R.E.M.: The Hidden World

by Corrie Fischer

  Clunk!

  Emily's eyelids lifted to reveal a blue sky with a sea of puffy white clouds. She turned her focus to her left side and met the features of Kyle's face. His bright blue green eyes gazed upon on her like an endless sea, their coloring highlighted by the tan background of the field surrounding them. His thin lips curled into a smile as she continued to hold his full attention. "You know, you are the most beautiful woman in the world."

  A smile flew across Emily's face as her cheeks turned multiple shades of red. Kyle's grin then widened further as a mischievous twinkle flashed across his eyes. "Your beauty cannot disguise that fire in your cheeks though." He laughed heartily as Emily lightly slapped him across the arm, "Hey! I told you not to make fun of that....it's my worst imperfection....." She lowered her eyes and her voice nearly faded to a whisper with the last words, but Kyle was still laughing. A frown formed across Emily's face in response. "I'm serious. You know how conscientious I am about that...." With her left arm trapped under her prostrate body, Emily lifted her right hand up to cover her blushing cheeks.

  Kyle's left hand pushed her hand away and he lifted her chin upward. For a second that felt like an eternity, he simply stared into her eyes. Emily could feel the reddening warmth spreading back into her cheeks. "I think....." He paused for a moment and bit his lower lip, allowing the corners of his mouth to curl again into a full on smile. "....it is the most perfect of all your imperfections." Emily could not contain it any longer. Her eyes sparkled brightly as her lips curled to their full potential. Her cheeks must have been bright red by now, but she no longer cared. With her free hand, she rapidly pulled Kyle's face toward her own. His lips immediately spread, allowing her tongue to meet his at full force. Emily could feel the passion flowing between them like a wild fire and she threw her leg over his body. In one swift movement, she was on top of him. She released her lips from his as she slowly lowered the positioning of her mouth. Her fingers had already made their way to the desired location and were gently caressing his skin just below his pant line. Her mouth continued to work its way down his body, hovering just above the man's red polo until it reached the top of his pants. She pushed his shirt upward and began gently kissing his lower stomach, once again allowing her fingertips to venture just below the line of his jeans. As her mouth continued its playful dance, her eyes glanced upward and met his own. Pure desire upon his face was slightly replaced by a more serious expression. "Hey...." The word that left his lips was weak and Emily ignored it, increasing the speed of her passionate kissing. She could feel a storm raging below her own jeans urging her to continue. Chills and tingles started to overcome her entire form as she quickly unsnapped his belt and her fingers moved rapidly to unbutton his pants. "Hey!" His word was louder this time, but Emily did not slow. The button released its master with a pop and her hand quickly worked to pull down his metal zipper. It got jammed halfway down and she pulled harder to free the beast beneath. Then she felt it. Kyle's stomach was suddenly closer to her face and his hand now rested upon on her back. "Hold up a second...."

  Emily flung her body into an upright position as the flush red returned to her cheeks in full force. "Why!?" Her brows quickly furrowed as her arms crossed over her chest.

  "You said you wanted to wait.....are you sure this is what you want?" Kyle gently caressed the top of Emily's shoulder as he spoke the words.

  "Well, I was ten seconds ago....but now....ugh! Why'd you stop me?" Emily shifted slightly, initially just enough to remove her shoulder from Kyle's touch. Then she lifted her leg over him and positioned herself sitting Indian style beside him, distinctly staring away from his gaze.

  Kyle laid back down upon the small blanket and stared upward for a moment, then glanced her way to catch her eyes looking at him. "Get over here; I want to show you something." He tapped on the location directly beside him. Emily rolled her eyes and sighed, but then followed his directions, looking upwards at the sky. "What?" The irritation in her tone must have been obvious by this point. Kyle only reacted to it by glancing her way and then allowing a small smile to form across his face. He then pointed toward the sky. "You see all those puffy, white clouds?"

  Emily released a burst of air as an outright frown crossed her own face. "Yea, so?"

  "Those are cumulus clouds. The majority of the time, they look the way we see them now.....fluffy, white and perfect....staring down, allowing rays of sunlight to shine through...." Kyle paused and watched as Emily's expression softened and she took a moment to truly focus on the forms above her. Realizing he had her attention, he continued. "Something about them being like this is almost heavenly, isn't it?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "Sometimes though, on rare occasions, cumulus clouds get filled with precipitation...and they produce short bursts of heavy rain.....which is normally the job of nimbostratus clouds....."

  Emily turned her face toward Kyle as her left brow lifted high into the air. "What are you getting at?"

  "Em, you are like a cumulus cloud.....pure and beautiful.....you are unique.....I just don't want you to allow the rainclouds around to change who you are...." He was staring her directly in the eyes now. There's no way he could have known about the conversation with Carrie, could he? Emily's eyes stared absentmindedly at his shirt. Then she resumed her focus on the clouds above.

  Suddenly, a strange shaking sensation suddenly came over her body. Pain rushed to the forefront of her head...

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