Curiosity

She had just come back from a discussion and he had walked her over to her office. The elevator door had suddenly opened and people streamed out, and she had turned on her heel and gotten in. It had cut short their goodbyes, and she suddenly remembered how disappointed he had looked. As they were speaking, he had been hesitant; and he had leaned forward, his voice lowering till it was barely a whisper. She wondered if he had wanted to kiss her; but the sudden stream of people coming out of the elevator interrupted the moment and he had pressed a package into her hand and walked away. The package! She had almost forgotten about it.
It was a small white box with no markings whatsoever; and she looked at it, wondering if she should open it. The elevator was packed with people, and she wondered that the fact that he gave it so discreetly meant she should open it in private. She turned the box over and over, wondering what it contained. She sniffed it, but there wasn't any distinctive scent; and she weighed it in her hand and it didn't quite feel very heavy. Her curiosity began to fuel a sense of excitement and her mind began to wander, planting ideas and more ideas of what could be in that box. She put the box into her pocket, and she smiled at herself at all the silly things that may be in that box and patted it.
Back at her desk, she peered out to his room and saw that he still wasn't in. She took out the box and admired it, wondering what may be inside. She traced her finger on the corners of the box and she placed it on her desk. On one instance she wanted to wait until she reached home to open it, then curiosity got the better of her and she wanted to open it immediately. She giggled at herself, feeling somewhat silly at the schoolgirl excitement. She loved getting little gifts like this, and its been a long time since she received one. She again wondered what it was, and held the box against her cheek, imagining him packing little bits of diamonds and gold, kissing each little piece as he placed it into the box. She found the idea immediately silly and she felt silly once again smiling to herself. She wondered for the umpteenth time what in the world he could have gotten her.
Unable to contain herself any longer, with trembling hands she opened it. A little red velvet box, lined with gold thread, lay inside the white cardboard box. She drew it out slowly holding her breath, wondering if it was really what she thought it was. Impossible! She almost didn't want to look at the contents as she lifted the velvety lid with trembling fingers.
She let out a gasp and nearly dropped the box as she covered her mouth in surprise at what lay in the box. She laid it down on her desk and stared at it as she took a deep breath. She suddenly felt cold.
Lying in the tiny box was a string of gold, intertwined with white surrounding a huge red ruby ensconced in diamonds that exploded in a flash of rainbow being next to the ruby. She gingerly took it out and looked at it, speechless. She put it on and looked at herself from her powder compact mirror; even in the tiny mirror, it was gorgeous. She looked up as she heard his room door open, and saw him entering his room and closing the door behind him.
He had just sat in his desk and was stacking the papers on his desk when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in!" he said, without looking up. He heard the door open, and quietly close. Then there was silence. Puzzled, he looked up.
She stood there, her hands behind her against the door, not saying a word. She looked at him, smiling. Her blouse was unbuttoned, save for the lowest, and pulled apart at the shoulders, exposing her chest. And, complementing the sparkling in her eyes, awash in a flaming glow in the center of her chest, was the ruby and diamonds he had gotten her.

Paradise

He sat there in the muggy evening heat, casting his eyes in the shadows of the setting sun. In the golden light, the rolling thunderclouds seemed lower than usual, almost tinged with green. Everything was still, and there was not a single sound other than the rush of water over the rocks of a nearby stream. He was tired, and the soothing rush of water began to lull his senses.

She came by, smiled and sat down next to him, clutching a small notebook in hand. She was new, but he had this sense of familiarity with her. He spent a little more time with her than the other employees, and she responded favorably and he began to look forward to these moments when she would seek him out in private and learn as much as she can from him.

They were at a company sponsored outing, and the rolling thunderclouds necessitated a change in plans from outdoor barbecue to indoor buffet. It offered him a brief respite from the day's proceedings.

They spoke about work for a while and the conversation then turned to about themselves. The growing shadows and the calming sounds of the stream relaxed them. He took her hand, and gently ushered her over, and was pleasantly surprised when ahe did not object. Their voices turned to whispers, which drew them even closer. Then, she put her head on his shoulder and he swung his arm around her and held her close, stroking her side as they spoke. He kissed her cheek, and seeing she did not mind, sat up and turned to look at her. He studied her face for a moment and stroked her cheek. He leaned forward to kiss her on the lips,but she turned her face away.

