Bylines & Deadlines

by Kimberly Vinje

  “I hope you’ll feel better in the morning. Would you like to meet me for breakfast?”

  She thought about it for a moment. “That would be nice.”

  He lifted her face, this time cradling it in both hands. “I’m right down the hall if you need me.” She nodded, and he moved a little closer to her. He looked down at her and smiled. “Do you think it would be okay if I gave you a little kiss goodnight?” She nodded without even thinking. He leaned closer to her and gently brushed her lips with his. Her heart was pounding so hard she felt it in her throat. He kissed her again with more intensity, and she felt her legs weaken. He moved one hand away from her face and put an arm around her waist to hold her closer…and maybe hold her up. She managed to find the strength to pull him even closer as she returned the kiss. Her whole body pulsed with excitement. He pulled his lips away, and they both opened their eyes. “Wow,” he whispered.

  “That was a little kiss?” she asked when she finally found her voice.

  “I think I better go before we do something you might regret,” he replied with a smile.

  “I would regret it?” she replied.

  “Well, there’s no way I would,” he said as the smile widened. He moved closer to her and whispered, “And yes. That was a little kiss.” He gave her a peck on the forehead and left her standing in the doorway.

  * * * * *

  She woke up on top of the covers still in her black dress. She ran her fingers over her lips and smiled at the memory of the kiss. Images of Will flashed through her mind, and a small part of her felt guilty for kissing Jack. She had spent her life as Megan fantasizing about Will and wanting to be with him. She wondered if Jack would replace Will in her fantasies when she returned home without either of them. Will would always have part of her heart whether she was Megan or Kristine. She shook her head. She was pathetic. She barely knew either of these men, and she was thinking of how they’d fill her dreams for the rest of her life. She let her mind go back to the events of last night.

  Megan cringed when she thought about her reaction to hearing her old name. If she was going to have any joy in life, she couldn’t stay on this course. The goal for the day: live a little.

  Megan did her best to minimize the puffiness in her face and eyes and got ready for the day. She remembered she had agreed to meet Jack for breakfast, so she went to the dining room hoping she hadn’t missed him. Her stomach rumbled so loudly in the elevator, she felt the need to give a weak smile to the elderly couple in there with her. It had been 24 hours since she had eaten anything. Between the hunger pangs and the butterflies at seeing Jack, she wondered if she’d even be able to eat anything.

  As soon as she walked into the room, she saw Jack rise from a table and wave her to him. She couldn’t control the smile on her face or the pounding in her chest. He was wearing jeans and a tan v-neck sweater with a white shirt under it. His salt and pepper hair was combed to the side.

  “Look, I’m really sorry about last night,” she said. He motioned for her to have a seat.

  “Sorry about what?” he asked sitting.

  “You know. The episode in here where I left you to eat alone,” she said putting the napkin on her lap. “I was a maniac,” she said trying to sound playful.

  “We all have our moments,” he said putting her at ease. “Paper?” he asked offering her the newspaper.

  “No, thank you,” she said not wanting to chance another panic attack. A waiter approached them. “I’ll have coffee, pancakes, 2 eggs scrambled, hash browns and… some turkey sausage, please,” she said before he could ask. The waiter turned over the coffee mug in front of her and poured her a cup.

  “Sure. Would you like anything?” he asked Jack.

  “I’ll have the same, please,” Jack said. He turned his attention to Megan as the waiter walked away. “Turkey sausage?”

  “It’s better for you.”

  “Good thinking. Counteract the pancakes, eggs and hash browns,” he teased with a grin.

  “I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning,” she explained. “I hope you weren’t waiting long. I didn’t know what time to meet you.”

  “Not long at all. Are you feeling better?” She was sipping her coffee, but nodded. She put the cup back on the saucer.

  “Much, thanks,” she said smiling. “You must have thought I was crazy,” she laughed.

