Page 33 of The Sting of Love
She laughs. “Sex is part of life, honey, and I completely approve of your very handsome stranger. I can see God has been very good to him and blessed him in many ways.”
Oh my God. I bring my hands to my cheeks as embarrassment takes me again. I can’t believe she caught us naked. Just after Donny and I had sex. She obviously saw him in his full glory too before he had the chance to cover himself. I’m never going to forget this or live this down. She bursts out laughing when my hands fly up to my cheeks.
“Oh, Lurlene, I really am so sorry. You shouldn’t have seen any of that.”
“Forget the dang apologies, sugar. I want to know what’s happening next.” She comes closer and sits on the arm of the sofa while I settle down on the rug and hug my knees to my chest. “This is the same guy from the other night, I take it. If it’s not, then damn, girl, you certainly have them coming.”
I chuckle. “Yes, it’s the same guy. I left my bracelet at his place, and he brought it over and, um… well, he stayed over.”
She looks intrigued, like I’ve just hit her with the best news ever. “My God, this is so juicy. What’s his name?”
“Donny.” It occurs to me that I don’t have a last name for him, and he doesn’t know mine. He found me though.
“I like it. And when will you be seeing Donny again?”
I bite the inside of my lip. Lurlene is a woman of adventure, but even she’s going to think my plans for later are crazy.
“He wants me to go to his place later, and … um, stay for the rest of the week,” I answer tentatively.
It’s her turn to catch her face now. Her hands go to her cheeks, and her mouth drops open.
“Holy hell. Damn, girl, you got this guy good. I told you Italian men are delicious treats, aren’t they?”
“I’m going to agree with you.”
“Are you going?”
“I’m… planning to, unless you can think of any reason I shouldn’t. This is crazy, and I’ve accepted that William might have finally pushed me over the edge. I might not be making the best decisions.” Although I laugh, I’m being serious.
To my relief, she shakes her head. “No. You won’t hear a thing like that from me. Crazy is not always bad. This kind of crazy is nice sometimes. I always think if your life means you’re worrying all the time and following rules people think are normal, you miss out on opportunities you only get in a crazy situation.” She nods with conviction.
“So, this is okay?”
“Yes. Willow, you haven’t dated since William. This is definitely okay. It’s natural that a part of you would have shut down after the horror you experienced with him. Being with Donny means you’re moving on, healing, trusting,andcoming out of the shit of a funk. Go with the flow.”
I get up and hug her. “Thanks, I needed to hear that. I really did.”
She takes both my hands into hers and stares me straight in my eyes. “Have fun. You deserve fun. If there’s anyone who needs fun right now, it’s you. But, my love, please promise me you’ll be careful. That’s the only caution I’m going to give you.”
I nod my agreement and think of the gun again. Something pinches in my chest, but I push it away. He must have had it for protection. That was it. It must have been that, right?
If I believe that, then the next question that follows is going to be protection from what. I know we can’t be too careful and all kinds of crimes happen on a daily basis, but you wouldn’t really carry a gun with you on the regular.
God…I get the feeling I like this guy so much I’ll believe anything. I’ll make myself believe anything to push my worries out of my mind. That by itself is crazy and I should know better no matter what I feel for him, or how he makes me feel.
It’s just that… this is the first time in forever that hope has filled my heart. The hope isn’t even to do with wanting a relationship. It’s more about finding myself and absorbing something positive. That wild chemistry and attraction that lures me to Donny is something I can’t deny. So… maybe it’s okay to tell myself the gun is just for protection.
“I will be careful. I promise you that,” I assure her.
“Good. I want to hear all about everything when you get back,” she delights with elation twinkling in her eyes.
“Lurlene, please.”
“We can swap stories because I’m going to be away too.”
“Oh, my goodness. You’re going away again?”
She gives me a wide smile. “You don’t get to have all the fun. Yes. I’m going away over the weekend, so we’ll both be back by Monday. How about I make us a good dinner and we have a girls’ night in?”
