Season's Change: Summer: A Goddess Legacy Companion Novel (Goddess Legacy 1.5) (8 page)

"Don't . . . don't be sorry. It's just that part of me realizes I should've approached you sooner. Yet now that I have you here, with me, like this . . ." He shook his head. "I'm terrified."

I looked at him with what I hoped were gentle, understanding eyes, but I couldn't trust my voice enough to speak yet.

"I'm terrified," he continued, "of a lot of things. Knowing the right thing to do, understanding how I feel about you, wondering how you feel about me, and not knowing how to deal with so many other things. I don't always know the right answers."

He wasn't just talking about us. He seemed distant, distracted, focused on things I didn't understand yet. Maybe in time he'd open up to me about everything. "We don't have to know any answers."

We were both quiet for several minutes after the sun had set, lost in our own thoughts. I wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but I knew what I was. Before, I didn't allow myself to think of the possibilities with Don. Now, I was happy embracing all those forbidden possibilities.

He stared into my eyes and delicately brushed my cheek with trembling fingers. The electrical shock that singed my cheek was all too brief since he let his hand fall to his lap.

"I'm not sure how to do this," he confessed, and I realized that
this
was one of the
things
that terrified him. He didn't know how to act with me. "We've been friends for so long, and I'm scared that I—I mean, we—might do something that'll hurt that friendship."

"Why don't we just play everything by ear," I said, remembering my earlier conversation with Chloe. And then I couldn't help myself; I reached up with my free hand to stroke his cheek. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to touch him. And with
my
trembling fingers, I caressed his silky face..

Don's breath caught, his eyes flaming at my touch. He covered my fingers with his, molding mine around his features. He shut his eyes, leaned slightly into our hands, and took a deep breath before looking at me again. He seemed unwilling to, but eventually, let his fall from mine. I gently slid my hand down his cheek until the tips of my fingernails grazed his jaw and then dropped itinto my lap.

"That sounds good to me," he whispered.

What was he talking about? I had to quickly think back at what I'd just said.

Right, playing it by ear
.

I smiled at him and nodded.

He reached up and stroked my cheek again. "But I think we should take things slowly."

I started marveling how strong my reactions were to him. I wanted to put my hand on top of his like he'd just done. The need to touch him grew stronger, and I knew I'd have to be more aware of my actions if we were going to be taking things slowly.

"Slowly works for me."

He moved his hand across my cheek to beside my ear and then slowly slid it down my jaw before dropping it from my face. He finally unlocked me from his gaze, looking down at my hand that he'd been holding all evening. "Slowly," he murmured, but it seemed like he was directing that to himself, rather than to me.

"It's getting dark. We should probably get going."

At my nod, he released my hand and picked up the platter to put it in the basket.

Then he hesitated and put it right in front of me. "Would you like some more before I put this away?"

I grabbed a couple of the mints, and he put the platter in the basket along with the rest of the stuff..

Don picked up everything while we stood up, and we headed to his car. After we got on the main road, he reached over to grasp my fingers again.

The ride to my house was pleasant. I glanced at him often, and I could feel him glancing at me, too. We were both smiling, and every now and then, he'd rub his thumb on my skin, making me smile wider.

Suddenly, I considered what might happen once we got back to my house. I was surprised I hadn't thought about this possibility when I was thinking about all those previously forbidden possibilities. Was Don going to kiss me tonight? I felt new nerves in the pit of my stomach and was immediately pleased I'd eaten a couple of those mints!

He walked me to my porch. This walk seemed to take forever, yet it was over

way
too quickly.

Once we were standing in front of the door, I looked at him. His eyes were gentle, and I feared my eyes were panicked. Luckily, I didn't see that reflection in his.

"I've had a lovely time with you tonight," he whispered.

"Thank you. It was better than I could've ever imagined." Could he see my body trembling?

"Me, too." He smiled, looked down, and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Umm . . . about tomorrow, what time would you like for me to pick you up?" He watched my eyes for my response. It felt like he was stalling, which was fine with me.

"It doesn't matter." I shrugged. "I don't have to work, so I'm pretty much free all

day."

He glanced down and nodded before looking back at me. "Well, how about ten

o'clock?"

"That works for me."

He pulled his hands out of his pockets. "Thank you, again, for tonight I mean."

