He drove his hands into his pockets, looked down at his feet, and shrugged. “Wishful thinking, I guess.”
I was doing the same thing, hoping that there would be some reason to stay longer, to get to know Jamie better. “Well you, my friend, were truly fantastic in there, especially with those ladies.”
His face went expressionless. “I had to work at that, Kate. It didn’t come easily.”
We both burst into laughter. I looked up at the sky and saw a hundred million stars shimmering brightly. We quieted, but I stayed where I was, staring at the sky, transfixed. I wondered if I had been at the winery for years. That’s what it felt like. I couldn’t believe I had only known Jamie since the day before. I knew so little about him but I didn’t care because, when I was with him, I didn’t feel alone.
“Kiss me,” I said strongly. He took a staggering step back and then scanned my face but didn’t respond. “You heard me.”
“Is that how you ask nicely?” One side of his mouth lifted.
“Please kiss me.”
“You have a boyfriend.”
I didn’t hesitate for a second. “Not anymore.”
And then his lips crushed mine.
We kissed eagerly, clutching at each other. My hands went to his neck, tangling my fingers in his soft hair. His hands ran upward from the small of my back. His lips were softer than they looked and he took his time, moving from my mouth to my neck and then up my jawline to my ear, trailing tiny kisses before coming back to my lips. I could have kissed him like that for days. When he finally slowed, his fingers ran up my spine to my neck, and I shivered. When he let go, I stumbled to the side, not completely in control of my body. He braced me by the elbows. His eyes were wide and bright, and I could tell he was waiting for me to say something.
“That was nice,” I said, still stunned.
“Nice?” he said in mock offense.
“Wondrous?”
“Mind-blowing,” he came back quickly.
“Spine-tingling.”
“Exploding stars.”
“Intoxicating.”
“Christmas morning.”
“Chocolate lava cake.”
“Potassium chlorate and gummy bears.”
I squinted sharply. “What?”
“It’s chemistry. Google it.” He took my hand in his and pulled me along into the darkness.
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s watch the stars.”
We lay down on some blankets in the back of his truck, which was still parked in the main parking lot. We watched the stars, talked, and laughed as we heard the drunken ladies pouring out of the restaurant, talking about Captain Fantastic.
As the parking lot fell quiet, I decided to get personal. “Tell me your story, Jamie.”
He didn’t move for a few moments. “What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about your life and what brought you to this place.”
“Well, I was adopted by two of the greatest people to walk this earth. I was their only child. I grew up on the West Coast, not too far from here, and aside from the diabetes, I had a truly idyllic childhood. When I was eighteen, I found my birth parents. They were married and had another child, whom I’ve never met because a month after I reconnected with my birth parents, they tried to steal money from me.” I squeezed his hand, but he continued without pause. “I cut off all ties to them, not that there were many to begin with. I went to college on the East Coast and then came back to California for a couple of years. Before I found the winery, I traveled a lot and tried my hand at a few different things. I met Susan when I was going through a rough time, and she brought me to this place.” He paused for just a second. “Your turn.”
It seemed like Jamie was uncomfortable talking about himself or his life. I didn’t get the feeling that he didn’t want to share certain things with me; I just got the impression he was a live-in-the-moment kind of guy and didn’t dwell on the past. Still, something about the way he described his life reminded me of my own, and the solitude I felt in it. I thought dreamily for a moment about how it seemed like Jamie and I were two lost and lonely souls finding each other in the vast wasteland of adulthood.
“No rebuttal questions?”