SOCS/Story a Day: Day 10 – “Enjoying the View”

Today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt is to use “view” in some way or another. I’m also still participating in the Story a Day challenge, so once again, I’m combining the two of them. Today’s Story a Day prompt is to write a Hansel & Gretel story structure(life-changing moment then a series of progress/setbacks). I finished my word goal on Closing Time for the week, but didn’t do anything on Break on Me, so I’ll be visiting with those characters for today. I haven’t written the scene that comes before this yet, but needless to say, it was a slightly life-changing moment for both of them. 😉

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Lora ran her hand down Gabriel’s side, wanting to revel in the feel of just being so close to him. How many times had she imagined this? How many more had she not let herself?

That didn’t matter now, she told herself. Being here with Gabriel did. it’s what she’d wanted almost from that first time she’d seen him on the video chat with her brother. What would Aaron think of this?

No. She shook that thought off almost before it had finished processing. Her brother had no place in all of this. But, the question still nagged at the edge of her mind, not letting her drift back to sleep. She rolled over, drawing her hand away from Gabriel’s side, and stood up from the bed. She shivered, and spotting the afghan over the back of a chair, grabbed it to wrap around her shoulders.

She walked through the house, glancing down the hallway. but the light in the other bedroom wasn’t on. maybe Erik hadn’t come in yet. it was getting rather late, though. “He’s a grown man,” she muttered. “Doesn’t need you to be a mother hen.”

Aaron had always accused her of that, too. Like trying to look out for her older brother was a bad thing. She’d known something was wrong, though, no matter how many times he insisted he was fine. Turned out, he wasn’t, and she should have worried more.

She braced her hand against the window frame and tried to shut those thoughts away, too. it wasn’t her fault. She’d done as much as she was capable of to help him. But, it still hadn’t been enough. Maybe nothing would have.

An arm wrapped around her waist. “What are you doing out here?” Gabriel asked her.

“Enjoying the view,” she said as snow fell on the other side of the window. Not that she’d really noticed it with all the other thoughts going through her head.

“Me, too,” he said, amusement in his voice.

She glanced back, but Gabriel’s gaze certainly wasn’t on the window. She laughed and turned into him. “You’re bad, Gabriel Saranno.”

The corner of his mouth tugged up. “Only around you, Lora Price.”

“Now, I don’t believe that for a second.”

“You should,” he said, his lips grazing the side of her forehead. “And you should come back to bed.”

That she could do. And maybe it would help keep these other thoughts out of her head. So she let him guide her back to his bedroom, where she dropped the afghan to the floor and slid back into his bed.

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So, that may not fit the Hansel & Gretel story structure quite so much. But, it’s what came out.