I was unable to respond, so I quirked my lips into a shy smile and rested my palm on his chest. That was a mistake. Now I could feel how hard his heart was beating, crashing into my hand. I watched as his gentle eyes turned intense at my touch, and he stepped closer, sliding his fingers onto my cheek. He tilted my head up and placed his arm around my lower back, pulling me tighter against him while he leaned his head down toward me. He gently placed his cheek against mine, holding my face against his.

"I can do this slowly," he breathed.

My breathing came much too fast and shallow. I started to feel faint, so I put my free hand around his back to stabilize myself. I didn't want anything embarrassing to ruin the moment.

When I slid my palm up from his chest to his neck, his breathing became ragged, and I was a goner. If he let go, I'd seriously crumble. I wasn't sure how much longer my heart could stand this.

"Season," he breathed like he was in disbelief I was actually in his arms. Then he slowly brushed his lips down my cheekbone. A shiver went up my spine, and I felt his knees buckle slightly—I wasn't the only one fighting weakness. He stopped in the middle of my cheek and kissed me there, then leaned his forehead against mine.

We stood there for several seconds feeling each other's heart beating and listening to our breaths returning to a normal pace. And I knew he was trying to maintain his hold on the whole
going slowly
concept.

He stepped back and took both my hands into his. "I'll see you tomorrow." He leaned in and kissed my forehead before letting go of me and walking to his car.

Once he was seated, I could see his face again. He had a glow that I'd never seen before tonight, a glow I was sure I shared.

I turned to walk into the house, inhaling his lingering scent. This was a night I'd never forget.

"
H
ey
, Season," I heard someone call to me as I walked into the house, and I knew it wasn't Melissa or Chloe. It took me a moment to register the voice.

"Laurel? What are you doing here?"

"Wow. You look great!" she responded, ignoring my question. "What's the occasion?"

"Er, I had a date. You didn't tell me what you're doing here. Don't you have classes?"

"Yeah, but they don't start for another week, so Melissa decided we're all going to the beach. I came on up to pack."

Vacation? What? Why now? Don was just gone a whole week, and now I was going to be out of town. I didn't like the sound of this, and the expression on my face did not hide my irritation.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to go on vacation?"

"Um, I have to work." That was true, too, but not my main concern. "No, you don't. Melissa called the store and cleared your schedule." Great.

"So who did you go out with tonight?" she asked with a smirk. "Don."

Her smirk disappeared as her jaw dropped. "Don . . . Don Davis? Are you kidding me?"

I smiled and raised my eyebrows.

"No freaking way! How did you manage that?" I know she was just curious, but her question was a little insulting.

"He just called me up and asked me out. We're going out again tomorrow." Now I was trying to hide a smirk.

"Wow. Do you mean like on a
date
date? I mean, I know you two are friends." "It
was
a real date tonight and
will
be a real date tomorrow." I tried not to get

irritated. I'd probably have to get used to this type of reaction until everyone found out Don and I were dating. Don and I dating . . .
swoon
. . . I'd have to get used to that idea myself.

"What did you two do tonight?" Her voice was thick with shock. Or was that

envy?

"He took me out to eat, and tomorrow he's taking me to a botanical garden."

"Oh, that'll be nice." She looked away from me. Oh yeah, it was probably envy.

And I smiled a little at that thought.

"Well, I'm beat. I'll see you tomorrow." I made my way to the stairs. "Okay, goodnight," she said with zero enthusiasm. Yep, definitely envy.

After brushing my teeth and changing into my pj's, I called Chloe to tell her about my date.

She sat quietly on the other end while I gave her a play-by-play of the entire evening. She
ohhed
and
awwed
at the appropriate intervals until I was finished.

"You think tomorrow he'll kiss you on your lips?"

"Don't know. We're taking things slowly. Judging from his reactions tonight, though, I don't think he really wants to, but he's trying to be a gentleman about it. Honestly, tonight couldn't have been more perfect if he had. It'll happen when it's meant to be."

"Not to change the subject, but I have a date coming up, too." "Really? Who's the guy?"

"This hottie named Zach. I met him at the park when I was there with Kim today. Of course she flirted with him like she didn't already have a boyfriend, but he paid her no attention." She giggled.

"Chloe, that's great. When are you going out?"

"Tomorrow night. They're playing a movie at the old ball field. If we hit it off, we'll be free to talk and get to know each other; if not, it'll occupy our attention and keep us from having to talk."

"Great idea. Maybe we can double sometime if you two click." "Ah, that sounds like fun!"

"I'm glad you've found someone new to date," I said, knowing this gave me an opportunity to break the news to her about Chrys. "I talked to Chrys, and he is involved with someone."

