The Law of Attraction [Chris Beck]

Chapter 16

Nine Years Ago

Alice gripped her white high heels in her hands; each stair to her second floor apartment felt like a mountain. Her legs and feet felt heavy, like they had concrete blocks on them. Her body was tired from being up all night, and her head felt dull, groggy. She reached her door and unlocked it, quietly entering the apartment. All the lights were off, as it was only six in the morning; her roommate was still asleep, as expected. So Alice placed her shoes on the ground by the door, and silently as possible made her way to her bedroom. Turning on the bathroom light, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her mascara had darkened the skin around her eyes, her lipstick was long gone, some of it probably still upon Chris's skin. Her hair was a tousled mess, but that was how she was supposed to look after a fun night.

But she didn't feel as though she was having fun anymore. She did not regret the night, it was one she would never forget because of what happiness it brought her. With both her hands on the vanity, she leaned forward and stared at herself in the mirror. Angry with herself for walking out on something -someone- that could have been so much more, she told herself over and over again that she couldn't afford distractions right then. Shaking her head, she turned on the shower and let it run until it was scalding hot. Peeling her dress off of her body, she noticed the marks on her body; a hickey upon her collarbone, and another on her breast. Gently, she touched them as if they would go away, but they would remain for a few more days at least.

She thought about facing Chris again when they went to class, but knew it wouldn't be an issue unless he approached her. If he knew anything about one night stand etiquette, it was to not approach the person if they were gone by the morning. The class had about a hundred people in it, so it would be easy to avoid him for the last two weeks of classes, and then she would never see him again. It made it easier when she thought of it that way; the mind always moved on, bent back into the right spot, she would be okay. But as she stepped into the steaming hot water, she wondered how anyone could have made her feel that way, and if she had just made one of the biggest mistakes in her life.

Now

Beck's hand was still upon Alice's cheek as their lips connecting, creating a spark between them that had never truly gone out. Though their time together had been brief in the past, it did not mean that it hadn't been powerful and somehow everlasting. No longer were there hard feelings between them because Alice didn't call; everything had been laid out on the table and sorted out. Only now there was one problem that crept into Alice's head as she kissed back, savouring every second of it. That problem was that they were not allowed to be doing exactly what they were doing. She had made a promise to the Commander that this wouldn't happen, and it was that promise that made Alice pull away.

"Beck..." she whispered.

"I know," he said, smiling but shaking his head slightly. "You don't need to say it."