I was up way too early this morning. I wasn't going to work on this mushy bit of fiction but approached it as just another writing exercise. Just another workout on the way to another goal, so to speak. It came from the simple phrase I heard in a song about giving me lip service and I took it from there. It could have gone in so many other directions but this is where I took it this time.
TT
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He walked her to the door. They had been seeing each other only a few times and this had been a particularly fun evening. It had been filled with so much conversation they couldn't contain their thoughts as they talked and shared, words spilling out with laughter. It wasn't the first time in their handful of dates that she had experienced the warm feeling of closeness with him and knew he felt it too. They were both guilty of having a little too much fun with everything being said during the times they spent together. This evening had been no different. Or that is what she thought as they walked together and reached her door to say goodbye.
He leaned down and brushed her lips and told her he would call. He moved slightly away and that is when she met his eyes and they held for a solid moment before he turned. She couldn't read his face. He hadn't smiled or changed his serious expression. Was she making too much of it? Had she been too hopeful in where she thought this relationship might be going? She closed her eyes briefly to try to ward off the insecurity. But she couldn't deny that feeling of a heavy stone in the pit of her stomach. Somehow, something had changed and he had just given her lip service. No, not the kiss but all the rest of it. It was in the way he barely touched her lips and turned away after giving her the classic brush off about telling her that he would call. How could she have let herself be so hopeful?
She watched him as he walked away. She wanted to call him back and make it all rewind. She wanted to find the moment where it had all changed. And to find out why.
Maybe she was wrong. She could have been imagining it. It was only a look, a swift feeling. She couldn't pin anything down to prove it was true. But she knew. She knew. He wouldn't call again. She thought she was good at reading all the unspoken signs. Maybe too good. She was suddenly sad since she believed there could have been so much more. She had gotten to know him and it had been so easy and honest. But she couldn't deny what she was feeling. There had been something that passed between them in that flicker of their eyes. She felt foolish now that she had allowed herself to feel so much for him in such a short time.
She pushed her key into the door and let herself in. She put her purse down on the table and took a deep breath. She heard her cell phone ring and reached into her bag to pull it out. She frowned with confusion as she recognized his number and answered, "Hello?"
"Hey. I'm outside your door. I walked away but had to come back. I had the weirdest vibe about the two of us. Is everything alright? Can I come in?"
She turned to switch on the light to illuminate the dark room. The stone in the pit of her stomach turned into anxious nerves as she suddenly realized her own insecurities might have reflected from her eyes during that instant moments ago. She opened the door to him unable to contain the upward turn that was brightening her face. He stepped inside and studied her smile. He brought his face down to hers and that is when the real lip service began.
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