After a few confused moments, Ed Martin realized the specifics of his situation. It was 3:13 AM in a hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was naked, and had to pee. And curled up next to him was Christine Frasier, his high-school girlfriend. *Oh God,* Ed thought. *I've cheated on my wife.* Ed never thought he would be one of those kind of guys, a typical jerk who used business trips away from home as an excuse to fuck around. But yet, here he was. He tried to rationalize it in his mind, telling himself that Chrissy was a special case, a once-in-a-lifetime thing, that seeing her again after all these years had been too much temptation for him to resist. It was rationalization, plain and simple. And Ed knew it. Either way, he still really had to pee. Ed eased himself slowly out of the bed, trying not to wake Chrissy. Still naked, he padded to the bathroom and took care of business as quietly as possible. Returning from the bathroom, Ed stopped at the foot of the bed and tried to decide what to do next. Surely he couldn't climb back into bed now, could he? Last night had been a situation that got out of control. Chrissy's hands, the beers Ed drank at dinner, her confession about her not-so- perfect marriage - all of those things had been gasoline thrown on the fire, and it had erupted. But now, with a clearer head, Ed knew he couldn't just climb back into bed with Chrissy. His only decision was whether to wake Chrissy and tell her, or just gather up his clothes, get dressed, and sneak out. Chrissy. He stared at her, on her back, sleeping unawares. She was still gorgeous, even more beautiful then when they were in high school. Apparently warm during the night, she had pushed the bed sheets down below her knees. Her legs were long and tanned below her grey athletic shorts. Her white sleeveless tee had ridden up, exposing a smooth, taut stretch of stomach. Her breasts pushed up against the tee, nipples visible beneath the fabric. Her face looked peaceful in sleep, her blonde curls messy and splayed out on the pillow. Ed stood there, watching her sleep, literally frozen with indecision. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Chrissy spoke, her eyes still closed. "Eddie, are you going to stand there all night, or are you getting back in this bed?" "Geez, Chrissy, you scared me half to death," Ed exclaimed. Chrissy opened her eyes, propping herself up in the bed. "Sorry," she said, sheepishly. "I woke up when you got out, and I could tell you were standing there." Her eyes widened as they adjusted to the dim light, and she whistled softly as her gaze fell on Ed's still-naked form. "Quite a sight to wake up to, by the way," she said. Ed's eyes were glued to hers as they traveled down his body, lingering on his crotch. He felt his cock start to stiffen under her attention, and his blush mimicked hers. He sat down on the edge of the bed, facing away from her. "Chrissy... we need to talk." She sat up in the bed, pulling her legs out from under the sheet and sliding them around his body. Ed's cock hardened further as he felt her smooth calves sliding against his thighs. "Talk, Eddie? Are you sure that's what we should do?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Her fingers danced over his chest, lingering briefly at each nipple. Ed moaned softly. "Chrissy... " he started. "Hmm?" she said, in an innocent tone. She started nipping at his neck with her lips, and Ed moaned again. "I don't think... I mean it's just that... " Chrissy was still nibbling on his neck and earlobes as Ed tried to finish a sentence, her hands roaming across his chest and stomach. "It's just not a good - oh!" "Don't worry," Chrissy whispered into his ear, her hands on his erect cock. "Tonight is our night... so just go with it." With that, Ed surrendered his internal struggle. He turned around and pushed Chrissy back further, towards the middle of the bed. Sitting between her thighs, his legs straddling hers, Ed leaned in to kiss Chrissy's upturned lips. Her kiss felt like it did so many years ago, her texture, her smell, her taste so instantly recognizable as her own. She moaned into his mouth as their tongues danced, hands roaming all over each other's back. Ed's fingers found the hemline of her shirt and pulled up insistently, until she broke their kiss and raised her arms over her head. Ed pulled the tee off and gazed at Chrissy's naked breasts for the first time in over a decade. They had changed very little, slightly heavier maybe, but still resisting gravity to an impressive degree. He moved his hands to her chest slowly, still afraid this was a dream he'd wake from. Chrissy arched her back when Ed's hands came into contact with her