Dancing with Shadows

Six

      Jasmine tilted her head up, she kept her eyes firmly shut. "Will you kiss me?" she asked.

      Derick looked down upon her face. Her eyelashes fanned two light brown fringes on her cheeks. Her brows were pulled together as she waited for him. He wanted to press his mouth to hers. He wanted to devour her until the end of time. He took a steadying breath before he lowered his face to hers. His eyes fluttered closed. He could feel her breath puff up and swirl against his parted lips.

      She knew that he was holding her, she could feel them around her. She knew that he was humming, she could feel the vibration under her ear. She hoped that he could kiss her, and waited patiently to feel his breath against her mouth. She was sure that it would never come, and was ready to give up.

      He pressed his lips to hers, and reveled in the feel of her melting into him. He swallowed her sob tasted it on his tongue. He swept his tongue into her mouth, his hand leaving her shoulders to worm his fingers into her hair.

      Jasmine dug her fingers into Derick's back trying to get ever closer to him. She knew he was kissing her. She could feel his tongue against hers. Her body felt him, but she couldn't taste him. She didn't feel his breath against her nose to war with her own. There was something wrong. She didn't feel any of the passion she used to feel when she kissed him.

      No, this didn't feel right at all. She pulled back from the kiss. Her eyes opened, and there it was again.

      Nothing.

      Derick didn't know what happened. One second he was ravaging Jasmine's mouth with his own, and then she pulled away. One moment he was holding her waist and the back of her head, and the next he was slipping through her to land on the floor.

      Before Derick could voice his concern, Jasmine spoke to the empty air that he was no longer occupying.

      "You aren't here," she repeated. "Not really."

      Derick could hear the resolve in her voice. It scared the hell out of him. He rushed over to the phone and touched his finger to the receiver making it scream into life. He watched Jasmine's eyes as she looked up from the floor to the phone. There was a void to her eyes that scared him even more than the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. 

      Jasmine looked at the phone as it rang. She knew that he wanted to try and console her. She just didn't feel like hearing all his sweet lies. She wanted her husband. Soul and body. Jasmine shook her head, now knowing that he was looking at her. "No. I just need to think."

      Jasmine went to the closet next to the front door and grabbed her keys and purse. She pulled the door open to see Zeke standing on her front porch with his back to her. He looked as if he was just getting ready to leave. "Zeke?" Jasmine asked.

      Derick heard her from in the living room and rushed into the hallway to see the technician looking sheepishly at his wife. Jealousy dug in and twisted his gut.

      "Hey, I just-" he jabbed his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry about the other day."

     Jasmine stepped out and pulled the door shut behind her. She turned around and slipped her key into the deadbolt locking the door before responding to Zeke. When she did turn to him again, she shook her head. "You don't need to apologize, but I should."

     "No, I took advantage of you."

      It was the last sentence that Derick heard before they were out of his hearing range. Now he had the rest of the day to wonder how that bastard took advantage of his wife, and why the hell she didn't tell him about it.