“You don’t, I find your iPod and I’ll do it.”
That got me moving for two reasons. One, this would require a body search and my iPod was at my bottom. I didn’t want Chace Keaton’s hands anywhere near my bottom. Second, the song it was set at was “Holding Out for a Hero” which meant if he had my iPod, he’d catch me out in the lie and know, possibly, what really was making me cry.
So I slid out from in front of him, unbuttoned my coat, shrugged it off and threw it on my armchair. Then I unwound my scarf and did the same with that. Finally, I dug into my back pocket, pulled out my iPod and set up the song.
The strains of the guitar hit the space as I turned back to see Chace had taken off his coat, thrown it on my bed and he was leaning a hip against the foot stand.
He looked good standing anywhere.
But he never looked better than standing right there.
Really, seriously, how was this happening?
“Forgot how much I like this song,” he said through the music.
“Told you it was good,” I muttered.
At my words, he suddenly pushed away from the bed and came at me.
I had to make a split second decision. Run from the apartment (and I’d just taken off my coat), race to the bathroom and lock myself in, retreat again even though I had nowhere to go or hold my ground.
I took longer than the split second to make my decision and thus ended up doing the last and therefore was an available target when he reached down and grabbed my hand.
He yanked it firm but gentle and I flew toward him.
His other arm slid around me and suddenly I found myself, after midnight, in my apartment, dancing with Chace Keaton.
It wasn’t just a close to each other, hips swaying dance. He swung me out, twirled me around, threw me wide and wound me back in. He was sure in his moves, strong, confident and my body just moved how he wanted me to move. It didn’t feel stilted, I wasn’t nervous.
I just moved where he guided me like we’d danced together countless times. It felt natural. It felt right. It felt great.
So great, the song was so awesome, I got into it and started grinning, aiming this at him whenever my eyes caught his which were always on me.
The slow bits, he held me close and swayed. The faster bits, he moved me around and when the clapping came, he pulled me close, his neck bending, his lips finding my ear and he whispered, “You’re right, honey, this is definitely the best part.”
My hand was resting on the hard wall of his chest, my head tipped back, his came up and we locked eyes.
Then I whispered, “See?”
He smiled.
I drowned.
Then he twirled me out when the tempo shifted up but we finished close, hips swaying. His arm was around me, his hand in mine holding it to his chest. My other hand was resting lightly on his shoulder. His jaw was pressed to the side of my hair and my eyes trained to the strong column of his throat.
The song faded away, our hips stopped swaying, but he didn’t let me go.
I had no idea what was happening, how it came about but that didn’t mean I didn’t close my eyes and commit every nuance of that moment to memory.
Then he said quietly in my ear, “For a long time, a long fuckin’ time, Faye, nearly six years, I thought it was certain I’d never have anything as beautiful as the last three minutes. Thank you, honey, for giving that to me.”
Once he’d dropped this confusing, exquisite bombshell, he moved away, went to his coat on his bed, tagged it, sauntered to my door and walked out of it, closing it behind him.
Not looking back.
Chapter Four
The Cherokee and Coffee
It was four days (well, technically three) after Chace Keaton said beautiful but bewildering words to me and sauntered out of my apartment.
In other words, it was Tuesday morning at eight thirty which was an hour before I had to get to work, preparing to open the library and I was in my Cherokee staking out the return bin in hopes of seeing the boy.
I was there on Tuesday because the library wasn’t open on Mondays.
Also because I hadn’t had time to come earlier.
This was because I was catching up on sleep, cleaning my house and going two kinds of shopping – grocery and for some kid I didn’t know. My time was also spent having dinner with my parents including helping my Mom make it and watching two movies with them after it. Not to mention, in order to keep my mind off things, I’d been to the gym twice and worked out for an hour rather than half that.