breasts, his thumbs playing over her already erect nipples. She groaned as he rolled each one between his thumb and forefinger, thrusting her pelvis against Ed's own. He felt his cock stiffen even further as the cotton fabric of Chrissy's shorts rubbed against him. "God, Chrissy," he breathed. Moving his head to her chest, he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth, toying with it with his tongue. He heard her breath catch and felt her hands on the back of his head, clutching him to her breast. He tongued all around her erect nipple, then moved to the other, giving it the same treatment. Chrissy was gasping now, still thrusting her crotch against Ed's. Placing one hand between her heaving tits, Ed eased her back down to the bed, pulling her legs straight out on each side of his body, her knees at the edge of the bed. Pulling at the drawstring of her shorts, he glanced at Chrissy's face. Her eyes were closed and a blush was coloring her porcelain cheeks. Slowly, teasingly, Ed untied the drawstring on her shorts, then moved his hands to her waistband, pulling down gently. She raised her hips off the bed to help as he pulled her shorts down and off, leaving her clad only in a pair of black silk panties. "Verrrry sexy," he said, tracing a fingertip across her panty-covered pubis. Chrissy said nothing, just gasped from the touch of his finger. Ed knelt on the floor next to the bed and moved his face closer to her crotch. He could smell her arousal as he breathed deeply, the scent sending electrical pulses directly to his groin. He rained light, teasing kisses across the front of her panties, causing Chrissy to writhe on the bed. Slowly, his kisses became firmer, more insistent, moving towards the junction of her thighs. He licked up the inside of Chrissy's left thigh, tasting the tangy sweat from her skin, his tongue skimming along the edge of her panties, centimeters from her wet pussy. He repeated the process on her right thigh, sliding his tongue right up to the edge of her panties. Chrissy's hips were rolling off the bed now, desperate for additional contact. Ed moved his fingers to the edge of her underwear, and gradually pulled the crotch aside. In the pre-dawn light of the room, he could hardly see her pussy, but the scent was overwhelming and he had to taste her. Sliding his mouth over her thigh again, this time Ed didn't stop, moving his lips and tongue across her wet pussy lips. Chrissy shuddered and moaned. "Oh, Eddie... " From the first taste, Ed was addicted. Her pussy was sweet and clean and he couldn't get enough. Ed swiped his tongue up and down her dripping slit in long passes, swiping by her clit at the top of each stroke. Her panties started to get in the way. Ed pulled his head out of her crotch long enough to pull them down and off, tossing them onto the floor. He pushed on Chrissy's thighs, spreading her legs to an obscene angle, then dove back in. Chrissy was writhing and moaning his name on the bed, her fingers clutching at his hair. Ed's wife Donna was never this responsive during oral and seemed to tolerate it only for Ed's sake. Chrissy, on the other hand, was quite obviously enjoying herself and not shy about letting him know. "Yes, God yes, Eddie," she gasped when Ed tentatively slipped one fingertip to her opening. She was hot and tight. Ed felt resistance as he pushed his finger deep inside Chrissy's pussy, his tongue still working her clit, which was now protruding from her lips. "Oh oh oh," Chrissy gasped, moaning incoherently as Ed licked and finger fucked her, twisting his digit inside her tight vise. When he bent his finger and curled it upwards slightly, that set her off. "Eddieeeeeeeeeee," she shrieked, loud enough that Ed worried about the people in the room next door. "Oh oh oh oh!" Chrissy cried as she came, coating Ed's face and hand with a gush of wetness, her hips bucking off the bed. It was all Ed could do to keep his face and hand on her pussy. Ed slowed down his pace for just a few seconds, letting her come down from her orgasm as his tongue still idly worked her pussy, his finger still buried inside her to the second knuckle. Looking up her body, he saw Chrissy's eyes were still tightly closed, her hands firmly clutching her breasts. When he saw her grip relax a little bit, he started thrusting his finger inside her hot furnace of a pussy, slowly, in very short strokes. His tongue worked faster across her upper lips. "Eddie? What... oh, that feels so good!" Ed pulled her clit into his mouth with his lips and trilled it with his tongue. His finger strokes pounded faster and faster into Chrissy, her pussy getting wet again with fresh arousal. He pulled his finger nearly all the way out and