  “Not at all,” he said in a soothing tone that made her feel thankful to him. “I was worried about you, though. I’m glad you let me in to see you last night. I’d like to think that little kiss helped put you on the mend.”

  “Maybe it did,” she said with a smile that lit up her face. “So, what are your plans today?”

  “Well, I was thinking I’d like to do something with you,” he said with a charm in his voice that made her smile at him. Actually, she couldn’t stop smiling.

  “I’d like that,” she said and felt her face flush.

  They made small talk while they ate their breakfast and finished a second cup of coffee. She noticed his table manners - the napkin in his lap, elbows off the table - and thought someone had gently lectured him as a boy. Slowly, she became more and more comfortable with Jack. She didn’t know if it was his manner or her losing the ability to hide behind her new persona. Her face began to hurt from the smiling and laughter - two things she wasn’t used to doing. She actually caught herself flirting, too. The dishes were cleared, and she sat back in her seat.

  “So, Megan, what do you do?” he asked as he watched her analyzing him.

  “Why?” she replied on automatic pilot and cringed at her defense mechanisms.

  “I’m interested, that’s why.” She thought about the question. It seemed harmless enough and something someone would normally ask. She already knew he worked for the IRS.

  “I teach high school English,” she said. Of course, there was no picture of her in a yearbook to prove it. She always missed her scheduled photo time. One of her fellow teachers even kidded her once about being in the witness protection program. She laughed off the comment and made a note to herself to steer clear of that teacher.

  “I’m impressed,” he said. She wrinkled her eyebrows.

  “There’s nothing impressive about that,” she said dryly. Now being a reporter for a top-notch newspaper - that would have been impressive. Writing stories that touched people’s lives would have been impressive. Spending your afternoons reading essays written by 18 year olds who didn’t comprehend the concepts of a complete sentence or verb conjugation wasn’t impressive at all.

  “I think it’s amazing. You’re shaping the future,” he said.

  “Yeah, that’s what I do,” she laughed sarcastically. “These kids couldn’t care less about my class. All they care about is text messaging, iPods, clothes and sex. Some of them are lucky they can spell their own names correctly thanks to texting.”

  “If you reach just one, is it worth it?” She had never thought about it. Suddenly, she felt better about her new life. Jack was making Megan’s life seem livable, and she liked it. She liked him.

  “Yeah, I guess it is,” she nodded. There are worse things she could do with her life, she thought. “I just didn’t picture my life turning out like this. So, tell me about you.” She quickly changed the subject.

  “My life isn’t exactly what I had expected either. I don’t know that anyone’s is,” he said, but she thought he had no idea how different her life really was.

  “What did you think you’d be doing now?”

  “I was raised by my aunt and uncle. I was determined to help people, so I went to medical school. I guess you could say life threw me a curve ball, and that’s how I ended up where I am.”

  “Medical school? Wow! Talk about impressive. How far did you get?”

  “As far as my rotations.”

  “That far!? What made you quit when you were so close? Was it lack of patients, because I can’t think of any woman who would get undressed in front of you and actually admit there w
as something wrong with her.” They both laughed.

  “Some family stuff got in the way,” he said.

  “So you were raised by your aunt and uncle?” She used her journalism skills to broach the subject without flat out asking what happened to his parents.

  “Yes. It was my mom’s idea. She didn’t think she could give me the kind of life my aunt and uncle could. My aunt couldn’t have children.”

  “Wow. That was so selfless of her. She must love you very much.”

  “She did,” he said quietly looking down at the table. Megan didn’t want to dig further. “What do you say we get out of here and go skating?”

  “Ice skating?” she asked smiling.

  “Of course, ice skating,” he replied playfully.

  “I don’t know how,” she admitted.

  “What about skiing?”

  “Nope,” she said with an embarrassed smile and shook her head.

  “So you don’t skate and you don’t ski. Why are you here?” he asked playfully.

  “I just wanted to get away. I can do warm weather stuff like play tennis, baseball, swimming, basketball…and I’m really good at some indoor sports,” she said in a flirtatious way that surprised even her. He looked surprised, too.