"Please, no", she said, placing her finger on his lips.

He pulled her even closer and stroked her hair. He tried to kiss her again, but this time she didn't object. She let out a gasp when their lips touched; her lips parted easily to take his tongue. He felt the softness of her lips on his and in that moment,he lost all sense of himself and drowned himself in the moment.He kissed her over and over savoring every kiss, feeling her breath on his face, hot and moist. Her every moan as he stroked her back with long, broad strokes submerged him deeper into the moment.

A sudden thunderclap knocked him into his senses and he suddenly sat upright, realizing how far he'd gone with her. She looked away from him, biting her lower lip. He touched her face. "Are you ok?", he asked.
"yeah," she replied, still looking away."I've been wondering what's its like to kiss you for so long now,... I.. I know now.."
He pulled her close to him and kissed her one last time. "Hush.. shh.. Its ok..Please don't feel bad. I really.. I shouldn't have.."

She weakly pushed him away and sat upright facing away from him never once looking at him. He felt perplexed.He hard not meant to go so fur, but his desire for her had taken over him. He stood up and held her shoulders and looked into her eyes. He resisted the urge to kiss her again and instead wiped the little tear drops beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.
"I'm really sorry", he said. "I really like you a lot. And sometimes when I'm with you, I don't quite know how to control my self.I dont want to hurt you.I just need to know that you're ok."
"I'd better go," she said, and walked away.
In the waning light, he stood there and watched as her figure disappeared into the shadows.

Darkness

He sat up in his bed, yet again after countless nights. He rubbed his sleep deprived eyes and squinted in the dark. He heard the faint barking of dogs and the distant roar of the midnight racers, and he got up, looked out the window and stretched. He took a deep breath that filled his lungs to the brim and let it out slowly. He was tired, but yet again, sleep eluded him.
He walked out to the living room, found his pc and fired it up. As he'd always done in recent weeks, he'd get tired of trying to sleep and check his many e-mail accounts, social sites for that message. This time he knew already that each account would be filled with nothing but spam, and the particular message he'd look for would still not be there. He saw the numbers of new mail begin to climb, but he didn't really pay attention since he knew that it wouldn't be any more than discount drug offers, friend requests and fake order confirmations.
He was about to close the lid of his notebook pc when in the corner of his eye, he caught her name amongst the list of senders. His heart began to beat harder when he realized that she had finally replied to all his tweets and e- mails. His mind went back to the moment when he felt her breath on his neck, the touch of her hand on his skin; how her warm flesh felt against him. And he had taken her in his arms, her body warm and soft against his, and she had suddenly pushed him away just as he began to savor the moment and realized that as much as he wanted her, she felt the same. He quickly opened the mail, and almost immediately his heart began to sink as he read what she had written.
"Dearest", she said, "I dont know how to say this to you. From the moment we met, there was something about you that attracted me to you. And even though I realize that we are colleagues, I have always looked forward to spending time with you. Every moment, no matter how small, every touch, no matter how fleeting, gives me a feeling of completeness that I have never felt before. Every time I set foot here, I look forward to spending the day with you. And from every goodbye till the next hello, I feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness, like a part of me has been ripped off and taken away. And it continues like that until the next moment when I see you again, and every burden I have is forgotten, every fear resolved until the next goodbye. And this desire to be with you has passed beyond all boundaries of reason, and when I am with you, I no longer can control my every desire to be with you. I long to feel your every touch, the warmth of your flesh, the smell of your skin, the feel of your breath, and the taste of your lips. And I've let you on into thinking that this can last forever, but it cannot, because you are not mine, and neither is my heart yours to have. I cannot anymore face this contradiction, I have nothing but guilt for the man who holds my heart. My life has never felt so complete with you by my side, yet the truth is that just as you belong to someone else, so do I. This cannot last forever, and I'd rather hurt you now than to hurt you when its too late."

He felt a quiver in his chest as dismay filled his heart. He fought the welling of emotion as he buried his face in his hands.

She continued," Dearest, I want you to know that I love you. I've loved you all this while, I love you now, and I will always love you. You brought me light when there is darkness, you brought me warmth when there is cold; and you are the shelter when there is rain. This turmoil in my heart can only tear us apart, so please understand, its only better that we end it this way. "

"Farewell, my love, may sunshine remind you of our love"