placed a second fingertip at her entrance. When he thrust them both in, Chrissy yelped and threw her head back on the bed. Ed finger-fucked her faster and faster; his lips securely fastened to her clit. Her breath got faster and faster as Ed moved his other hand up her body. When it reached her chest, Chrissy grabbed his hand with both of hers and pulled it to her right breast, clutching him there. Ed rolled her erect nipple between his fingers, pulling and pinching at it. That did it. Chrissy shrieked his name again, bucking her pelvis into his face, her release gushing out of her pussy. Ed's cock was an iron rod trapped between his body and the bed. He knew he had to fuck her. Standing up, he moved between her thighs. Chrissy wrapped her legs around him, her heels digging into his ass cheeks. "Oh Eddie, fuck me, fuck me, FUCK ME!" Fisting his cock, Eddie slid the head of his cock up and down through Chrissy's labia a few times. She was so hot and wet, the sensation was almost more than he could bear. His glans slipped between her lips and into her pussy, and they moaned in unison with each other. Ed rocked his hips forward slowly, pushing into Chrissy centimeter by agonizing centimeter. Her heels pulled insistently at his ass, trying to pull him inside her faster, but Ed was trying to pace himself. He felt dangerously close to a quick orgasm and he didn't want to relive THAT aspect of his teenager years. Easing into her, Ed kept his deliberate pace until he was entirely inside her, his balls nestled against her ass, her sparse pubic hair mingled with his. He held himself there for a minute, getting used to the sensations. She was tight, so very tight and hot. Ed closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling. When he opened them again, he saw Chrissy looking at him, smiling fondly. "Did you ever think we'd be doing this?" she asked, her eyes flickering downward to where their bodies were joined. "Never," Ed said, shaking his head. "I dreamt about it. I masturbated to it. But I never thought it would actually happen. I guess sometimes fantasies come true," he said, flexing his cock inside Chrissy. "Ohhhh," she said, closing her eyes again and squeezing his cock with her pussy. "Fuck me, Eddie. Fuck me good - it's been so long." Briefly wondering what she meant by that, Ed forgot about it quickly when he started to stroke in and out of Chrissy. He pulled his cock all the way out of her then thrust it in deeply; in and out, in long strokes They quickly settled into a rhythm, his cock making wet noises as he plunged in and out. The tingling in his balls and abdomen was growing more insistent, and Ed knew this wouldn't be long fuck. Still thrusting into her, he moved one hand to Chrissy's pelvis. Trailing his fingers through her soft pubic hair, Ed moved his thumb to her clit and started rubbing gently. The effect was immediate, as Chrissy started thrusting her hips harder and faster back against him. "Oh Eddie... get... get on top of me, please please." She scooted back onto the bed at a proper angle as Eddie eased his legs off the floor and onto the bed. Settling down on top of her, he re- entered her tight pussy. Ed kissed her face gently as her hands grabbed his ass. "Chris? Are we, is this, you know... safe?" he asked, flexing his cock inside her once again. "Ohhhhhh, I like that," Chrissy moaned. "But yes, I'm on the pill, so fuck me fuck me, Eddie." Ed resumed his long, thrusting strokes, this time alternating with short, fast ones. Chrissy's hands clutched at his ass cheeks, running her fingernails across them. He wondered if she'd leave permanent marks. Faster and harder, he thrust into her, feeling his balls boiling up to the point of no return. "Eddie, I'm gonna come agaaaaiiinnnn," Chrissy shrieked. "Oh god, me too Chrissy baby," Ed moaned. She went first, but just barely, her pussy spasming around Ed's cock. It was enough to send him over the edge. He thrust all the way into her, holding there while his cock exploded, sending spurt after spurt deep into her. "Ahhhhhh," he moaned as he collapsed on top of her, his head next to hers. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Once again, Ed Martin woke up confused, then slowly realized where he was. He was on top of Chrissy Edwards, his cock still nestled between her thighs and sticky with their combined fluids. "Eddie, what is that?" Christine said sleepily, her voice next to his ear bringing goose bumps to his body. "My phone," he said, rolling off her slowly. "I use it to wake me up in hotel rooms. It must be 7:30." Ed moved his feet to the floor and stood up, somewhat unsteadily. On Chrissy's desk, next to his CD case, his phone was still chirping. He turned it off. Naked, Chrissy stretched in the bed. Her long legs seemed to get longer, her breasts moving as she stretched her arms over her head. It was an entrancing sight and Ed couldn't look away. "Sure you can't come back to bed?" she asked, a mischievous look in her eyes. Ed shook his head, slowly, sadly. "I wish. But I've got to be on the convention floor at 8:30. Can we have dinner tonight?" Now it was Chrissy's turn to shake her head. "Eddie... I can't. I have to go back to Atlanta this afternoon." Ed's heart sunk into his toes. Of course she had to go back, back to her husband, her stepson -- back to her life. Ed himself was flying back to California in two days, back to his life. "I - I mean, can't we at least have lunch, or something?" Ed asked, grasping at straws. "I can get someone to cover for me at the convention for an hour or so." Chrissy smiled. "I'd like that. I can leave for Atlanta after lunch." They made plans to meet in the hotel's restaurant at noon, and Ed dressed to head back to his room. Leaving Chrissy with a quick peck on the cheek, he went back to his own room, showered, and headed for the convention center. -------------------------------------------------------------------- All morning he was distracted on the show floor, and his customers probably noticed. He couldn't stop thinking about Chrissy, about what a coincidence it was to meet her again after all these years. Or was it fate? And if it was, could he just let her walk out of his life? He might never see her again... *Ed, get a grip,* he reminded himself. *You're married, she's married.* Still, he couldn't stop wondering what life with Chrissy would be like. He found himself reminiscing about the last time he had pondered this very question. May 1993 Stanford, California Ed Martin paced the tiny floor of his dorm room, over and over again. *Just make the call, Eddie,* he admonished himself. He sat down on the bed, stared at the phone for five minutes, then got up and started pacing again. He had to tell her. There was no other option. He had to tell Chrissy he wasn't coming home for the summer. Ed knew that this would be the end of whatever relationship they had left. He hadn't seen Chrissy since last summer, when he left for college. She had been out of town when he came home for Christmas break, and that was the only time he'd been back home all year. Plane fare was just too expensive. Still, in letters and phone calls, they had promised to spend the summer together, "to see what happens." *But really, what can happen?* Ed wondered. He'd had his doubts since March when Chrissy told him she was staying close to home, to go to school at UGA next year. She'd been accepted to other schools, including Stanford, but told Eddie she "didn't want to move so far away." Two weeks later, when Ed was offered a summer internship at a software company, he accepted it. The work would be interesting and would look great on his resume, but Ed wondered if he took the job just out of spite. In any case, it had been a month, and he had to tell Chrissy. But he still had his doubts. Was he making a mistake? What if Chrissy were his soulmate? What if they were meant to be together? He could go home for the summer and "see what happened." If things went well, he could always transfer to Georgia Tech or even UGA in a semester or two. Both had excellent computer science departments. "But why should I make all the sacrifices?" he wondered aloud. "Why doesn't she come to school out here to see if we're meant to be together?" Still kind of angry, he picked up the phone and dialed Chrissy's number. -------------------------------------------------------------------- At the Charlotte Convention Center, Eddie shook his head and frowned at the memory. *Maybe I shouldn't have called angry,* he thought. Things might have been different. *But what can I do now?* Ed wondered. *Rush back to the Marriott, beg Chrissy to come back to California with me, tell Donna I want a divorce to marry my high school sweetheart?* Ed shook his head. I'm just being nostalgic, he reasoned. It was nice to see Chrissy, last night was amazing, but that was the end of it. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Across town, Chrissy Frasier was undergoing her own internal struggle. *What, am I going to divorce Mike to marry my high school sweetheart? I'm being ridiculous.* *I should have gone to California ten years ago when I had the chance,* she thought, forcefully slamming clothes into her suitcase. *Now it's too late. But then... it wouldn't have been.