Bumbling

I haven't been working on my nearly completed novel much at all, trying to figure out the ending is taking a while, and I've no real stomach for it. I'm distracted by the bright summer lights of my other stories but I desperately want to finish something, and I'm nearly done now. Hopefully Camp Nano will be the finisher.

Anyway, in lieu of being productive I've been writing steamy romance shorts (emphasis on the steam), and as always getting skooled by my characters. 

Kat led them along a series of corridors, moving a little slower compared to the frenzied pace they had pursued before. They stopped often to peer through the walls, usually into empty rooms but now and again there was a guest retiring from the party interspersed amongst them. As the rooms began to thin out and cobweb began to appear they entered what seemed to be a disused area of the manor, and the rooms became much more interesting. A few times they stumbled into nooks that appeared to be made for spying, and once even found a room replete with a large bed, its purpose quite clear.

“My my,” Kat said as she eyed the moth-eaten covers. “This manor has quite a history, it seems.”

“It must have been hard back then - not really being able to see who you want, be with who you wanted,” Tare said thoughtfully.

Kat laughed. “Not for the owner of this though.” Then her face turned a little sad. “But do you really think it’s so different for us?” she asked, reaching out to run her fingers along the bedstead. “Seeing what we want, but never being able to touch it. You must have felt the same, Tare.”

A lump formed in Tare’s throat as he thought about Claire. So many times he had wanted to reach out, but never could. “No,” he said gently, surprising himself. “We are free. Free to fail, free to lose, free to lack courage. All of these things, but free to love, most of all.” His hand moved to Kat’s shoulder. “I could have told her any time, but the time was never right. Maybe there was a reason for that. At least...I would like to think so.”

Kat turned and smiled softly at him. “What a fool she was to never see you.”

Tare blushed, his tanned skin turning a deep red. “Now that’s just the drink talking.”

“You think so, hmm?” Kat almost hummed the word before taking his hand again. “Let’s go, before I start sneezing.”