"Oh, that's okay. Thanks for checking. Anyway, have fun tomorrow. I plan to." Yeah, I did, too.

I
woke
up Saturday morning from a heavenly slumber. I slept so well that I didn't even remember any of my dreams; though, I was sure I had them. And with how bizarre they'd been this summer, there was no telling what they could have been about last night.

I got out of bed, showered, and rummaged around in my closet for the perfect outfit. Since this would be a daytime date, I figured I should dress casually. Definitely no heels if we were to be walking around a garden. I selected a pale-colored, floral skirt with a nude top and espadrille sandals. I towel dried my hair and combed through it, leaving it wet while I went downstairs to eat breakfast.

Laurel was already sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal, so I chatted with her while I grabbed some, too.

"How do you like your new job?"

"Oh, it's great. Kinda slow at times, but it's easy work." "How well do you get along with the Gorge family?" Odd question. "We get along fine."

"When you said you went on a date last night, I thought that maybe you were going to say you went out with that boy, Chrys."

"Why would you think that? I didn't even know you knew of Chrys or the Gorge family."

"Word gets around. The Gorges are ridiculously rich." "But why would you think I'd go out with Chrys?"

"It seemed logical. I assumed you just met him, and you're working with him.

Sometimes people who work together play together."

"Ah, well, no. I mean we did go out after my first day on the job, but it wasn't like
that
."

Laurel perked up. "You did?"

"I said it wasn't like that." I didn't want to tell her
why
I went out with him.

Especially without getting more information from Chrys about his family and more information about my mom. "He's just a friend, and really, he's not even that. He's just a co-worker."

She stood up, rinsed her dishes, and put them in the dishwasher. "Well, I hope you have fun today. Don't forget to pack for our trip."

After I finished my breakfast, I headed upstairs to get ready. I opened my window to feel what the weather was like, and it was already hot and humid. Not good. I couldn't straighten my hair today; it'd just end up a frizzy mess before the day was over. I decided to put some pomade in it and scrunch it while drying it. I preferred soft, touchable hair, but I'd have to make due—I'd rather it be hard and nice, than soft and a fuzzy mess.

After I got ready, I still had time to kill, so I pulled out my suitcase and packed for our trip. Thankfully, packing burned up that last hour because I heard the already- familiar three soft knocks at the door as I dragged my suitcase down the stairs.

"I'll get it," I yelled to Laurel, not knowing where she was exactly.

I dabbed my head to make sure I wasn't sweating from lugging the suitcase around and was pleased—and shocked—to find it dry.

I put my hand on the door, took a deep breath to steady myself, and opened it.

Don beamed a breathtaking smile and handed me the roses he had hanging by his side. "You left these in my car last night. It hurt my feelings that you ran off and left them," he teased.

"I'm terribly sorry," I teased back. "I had a lot on my mind. Would you like to come in for a minute while I put these in some water?"

"Sure."

As we walked into the kitchen together, I saw Laurel getting a soda. "Hey kids." She smirked, but she was only two years older than Don. "Hi, Laurel. It's good to see you again."

I turned to fill the vase with water, and then I arranged the flowers. Once they were beautifully displayed, I sat them on the table next to the other flowers he'd given me.

"More flowers?" Laurel asked, and her tone was slightly irritated.

"Not technically, these were from last night, too. I left them in his car." Not wanting to stick around for more conversations with Laurel, I grabbed Don's hand and started to pull him out of the kitchen. "Anyway, I'm all packed. My suitcase is by the stairs. See you later."

I glanced at Don as we walked out the front door. He looked amused that I was leading the way instead of him. But once we were in his car and on the road, his joyous persona faltered.

"What kind of trip are you taking?" he asked casually.

"We're going to the beach next week. Kind of a last minute thing." "Oh." His brow furrowed.

"Don't worry. I'm coming back." I snickered.

His eyes flashed to mine. "You'd better," he said, matching my tone.

I chuckled. It was getting easier being with him, which was good—more than

good.

Don smiled and reached for my hand. His hand grazed my bare leg, and my

heart raced. His touch was so soft that I wished he'd forget about what he was obviously trying to do and just put his on my knee instead. I glanced at him as he moved our joined hands to the middle of our seats, and as he did, I saw him shift uneasily. He didn't anticipate touching my bare leg, and it was obvious to me that he enjoyed it. He took a deep breath but tried concealing his heavy exhale by clearing his throat. He glanced out his side window before turning his eyes back to the road. At the next stop sign, he took his palm off the steering wheel and ran it through his hair in a nervous gesture.

