Lily White Lies(64)

“So, tell me. How long did you stay awake thinking about me last night?”

Slightly embarrassed by his frankness, I answered coyly. “Who said I stayed awake at all?”

“Answering questions with questions, huh?” He playfully swung my hand. “Okay, we’ll do it your way. Did you lie awake thinking about me last night?”

There was no need to answer his question verbally. The flicker in his eyes told me that my tell-all smile answered that question and many others.

He mischievously said, “I thought so.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to. I listen when you aren’t speaking. I learn your unspoken feelings that way.”

I thought he was leading up to a joke, but I was curious enough to ask him his meaning.

“You learn something about me when I’m not speaking?”

“That’s right.” He stopped walking, ran an arm around my back and spun me to face him. “When you look at me the way you’re looking at me right now, you’re looking for answers. When you let your hair fall across your face, I know something has embarrassed you... a slight squeeze of your hand means you’re nervous and you look to the floor when you’re unsure of yourself.”

“You think you have me all figured out.”

Gazing deeply into my eyes, he continued, “When I wrap my hand around the back of your neck,” I felt his hand slide underneath my hair, “your eyelids close halfway over your eyes... and when I tilt my head,” he tilted his head to one side, “your lips part just a little. When I kiss the side of your neck,” his lips brushed my skin, “I feel you pressing yourself into me...” He buried his hand in my hair. “...your nails across my back tell me that I’ve awakened forgotten desires... and when I deepen my kisses, your soft moans tell me that you’re beginning to ache for more than a kiss...”

I mumbled, “You’re a great kisser.”

Through his affectionate smile, he replied, “Hasn’t anyone ever told you? You’re only as good as the person you’re kissing?”

He pushed stray locks of hair back and cupped my face in one hand, saying, “I love the way you talk to me when you don’t say a thing,” and then leaned down, joining his lips with mine in a gentle kiss.

When he released me from our embrace, we continued our walk in the direction of the house. I thought about the conversation I had had with Marco not long ago, when he told me that what he loved best about Nelda was the way she talked to him with her eyes and a warm feeling filled me as I realized, I had finally found for myself the one thing I envied most in their relationship. It was a special intimacy that couldn't be spoken—it had to be felt.



My growling stomach and the sun hanging high above our heads were indicators that we had been walking longer than either of us had intended. I was certain the girls would come for us sometime today and as much as I enjoyed the time alone with Con, I knew we each had to get back to our responsibilities in Upper Darby, so we headed back to keep from missing Cory and Charlotte when they arrived.

His tone became the most serious it had been all day, when he said, “You do realize that we’re going to have to confront our families if we intend to see each other after this weekend, don’t you?”

I nodded solemnly.

“Would you like me to come with you when you talk to your family?”

I didn’t have to think about the answer to his question. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?”

He gave my hand a firm squeeze. “Of course not.”

“My relationship with my grandfather is a little unstable already. This isn’t going to sit well with him, he hates your grandfather.”

“I’m afraid we’re looking at pretty much the same reaction from my grandfather, but I hate to put you through that. I’d lay money that you’ve never met anyone quite like him. I just don’t want him to offend you in any way.”

“I’ve been duly warned.”

As we made our way out of the woods and into the clearing, Con stopped and lowered his head slightly, squinting in the direction of the house. Upon a closer look, I saw Cory’s Jeep parked in the driveway.

He looked to me, mischief dancing in his eyes. “Do you want to get even?”

I felt the corners of my mouth curl, as I replied, “What do you have in mind?”

His plan was to storm into the house informing Cory and Charlotte that he’d spent the last two days searching for me to no avail. He was going to remind them that my vanishing was their fault and then he was going to leave with them under the pretense of going directly to the police when they arrived back in Upper Darby. I had told him that they would want to go with him, but he was certain he could keep them from joining him by telling them that he wouldn’t implicate them in my disappearance if they allowed him to handle everything alone. He would then come back for me later, once he broke from them.