Sometimes Love Hurts by Marie Fostino

the house.  She really felt the need to be with someone at that moment. She watched him as he strolled around looking at the pictures on the walls as if it were for the first time. 
    “You sure were a funny looking kid when you were growing up,” he teased. 
    That put a smile on her face. 
    “Want to see the house?” She asked. 
    He nodded and followed her as they went from room to room.  Joey had been there before, but she never really went through the whole house with him.  He seemed interested as he looked at the markings by the bathroom wall. As they gazed upon her parents’ wedding picture in the china cabinet, he commented on how handsome they looked.  Then they went upstairs and she showed him her parents’ room before she showed him her own.  Lisa still found it a little unbelievable that the house belonged to her.
    Joey walked around commenting on the animals and little love items that her parents had given to each other through the years.
    “Your parents discovered true love, and I want the same thing one day,” he said.
    Lisa was a little old fashioned when it came to sex; she had not been with anyone yet.  Even though she was in love with Joey, the right time had not yet presented itself.  He looked at her room and sat on her bed so he could take in the wallpaper’s planet pattern. Then he beckoned her to sit beside him. Immediately, she became nervous.  Perhaps it was the way his eyes locked onto hers or how he whispered her name when he kissed her, telling her how much he loved her.  That day marked the first time she ever made love.  He was so natural and at ease, while she was scared. He was gentle with her and knew how to hold her, how and where to touch her, how to wait, and then how and when to just let everything on the inside explode.  She loved the way he touched her, the gentle way he kissed her lips, her cheeks, her neck… well, everything.
    “You are absolutely beautiful and you don’t even know it, do you?” He asked sweetly.
    His fingers stroked her face from her temple to her chin and she felt that all was right with the world.  They lay in each other’s arms until the sun came up.  Then Joey had to leave for school. But before he did, he planted a deep kiss on her, which left her wanting more. 
    After he left and shut the front door, Lisa quickly ascended the stairs to her parents’ room, jumped on the bed and opened the journal again.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
    A Love Story
    Present Day - Crystal
     
    “Mom, what a wonderful love story about grandma and grandpa,” Crystal said with a yawn, “but how is this supposed to help me?” 
    “Patience, my dear,” Lisa replied.  “It’s getting late.  How about we get a good nights’ sleep, and we’ll continue in the morning.  Make sure Blake knows you’re spending the night so he doesn’t worry.” 
    “You know, Blake and I had a beautiful love story too… at one time.” 
    Lisa helped her daughter up from the couch.  They took their dishes into the kitchen and put them in the sink.  It was one in the morning, and Crystal looked at her phone before closing her eyes to sleep.  Yep, there was a text from Blake asking her what time she would be home.  She sent him a short text back: Not tonight.   Then she turned off her phone, closed her eyes, and tried to get comfortable so she could fall asleep, but tears quickly gathered in the back of her eyes.  How she missed the way he used to look at her and kiss her when he got home from work. 
    What happened to make him so distant? She wondered.
    She thought of her mother’s story about her grandparents, and how happy they were so many years before.  Thinking about that was a comforting way to fall asleep.  As the sun rose, Crystal awoke and could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen.  She threw on her robe and descended the stairs.  When she walked into the kitchen, she caught a glimpse of her father.
    “How’s my baby girl doing?” Her