7.26 Our Time Now

Melody was out for a jog one evening when it occurred to her that she jogged by River’s house almost every day, and she never stopped to say hello. She had been wanting to see what the inside of his house looked like anyway, so she stopped by on her last lap.

“What a surprise! Is everything ok,” River asked.

“I was just out running and I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. Please come in.”

She walked in and looked around. Everything was just as she imagined it.

“Wow. You live exactly how I thought you would be living.”

“And how’s that?”

“Minimally.”

“Ha! I guess. I don’t like clutter. Besides, I enjoy a clean, modern look. Come rest yourself. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Well, I finally got to the bottom of the girls’ trip to the principal’s office.”

“Oh yeah! So what was up with that? How did things go?”

“So, first of all, their grades are terrible–”

“I wonder where they got that from,” he teased.

“Hey! That’s not fair! They’re not distracted like I was, so there’s no excuse. Anyway, so they both got D’s on their last report card, and they were trying to hide it from me. They haven’t been doing their homework, and when I asked them why, you know what they said?”

“Llama ate it?”

“I would have prefered that one! They said they lost it!”

“Awww, come on girls! I thought they would have come up with something better than that. Especially Marli.”

“So, they misplaced their homework somewhere like months ago and never bothered to tell their teacher or me. They said they thought it wasn’t a big deal.”

“So what did you do?”

“I GROUNDED them! No TV or computer until they make up ALL that work plus any extra credit work. I called the teacher and practically begged her to give them another chance, so she said she’ll assign extra credit every now and then.”

“You’re a tough mommy! I love that you’re so into your kids’ lives.”

“I can’t help it. They’re just like me, so I have to make sure they don’t turn out like me.”

“They won’t.”

“I hope not. I just feel like I should have noticed they’ve been having a lot of fun lately. Oh! Speaking of turning out like me…I sent that email.”

“You did? How do you feel?”

“I feel great. I really do feel free. Thank you so much for making me realize my need for it.”

River had been thinking a lot lately about Melody and this “thing” between them. He knew for a while what he wanted to do, but he was waiting for the right time. He was concerned about Melody and didn’t want to interfere with the much needed healing process. But now that she was right there in his home and emotionally free, he thought it had to be a sign and decided to do it.

“I’m so glad you were open to it. That makes me much more confident about taking the next step with you. It’s our time now.” he said and scooted closer to her and held her.

“What does that mean?”

“I think you know.”

“So…we’re in a relationship now?”

“We both know we’ve been in a ‘relationship’ for a long time. But yes, I am telling you that I adore you, and you are mine–officially.”

Melody didn’t know whether she should cry or smile or laugh. She was nervous, but it had nothing to do her previous fears and insecurities. She was just plum nervous! She was finally getting what she wanted and didn’t know how to handle it.

“I feel like dancing! Come on,” she said as she shot up and began to rock to the music.

“No, no, no, no. This is classical music. Let me show you how you dance to classical music,” he said.

He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him and held her other hand. They swayed left and right, pelvis to pelvis.

“You slow dance to classical music, my dear.”

Melody started breathing heavily and her heart rate accelerated. She hadn’t been in the arms of another Sim in ages. She thought she must have been dreaming, but it was all very real. River was having his own surge of emotions and decided to take matters into his own hands–now that he was allowed to.

“Melody…we’ve been flirting with this for a very long time. That stops tonight. I’m going to kiss you now.”

He leaned in and passionately pressed his lips against hers. Melody thought the room was spinning.

“Wow! I need to…I gonna…go…yeah, I should go!”

“So soon?”

“If I stay here one more minute, I’ll be here all night.”

He laughed at her and said, “I would not be opposed to that.”

Scarlet, carmine, ruby, and crimson are all shades of red. Melody was all of them.

“Y-y-you wouldn’t?”

“Of course not! I want to know every facet of you.”

She thought about it, and it was very tempting. Very tempting. She wanted to, but she couldn’t allow herself to do it. She knew her propensity to be clouded by intimacy, and with this new relationship, she wanted to try operating objectively with a clear head.

“We shouldn’t. I should have been back home hours ago. I don’t want the girls to worry about me.”

“They’re right across the street. You could call them.”

“But they’ve never spent the night alone before.”

“They’re big girls, Melody! Stop babying them!”

He wasn’t trying to pressure her, but he presented a very good case for his position. She knew everything he said was correct, but she stuck to her guns.

“Riv! Stop making saying goodnight so hard!”

He smiled. In that moment, he knew what he needed to do next. But before she went, he thought he’d toy with her a little more.

“Soon enough, you won’t have to say goodnight.”

“What does that mean?”

“Weren’t you going home?”

“Yeah, but what did you mean by that?”

“Goodnight, my love,” he said as he hugged her and gently pushed her out the door.

“What does that mean,” she yelled from the other side of the door.