“She is something else,” he declared proudly. “So, no more questions about the book?”
I was confused for all of about thirty seconds and then my mouth dropped open.
“P-pardon?”
“Last time, you paused the movie to bombard me with questions as soon as I came in the door. And tonight? Nothing,” he said, grinning.
My mind was awhirl. I’d asked Sebastian questions about the book? Now, as bothersome as it was that I’d blacked out, I’d found something even more frustrating about the whole thing: I had asked questions about the book and, I would assume, had gotten some answers. Now, how was I ever going to know what I’d learned?
I put my magazine to the side and sat up straighter. “You didn’t mind?”
“Are you kidding? Mythology isn’t just my profession, it’s my passion. It’s nice to see that someone else has an interest. Ask away,” he offered.
Of course, I wanted so badly to ask him a thousand questions, but if I asked the same ones I’d already asked, he’d think I was insane. More than he probably already did, that is.
“Actually, I probably need to do some research before I ask any more questions. You know, so that I know what I’m talking about.” I smiled sheepishly, hoping he wouldn’t suspect anything out of the way.
“Sure, sure. Anytime you want to talk…”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
We fell into a bit of an uncomfortable silence, which Sebastian broke when he slapped his knees and stood.
“Well, I guess you’d like to go home sometime tonight, huh?”
“Whenever you’re ready,” I replied amicably, standing also.
When Sebastian turned toward the kitchen, making his way to the door that led to the garage, I spoke up, concerned. “Um,” I began uncertainly. “What about Lilly?”
Was he just going to leave her alone in the house, unattended, with no idea where he’d gone if she awakened?
“Our housekeeper’s here,” he said nonchalantly.
“Oh, I didn’t know you had a housekeeper.”
Not only had I not seen her, Lilly hadn’t mentioned her either.
“She stays in her room mostly when she’s not busy.”
“Oh,” I responded, not knowing what else to say. It felt a little weird, knowing that someone had been lurking about the entire time I’d been in the house without me knowing it. It gave me the creeps for some reason, especially since there was a large portion of my last visit that I couldn’t remember.
I followed Sebastian to the car and he drove me home. We were both silent the whole way.
When he pulled up to the curb in front of my house, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his money clip, peeling another hundred dollar bill off the top.
“I really appreciate you taking care of Lilly for me,” he said sincerely, handing me the money.
“That’s too much,” I said, pushing his hand away. “You weren’t gone that long.”
“Here, take it,” he said, grabbing my fingers and winding them around the bill. His hand was warm and strong, but soft. Almost too soft. “I want you to have it.”
I didn’t want to argue too much about it, so I thanked him and got out of the car. He didn’t drive off right away. He waited until I was inside before leaving.
Mom and Dad had waited up for me.
“How’d it go?” Mom asked.
“Just fine,” I said, drawing my arms up in an exaggerated stretch. “I think I’m going to go on to bed. I’m pretty tired.”
They both nodded. I didn’t think I’d get much argument from them.
Once in my room, I brushed my teeth and washed my face, changed into my pajamas, the whole nighttime ritual. As I was shutting the bathroom light off, I gazed around my empty bedroom, feeling lonely and melancholy. I didn’t often miss my old life, but there were times when I longed for the simple problems that I used to have, the ones that I thought were earth-shattering. Oh, how perspective changes!
I lay down in my bed, resisting the urge to soothe myself with the tricks I used to use, like turning on the television or opening the window. It was starting to feel like a way of hiding from reality, from my problems, and that wouldn’t do me any good. Maybe I needed to cowboy up and face them, think about them, figure out a way to solve them. I couldn’t very well do that if I completely avoided them.
When I’d pulled the covers up to my chin and found myself staring blankly at the ceiling, I felt the draw of the familiar, of the one thing, the one person that consumed me.
I turned my head on the pillow to look at the window. There was no one outside it, but I knew Bo was close. I could still feel him that certainly. I pushed the covers back and walked over to the window. With my hands resting lightly on the sill, I looked out into the dark night. And I waited.
In less than a minute, I saw a figure emerge from the shadows beyond the driveway and make its way gracefully across the yard. If I hadn’t known, I could’ve guessed it was Bo by watching him move. He was like a light-footed predator, quick and sure.
He stopped a few feet from the window. The dusk-to-dawn light backlit his head, giving him a halo, but I could still see his face well enough to know that he watched me. My heart fluttered and my stomach clenched, squeezing tightly around the dozens of butterfly wings that moved inside it.
One slow step at a time, he made his way to the window. His nearly-black eyes never left mine until he was standing right in front of me, only a thin sheet of glass between our faces.
He said nothing, made no other move, simply stood watching me, and I him.
While I waited, I drank him in, and, as always, I was stirred.
For the first time, I noticed that his glossy black hair had grown. It brushed the collar of his charcoal t-shirt. But other than that, he looked exactly the same as the first time I’d seen him: rock hard jaw cut from the palest of stone, straight nose, chiseled mouth, dark slashing brows. He was so handsome he took my breath away.
And his eyes. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d gotten lost in their liquid depths, the number of times I’d wanted to. Over the last weeks, I could close my own eyes and picture his dark chocolate orbs with perfect clarity. They made me feel weak, just like they did now.
I raised the window and stepped back. Bo was in front of me in an instant, staring down at me wordlessly.
I shivered at his closeness, the embers of all that was between us leaping immediately to flame. But this time, the heat took a back seat to something troubling that I sensed in Bo, a sadness that seemed fresh and raw.