Stay Beautiful

by Trina M. Lee

  “How very poetic,” Violet teased, beaming a playful smile at him. “But it’s also very true. I agree. There are always two sides to everything, right? It’s up to us to choose. We can take a risk and find out what might have been or we can walk away and live without ever knowing. Either way, very dramatic and potentially life changing.”

  Jonah couldn’t help but laugh at the melodramatic tone Violet used. She was trying to lighten the moment. He knew that. It was working for the most part.

  “I think it’s already been life changing.” With a finger beneath her chin, he kissed her. Her lips moved on his, a tender, delicate touch. “Violet, you make me feel like I can do anything. Be anyone. I’d given up on that way of thinking a long time ago.”

  “Aw, Jonah.” She ran a hand through his hair affectionately. “You’ve had an effect on me too. This was a wild adventure for me. My first ‘one-night stand’.” She did air quotes with her fingers and rolled her eyes. “But you were a total gentleman and I won’t forget that.”

  Jonah felt uneasy. He was conflicted with a storm of emotions and thoughts that battered him. His instinct was to escape before they could swallow him whole. If he didn’t, he may say or do something he could never take back. He wasn’t sure he was ready for this. It felt like an all-or-nothing kind of situation. It didn’t seem fair.

  He kissed her again, this time with a passion that would not be quelled. His tongue entangled with hers in a frenzied dance. He had to love her just one more time.

  * * * * *

  Standing in the lobby with Violet and her bags, Jonah couldn’t help but curse the elevator. Of all the times for it to stop, on their way down to meet her cab would have been the most ideal. No such luck.

  “Are you sure you have everything?” he asked for no other reason than he didn’t know what else to say.

  “Yes. I’m sure.” She beamed up at him, a blush coloring her cheeks. “Thanks again, Jonah. It was nice. Really nice.”

  “So I guess this is where we say we’ll never forget each other.” He smiled and pulled her into his arms. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to let go.

  A taxi pulled to a stop outside and Jonah’s pulse raced. He breathed a sigh of relief when a family waiting nearby claimed it as theirs. It didn’t sit well with him that he was feeling so uptight over Violet’s departure. An evening with a bottle of whiskey might help with that.

  “I won’t forget you.” She seemed to be having a hard time meeting his eyes. “Look, I know we figured it was better to just say goodbye and leave it that way. But if you ever find yourself in Vancouver, look me up. Okay?”

  “Without a doubt.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering so that he could smell her hair. “Now you’ll have me inventing a reason to visit Vancouver.”

  “I wish you would.” She laughed but it lacked humor. Violet clutched his hand tightly, almost painfully.

  “As long as you’re there, I have a reason. Work is tight but as soon as I can get away…” He was afraid to make any promises he wouldn’t be able to keep.

  She nodded but her expression was absent of any emotion. “Right. Look, I can’t do this. I suck at goodbyes and I just can’t let myself walk out of here without knowing you have a way to reach me. So here.” Violet pulled a folded slip of paper from her coat pocket and pressed it into his hand. “I don’t expect you to call. I agree that it’s best if we don’t. Let’s just say it’s in case of emergency or something… Throw it away if you want to. After I leave, of course.”

  Jonah’s mouth went dry. He turned the piece of paper over in his hand. A sense of relief settled in. Though he may never even unfold it, that paper was priceless.

  “I’m not going to throw it away. Don’t be crazy.”

  “Oh, that’s me.” She gestured to the taxi that pulled to a stop outside.

  “Let me help you.”

  Together they wrestled her things out to the car. Jonah piled the bags into the trunk while combating a serious case of nerves. He slammed the trunk shut and hugged her to him with the desperate embrace of a man in turmoil. The heat of her lips against his ear as she clung to him was like a punch in Jonah’s stomach.

  “When you get home, I want you to draw something, anything. Just for me. Even if I never see it.” She pulled back to fix him with a serious stare. “Promise me.”

  Jonah’s thoughts strayed to the picture upstairs in his bag, the one he’d drawn while she slept. He smiled. “I promise.” He ignored the impatient look the cab driver shot him in the side mirror. “Take care of yourself, Violet. I’m honored to have been a part of your life, even if only for a night.”

  “This is turning out to be harder than I thought.” She forced a laugh but it sounded as fake as it was. “I’m going to get going before this guy drives away with all my stuff in his car.” With a heartbreaking sigh, Violet kissed him and it felt like goodbye. “You have beauty inside of you, Jonah. Let it out.”

