Faded Dreams of Photos in the Sun
More digging through the archives… This one is a short story I wrote in 2004. I had a couple different endings, but I was never really happy with any of them. This particular ending is perhaps the best of them. This is pretty much why I don’t do romantic stories. And, be warned there is a “steamy” scene in here, so, if that may be offensive to you, you might want to skip that part or this story.
Other than that, enjoy!
“Faded Dreams of Photos in the Sun”
Copyright 2004 by Dan C. Rinnert. All rights reserved.
The bright sunlight filled the room, a beam illuminating the scrapbook. Relaxing on her couch, Kelly relived old memories, eagerly anticipating the upcoming reunion. As she turned a page, a loose photo slipped and fell face-down on the floor. She picked it up and flipped it over.
Robert.
With a bright blue baseball cap worn backwards and a sleeveless tie-dye shirt, Robert looked back at her with a goofy grin, flashing the peace symbol like a rebel peacenik caught in a police line-up.
Kelly had forgotten she had that one still in there.
Her perfect man. Not just handsome and athletic, but kind and caring too. Kelly remembered the time Robert gave his letter jacket to a homeless man on a cold evening. Countless hours of practice earned him those letters, but it mattered little to him. “Symbols,” he told her. “I have my accomplishments whether I have the jacket or not.”
Not content simply with athletics, Robert had also worked on the school journal. The consummate photographer, he had taken many of the photos that filled the scrapbook.
Love at first sight? Kelly felt it, but Robert never gave any hint of reciprocation. They became friends instead, but as Kelly got to know him better, the stronger her feelings developed.
Kelly sighed, and turned the page.
Sun beams dancing on happy faces and the warm sand tickling their toes. Kelly fondly remembered that day at the beach. She wore her hot pink bikini top and neon blue bottoms, and Rachel wore her neon blue bikini top and hot pink bottoms. With sun-bleached highlights in their brunette hair, worn just tickling the shoulders, they attracted the welcome attention of many young men. They posed like models, showing off their equally curvacious and toned bodies, giggling with satisfaction as men oggled them.
Kelly enjoyed those moments, but she did not desire the attention of all those men, just one in particular.
Robert also spent the day at the beach, taking pictures for a photography project. Kelly had long been dropping hints to Robert as to how she felt–hints she was sure he must have noticed. Hoping to seduce him with her shapely figure, she angled for him to photograph her. Instead, intrigued by their contrasting bikinis, Robert asked her and Rachel to pose together.
That evening, once Rachel had left with a man she met, Kelly approached Robert, determined to ask him to a romantic dinner. Instead, she learned he was packing his bags for a new job on the other side of the country.
Was it something she had said?
Kelly was devastated, but not so devastated as when she learned the truth three years later. That was something she was not sure she could forgive him for.
Seven years past, and it still upset her. Kelly found it difficult to trust other men, and still compared each new one to Robert–still her perfect man, despite–
Her blue eyes welled with a sadness she had not felt in some time. Even now, she found herself longing for Robert. She gently placed the photo in front of her scrapbook. She pressed her fingers to her lips, and then to Robert’s lips. Opening the scrapbook had been a mistake, and now Kelly felt attending the reunion, just days away, may be a mistake as well. She closed the book and placed it back on the shelf.
She turned and noticed the sun beams on her tan carpet. The bright light and the gentle breeze coming through the open window reminded her of that day on the beach. She stopped to relish the moment, going so far as to wonder if that bikini would still fit.
The memory was interrupted by the harsh sound of the doorbell. Kelly headed for the door and looked through the peephole.
Robert!
She couldn’t believe Robert was at her door. She opened it. Indeed, it was Robert, and he still looked as good as she remembered.
And, she looked as good as he remembered. He bet that her hot pink and neon blue bikini would still fit her just fine.
“Robert?”
“I came back in town for the reunion, and I–” Robert paused. Though he had practiced his speech a thousand times, face to face with her, his mind drew a blank. “I’m… I’m so sorry,” came his reply.
Kelly invited him in, and led him to the other room. They sat on the couch.
Robert said, “I’m sorry I lied to you.”
Kelly looked away.
“I was… afraid.”
Kelly looked at Robert. “Afraid?”
“I shouldn’t have said I was moving across the country,” he said. “It was the first thing that came to me, and there was no easy way out of it.”
“What were you afraid of?” she asked.
“I didn’t feel the same, not the same for you as you did for me,” Robert said, reaching for her hand. “But, I was wrong.”
She took his hand, and smiled as she looked into his eyes. This was the moment she had dreamed of for so many years, and now, here he was, and she nearly felt compelled to pinch herself.
“I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
Kelly said softly, “It’s alright now.”
“I have feelings for you too,” he said. “I do love you.”
“I love you too, Robert,” she replied.
Robert leaned over toward her, slowly. Kelly did not turn away, and tilted her head back, and let Robert kiss her. The kiss. The kiss she had been longing for, and it was everything she had hoped it would be. Before she knew it, she found herself with Robert in her bedroom.
Robert took off his shirt, revealing his muscular chest. Kelly put her hands on him and felt the softness of his warm skin.
She had been saving herself for her future husband, but with Robert she could no longer maintain her resistance. She reasoned with herself that he was to be her future husband, and she gave in. She began to unbutton her blouse, then took Robert’s hands to the next button. He recognized her silent request, and slowly, sensually removed her clothing. He laid her gently on the bed, removed the rest of his clothing, and joined her.
Kelly lost track of time as they made love. Every motion, every caress, every passionate kiss was exactly as she had hoped. When it was all over, Robert continued to hold her close.
“I want to show you something,” she said after a while, remembering the photo she had just before Robert had shown up. She sat up in bed, and wrapped herself in the bedsheet. Turning to Robert, she smiled at him. “I’ll be right back.”
Robert smiled back as he looked into her eyes, those beautiful blue eyes. He kissed his fingers, and gently pressed them against Kelly’s lips. He closed his scrapbook and put it back on his shelf.
He stared at the book for a moment, and sighed.
“You ready to go?”
Startled, Robert turned around. “Yeah, um–”
His wife smiled at him, knowing she had caught him in the middle of something. “What were you doing?”
Robert looked at his wife and the mother of his two children. She was nothing like those girls he had photographed on the beach so long ago. Big-boned, she liked to call herself, but he could not help but think of her as fat.
He saw his letter jacket folded in her plump arms. If only he were the man in his dreams, he thought to himself, and if only she was–
Enough! Robert thought to himself. “Let’s skip the reunion,” he said.
“Something wrong?”
“Let’s not relive the past,” he told her. “We should make new memories–why don’t we take the kids to the beach instead?”
“You sure?”
Robert walked up to his wife and embraced her. “You’re everything I ever wanted,” he whispered in her ear. Then, he kissed her passionately. “I love you, Rachel.”
“Faded Dreams of Photos in the Sun”
Copyright 2004 by Dan C. Rinnert. All rights reserved.
OMG romance stories are what I love to read. This was such a well written twist….
Wow - nice twists in there! I was so not expecting either one of them. I really enjoy your fiction, Dan.