Page 90 of Aftermath
I wanted everything she had to offer. Those were dangerous thoughts, but in the moment, I couldn’t help myself. All logic went out the window.
“Are you sure?” I asked Len.
Never once did I want her to feel she had to take this risk.
“I have never once been more sure in my life,” she whispered.
If I don’t kiss her again, I might lose my mind.
There was nothing that could hold me back anymore. I kissed her again with even more intensity. My lips pressed to hers, and I let my hand drift up to cup her cheek. I was gentle, but I let myself hold her with a certain level of desperation.
Len was everything.
Every logical thought in me told me to pull back, that the FBI would find out and throw me off the case the moment they arrived. That this would only incite the killer further, their obsession with Len growing by the day.
Her fingers dug into the back of my neck, like she was clinging to me, afraid to let go. The cool summer breeze up on the cliffside blew her curls forward, tickling my skin. An eternity passed before I even considered pulling back.
Her lips tasted like strawberries, the fruit still fresh on her tongue. I bit gently at her lip and felt her fingers curl in response. If this was all I ever got, then that was enough. As much as I wanted to give myself fully to Len, I knew it wasn’t that simple for her.
Len had a life in Briarport. Even if we found the Coastal Killer, I would be leaving for Quantico after. It wasn’t fair to promise her something I couldn’t give her here.
She continued to kiss me, each second more passionately than the last. We were in our own little bubble of peace and blissful ignorance to the problems we left behind in the coastal town.
A sound off to the side had Len pulling back.She giggled, catching sight of two squirrels chasing each other across the grass.
The sky over the cliff was already growing dark, and I didn’t want to keep Len out in the park when it finally grew pitch black.
“We should head back,” I said, each word paining me.
The wince that escaped her lips hurt me even more.At least I hadn’t imagined her wanting this as much as I had.
“I don’t think we want to find out what it’s like here after the sun sets,” I pointed out.
“Stop being so reasonable,” she said and shoved my arm.
“Unfortunately, there’s no off switch,” I laughed.
She rolled her eyes. That was the Lenny I knew.
“Let’s go,” I said, cleaning up the picnic. “If we hurry, we can get back with enough time for you to read at least two chapters of that thing before you fall asleep.”
Len’s smile grew even more, something I didn’t think possible.
“We need to stop somewhere on the way back,” she said.
* * *
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
Len still had a key to the museum and had used it to let us in. No one else was around, and she dragged me to the back, to the filing system.“I need to find an old article.”
Folders sat a mile high on top of the cabinets as she pulled them out and disregarded them.
“Can I help?” I offered.
“No,” she stated, pulling another folder out and setting it aside. “I organized this. I know it’s in here somewhere.”
The stacks only grew, and eventually, I took a seat in an office chair to watch. I wanted to give her the space to search without me hovering over her every move.
