Window on Yesterday by Joan Hohl Read Free Book Online Page A

straight to the heart of the subject. “Has Sean already made love to you?” she asked bluntly.
    “Not exactly,” Alycia replied honestly.
    Andrea frowned in confusion. Karla voiced hers.
    “What exactly,” she inquired, “does ‘not exactly’ mean?”
    Alycia moistened her dry lips and drew a deep breath. “He held me in arms,” she said in a shaky whisper. “He caressed me. He kissed me.”
    “And that’s all?” Karla demanded
    “Karla, honestly!” Andrea objected.
    “You don’t understand!” Alycia cried. “Hell, I don’t understand it!” She shook her head in bemusement. “When Sean touched me, held me in his arms, it was as if... as if something sprang to life inside me, something that has been dormant, just waiting... waiting...” Her voice trailed away for a stunned moment, then came back on a reedy, frightened note. “And when he kissed me I ... I fell apart. I suddenly couldn’t get close enough to him.” She paused to glance helplessly from Karla to Andrea. “It was like starving; my body was starving for his. I wanted... wanted...”
    Tense silence filled the void left by Alycia’s fading voice. Andrea’s features softened with compassion for her friend.
    Karla’s deceptively fragile features were set in sharp lines of determination. “Perhaps your body was starving and simply responded to a strong physical attraction to Sean,” she said considerately. “You have been practicing self-denial for a long time, you know.”
    “That’s true,” Andrea said eagerly.
    “Maybe that’s the answer, Alycia.”
    “Maybe,” Alycia conceded, though she was unconvinced.
    “But you doubt it?” Karla asked, picking up on Alycia’s tone.
    “Yes, I doubt it.” Alycia laughed shakily. “I tell you, it was weird. The instant he touched me everything went crazy. My emotional and physical response to him was so intense. I wanted, needed, to absorb him, become a part of him.” Her shoulders drooped as she finished, and she slumped against the chair back as if exhausted.
    “And you’ve never experienced this kind of response to a man before?” Andrea asked, reaching across the table to grasp Alycia’s hand.
    “Never.”
    Karla’s head snapped up. “But surely you responded that way to Doug.”
    “Never,” Alycia repeated adamantly, wincing at the mention of her former husband’s name.
    “Not even in the early stages of your relationship?” Karla persisted.
    Alycia shook her head. “Not even then.”
    Andrea’s fingers tightened on Alycia’s hand. “That is kinda weird,” she mused aloud. “But kinda romantic, too.”
    “Romantic? Spare me.” Karla rolled her eyes. “I fail to see anything at all romantic about the compulsion to become a part of any man,” she scoffed, conveniently forgetting Alycia’s stated desire to absorb Sean as well. “Come to that, I don’t think there’s anything weird about it, either,” she said with confidence.
    “Then what would you call it?” Andrea demanded in a gentle tone.
    Alycia’s eyes sparked with interest. “Yes, what would you call it?”
    Karla shrugged. “ ‘Chemistry’ is a good word.” Her lips curved into a wry, knowing smile. “ ‘Maturity’ is probably even closer to the mark.”
    “I understand the chemistry angle,” Alycia said slowly, beginning to frown. “But, why ‘maturity’?”
    Raising her eyebrows, Karla gave Alycia a surprised look and reached for the coffeepot which was sitting in the center of the table. “It’s gone cold,” she muttered, glaring accusingly at the pot.
    “I’ll make some more coffee,” Andrea volunteered, scrambling to her feet. “And I’ll toss some frozen sweet rolls into the micro, too.” As she moved away from the table, she called back, “But speak up, will ya? I don’t want to miss a word out of the mouth of the oracle.”
    Karla made a face at Andrea’s teasing use of the title she and Alycia had bestowed on her. Then, her unusual amber-colored eyes gleaming,