by Scott, Lisa
He caught her at the bottom. “Well done.” His arms were looped around her waist and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could indulge his patience.
She turned to face him, and he knew he couldn’t put off their kiss again. A real kiss, not just a good-night-had-fun peck. He wanted her more than anything. Tracing his fingertips along her jaw, he raised her head to him. “How do you feel about kissing on the fifth date? Long overdue, I’d say.”
“So, what were you waiting for?”
“I wanted to be sure you were on board.”
“I’ve been on board for a while.” Tightening her grip on his shoulders, she gave him a coy smile. “But kissing in your grandma’s house? Is that allowed?”
“Now that I’m in charge, it’s encouraged.” He brought her mouth to his, and their kiss ignited every passion in him. He lowered her onto the stairs and hovered over her, kissing her softly. But she took a fistful of his shirt and pulled him toward her.
“Yeah?” he said.
“Yeah.” She kissed him, running her hands across his back and his mind spun, imagining all the different ways this could play out: on the stairs, up in his bedroom, on the floor under the chandelier.
But before things got out of control, he pulled back. He didn’t want to scare her off if they got too close, too soon.
“What?” she asked.
“Are you sure? We have all summer.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s all we have is the summer. Why waste any more time?”
Truth was, he didn’t want to fall for her. He had to go home in less than two months. But looking down at her, with her hair splayed on the steps, her pale skin glowing under the soft light coming from the chandelier, there was no way he could resist. He held out his hand and pulled her up. “Let me show you the bedrooms.”
***
What the hell just happened? They’d finally made it down to dinner at midnight, but she was too carried away to taste the food. And she was far too spooked by her feelings to spend the night. She dropped into her own bed at 2 a.m. and pulled her kitty on top of her. She stroked his soft fur. “It’s probably because I haven’t been with anyone in a while,” she confided. “It wasn’t really him so much. It was pent-up frustration, is all.” She nodded in the dark but heard the doubt in her own words.
And she tried to deny how incredible it had been.
Really, really incredible.
Rachel was in trouble. She was spending so much time with Drake that she wasn’t bringing in as much work. They decided to pack a year’s worth of a relationship into their two months and even squeezed in a weekend getaway to the Cape.
A month into it, he drove her out to an empty field and laid out a blanket so they could watch the stars. “This is nice. What’s the occasion?”
“Tonight’s the night I tell you why I don’t do long-distance.”
“Just like you promised.” She was impressed he’d remembered. She’d thought it was a joke at the time.
They curled up on the blanket and kicked off their shoes. She dug her toes in the cool, soft grass. He looped his foot around hers. “Look, a shooting star.” He pointed to a bright streak in the sky. “We’re out here five minutes and see a shooting star. That’s pretty lucky.” He grabbed her hand and kissed it.
“I’m waiting.”
He pulled her closer. “Technically we’re in public. But I’m game if you are.”
She nudged him with her knee. “For the story. The long-distance story.”
He sighed. “It’s not meant for everyone, that’s for sure.”
She looped her finger around one of his curls and twirled it. “I’ve never tried it myself. What happened?”
He closed his eyes. “I became like one of the guys you dumped.”
She sat up. “Oh, no. I don’t think I want to hear this.”
He patted her thigh and pulled her back down so she was lying on her side next to him. “No charges were filed, don’t worry. No, I just became really suspicious, and really needy. We’d spent so much time together, and then she was just gone. And every time I couldn’t reach her, I wondered what she was doing. She thought I was checking up on her, but I really just wanted to be part of her life still. Then I drove up to surprise her.”
Crickets chirped as she waited for him to continue. “I guess that didn’t go well.”
“Nope. Knocked on her door and some dude answered.” He shook his head. “I just don’t think you can be a couple when you’re not physically together in the same place. So that’s why this is going to end.” He kissed her head. “Even though this has been awesome and fun, I need to remind you that I’ll be leaving at the end of the August. And then it’s over. Really.”
Her throat tightened, and she could only nod. “I know. But there’s still a month left and you could end up driving me crazy and forcing me to break up with you first.” But she knew it wasn’t true.
She poked him in the chest and he grabbed her finger and kissed her knuckle. “I’ll do my best to keep you happy.”
And she knew that was true. She folded her hand in his and watched the heavens, trying to convince herself everything was going to be all right. Because she thought she could smell of whiff of heartbreak on the breeze.
“So when am I going to meet this mystery man of yours?” Lindsey asked as they shopped for shoes during her lunch break. Lindsey thought she needed a new pair of do-me-now stilettos. Somehow, the heel on her last pair had snapped off in an escapade involving the elevator at Tyler’s office building. Rachel had stopped her mid-story, certain she didn’t need all the details.
Rachel set down a pair of red sandals. “He’s not a mystery man. He’s just someone I’m seeing. It’s not serious.” But her heart protested that line.
Lindsey examined her profile as she stood in a pair of six-inch silver heels. “Good, because Luke is still asking about you.”
