He bobbed his head back and forth playfully. “...okay.”
I couldn’t help but warm up to his good-humored fun. He had a way of putting me at ease like no one had ever been able to do before.
He took one more step before turning to face me again. Running his hands through my hair and letting them rest on my shoulders, he said, “God knows I haven’t had a single thought that hasn’t included you since the first time I saw you. And, as much as I would love to make love to you, I don’t want our relationship to be based on sex, I want it to be more.” Pulling my head into his chest, he whispered, “Much more.”
I raised my head to meet his gaze. “Con, how do you know? I mean, I don’t doubt your feelings because I’m feeling things, wonderful things, and I can’t explain them, but how do you know for sure? With Brian, I thought I was sure and look how that turned out.”
“You just answered your own question.”
I searched his eyes.
“With him you thought, with me you feel. We can talk ourselves into thinking and even believing something for awhile, but if we don’t feel it—it won’t last.”
I offered a knowing smile and we walked up the stairs of the front porch in silence. His heartfelt words put me in such a tranquil state-of-mind that I had almost forgotten about Cory, Charlotte and our less-than-clever prank.
I packed up what little we had lying around and Con checked the locks and made sure the fire was completely out. With our belongings waiting on the porch, we each took one, last look around and locked the door behind us.
Con said it was a forty-five minute ride back to Upper Darby and he thought we should go directly to Cory’s, where Charlotte was supposed to be waiting with her, before they got anxious and went to the police themselves. Many scenarios regarding their reactions passed through my thoughts. I knew they would be upset at first. I knew they would also be happy that I was in fact safe. I couldn’t help but wonder which emotion would prevail for the long term.
“Are you nervous?” He asked, patting my hand.
I watched what seemed like a hundred trees flash by the passenger window, trying to come up with a single word to describe how I felt about facing the girls when we got back to the city.
“I’m not really nervous. I feel a little guilty and a little responsible for their anguish but on the other hand, I feel justified. Don’t get me wrong, if I were going to find myself stranded with anyone, I couldn’t have hand-picked someone better, but they didn’t know that when they concocted this whole weekend.”
“You have every right to feel that way. It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”
Slipping his arm behind my neck, he pulled me toward him and I laid my head against his shoulder. I put thoughts of the girls out of my mind and concentrated on the man beside me and our budding romance. I loved his old-fashioned outlook regarding relationships, but secretly, I didn’t know if I could hold out that long. He smelled so good and I couldn’t help but notice that his bicep fit perfectly into the contour of my neck and shoulder... he kept just enough buttons of his shirt undone so that a small amount of soft hair peeked out the top and Dockers were definitely made with him in mind.
I squirmed a little in my seat and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, we were sitting in Cory’s driveway and I couldn’t recall dozing off. I inhaled a deep breath, and mumbled, “Ready or not.”
A jolt of nervous energy raced up my spine each time Con’s knuckles hit on the heavy wooden door. Time seemed to stand still while we waited for an answer to his knocks.
I swallowed hard when the door began to squeak open slowly.
“Con, Meg, come on in.”
Con let me enter in front of him. Before the door had closed behind us, I asked, “Where’s Cory and Charlotte?”
Kevin didn’t answer immediately. His expression was sullen as he stared at the floor. I looked to Con and then back to Kevin as I felt my head begin to swim.
“Kevin, where are they? Why are you here if Cory isn’t?”
He looked at Con before speaking. “Meg, I’ve got bad news.” He turned and walked further into the living room. “Cory called the house about an hour ago and told Charlotte that she felt so terrible about what happened to you, she didn’t think she’d ever forgive herself. She said she had taken some pills... I don’t know what kind... anyway Charlotte and I rushed right over. We called an ambulance and Charlotte rode to the hospital with her. I’m waiting for a call from her now.”
I felt like I couldn’t breath and the weight of Con’s hand on my shoulder was causing me to buckle at the knees. I grabbed his arm as my eyes filled.