  She never let him get another word out. Jonah watched as Violet quickly got into the back of the taxi. It stung but he knew it was best if she made a fast getaway. Rather than watch the car drive off, he hurried back into the hotel and straight for the elevator. No looking back. One night with the woman and his world had turned upside down. Between the lack of sleep and the strange rollercoaster of thought and feeling, Jonah felt as if he’d taken a beating.

  Returning to the room didn’t help. Her scent lingered. Evidence of their brief affair was everywhere. The bed remained a mess of blankets and sheets. The unopened liquor bottles from their drinking game were still piled beside the bed where he’d shoved them. The afternoon sun attempted to shine through the cloud cover outside the window and Jonah felt betrayed by the lack of snowfall.

  He had never fallen for a woman as fast and as easily as he’d fallen for Violet. Without unfolding it, he stuck the paper with her number on it into his wallet. Maybe he would consider calling her after some time had passed. Or maybe not.

  Jonah sat heavily on the end of the bed. Against his better judgment he dug the drawing of Violet out of his suitcase. Perhaps one night was all some people ever knew of love. Was it better than never having that one night at all? Jonah had no answer for that.

  Chapter Six

  The chaotic atmosphere inside the airport quickly got to Violet. It seemed to suck the energy from her as she struggled through the throngs of people with her things. She still had some time to pass before checking her baggage and heading to security. Casting a desperate glance around, she spied a spot on a nearby bench.

  “Oh thank God,” she muttered beneath her breath.

  Violet all but fell onto the bench. She hadn’t brought that many things. The insanity of the airport seemed to make carting her bags around twice as awkward. The lack of sleep and emotional upheaval didn’t help.

  She flashed an apologetic smile at the woman she had squeezed in beside. Once settled, she checked her phone. One email from her sister gushing about the honeymoon. With picture attachments. Nothing like a little salt in the wound.

  She was happy for Jen, really. Happily ever after just wasn’t something she wanted to think about right now. Tapping her foot impatiently, Violet watched the minutes tick by on her phone. An attempt at surfing the web and playing a game for distraction fell flat. Her mind was preoccupied.

  There was a lot of activity surrounding her. People seemed to share the general irritation and impatience that she too felt. She couldn’t complain though. It was evident with a good look around that some people had been stuck sleeping there due to the flight cancellations. She had to be grateful. She’d been in Jonah’s arms.

  Was it possible to miss him already? It was a one-night stand. As much as she’d said that to herself in the taxi, it didn’t shake the feeling that they’d formed a genuine connection. It was certainly bittersweet.

  Sitting there grew increasingly difficult. She began to fidget with the strap on her purse. She turned to her phone again, seeking numbness in technology. It was u
seless. The urge to get up and pace was overwhelming. She just couldn’t sit still.

  After receiving a dirty look from her bench mate, Violet decided to head over to the baggage claim. Maybe if she ambled along it would be almost boarding time when she was done. Time seemed intent on driving her mad. It was insistent on dragging when all she wanted to do was get in the air before she did something stupid. Like ditch her flight and head back to the hotel.

  Violet made her way through the people, trying to keep a leisurely pace. It was difficult with everyone else rushing about madly. Rushing along with them wouldn’t get her plane off the ground any faster.

  Pulling two suitcases along behind her, she struggled to get her purse and shoulder bag to stop sliding down her arm. One suitcase hit the back of her heel and she stumbled. Both the purse and shoulder bag hit the floor and Violet watched with dismay as the contents of her purse spilled out.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  With an exasperated sigh that ended in another curse, she began to gather her things. She never saw him coming. Someone stopped to help, bending to scoop up her phone and keys.

  “I gotta say, I thought you’d be harder to find.”

  Looking up into Jonah’s enchanting eyes, Violet was stunned. Was this for real? Or had she fallen asleep on the bench and this was some kind of cruel dream?

  “What are you doing here?”

  Jonah caught her up in a hungry kiss and she almost dropped her bags again. It was surreal and unexpected but she’d never felt such raw passion and joy. She was oblivious to any stares they got from passersby. Violet fell completely into him.

  “There was something I wanted you to have.” Reaching into a jacket pocket, Jonah produced a folded piece of notepad paper. “Don’t look at it until you get on the plane.”