“He’s not really interested in me. I think with him, it’s a case of want-it-cause-I-can’t-have-it syndrome.” She sighed. “And guess what. He can’t have it. Sorry to bust your double-date bubble.” She picked up a pair of open-toe slides.
“Well, make sure this guy doesn’t fall too hard. I don’t think witness protection hides women from their crazy exes.”
“It’s not going to be a problem this time. He’s leaving town in a month.”
Lindsey raised an eyebrow. “Not if he’s crazy about you, he’s not.”
“Sometimes people can’t change their plans.”
She handed three boxes of sex-worthy shoes to the salesman hovering nearby. “If you mean enough to him, he will.”
***
Drake’s chest felt tighter the closer the clock moved toward the open house his realtor had scheduled for noon. His purpose this summer was to sell the house and get out of dodge and on with his life. Somehow, his plans had changed.
Rachel finished vacuuming the living room. He planted a big kiss on her lips. “Thank you. I couldn’t have gotten this ready myself.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “Are you nervous?”
He nodded. “On the one hand, I really want it to sell. On the other hand, I hate to think of it leaving the family. Doesn’t seem like there’s a happy ending here.” He had the same feeling about the two of them. He really liked her. It was becoming more than the summer fling he’d promised. If he weren’t going to be leaving at the end of the summer, he wouldn’t want this to end. Hell, he didn’t want it to end now. But he was going back to Philly for school and he’d never change his stance on long-distance relationships.
She was watching him. “I can see it bothers you.” She snaked her hand under his t-shirt, swirling her fingers in his chest hair. “The realtor’s coming in half an hour. Let’s get out of here and see if I can help you forget about this for a while.”
Lying in her bed, with Hijinx snoozing in a patch of sun on the white rug, Drake did the math in his head. They had three more weeks together. How the hell had the summer f
lown by? And how the hell was he going to leave this behind? He tightened his squeeze around her waist, and she wrapped her hand over his as it rested on her smooth belly.
“We don’t have a lot of time left together,” he said quietly.
“I know.” Her voice was empty and flat, like a glass of soda left out from a party overnight.
He watched the shadows from the tree outside her room dancing on the floor. “Are we going to wait until the last minute to end this, or would it be easier for you now?” he asked.
She sat up. “No, don’t put this on me. You’re breaking up with me like you promised.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “You do it whenever you want to do it.”
“I don’t want to.” He kissed her shoulder. “But I will.”
She ran a hand through her blond waves and sighed. “This was probably a stupid thing to do.”
“No. It was the best thing I’ve done in a long time.”
She nodded. “Then let’s not talk about it again until you’re ready to end it.”
“Fair enough. Let’s get dressed, see how the open house went, and go out for dinner to celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?”
“Either I have a buyer or I don’t, and I can find good reason to celebrate both of those options.”
The open house was well attended, but no offers came out of it. His mother and father weren’t too worried. The mortgage had been paid off, but there were still property taxes to be paid. “Maybe we could rent it?” Drake mentioned on the phone with them.
“Who’s going to want to rent such a big house? And I don’t want to risk someone damaging the place. We’ll just cross our fingers and hope for the best,” his mother said.
“You bored out of your skull up there?” his father asked.
Drake smirked. “No, it’s good. I’m fine.” He wasn’t going to tell them about Rachel, because why bother? It would only get his mother all riled up for another lecture on the missing grandchildren in her life. “I’ll keep you updated if there’s any interest.”
He wandered into the kitchen, with plans for making a divine lasagna. Rachel had mentioned it was her favorite. Filling up a pot of water, he frowned. He liked cooking for her. He liked doing everything with her. Would she ever consider moving to Philadelphia?
He lit he burner under the pot and shook his head. No. They had a deal and she seemed to want to stick to it. Maybe it was time to slowly back off, to stop seeing her every day.
But that plan went down the drain the next morning. “I’m going to delay some of my projects so I can spend more time with you,” she told him.
They spent another perfect day together. This time, they ended up at her house. And as they were drifting off to sleep, he heard himself whisper, “I love you.” He hoped she didn’t hear it. Love wasn’t part of their deal.
He got dressed early the next morning when the sun was just a blush in the sky.
She sat up in bed, “Where are you going?”
“I’ve got some stuff to do at the house.”
“Like what? Can I help?”
Just tell her now. “I’m packing up to go back home. Every day, I’m getting in deeper, and it’s not going to get any easier to leave.” He pressed his eyes shut. “So I’m going to say it now. Goodbye, Rachel.”
She was silent, and with each passing second he was worried he would take back the words.
“You’re breaking up with me.” Her soft, hurt voice shattered him.
“Like I promised.”
She looked down at the bed, fingering the edge of the sheet. “I understand.”
He stared at her, but she wouldn’t look at him. He wanted to rush to her, hold her, tell her it was a big mistake.
But it wasn’t. It was his only way out of this without causing even more damage.
He walked over to her, pressed his lips against her head and said, “You’re fantastic, Rachel. I hope you have a really great life.”
He heard her sob as he reached the front door. But he walked out, because if he went back he might never leave.