* -------------------------------------------------------------------- May 1993 Atlanta, Georgia Chrissy Edwards sat in her room, the tears drying on her face. She had been so angry, so sad, so frustrated in the last hour since getting off the phone with Eddie. She couldn't believe he wasn't coming home for the summer. After everything she'd planned, everything she'd hoped for from this summer. Yet, she couldn't help but admit that she saw his point. Why should he bother coming home, rekindling their relationship? In August, she'd be going to Athens, he'd be going back to Stanford. Did she want to have a relationship across 3000 miles for the next three years, maybe longer? In the back of her mind, Chrissy had hoped that if this summer went well, Eddie might come back home - transfer to Tech, or UGA. *But that's not really fair to him,* Chrissy's conscience told her. *Why should he move back here when you're not willing to move there?* Exhausted, and with no answers to the questions in her head, Chrissy turned off her bedroom light. Not even bothering to change clothes, she climbed under the bed sheets. Feeling like she'd lost something precious, Chrissy quietly cried herself to sleep. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Chrissy wiped a tear away from her eye. The memory of how heartbroken she'd been still brought her to tears. Looking around the room, she made a decision. *There's nothing more to be decided from talking to Eddie,* she reasoned. *He's not going to leave his life, I'm not going to leave mine.* Picking up her suitcase, she left the room for good. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Walking into the hotel's casual restaurant right at noon, Ed looked around at the diners. He did not see Chrissy. "Mr. Martin?" the hostess asked. When Ed nodded, she continued. "A Ms. Frasier said you'd be in about noon. She left this for you," the hostess said and handed him a folded piece of paper. Ed walked out of the restaurant, his heart sinking as he stared at the piece of paper. "Eddie" was written on it in Chrissy's girlish, curvy handwriting. "She left without saying goodbye," Ed said quietly. He couldn't believe it. He opened the note, his emotions changing as he read its contents. "Dearest Eddie, Since we might not see each other again for a while, I doubt that lunch is what either of us really wants. Come upstairs to your room. I'll be waiting. Yours, Chrissy." Ed practically ran to the elevator and down the eighth-floor hallway, hoping no one noticed the sudden hard-on he'd developed. He unlocked and opened the door to 816. When he saw Chrissy inside, he quickly closed and locked the door behind him. She was buck naked, sitting in the room's easy chair, facing the door. One shapely leg was propped up on the matching ottoman, her other leg slung over the arm of the chair. Her nipples were erect and her chest flushed while one hand played between her thighs. Ed could smell her musk from where he stood, frozen just inside the door. "Hi Eddie," she said, her voice thick with arousal and making his cock lurch inside his pants. "I got started without you," she purred. "I hope you don't mind." "Not at all," he said. "But don't you think we need to talk? I mean... " Chrissy held up her palm. Standing from the chair, she sauntered over to him and placed one finger on top of his lips. He could smell her pussy on her own finger and he opened his mouth to suck on her fingertip, tasting her. "Eddie," she said. "We can talk, but you've probably been having the same conversations in your head all morning that I have. I don't want to leave my husband, do you want to leave your wife?" Ed shook his head, frowning. "So, there we are. Let's have one more afternoon to remember, instead of wasting it with conversations that won't get us anywhere." Ed nodded, and let her undress him. When he was as naked as she was, his cock jutting out obscenely from his body, he let Chrissy lead him to the bed. She eased him down onto the bed, on his back, then climbed over him and straddled his knees. Bending her head down, she brushed his cock and balls with her blonde curls, which tickled and aroused him at the same time. Bending lower, she extended her tongue and licked the entire length of his cock, swirling her tongue around his throbbing shaft. He groaned when she opened her mouth and took the head of his cock inside. She bobbed up and down on his dick, her fingertips playing across his shaft and the base of his cock, curling underneath to caress his tightening balls. Ed felt a flash of disappointment when Chrissy pulled her mouth off his cock, then quickly realized she was just repositioning herself. Turning around on the bed, she swung one leg over his torso, straddling his upper chest, then inched her pelvis backwards until her pussy was mere inches from Ed's face. As he felt