Several minutes later, he still hadn't gotten himself together, hadn't relaxed his posture at all. I could almost hear him chanting,
slowly, slowly, slowly!
to himself as he

tried to get the thought of my leg out of his head. Even though he was incredibly handsome, I had to admit his response was adorable. The skirt was an excellent idea.

It was an hour-long ride to the botanical garden, and we still had a good forty- five minutes left. Don seemed more uncomfortable than he did last night. I was surprised that
I
felt at ease so quickly after it happened. And the reason, I guessed, was because I was beginning to find his behavior a little funny.

"Is everything okay?" I asked in a teasing tone. "Er, yeah." He shifted in his seat again.

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling, not that he would notice—he hadn't made eye contact since he moved our hands away from my leg.

"You seem awfully quiet," I said once I knew I'd be able to get it out without giggling.

"Do I?" Still no eye contact.

Oh, it was time to have some fun with him. But I needed an excuse to let go of his hand. After deliberating for a moment, I felt a piece of hair dangling by my eye. Perfect.

I leaned forward, positioned the visor with my right hand, and slipped my left one out of his grasp to fix my hair in the mirror while watching his reaction with my peripheral vision.

I heard him catch his breath and saw him turn his head in my direction. Once he realized what I was doing, he moved his hand from the console back to his own lap, not thinking anything of me taking mine away. Good.

"So have you ever been to this garden before?" I asked casually while I continued playing with my hair.

"No, I, um, I've heard about it, though." He seemed to be struggling, but continued. "I thought it'd be something you'd like."

"If you picked it out, I'm sure I'll love it," I said, glancing at him.

He flashed his eyes at me and smiled quickly, then turned his gaze to the road.

I put the visor back into its regular position and eased into my seat. I leaned my head back and rubbed my neck on a sigh, letting my fingers trail down sensually.

Don slammed on the brakes, and my eyes flew open to see him swerve around another car. "Sorry, sorry!"

Okay, maybe being playful wasn't such a good idea. He just seemed to be getting even more worked up.

I put my hands in my lap and behaved, but after several minutes, he was still tense, and apparently, not going to make a move to retrieve my hand. I glanced at him, and his palm was clamped down on his leg. To keep from holding mine? I didn't know. Maybe If I just took his back, he'd relax.

I sighed, and he blinked his eyes in my direction for a fraction of a second and back to the road. Then I leaned over, watching him while I made my move. I started to slowly slip my hand under his, with my palm skimming his leg. He looked down and, realizing what I was doing, released his grip, letting me wrap my fingers around his. His breathing sped up as he turned his attention to the road..

Touching his leg sent my heart racing like it did last night when I touched his chest. I could feel the corded muscles and the heat radiating off him. I wanted to trace along the length of it and savor every detail, but as I watched him I noticed I wasn't the only one enjoying this. Like last night, he seemed to enjoy me touching him more than he enjoyed it when he touched me. Now that our hands were on his leg instead of mine, he seemed even more tense.

I wasn't sure if I should move them back to the safety of the console. Having them there earlier didn't seem to help. But I knew we couldn't move our hands to my lap. At least his legs were covered. I decided to keep them on his leg. If it became too much for him, then he could be the one to move them.

We sat quietly with our hands on his leg for the rest of the trip. And I didn't miss his eyes glancing quickly at my legs when he helped me out of the car once we arrived.

The garden was beautiful. There were over two hundred acres filled with thousands of rare shrubs, flowers, and trees nestled against a serene lake. Among the varieties were magnolias, camellias, azaleas, Japanese maples, and endless roses.

Don was back to his regular, charming self. As he guided me around the grounds, he pointed out the antique variety of roses, and we continued walking around and easily talking. For lunch, we visited the restaurant adjacent to the grounds and ate at the picnic table nestled at the bend of a stream. After eating, we walked one of the several trails that veered off the main grounds and eased into a manicured forest. We talked, laughed, and held hands throughout the rest of the afternoon.

After we returned to his car and left, I shifted in my seat to face him. "Thank you.

I've never seen anything so beautiful."

He reached up and stroked my cheek with a soft caress, looking at me with gentle eyes. He made me feel special, like there was no other place he'd rather be than here with me. "The pleasure was mine," he said, and then his hand dropped from my face, and he turned to watch the road.