“Married him. Yes.”
“You really didn’t know?”
“Babe. I didn’t want to know. I was shredded. So, I cut you off. You were dead to me. It was the only way I could keep myself breathing every day.”
I thought on that for a moment. I’d spent most of my time during the past years wandering around in a daze. He didn’t need to imagine it; I was dead. “Then why’d you think to call me when your dad died?”
“Why wouldn’t I think to call you? I was coming back home. I realized you were the only one who really knew the whole story with him. There wasn’t anyone else in the world I wanted at that moment. I needed you.” He smoothed my hair and added, “I also realized I was done waiting around for this. I hoped we’d have a second chance.”
“Third chance.”
“Who’s counting?” He gave a nervous chuckle, but the situation was far from funny. “Thanks for making it easy on me by not being married, by the way. I don’t know too many hit men out on the west coast.”
I elbowed him for such a lame dig.
I started thinking about Trip’s father, and an unexpected guilt crept into my brain. I realized I’d never get the chance to let him know how grateful I was to him. I may not have ever liked the guy, but it was time to give credit where credit was due. “You know… You can say what you want about the guy being a dick, but he’s the one that brought us together. Twice.”
“Well, this time, yeah, but…?”
“Our first kiss. Remember?”
His eyes softened at that, reliving the memory along with me. His arm tightened protectively around my waist as he said, “Your sad brown eyes looking at me like I was the only one who could make your world right is what brought us together for that first kiss. That, and the fact that I was crazy about you.”
Chapter 11
PEACE, PROPAGANDA AND THE PROMISED LAND
The windows of my Mustang were actually steamed over as Trip and I made out in the backseat.
It was freezing outside, but inside the car… well, let’s just say it was much hotter (and not just because of the cramped quarters). I’d just dislodged my foot from under the passenger seat as Trip wrapped my newly-freed leg around his waist, grinding his hips into mine.
There was something so indescribably sexy about being fully clothed and hooking up like a couple of teenagers in the back of my old car. We thought the Mustang would have afforded us a bit more room after the make-out session in his truck a few nights back, but we’d started to realize car sex isn’t what it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, it was hot. Just not the most comfortable place.
He had his face in my cleavage as his hand started to slide down the front of my jeans. He was revving up to round third when he slammed against me roughly, causing my head to knock against the window.
“Ow!” I laughed out.
That stopped his motion as he started laughing, too. “Fuck. We’re too old for this.”
That might have been true, but in my eyes, he’d always be a seventeen-year-old boy. Wait. Is that weird?
We untangled ourselves from each other’s limbs and found a more comfortable position, Trip sitting normally, while I lounged out sideways along the backseat, my legs across his lap.
I’d picked up some take-out from Thyme—Norman’s only five-star restaurant—and brought it over to his house for dinner with his mom, sister, and Sandy. After we ate, he and I went out to find a secluded place to have dessert. We were parked behind the abandoned strip mall at the edge of town, and it wasn’t until that moment that I realized how ridiculous that was. I’d suggested getting a room at The Norman Inn, but Trip thought the place was a dive (he was right), and he was hesitant to be seen anywhere out in public. The paparazzi knew he was home and had been practically camped out on the street out front of his mother’s all week. I didn’t know how he managed to get to my house without being followed on the other days, but that night, he had to scrunch down on the floor of the backseat with a blanket over him just so we could get out of the driveway.
If things continued like this, however, we were both going to explode.
He rubbed his palms along my legs, a mysterious, guilty smile cracking his features. “Hey, uh… I know it’s short notice, but I’m heading back tomorrow night.”
What? He’d just gotten back here. It was like he was trying to beat it out of Dodge. I didn’t expect him to stay in Jersey indefinitely, but I was crushed that he was heading back so soon.
He must have seen my face fall, and explained, “I just got the call this afternoon. Gotta get back to work. The show must go on.”
Dammit. I felt like he’d only been back in my life for a minute, and now we already had to confront the long-distance relationship we were setting up for. Six days? That’s all I get? Really, God?