Page 44 of Soaring Sweethearts

“Sounds perfect.” She didn’t care where they went as long as they could be truly alone and talk without interruption. And perhaps, if the conversation went well, she might invite another kiss. Or more.

“Why are you smiling?” His voice was unusually rough and gravelly. Was he having the same thoughts she was?

“I’m just happy we’re finally getting a chance to talk.” She reached out and squeezed his hand, and his breath hitched. That was promising. Maybe she’d finally get some relief from the prickling heat that had needled her ever since their kiss. They needed to talk, she reminded herself. If she threw herself at him the moment they were alone, she’d never get the answers she needed.

“Me too.” He parked the car in front of a drugstore and came around the car to open the door for her. Offering his arm, he led her to a locked gate beside the store. “The room is in the back.”

He fumbled in his pockets for his keys and found the right one after several tries in the dim light of a faltering streetlamp. Unlocking the gate, he led her through and closed it with a clang behind them. This was it. She was alone with Jack. Anything could happen now. And she wanted it to, so badly. But did he feel the same?

Because she cared about him too much to throw away their friendship for the fantasy of a romance. It had to be the real thing, or she needed to walk away, hard as that would be.

He opened a small door on the side of the building toward the back and beckoned her inside. A moment later, he turned on a lamp. It was just as small as he had promised. A narrow bed with crisp white sheets and a plain navy-blue coverlet dominated the space. The place was surprisingly clean for a bachelor pad. A radio and a couple of novels sat on a bedside table at the head of the bed, and a white door at the end of the room must have led to the bathroom.

“I warned you it wasn’t much, and there’s nowhere to sit except the bed.” His voice croaked slightly as he said “bed.” It was adorable. The fact that he was nervous too made her feel so much more at ease.

“So,” she said, sitting down and smoothing her skirt.

“So,” he said, taking a seat beside her. Taking a deep breath, he took her hand and looked into her eyes. “I tried to plan what I was going to say, but I can’t remember anything I came up with.”

She bit her lip, and his eyes darted to her mouth. It took him a moment to raise them again and meet her gaze. “Same for me. I have so many questions, but now that we’re here, I can’t remember what they were. But most of them boiled down to…” Why was this so hard? She’d had so many intimate chats with Jack over the years, and it had always been so easy to talk to him. Until now.

“Yes?” He looked like he’d been called to the front of the class to do trigonometry.

“Well…” There was nothing to do but go for it. “What are your feelings toward me? I know we kissed, but I don’t know what that means. Did you do it out of pity? Was it because I ordered you to? Did you kiss me just because you like kissing? Or do you like kissing me specifically? And if it is me specifically, then what does that mean for us? What do we tell my family? What do we tell Ernie? How can we be sure we aren’t ruining our friendship by doing this? What if we try this and it doesn’t work out? Where does that leave us? And, oh my goodness, I’m babbling. I’ll stop now.”

As soon as she opened the spigot, all her worries came pouring out in a messy puddle. She held her breath and tried to read his expression as she waited for his answer.

He smiled and rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. “Constance Ellen Pritchard, you are one of the most important people in my life. That’s not going to change, no matter what happens between us. I know it’s scary to take this leap with me. I’ve been agonizing over whether it’s the right thing to do. But I am head over heels for you, and try as I might to hold it all in, I can’t anymore.”

Her heart was pounding so hard that she wondered if he could hear it. He was saying exactly what she’d always dreamed. Did she dare trust this?

“If we try this and it doesn’t work out,” he said, picking up her other hand and kissing it, “then it will hurt badly for a long time. But at the end, we’ll be friends again because I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

Relief flooded her. “I can’t imagine my life without you either. I’ve had feelings for you for so long—years if I’m being truthful. I had a giant crush on you when I was a teenager, and it only got worse when you went away to war. I thought… Well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. You came back and got engaged to Myrtle. I realized I was deluding myself and tried to move on with my life. But now…”

He winced. “I’m such an idiot. How did I not notice?”

“I guess I hid it well.”

“You did.”

“So, this is real, and I can trust it? And no matter what happens, we’ll still be friends?” She hardly dared hope.

He raised her hand to his cheek and kissed the inside of her wrist. “This is real. You can trust it. We’ll always be friends, but I hope we’ll be more.” His gaze darkened, and he sucked one of her fingers into his mouth, grazing it with his teeth.

She let out all her breath in a little puff as the sensation shot straight to her core, igniting the flame that had been smoldering there all week.

“And what about Ernie and my family?” she gasped, trying to keep her head as he kissed his way up her arm.

“For today, let’s just worry about us. We’ll figure the rest out in time.” He turned his attention to her neck, kissing up to her ear and nibbling on the lobe. “I’m dying to kiss you again. May I?” he murmured in her ear, sending little thrills down her spine.

“Yes. Please do. I’ve hardly been able to think of anything else these last few days.”

He made a satisfied “mmm” as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. “Me neither.”

This time, there was no slow and tentative start. He crushed his lips to hers and traced the seam with his tongue inviting her to open. Now she knew what to expect, and she matched his desperation with her own. Running one had through his hair, she explored his powerful back and shoulders with the other, savoring the contours of his muscles. Time seemed to stop, and the world around them disappeared as their kiss grew fierce and wild.

She wanted this for so long—not just a kiss but all that came with it. Unlike the last kiss, this one came with a promise. He didn’t just crave her body. This wasn’t out of pity. He wanted her heart and was willing to surrender his own. It was too soon to call it love, but it was something that could grow into love with time.