  “Well, okay then,” he said. “Come on. I’ll teach you some outdoor, winter activities,” he stood and quickly helped her out of her seat. A phrase her mom used to tell her ran through her mind - if it seems too good to be true, it is. Megan tried to erase the thought, but in her heart she knew she had to be careful. Still, she wasn’t looking for a long-term relationship…she couldn’t. So what was the harm in having a little fun for a day? She tried to stop over-thinking everything.

  “I’ll give it a try,” she said and let him take her arm in his.

  They rented skates and a locker for their shoes. After they changed into the skates, he took their snow shoes and put them in the locker. He met her on the bench. The sunlight hit the snow and ice.

  “Okay. Are you ready?” he asked standing.

  “We’re about to find out,” she replied and stood up. She wobbled and grabbed a hold of his arms. She started laughing. “I take it this isn’t a good sign.”

  “Come on,” he grinned and led her to the ice. He stepped out. She followed him and slid into him.

  “Sorry!” she giggled.

  “It’s okay,” he tightened his grip on her arms. He slowly skated backwards pulling her with him. She struggled to stay steady on the skates.

  “Don’t let go of me,” she giggled.

  “I promise,” he said. He led her around the ice while people sped past them. A young boy, maybe seven years old, chased another boy around the rink.

  “Does he have to make it look that easy?” she asked happily. “Little brat.” They both laughed.

  “Want to try to skate to me?” he asked.

  “NO!” she said in a panic. She grabbed onto him tighter, and they wobbled until they lost their balance and landed in a clump on the ice. She tried to apologize, but they were both laughing so hard neither could speak. The laughter finally slowed. He leaned over and kissed her. She felt the warmth flow through her despite the fact she was melting ice with her rear end. “Maybe we should stick to things that won’t result in broken bones.”

  “Or wet butts,” he said smiling.

  “Cold, wet butts,” she added. He helped her to her feet and off the ice. They changed into their shoes. “This is much better,” she said standing. The sun had disappeared behind clouds, so she raised her sunglasses on her head.

  “How about a walk?” he asked.

  “That sounds great, but I think I’m going to have to change clothes before my butt freezes into a solid block of ice,” she said twisting to look at the darkened patch of denim.

  “Gives new meaning to frosted buns,” he said jokingly. “Let’s change and meet in the lobby by the fire.”

  She practically skipped to her room and put on a dry pair of jeans, white thermal long-sleeved shirt and a navy sweater that zipped at the neck. She freshened up her makeup and noticed her eyes looked much better than they had that morning. She ran her fingers through her hair and gave it a quick spray. She noticed heavy snow falling outside, so she left her coat in the room figuring a walk would be out of the question.

  The lobby was full of people mingling while seeking shelter from the snow storm. Jack was sitting on the couch in front of the fire.

  “Hey,” he said when he saw her approaching him. “A pretty bad snow storm blew in.”

  “I saw that,” she said. He made room on the sofa for her, and she sat next to him. “I guess going for a walk is out of the question.” She was disappointed. They were forced to sit closely because of the crowd. Her insides squirmed.

  “I guess so,” he said. “Actually, I think most outdoor activities are out of the question for awhile.” She thought about his use of “outdoor activities” and decided she was too afraid to ask about indoor activities.

  “Hm,” she said staring into the fire. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater past her hands. She was more self-conscious than cold. They had shared an amazing morning and part of the afternoon. So why was she freaking out so much? She decided it was because with the lack of anything else to do, going back to his room was a real possibility.

  “Cold?” he asked as he put his arm around her and rubbed the wool on her arm with his hand before she could answer. Still, it felt nice to be touched and held. “Better?” he asked, and she nodded. “Hey, relax,” he said softly. She hadn’t realized she had stiffened when he put his arm around her. “I don’t bite.”

