Page 31 of Truth Be Told
“Just be safe, okay?”
“I will. Bye, Cohen. And thank you for everything.”
As I watch her leave, I stick my hands into my pockets to warm them. Her taillights disappear down the hill of my driveway, and then she’s gone.
I should turn back home. I should also spread some salt right now, I think as I kick at a chunk of ice in front of me, now that the plow’s finally gone and some of this could ice over. But I’m not in the mood.
When a minute has passed and I’m sure she must be on the road by now, I finally head inside. My feet crunch against the icy gravel before reaching the front steps, where I stop. I thumb the pair of gloves in my pocket as I look at my own car. It’s still buried under the snow, but I know it’s ready to jump into action if need be. All it would take is a little brushing off. If I wanted to go after her to ask her to stay a little longer, to give me a second chance… to give us a second chance… my car would definitely be up for it.
Screw this analyzing shit.
If I want to go after her, I have to do it now, not when she has a mile on me.
I take a few determined steps toward my car when something makes me stop again. It’s something different this time. The sound of a car revving its engine and spinning its tires reaches my ears. Not only that; it sounds close. It sounds like it’s coming from the bottom of my driveway.
I hurry over. On my last few steps, I can see a ways down the drive. It’s her. Stella’s car is trying to making it back up to my house, but it’s failing. The tires can’t gain any traction, and she must have the pedal almost to the floor with the way that engine is roaring.
Before I have a chance to head down to help her, she puts the car in park and steps out. She takes a minute to collect herself, shrugging her shoulders to position her coat more comfortably around her neck, and stretching her arms a little, before she walks toward me.
“What are you doing?” I call, laughing into the still air because I don’t yet know what’s going on.
Finally, and without an answer, she’s in front of me.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She shakes her head, her beautiful hair flipping around her face. “I couldn’t leave.” She takes a breath. “I couldn’t leave you.”
Her emphases on theyouhangs in the air.
It doesn’t take any time for me to realize what’s happening here. She’s come back to me. Again. She’s come back here because she feels it too, the magnetic pull.
This time, she looks down, no doubt looking for a piece of ice to kick in the same way I did, but her foot comes up lacking in the bare drive.
I know what I have to say. “I couldn’t let you.”
She raises her head. Her smile lifts her cheeks to her eyes. In those eyes I can see the twinkling reflection of the house lights over my shoulder. They’re hypnotizing, those lights and those eyes, and my mind gets lost in how beautiful she really is.
Because I can’t help it, I collide into her. Her lips, now close to feeling familiar, meet mine, but this time she’s not shy being about it. She kisses me back hard and soft all at once, as if she’s desperate for me, as if she wants to leave no doubt in my mind that she really, truly is. I kiss her deeply in return. That hair of hers tangles up in my fingers, and in that moment I’d be happy if it held me there forever.
“Cohen…” she says when she breaks away, her voice as sultry as her expression.
She doesn’t need to say another word.
Somehow, without wanting to part, we make our way into the house, and eventually back to the kitchen. My foot catches on the landing as we pass through the door, and before I can take hold of the doorframe, Stella grabs my waist to keep us from falling. We laugh. We come together again, kissing, feeling, and loving finally taking each other for good.
I back her against the wall. Since that near-trip, I don’t even know if the door managed to get closed behind us. The thought is only a brief flash of lighting in my mind, because her muscles relax beneath my hold. She’s giving in, letting me control all of her. I tip her chin to the side and lean in to kiss the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath when I’m there.
In a swift motion, she unzips her coat and lets it fall to our feet. Our breaths grow heavier together as I lift her arms above her head and then peel off her shirt. It comes off easily, and once it’s free, her chest rises and falls, her breasts straining against her silky black bra. She pulls my face to hers once more to kiss me, then gives me a knowing look. With both hands, she reaches around behind her back, and her bra falls away.
The sight makes me feel ten years younger, like this is some kind of first. I’d have lost my breath if it wasn’t such a cliché. It would be justified.Her,the way she is and the way she was made – her body, her warm, smooth skin, the way she’s pulled her hair to one side and now drapes it over one of her bare breasts.She's perfect.
Her body is still working in synch with mine when both she and I lift her onto the counter, the counter that’s still messy from our breakfast this morning. I brush away the utensils behind her with a single swipe of my arm. She wraps her legs around my waist and takes hold of the collar of my shirt, pulling me in.
I use both my hands to pull down her leggings. She uses both hands to strip me of my belt, and then unzips my jeans, both of which are tasks she’s in perfect position for. As she does that, I trace her skin, my fingers sliding along her collarbone until they reach her slender shoulder.
“Cohen.” She stops. “Are you sure you want this? I mean, with the way you acted last night…”
“Yes,” I answer quickly. I deserve a self-inflicted kick in the balls for the way I acted last night. “I want you, Stella. I’ve wanted you this entire time. How could I not? I wasn’t myself last night.” I could continue to explain, go on to bring up the whole nightmare thing and point out how those damn things can change your whole mood, throw your whole world upside down, but I leave it at that. She’s better off not knowing.
