Lower Garden District

Present Time

Sally smiled and with a little shake, brought herself back to the present. So much had happened since that first meeting almost 12 years ago. But she didn't want to think about it...not right now. There was time, plenty of time to reminisce. Besides, she was supposed to go to Elaina's for lunch and needed to get ready.

Standing, she went to the unmade bed and as she bent to straighten the linens, the soft heady scent of sex, wafted to her and her senses were filled with Harry...smell, taste, feel. She picked up a pillow to fluff it, sniffed his lingering cologne and her stomach knotted with the sensations that flooded her body. "Damn him to hell and back," she hissed under her breath and tossed it back on the bed. I hate him for making me feel this way, she thought, heading for the table to grab his coffee cup and dump the remaining contents unceremoniously in the kitchen sink. Staring at the cup, her mind drifted, thinking of his lips as she'd watched him sip his coffee earlier and he'd looked up at her and winked.

"Fuck him, fuck him, fuck him! I am not going to think about his lips or anything else." She headed for the bathroom, flipped on the light and was startled at her own reflection. Her hair was still a mass of tangles, giving her a medusa look. Her skin was raw from whisker burn, her lips red, swollen, puffy and she could almost taste his mouth on hers and other things. Spewing several more expletives, she picked up the brush and tried pulling the knots from the top of her head. It was impossible. Giving up, she leaned against the sink and stared into the mirror. "Damn it, this wasn't supposed to happen. I knew better. What was I thinking?" she asked her reflection as tears started to pool in her eyes.

After a few moments, she dropped the brush and ran fingertips over her tender lips and allowed herself the luxury of thinking about the first time Harry Normand and Sally Estes had kissed. The first time she'd felt his lips on hers....

Garden District

December 2004

Sally drove around for several minutes looking for a place to park before she found one a block away. She took a few deep breaths and pulled herself together then got out, grabbing the appetizer she'd fixed earlier in the day. Fortunately, she saw Lydia and her husband, hollered at them and was relieved she wouldn't have to walk in alone. It had been almost a year since she'd seen most of the people that would be at the Christmas party and some she'd never met.

Once inside, she was introduced to the hostess, who took the food from her then raced off to greet a new arrival. Lorraine was the first old friend she ran into and as they hugged then stood back to look at each other, the other woman asked, "So, are you back? Did you finally get away from that brut you were married to?"

"Still married to."

"No, you're not serious! Why?"

"Because I'm a masochist. I just love living with a man I detest."

"But I thought he promised to give you a settlement if you did all those things he forced you to."

Sally gave a disgusted laugh. "Yes, well so did I, but I guess slugs aren't known for keeping promises. All that ended up happening was he got control over my money. Now I can't make a move without his permission. And to make it worse, the IRS is after him and he's threatening to implicate me if I try to divorce him. Oh, and there's this little thing about my life still being threatened by his partner."

They were still chatting when she caught a glimpse of Mr. Normand from the corner of her eye as he jauntily approached the unfortunate looking hostess and planted a kiss on the woman's mouth. Lorraine followed her gaze. "Have you met Harry yet?"

She nodded. "Briefly. Bless his heart, he'll kiss just about anything, won't he?"

"They're just friends. You know Jerry. That's his live in. Jerry and Harry are close."

"Hmmm...well, she wasn't very friendly to me. What about Harry? Who's he with?"

"No telling. He's already gone out with a couple of women from the office."

"So tell me, is he really a ladies' man?"

"Why? Are you interested?" Lorraine asked with a smirk.

At that moment Sally's eyes met Harry's and she lowered them then looked back up and he smiled. Turning her attention back to her friend, she shrugged and gave a sly grin. "Of course not. You know me, the ice queen."

"Prick teaser is more like it."

"Bitch!"

Changing the subject, Lorraine laughed and nudged her in the direction of one of their colleagues. "Down girl! There's Ethan. He'll be so excited to see you. He still carries on about how he just misses that redhead. He's so damn good looking. Too bad he's not straight."

"They never are. All the good ones are either gay or married...sometimes both," Sally giggled.

As the night went on, she kept catching herself looking for Harry and felt a little irritated that he hadn't made any attempt to approach her. However, he did seem to be the center of attention with most of the single women from the office and for some reason, unbeknownst to her, she was irked by that, too.

After about an hour or so, Sally said her goodbyes and headed for the door, when suddenly Mr. Normand was by her side. "It's still early. Are you leaving?" he asked, causing her to turn and look up at him.

"Well, yes. I don't like driving late like this after I've been drinking. I mean, I don't think I'm drunk but I have to go home alone and...well, I mean...it's just that I need to get back," she answered, stumbling over her words.

"Then I'll walk you to your car." He opened the front door, escorted her onto the porch and took her elbow in his hand. "Watch the steps. Are you parked far?"

"A block or so away."

They walked in silence until reaching her Jag convertible. "Here it is," she told him, facing the driver's door as she dug awkwardly in her purse for the keys. She could feel the heat of him standing behind her and it unnerved her somewhat.

"Nice car," he whispered.

She turned slowly and leaned against the door. "Thank you. I love it," she said, pressing the unlock button, her eyes meeting his then looking away and back again to steadily hold his gaze.

He bent as if to open the door for her and she took a couple of steps closer to give him room when she felt his lips on hers. She thought about pushing him away, but her breath caught and she felt herself responding as the kiss grew deeper. Suddenly, her stomach twitched all the way to her vagina and her legs were getting weak. Thank goodness he had her pressed against the door or she would have fallen.

As quickly as it had happened, it stopped. He backed away, grinned down at her, winked, reached a hand out, opened the door and helped her get inside. "Are you okay?" he asked with a smirk.

She realized she was vibrating, her head was spinning and she was having trouble catching her breath. "I'm fine," she said, slamming the door closed and starting the engine. She turned to look back at him but he was already walking back up the sidewalk to the house they'd just left and she could swear there was a swagger in his steps she hadn't noticed before. How dare he just kiss me like that, she thought angrily as she pulled onto the street. And when is he going to do it again?