  “What is it?”

  “You’ll see.” Leaning his forehead against hers, Jonah clasped her hand in his. “I don’t know how I’m going to sleep in that bed tonight without you. I can smell you everywhere.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  He pressed a tender kiss to her temple and sighed. “Hell, no.”

  They stood together, content to remain steadfast as the human traffic flowed around them. She wanted to drag out every last moment.

  “I can’t believe you came all the way here.” With a laugh she kissed him, unwilling to allow the moment to end. “You’re crazy.”

  “I thought we already established that this was a crazy situation. Why even question it? And while we’re on the topic of crazy, allow me to take it to the next level.” He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze directly. “We don’t want to do the long-distance thing. That blows. So let’s just agree here and now to see each other again. We pick a date and we be here. Just like that.”

  Violet didn’t need to think twice about that. Everything in her cried yes. “What date? Just something at random? How far ahead are you talking?”

  “What about this spring? March 25th?”

  Excitement bubbled up until Violet was almost bursting with it. “Seriously? You want to do this? Just pick a date and see if the other shows up? What if you don’t come?”

  “Nothing aside from death will keep me from showing up. I put my number on that paper. So you have mine too. If I can’t come for any reason, I’ll call. You do the same. Otherwise, I’ll see you March 25th?”

  She knew it was spontaneous and poorly thought out but she didn’t give a damn. Staring into Jonah’s expectant expression, she knew she’d never be able to say no and live with herself.

  “I’ll be here. And this is more than a little crazy so you better not stand me up.”

  “Never. We can meet at the hotel.”

  “Shit!” Violet felt a sense of dread when the alarm on her phone went off, indicating it was time to check her bags and head to security. “I have to go. I can’t believe you’re going to make me say goodbye again.”

  Jonah relieved her of the two suitcases and fell into step beside her. “You didn’t really say it the first time.”

  As they approached the baggage area, Violet felt that same sense of dread at having to leave him. This time, it wasn’t quite so heavy. The man had come to the airport to hunt her down so they could arrange to meet again. Whatever this was, it wasn’t just a one-night fling anymore. And it was bigger than both of them. She could feel it.

  “Here we go. Again.” She beamed at him, almost unable to contain the giddy school girl shrieking with glee inside her. “Goodbye, Jonah. I look forward to next time.”

  “Until we meet again. And all that jazz.” Jonah caught her up in a tender embrace and kissed her like a drowning man getting that first vital breath of air.

  It left her almost dizzy. Violet had to steady herself. “You make it hard for a girl to say goodbye.”

  Jonah reached to caress her cheek, his hand lingering. She leaned into it, knowing the heat from his touch wouldn’t last nearly long enough. “Stay beautiful, Violet.”

  Slowly, he began to back away. She waved, watching him go. Dealing with security and finally boarding the plane was all a matter of going through the motions. Her thoughts were elsewhere. She had little desire to interact with anyone else, engaging only as much as she had to.

  Once settled in her seat, Violet stared out the window, clutching her purse tightly. The paper Jonah had given her was inside. She didn’t want to look at it until the plane was moving for fear that whatever was on it would make her want to get off the plane. It was agony waiting until the plane launched into motion. Her fingers fumbled with the edges of the page as she unfolded it.

  Her breath caught as she looked at the sketch. He’d drawn her while she was asleep. And he’d done an amazing job. Jonah truly had a gift and he’d shared it with her. It meant more than he would ever know.

  Violet stared at the picture for a long time. Every stroke of the pen over each tendril of hair, the way he’d captured the curve of each eyelash, it was uncanny. It made her feel close to him, as if she held a piece of his soul in her hands. Leaving him hurt. Returning would be worth it.

  The End

  About the Author

  Trina M. Lee has walked in the darkness alongside vampires and werewolves since adolescence. Intrigue, fueled by such things as The Lost Boys, Ginger Snaps and Anne Rice novels, quickly grew into a lifestyle of all things fangs and fur.

  The first recognition she received for writing was at the age of 9. After writing a Christmas-themed story that was published in the local town paper, the Government of Alberta recognized her with an award for creative writing.

  Trina lives in Alberta, Canada, with her fiancé and daughter, along with their 3 cats. She is always interested in hearing from readers via email or Twitter.

  Trina welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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  Also by Trina M. Lee

  If Only for Tonight

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