***
Rachel was glad she’d postponed some of her projects. She was too depressed to work. If hospitals admitted heart break cases in the ER, she’d be a code blue. She knew she’d fallen for him, but she’d had no idea how hard.
Hard enough that she even agreed to go out with Luke, hoping that would remind her how ghastly men could be, and that ending things had been for the best.
But that date—which involved too much wine on her part, and too much boasting on his part—only reminded her how wonderful Drake had been.
She tried to work, but she wasn’t inspired. Nothing made her happy, and she finally decided to call her mother for some good old-fashioned advice.
“Do you love him?” her mom asked, after Rachel filled her in.
She sighed. “Yes. But he doesn’t want to do long distance.”
“What’s keeping you in Springfield? You work from home. You could do that anywhere.”
She opened her mouth, but no great answer came to mind. “I’ve got another three months on my apartment lease.”
Her mother laughed. “And a lifetime of love waiting for you, it sounds like. Take a chance. That’s what I had to do after your father died. It was hard. Harder than you can imagine. But then I thought of the alternative—a lifetime alone. What will your life be like without him?”
Rachel nodded to herself and struggled to swallow. “Thanks, Mom.” She hung up and was ready to call Drake and talk it over. But she worried she’d chicken out and come up with a hundred reasons it wouldn’t work. If she didn’t get in her car and drive to him, she wasn’t sure she could pull it off. She twisted her lips and then grinned. Showing up to surprise him might wipe away the memories of the girl who broke his heart when he did the same thing. It’s time to rewrite history.
She called her landlord on the off chance she could get out of the lease early. Turned out, someone had come looking for an apartment a few days earlier. If she could get out in two days, the landlord would let her out of her lease.
She stored her furniture in her parent’s basement, and then packed up Hijinx, her computer, and her clothes. She googled Drake’s address, programmed it into her GPS and hit the road.
She rehearsed several different versions of her speech on the drive down, but wasn’t satisfied with any of them. Hopefully, seeing her standing in his doorway would say everything.
She sat in the parking lot of his apartment building for at least fifteen minutes before getting the courage to rap on his door. After a few strange looks from a lady walking her dog, she decided she better go in.
After making sure Hijinx was secured in his carrier, she went inside and found apartment 3-C. She rang the bell and stepped back.
No answer. She frowned. She hadn’t counted on this. He didn’t have a job and he wasn’t in school yet. Where was he? She rang again and knocked, hoping he was taking a nap. But still, no answer.
A man came out of the apartment next door and seemed surprised to see her there. “Are you looking for Drake?”
“Yes. I guess he’s out.”
The guy scratched his head. “Actually, he moved out.”
Her jaw dropped. “Where did he go?”
“Wherever he was over the summer. Springfield, Massachusetts, I think.”
***
His parents would probably give him hell for pulling out of culinary school, but he’d only lost his five-hundred-dollar deposit. Going after the woman he loved was worth so much more than that. He could go to school anytime; but a girl like her was once in a lifetime. He thought about calling her but didn’t because he knew she’d try to talk him out of it. Showing up to surprise her would be worth everything.
He tried to shake away the bad memories from a similar trip, when he’d gone to surprise Kimberly. But this was different. He had no doubt she’d be alone, even though they were no longer together. If he knew Rachel like he thought he did, she was still just
as miserable as he was. And that reassured him this was the right thing to do. He knew Rachel. He really knew her and loved everything about her.
After nearly swiping the guardrail in his rush to pull into the parking lot, he ran to her door. He knocked, but there was no answer. The shade on her front window was open, so he peeked in. His stomach lurched. The place was empty. She was gone.
Impossibly, it was an even worse feeling than seeing a guy on Kimberly’s doorstop. He walked in circles, uncertain what to do. Where had she gone? He pulled out his cell to call her, but she didn’t answer. Damn it!
At least he had a place to stay. He drove to his grandmother’s house and kept trying to call her, but no answer. He sat at the kitchen table and stared out the back window wondering if he’d just seriously screwed up his life for no good reason.
***
Making the trip twice in one day wasn’t her idea of fun. But she had to find him. Damn her lousy cell phone battery for conking out. What would he think when he discovered she wasn’t at her place? Would he turn right around and come back to Philly? Or maybe he hadn’t come for her. Maybe it had to do with his grandmother’s house. Maybe when he dumped her, he’d really meant it.
She swore to herself and wondered what she’d do next. When she finally got back to Springfield, she knew there was only one place he could be. She pulled into his grandmother’s driveway at eight o’clock and took her first deep breath in hours. His car was there; he was home.
Poor Hijinx was meowing in the back seat. She freed him from his carrier and scooped him up in her arms. Her fingers trembled as she stroked his fur. What if Drake hadn’t come back for her? What if this all had been a huge mistake?
She rang the doorbell and was relieved to hear footsteps coming down the stairs. When Drake opened the door, his face was pale and taut. Then he saw her. He pulled her into a hug while Hijinx meowed loudly. “You’re really here?” She heard herself crying. “What happened? Why did you move?”