Page 47 of The Spirit Key
I pulled away, certain I’d lost a few hairs in the process. “Why is it okay for you, huh?” Now I was pissed off. “You keep saying it doesn’t matter what happens to you. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m the man who fucking loves you! Do you get it?” He sat there, huffing. His eyes were wide, and his nostrils flared. “I lost you once, and if I had died, I wouldn’t have cared. You tore my heart out, and dying would have been preferable to the pain. Every night I’d lay in bed, wondering where you were, and every night I hoped I could die just so I’d have a chance to see you again. When you left, you took my world with you.”
Before I could speak, he rushed ahead.
“Yes, I threw myself into work. Yes, I made good on something. But without my best friend there, it meant nothing. And I get you had to go, and I know I’m a selfish fucking prick, but….” He leaned forward, resting his head on the steering wheel. “Having you home brought me back to life. Why do you want to take it away from me again?”
My heart ached at the rawness of his voice. “I don’t. I want nothing more than to have a life with you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, ever since I knew what it meant to care about someone. And that’s what you have to understand. I’m doing thisforus, because I’m not willing to give you up either.” I reached for his hand, happy when he let me take it. “I need you, and if this is what I—we—have to do, we’re going to do it. Understand?”
He turned a watery grin in my direction. “Don’t try to be butch now.”
“I’m not, trust me. You can still own my ass until the cows come home, but this one thing is nonnegotiable.” I grinned. “This key needs his lock.”
Chapter Eleven
THE LIGHTSin the diner finally went off a little before midnight. Tim and I sat in his car, watching as the cook switched the sign to closed, then wandered toward the back. A few minutes later, a light went on upstairs. We could see two silhouettes come together, one of them dropping down to the floor. Just as things were starting to get good, the light went off.
“He’s getting lucky.”
Tim glared at me. “And we’re Peeping Toms.”
“Please. I just wanted to be sure they were out for the night and the place was closed. I have no interest in whatever they’re doing up there.” I grinned, even though Tim couldn’t see me, and nudged him with a shoulder. “Wanna bet it’s hot?”
He sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Do you have everything you need?”
He’d actually made a checklist, and we had to run to the store before we came out.
“PowerBars, Gatorade, orange juice, honey—”
“You know you don’t need all that, right?”
He tightened his grip on his pack. “What was I going to do if I handed you a PowerBar and you said, ‘I don’t like those’? I needed a variety just in case.”
Well, hell…. Could hebeany sweeter? “Thank you.”
“For what?”
Well,duh. Like I had to spell it out. “Taking care of me.”
“Someone has to look out for you. I mean, since obviously you’re not going to do it for yourself.”
The argument hadn’t abated. Tim was still telling me he didn’t want me to do this, and I remained adamant that we needed to.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Do you think that the waiter saw anything?”
I remember the look on Noel’s face. Open, happy. No one could have seen that girl and not been affected. “No. I’m sure it’s just me.”
“Good.” He sighed. “I really don’t relish the idea of having too many people know what we’re doing.”
That was a subject for another time. “Come on. Let’s go.” I opened the door and slid out of the car. “Bring your stuff.”
He muttered something too soft for me to hear, then got out of the car and slammed the door. He stalked over to where I stood and got in close. “What now?”