her mouth return to his cock, Ed got a closer look at Chrissy's pussy, something that had been denied to him last night. He put his hands on her cheeks and used his thumbs to gently spread her lips apart. He felt her moans vibrating up and down the shaft of his cock. Spreading her apart further, Ed leaned his head in and extended his tongue, tasting her folds. Her moans got louder, more insistent, along the length of his cock. Darting his tongue in and out of her pussy, Ed tasted every part of her, running his tongue in long strokes from her clit all the way down. Meanwhile, she was furiously sucking on his cock, her blonde curls cascading across his pelvis, his shaft firmly gripped in her tight fist. She pumped his lower shaft while her lips and tongue worked on his upper shaft and glans. Swirling her lips around the head of his cock she took him in deeper, the head of his cock bumping against the back of her throat. "Oh yes Chrissy," Ed gasped. She felt his voice resonating through her pussy. His tongue re-fastened itself to her clit, while his thumbs massaged her labia, faster and faster. He slipped one finger inside, and continued his tongue work on her lips and clit, thrusting inside her. When he clamped down on her clit with his lips, she went over the edge. Pulling his cock out of her mouth, she shrieked with release, her hips bucking into Ed's face. "God, Eddie, that was amazing," she said, her face resting on Ed's pelvis, immediately next to his still-throbbing cock. "And how are you doing?" she said playfully, turning her head to plant kisses along the length of his shaft. Ed groaned as she started licking and sucking on his cock again, his mind a whirl of lips, tongue, and hands. Chrissy knew Ed was getting close when his hips started to come up off the bed. She sucked him harder and faster, tongue swirling around his cock head, fist pumping his shaft harder and harder. She felt his cock swell in her hand and in her mouth, and she knew he was there. Pulling back until just the head remained between her lips, she pumped his shaft as her other hand cradled his balls. "Aaagggggghhhh," Eddie groaned, his cock pumping four, five, six blasts of semen directly into Chrissy's waiting mouth. She pumped his cock, extracting every last drop out of him and swallowed it all. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Two days later, Ed sat in a cab. He was back in California, on the way from the airport back to his house, thinking about what had happened. He and Chrissy had made love one final time, slowly and sweetly, knowing it was probably the last time it would ever happen. Afterwards, they had a tearful goodbye. They exchanged cell phone numbers with the promise to use them discreetly. Ed wondered if he and Chrissy should each get a private email account, and exchange emails on the sly. Cybersex was better than nothing, he supposed. Still, where was it really going? He was worried that Donna would somehow know what had happened. He hadn't talked to her for a few days, leaving messages on her voicemail. *Thank goodness for small favors,* he mused. He was hoping that with a couple of days separation, he wouldn't have a guilty look on his face. Or anywhere else, for that matter. Chrissy's scratches on his ass had faded, but were still slightly evident. Hopefully, Donna wouldn't notice. The cab pulled up in front of his suburban San Jose home. *Looks like I need to mow the lawn,* he thought. Ed was a bit surprised to see Donna's car missing from the carport, but it was Sunday afternoon. She was probably out running errands. He paid the cabbie and pulled his suitcase to the front door. Unlocking it, he swung the door open and stepped inside. Later, he would wonder how he knew so quickly. There were a few paintings missing from the wall in the hallway and bedroom areas of the house, but nothing amiss was visible from the foyer. Still, he knew. As soon as he stepped into the house, he knew. Something in the air just felt different. He knew before he saw the hall closet, saw that Donna's coats and purses and tennis racket were all missing. He knew even before he saw the note on the kitchen table: "Dear Ed... " it began, in Donna's calm and fluid handwriting. EPILOGUE -------------------------------------------------------------------- The next three months passed by in a blur for Ed. In a huge kick-in-the-balls ironic twist, Donna had rekindled a romance with an old boyfriend and was "in love." "By the time you read this," Donna's note said, "I'll be in Seattle with Roger." True to her word, she was. Ed never saw her again. Their divorce was amicable and conducted entirely through lawyers. Apparently, Roger had more money than God, and