from him. She hadn't told him that his best friend had upped and left. "Yes what's your secret? Are you immortal?" he added. She was all sorts of confused now. "I'm lost" she confessed. "You haven't aged a day Elizabeth. Still as stunning as I remember you".

She felt guilty as she pronounced a soft spoken thank you to his remark. Somehow it seemed by accepting his somewhat flirtatious compliment she would have in some way cheated on Jake. But it was his best friend, his brother. His brother that seemed to have had the hots for his best friend's wife. She felt a surge of blood shoot up her spine, quickening parts of sensation that had died during the time her husband had ventured to distant land. Lenny saw her in the here and now. He saw her the way she was longing to be seen, yet she felt guilty. She felt his eyes occasionally steal glances at her as she sat legs crossed causing her to shift positions. He didn't stop looking.

"So, where is Jake" Lenny asked. "At work" Elizabeth replied, "he is caught up in a major deal and it's keeping him away from home at times for days on end". Lenny smiled mischievously. This meant he had time to adore his friend's wife in his friend's absence. He admired Elizabeth since the first time Jake introduced her. But all he could do was watch from a distance, and that he did in abundance. Then the wedding happened and with liquor by his side he had dared to be brave. But as a result had to be prematurely ejected from the wedding. A week later, he manned up and came and apologized, conveniently blaming the alcohol. They accepted, he was family after all.

Lenny worked and stayed in a small town a fair distance away from the city. He had had multiple offers for placement in the city but with his alcoholic tendencies, the small town offered him a degree of anonymity. His family and close friends did not really know the extent of his alcoholism, which benefitted him much given he could not stand their judging. Now in the city, he was going to stay with Jake and Elizabeth to avoid family. As sunset drew close, he waited for Jake suspecting his arrival was imminent. They had shared a meal and a conversation with Elizabeth which had meant so much to him. That was as close as he was ever going to get to a date. Now the owner of the obsessed object was soon to arrive and paradise would be put on hold.

He sat on the couch when Elizabeth walked in on the phone. "Okay honey, you be safe alright" she said as she hung up and dejectedly threw herself on the couch opposite Lenny. "Jake won't make it tonight. Apparently he is knee deep in this deal and they need to go over it tonight. He's sleeping at the office" she remarked. Lenny's eyes twinkled. We all know what happens when the cat is away. Elizabeth had made the pretend call to hide the status quo in her marriage. She wasn't prepared to do any explaining.

Dinner came and Elizabeth ordered take out much to Lenny's disappointment. He would have wanted to watch as she cooked, keeping her company. A thought drifted into his mind warning him not to entertain the million other thoughts that were swarming all over in his head. But like a lonely body in the middle of the Atlantic trying to swim to shore, it drowned and concupiscence took over. He wanted her. He knew it, she could see it.

The air around them was intoxicating, yet they were gulping it in abundance. The night would be long and it promised fireworks in a forbidden sky. They had no right. Ethical consideration just about kept things in check. As they sat and conversed, laughing mildly at first, then wildly into the summer night, they were getting a tad too comfortable with each other. A line had to be drawn, a line was drawn. Then a wine bottle popped open and the line was erased. Elizabeth felt alive for the first time since the funeral. The slumbering parts in her awoke and then hurt upon realizing that after Lenny was gone normal service would resume.

Oftentimes, they found themselves out of words, staring at each other. They had however managed to navigate their way out of each and every tense instance. But as the night wore on and the intoxication took over, their walls of defense were as brittle as a thin sheet of glass. "It is late, we should get some sleep" Lenny suggested. "Yeah, we should" Elizabeth said in agreement. "Your usual room is set up. You know your way around the house so just make yourself comfortable" she went on. She was asking him to be comfortable? He sure knew his way around the house, he needed not a reminder. Unless if she was suggesting he venture into places he knew but hadn't really familiarized himself with. Places not made up of walls, but flesh.

With only the toes gently kissing the tiled floor, soon the journey was complete. The door had been quietly opened to avoid waking up the prey. This was a bold move. A move with consequences that lurked just beyond the reach of the foreseeable future. The mind was confined to only that which was in the immediate purview of desire's desire. The desire to satisfy the longings of the flesh. Kneeling down quietly, before was a peacefully sleeping body. Unaware of the presence of the intruder, a gentle touch brought to life an unknowing Lenny. In the mild darkness of the room, he instantaneously made out that it was Elizabeth. Lizzy, oh Lizzy. She gave him an 'it is what is' look. He had awoken a desire in her by his flirty conduct. He had lured her out of her safe zone, now he had to go the distance. "Is everything alright Liz?" he inquired. Slowly, she moved in and kissed him. He did not resist.