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heart she’d walled up and kept locked away. She just wanted

to touch her. Just one kiss. One caress. No, she wanted so

much more. She wanted all night. Hours with Claire. She

wanted to explore her body. Explore her soul. She wanted to

fall asleep beside her.

Claire took another step back and whatever was between

them frayed and snapped like an old rope. “Whatever you

were playing was beautiful,” Claire whispered. It sounded like

her voice was coming from a thousand miles away. She kept

stepping back, pushing Haley away.

Haley wanted to call out to her. She wanted to run to her.

She knew she couldn’t force it. She couldn’t force Claire to

stay, to want her, to feel, to let her in. Forcing her would only

terrify her, make her run, drive her further and further away.

“Good night,” Claire whispered, a finality in the words. Her

face was devoid of expression as she turned and left.

Her touch haunted Haley. The melody she’d been playing

haunted the room. The whole house was filled with ghosts.

With the echo of the connection that they’d shared, something

deeper than mere physical touch. Haley felt like a wet rag.

She’d soaked it all up and then she’d been rung out and

discarded.

Claire was pulling the string. She was controlling all of this.

Haley set her hands back on the keys, but she didn’t play.

Her mind was racing, but it wasn’t music filling her head.

What if Claire really just wanted to be undone? To lay down

the tremendous weight of those burdens?

What if she wanted Haley to break through those walls, to

smash them down and touch her heart, her body, her soul, but

she didn’t know how to ask? Was that what tonight had been