  “Sorry,” she whispered and tried to ease her tense muscles. She fought back a tear. How crazy was she? He was as sexy as Will, but he was real. Maybe that was the problem. He was too real. She let herself put her head on his shoulder. He leaned his head on hers. “This is kind of nice,” she whispered.

  “Mm hmm,” he agreed. She snuggled into him.

  “I had fun skating,” she said.

  “I don’t think you can call what you did skating,” he gently laughed.

  “Hey, be nice,” she giggled. This stranger was making her feel a little too comfortable.

  “I am nice,” he said.

  “Jack?” she said sitting up a little. “What are we doing?”

  “Sitting by the fire,” he said.

  “Seriously.”

  “Seriously? I don’t know,” he said. She put her head back down on his chest, and they sat quietly for a few moments. “I do want to get to know more about you,” he finally said. These words caused her to stiffen. “Want to tell me about it?” he asked softly.

  “Tell you what?” she replied innocently without moving. The warm comfort started to burn her. Anxiety took the place of peacefulness.

  “Why you’re always so scared. You’re hiding something. Something pretty serious,” he said holding her tighter. She sat up, lifted her head and shifted slightly away from him.

  “Why do you think I’m scared or hiding something?” she said sounding a bit too defensive. “I’m not. Why would I be hiding anything? My life is boring. It really is.” This could be the definition of protesting too much, she thought. That thought only made things worse, and her hands began to fidget as her eyes darted around the room.

  “I don’t know you very well, but you are by far the jumpiest person I’ve ever met. It goes way beyond shyness to sheer terror sometimes,” he said. She could feel the color flood her face. She swallowed hard. She didn’t know if she was mad or hurt or embarrassed. Maybe she was all of them.

  “So you’ve picked up a lot of women in hotels, and that makes you an expert on how I’m supposed to act?” she asked angrily. He tried to speak, but she didn’t let him. “Look, I don’t know anything about you. I came here for a nice, quiet weekend and didn’t want to meet anyone, much less some snake who preys on single women. What was I supposed to do, jump you right on the bar the night we met? Sorry to disappoint you, but you are
resistible.” She stood up. He was looking at her speechless, and she thought maybe she saw the hint of a smile fighting to pull his lips toward his eyes. This only infuriated her more. She lowered her voice and said, “By the way, aren’t you getting a little old to play the predator?” She turned and rushed to the stairwell.

  She took the stairs two at a time until she flung the door to the third floor open. She went into her room and paced the small area between the bed, window and door. She knew she had completely flown off the handle and attacked Jack. Old habits died hard. She flung herself onto the bed, leaned against the headboard and pulled her knees up to her chest. She rocked a little as she cried. She should never have taken this trip, she thought to herself. She got up and pulled her bag out and started to pack. She stopped and picked up the phone. “I need a ride to the airport.”

  “I’m sorry ma’am. We’re not running the shuttle due to the storm,” a young woman said.

  “Then can you get me a taxi? I really need to catch a flight,” she said picking at a piece of string hanging from her sweater.

  “Ma’am, I don’t think you’ll find a driver willing to make the drive in this storm, and if you do, you’d be lucky to get a flight. You’d be stuck at the airport,” she said.

  “Thanks anyway,” Megan said and put the phone back on the cradle. She plopped on the edge of the bed. Being stuck at the airport was better than being stuck here, she thought. Still, it was clear she wasn’t going to find anyone to take her. Her plane left tomorrow evening anyway. She would just stay in her room. She looked at the clock. It was only 5:00. She fell backward on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She felt numb. She closed her eyes.

  When she woke, she sat up on her elbows and looked at the clock. Great. Only two hours had passed. She had kind of wished a couple of years had passed. She moaned and got out of the bed. She changed into a pair of sweats and gym shoes, put her iPod into her pocket and headed for the door as she pulled her hair into a pony tail. She listened. It was quiet. She peeked out. No one. She scurried to the stairwell and took it to the bottom floor of the lodge. She had noticed on the elevator buttons there was a fitness center in the basement.