Page 112 of This Could be Love

“Do you have a room for tonight?”

With his back to me, he nodded. My heart reacted with a nervous flutter.

“Oh,” I said, and could feel myself blushing when I realized how disappointed I sounded.

It spoke well for him that he didn’t automatically assume we’d be spending the night together just because…why? Because he had flown over ten hours to see me? Because he had confessed his love for me? Because he had said all these wonderful things about me? Because he hadn’t pushed me in the slightest? Because he had given me time to figure out my feelings? And suddenly I saw everything quite clearly. Heard it in my head. Felt it in my heart. Theyes.

I walked up to him, framed his face with my hands, and kissed him, stifling the little sigh that came out of his mouth. Enjoyingthe warmth that passed from his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and savored the moment to the brim. When I opened them again, I looked into his eyes.

“I love you, too, Vince.”

He flashed me that smile I’d been in love with since the beginning. Then he pulled me to him and kissed me, hungrily and deeply. Our lips parted; our tongues met. A bit stormily, as if we were trying to say too much too quickly. Both of us giggled.

“I’ve missed you,” I whispered and wrapped my arms around his neck, as if never wanting to let him go again.

“I’ve missed you too. Tremendously.”

We began to undress. Quickly. Tugged at our clothes, ran our fingers under them, over them.

“Stop,” he said as I moved to pull his T-shirt over his head.

I looked at him, confused. With a disconcertingly serious face he said, “I’ve only packed for two days. If you set this one on fire or soak it with blood or…”

“If you don’t have anything else to wear, well, then we’ll just have to spend the next few days here in bed. Doesn’t bother me at all.”

“How much time you got?”

For a split second the question was like a cold shower.

“I’ve got to be in Guadalajara in a week.” At his questioning look, I added, “Mexico. And you?”

“Laurie’s got everything under control for the moment. So, a few days at least.”

That was great news.

“If you want, later we can go through my tournament calendar,” I suggested carefully.

“Sounds good. Now that Laurie’s decided to stay, maybe now and again I could…”

“Wait, wait, wait. Laurie’s staying?”

“Oh. I thought you knew that already. Yeah, she’s staying on Oahu.”

“What about school?”

“She called it a day.”

“Wow. So, she’ll run the hostel with you or…”

“No, she’s found her own calling.”

I couldn’t miss the hint of irony in his words.

“She wants to become a lifeguard.”

“Lifeguard?!”

“Yep.” He sighed. “When Chip pulled her out of the water, she had a kind of”—he made quotation marks in the air—“awakening.”