Page 72 of Beauty Beneath the Sorrow
“Hey, Carter!” A voice from behind startles both Carter and me. I pull away quickly. Then I remember we are in the hallway of his condo building. It was exactly what I needed to get back to reality from my drunk-in-lust state.
“Hi, Abby, how are you?” he greets the short woman holding the red handle of a dog leash.
“I’m good,” she returns.
“This is my friend, Lina.” He gestures toward me.
“Hi, nice to meet you.” I’m sure my face is beet red when I stick my hand out to shake hers.
“Abby and her girlfriend Ashley are my neighbors,” he explains, bending to scratch the head of the small dog wagging its tail.
“Oh, and this is Snickers,” she says in a childlike voice. “He likes his walks before momma gets home, huh?”
I’m not much of a dog person—I prefer cats, but this dog is adorable. “He’s so cute.”
“It’s a beautiful night,” Carter replies, sticking his key in the door.
“Yes,”Abby says as she walks down the hallway toward the elevators. “It was nice to meet you, Lina.”
“You too!” I wave.
“Bye,” Carter says before our eyes lock again.
Biting my bottom lip, I refocus on the floor. “I should probably go.”
Carter pinches my chin between his two fingers. “Stay with me, baby.”
I blink away a few times, my eyes suddenly leaking. I’m unsure if it’s from the cool air or the last bit of self-control I have, but when he calls mebaby, my insides liquify. I want to be his, but I fucking can’t.
I sigh. “I shouldn’t.”
Carter’s eyes find my lips. They unintentionally part, expecting to kiss him. Moving my face away, his fingers drop from their grip. Without saying a word, I slowly turn away from him and round the corner toward the elevators.
My heart squeezes itself.Why am I walking away?No one can know what Carter and I are doing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to do it. He makes me feel good. Why should I deny myself of that? Fuck it. I turn quickly on my heels and zip back around the corner.
Unexpectedly, he’s still leaning against the wall outside his condo, arms crossed at his chest, like he knew I’d change my mind and come back.
“Okay, I’ll come in. But no sex.”
Both of his hands go up in surrender. “Fine. Let’s hang out and order takeout like friends.”
“I am starving from that workout.” My mouth curves up on one side, knowing all too well that as soon as I walk through that door, I’ll be powerless to stop him. “Deal.”
After dinner, Carter and I lie on his couch. I sense myself nervous about the time. The later it gets, the more aware I become of how long I’ve been here. Our visits with each other are getting longer, and it’s becoming harder for me to leave.
He drapes his body over me, resting his head on my stomach. “Some days were harder than others.”
“I can’t imagine.”
I feel his heavy exhale vibrate through my muscles. “Most of the time, we didn’t even know what type of mission we were being sent into.”
“I’m sure that was difficult.”
“The other guys used to look at me for advice or guidance in some of these stressful situations, so I learned to lead pretty quickly out of training.”
“You have that calm, confidence about you that people can easily admire.”
“Thanks, baby. I was on the path to becoming a flight instructor right before I moved to Arizona,” he says, leaving kisses on the sliver of skin from where my shirt has risen up.
