“Well, I’d visit you. Or you’d visit me at my place in Johnson City. Or we’d go somewhere for a weekend together. It could be very simple. I don’t think either of us wants a complicated relationship.”
He started the truck and carefully steered it out to the road. “So we’re just talking sex?”
“It wouldn’t have to be just sex,” she said. “We’d be…friends. Friends with benefits. No strings. Just fun.”
“Right,” he said, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.
She waited, wondering what there was to consider. Either he wanted to see her again or he didn’t. She wasn’t going to force him. And it wasn’t as if she couldn’t get along without him. Yes, the sex was great. And yes, he was the most fascinating man she’d ever met. But she didn’t need a man to make her whole.
They pulled to a stop just a few feet behind her car. Drew turned off the ignition, then twisted around to face her. He hooked his thumb under her chin. “Do you really think that would work?”
“We could try.”
“And what happens when one of us wants more? When one of us falls in love and the other doesn’t?”
“Is that a no?”
He smoothed his hands along her torso, then grabbed her waist and yanked her against him. “No, that’s not a no. It’s a very interesting proposal. And I’ll think about it.”
“I offer you no-strings sex and you have to think about it?”
“Maybe I’d like a few strings,” he said with a shrug.
Alison studied his expression, trying to read the look in his eyes. Was he really asking for more or was he just teasing? They’d known each other for two days. It was a little soon to start thinking about anything close to a relationship, wasn’t it?
“All right,” Drew said. “I’ve thought about it. And I think it’s a good idea.” He jumped out of the truck, then opened her door and helped her out. “So, I’ll come to your recital the weekend after next. And we’ll see what develops.”
“All right,” she said.
“And after that?”
“There’s Christmas,” Alison said. “Don’t you spend that with your family?”
“Yeah, I do. We usually get together at my folks’ house in Knoxville. But sometimes we get together at my sister’s place in Nashville.”
“I’ll be in Ponder Hill. So that would be…close.”
“All right. See. That wasn’t so hard.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Punch your number in and I’ll call you.”
“Does this even work up here?” she asked.
“No, but it’s a handy place to store phone numbers. I’ll call you from the landline at the clinic.”
When she was finished, she handed the phone back. “All right. I guess that’s it then. We’ll talk. Soon.”
Drew pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “This isn’t the end.”
Though she wanted to believe him, she wasn’t quite there yet. It could be the end. He could forget to call. And over time, they’d forget what they’d shared. It happened. Feelings faded. Fires burned brightly, then died.
Alison stepped back, out of his embrace. “’Bye, Drew. I’ll see you.”
He stayed in his spot, next to the truck, watching her as she backed away. “’Bye, Alison. Drive safe.”
As she slipped behind the wheel of the Subaru, Alison glanced back at him in the side-view mirror. She put the key in the ignition and, to her surprise, she felt sorry that the car started immediately. There were no excuses anymore. It was time for her to get off this mountain.
She watched him in the mirror, then rolled down her window and waved at him. He held up his hand and waved back, and Alison wondered what was going through his mind. Would they see each other again? Or was this the end of a beautiful fantasy?
5
THE SNOW HAD STARTED shortly after Drew closed up the clinic for the day. At first, it hadn’t seemed like a problem, but as he came down out of the higher elevations, it turned to sleet, making the roads a mess.
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Alison’s recital was scheduled to start at seven. If he found the recital hall without a problem, then he’d have enough time to say hello and give her the bouquet of flowers he’d brought along.
They’d talked a few times on the phone over the past two weeks, but it hadn’t been the same. In the real world, they were still relative strangers, without a long list of shared experiences. There had been several silences and topics that didn’t seem to lead anywhere, leaving Drew to wonder if what he’d felt for her those two nights in his cabin was an illusion.