Donna didn't care about getting half their house in San Jose, or extracting alimony from Ed. She just wanted out. During all of this, Ed thought about Chrissy. A lot. He nearly dialed her number on dozens of occasions, always hanging up just before the tenth digit or just before the call went through. He also drank, a lot. During those times, he fantasized about calling Chrissy, about rescuing her from her unhappy marriage. He dreamed about bringing her to California, where they would live happily ever after. But then he'd sober up and realize how unfair that would be. If he wasn't willing to start something new with Chrissy when he was married, why should he expect her to leave her life because *he* got dumped? Life wasn't always fair. And so, he tried to just put her out of his mind and move on with his life, burying himself in his work. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Five weeks after "officially" becoming a single man again, Ed was at his desk, hung over and poring through lines of code looking for a bug that didn't want to be found. When he heard a soft tapping on his office door frame, he didn't even look up. "Yeah?" he snapped. When there was no answer, Ed glanced up, glaring at whoever had interrupted his work. His gaze softened and his mouth dropped open when he saw who was standing there. "Chrissy?" he said, incredulously. She looked just as good as she had three months ago, though her eyes were reddened and glistening as if she'd been crying. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a simple pullover sweater, and had a duffel bag over one shoulder. "What - what are you doing here?" Eddie asked, moving around the desk to envelop her in a hug. She seemed to melt into his arms, hugging him back fiercely. Ignoring the curious looks of the coders out in the cubicles, Eddie closed his door. He guided Chrissy into one of the chairs facing his desk. Sitting on the edge of the desk, Ed took her hands in his and looked at her. She still hadn't said a word. "Chrissy?" he said again, gently. "What's wrong?" Chrissy took a deep breath, as if she had a prepared speech, and then launched into it, words tumbling out of her mouth like lemmings over a cliff. "Oh Eddie - Mike - Mike left me. I know I shouldn't be here, and I know I have no right to be here, and I wonder if I've even done the right thing, but I had to be here. I had to see you. In some weird way, I was almost relieved when I told Mike - when he found out I mean, and when he said he wanted a divorce, because then I knew I could come to you. And I know it's not fair to ask you this, because we already talked about this in Charlotte, and I know you have a life already. You probably think I'm only here because I'm sad and lonely, but that's not it. It's just that I've decided what I really want, and that's... ARE YOU LAUGHING?" Chrissy glared up at Ed, who had one hand clasped over his mouth in a vain effort to hide the fact that he was laughing. His chest shook as a single tear traced its way down his left cheek. "I can't believe you're laughing at this, Eddie. I guess there's my answer then, you son of a bitch!" "No, no, no, Chrissy," Ed said. He knelt on the floor next to Chrissy's chair and put his hands on her legs to prevent her from standing up and leaving. "I'm laughing because I'm so incredibly happy to see you here, so incredibly happy that Mike wants a divorce." "I'm glad you can laugh at my pain," Chrissy said, her eyes flashing angrily at Ed. "Oh Chrissy baby, you just don't understand," Ed said, resting his head on her denim-covered knee. He took a deep breath and continued, "Donna left me. She moved out while we were in Charlotte. I've been divorced for over a month." Chrissy gasped. She stroked Ed's hair, tenderly. "Eddie, oh my sweet Eddie - why didn't you call me?" Ed looked up at her, the tears flowing more freely now. "Oh, Chris, I tried. Believe me, I tried. But I couldn't go through with it, for all the reasons you just said. I guess you're braver than I am." Chrissy threw her arms around Eddie's neck, squeezing tightly. "Oh, Eddie. I'm so sorry we were ever apart. I should have come out here ten years ago with you." Eddie moved back from her embrace and looked at Chrissy, tenderly wiping the tears from her cheeks. "It's never too late, Chris. We can be together now." "Oh Eddie," she said, throwing her arms back around him and burying her face in his shoulder. "I love you." "I love you, Chrissy. I always have." She pressed her cheek against Eddie's own, their tears mixing, hot and wet on each other's skin. "Oh, Eddie darling... I didn't tell you exactly why Mike wanted a divorce," she whispered in his ear. "I'm three months pregnant."