Strings

Chapter 11

 Propriety has always been an aspect difficult to associate with a person. The person, no matter who they would be, a rich or poor man, a child or adult, and even a man or woman. No one could ever practice it 24/7. And Kellie Richter, in all of her silence and deep-thinking, sitting in the living room of a Chris Daniels' house, was failing said aspect.

 Not that it was a very troubling problem, but Kellie was one of those women who had 6th senses. The kind that would all the sudden make their bodies tremble and their insides feel weird. And, that once it happens, restlessness akin to being on hyper-meds dawns on them, until they've all but paced the entire house just to satiate the tension inside them.

 The scope of impropriety, which was being mentioned earlier, where Kellie's mind was busily swirling at the moment, was in fact regarding her ex-husband, Jack. There wasn't exactly a law for thinking of a man she used to be tied to in matrimony, while she was currently on lieu for a new one. But Kellie's 6th sense just kept knocking her off at her side. She couldn't help but feel as if it was wrong of her.

 Sure, it wasn't the same as seeing Jack behind Chris' back, but the feeling was mutual. And Kellie did not like it one bit. She and Jack were legally divorced and physically separated longer than they had been married. Even so, she couldn't prevent the brusque tailor from getting inside her head. Which was in fact, as much as she detested it, so very often.

 It was just so in almost, though not all, women, who failed in their first marriages, and were carrying on with a new one. The same instincts of worry and sentimentality that they had developed for the first man still lingers on, even if they were in bed with another one. So all thoughts aside, Kellie was thinking about Jack.

 The party that Chris had hosted in celebration of another big break in his company was a brief 8 days ago. A week and a day to be precise. Though no one has yet to give any effort to forget the outrage that Jack had thrown. Chris had been forgiving enough, but everyone else that was there during the party, weren't as much. The other day Chris was talking about a fellow employee who was sharing a video of Jack's fiasco at work. He didn't elaborate much about it, but he did say that he told the employee to delete the video. He just wasn't sure if it really was deleted, though.

 "Hey, you're up pretty early."

 Reflexively, Kellie's shoulders lifted up and turned in place as she straightened in her seat. Chris came coming down the stairs, tying the belt of his robe around his waist. He came upon the side of the sofa where Kellie sat and gave her a quick kiss.

"Morning." He said to her.

"Mm.." Kellie hummed in return.

 Immediately catching this, Chris placed a hand around Kellie and stood at her side.

"Something wrong?" He asked. Kellie took a moment then turned her head at him.

"I'm worried about, Jack."

 Chris doesn't recoil or even looks surprised, and Kellie doesn't expect him to. He understood her ongoing consideration and sympathy for Jack, even if their ties weren't that close anymore. The only thing that could possibly come as a surprise to Chris, was how Kellie could still do so even after how Jack acted during the party some time ago. "About the video? I told you, you don't have to worry about that. I got him to delete it." Chris said, standing up and going to the coffee table where a pitcher of water and glass was lying.

 He poured himself a glass before Kellie gave him her answer. "It's not about the video.." She waited until he turned around to continue. "It's more like, the entirety. I'm worried about him in general." Kellie said. Chris drank his water, but his eyes were still on her.

"Why don't you try calling him?" He suggested. Kellie shook her head.

"He hates me calling. As you saw back at that party, he hates me on every aspect." She said without even taking a second to consider it in her head.

 She had finally stood up from the sofa, relieving her buttocks from the discomforting cushions. She made her way to the kitchen, leaving Chris in the living room, still processing her last statement. When he followed her there, she was trying to start the stove. Though she was having a pretty hard time, since she was exerting too much effort in turning the knobs, and her fingers kept slipping. When she tried and failed for the 3rd time, she gave a sound of frustration, and braced herself on the front of the stove. "Hey." Chris said slowly, walking in steady steps towards her.

 He came behind her, and  placed both of his hands on her shoulders. They had an immediate effect on Kellie, since she quickly relaxed and gave a small sigh of ease. "There." Chris whispered, starting to rub the small, delicate pieces of flesh under his palms. "I can already feel the stress coming off of you." He soothed into her ear, letting out sighs of relief and content, that for some reason, made her feel weird deep inside. But she kept this to herself.

 Without saying a word, she turned her head to the side, where Chris' face stayed, and immediately she caught his lips in a quick lock for a long kiss. She hated it a lot how sometimes (if not also often) sex could ease the tension and arguments between couples. Its' what both men and women do whenever the situation demanded it and very lately Kellie has been finding herself turning to this very xxxxxx solution.

 Some of the kitchenware and plates clattered and rang on the tabletops as Chris swept them to the side so he could lay Kellie there. When they were positioned, and they were practically no longer breathing, Kellie left all early thoughts of worry and anxiety aside. The only thing that bothered her though, that even as Chris began to slip off the strap of her blouse, the thing that stayed on her mind, was Jack's face.