Page 92 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“You spent the night?” he asked in a defeated tone. He knew he wasn’t in a position to demand answers anymore but kept asking questions as he usually did. He couldn’t help it.
“I did.”
“Who else stayed over?”
“Thomas.”
“I’m sorry. Okay. Let me know when you get back.” There was a silent pause, and then he said, “I love you, Billie. Please, you need to give me another chance.” A tear rolled down my cheek.
“Love is not the problem, Thomas. I need to go. I’ll talk to you later. Have a safe flight.”
This was going to be more complicated than I thought. Suppose Thomas found out William and I had kissed last night and that I didn’t pull away this time. I cringed at the thought.
Thomas had a gravitational pull that affected me for some reason. I was still wondering about the condoms under his bed, and the thought of it made my stomach churn. For all I knew, he was a cheater. I wished there was an easy way to face this, but deep down, I knew there wasn’t.
I quickly brushed the tears away and walked back to the house. They were now inside, sitting in the living room.
“You’re a pilot,” I said as I approached them, trying to distract myself from the heart-wrenching call. I took a seat on the sofa, and William stared at me, probably noticing I was hurting.
“Are you sure? If you don’t get it right, that means you only get one more shot, and then I’m snatching you away.” He was taking the game seriously and enjoying every part of it, just as I was. But when Thomas mentioned being at the airport, it occurred to me that William could be a pilot. He said he knew Dave Matthews from work. Maybe he was a private jet pilot?
I just wanted to take my mind off of things. Playing William’s game was fun. And being at his house proved to be a relaxing getaway. I knew once I headed back to the city, things would get real again. I wasn’t excited about that. At. All.
“You said you travel a lot and that it’s exhausting, so I’m going to take a chance. Pilot. Final answer,” I said, feeling sure of myself.
“I’m so happy,” he said slowly, “because I’m one step closer to winning.” He laughed.
“Damn it!” I yelled with disappointment.
I was so hopeful about my second guess. I needed to get my shit together before getting wrapped up in the game and start going on dates. My third guess had to wait. I had to take my time with it. There was an underlying significance to it, and I couldn’t pretend otherwise either. It was more than just a game.
“I think I’m going to head back before I make another stupid guess,” I said to them. Aaron, Caleb, and David’s presence was uncomfortable and pressured me to leave. Probably that’s what they wanted.
“You’re free to make another stupid guess right now if you wish,” William said with that mischievous smile of his.
“Nah, I’m not on a date-kind-of-mood right now,” I replied as I gathered my things.
“I’ll ride back with you,” he said, standing up. “Someone needs to get you in the right headspace.” I knew he was joking, but damn it! He didn’t even need to ride back with me. He got me atright headspace.
“You don’t have to. Really. I know you love it here. It’s the weekend. You probably want to stay another night.”
“I have stuff to do in the city. Besides, Joel’s car is way too small, and poor Lily would have to ride in the back for two hours. Let’s go,” he said, grasping my shoulder.
Joel stood up and embraced me, which caught me off guard, to be honest. I’m all in for hugs and kisses, but I found it curious as he usually handled himself with a certain distance.
Lily came flying down the stairs. “Aw! You’re leaving?” I nodded and thanked her for everything. She had been a lifesaver. I gave her a big, warm hug. William grabbed my hand and lead me to the car. I took a deep breath and readied myself for his unnecessary persuasion.
DAVID SAT BEHIND THE WHEEL,and Aaron opened the door for us. William and I stepped into the car, and Caleb was already seated in the third row. I huffed air out of my mouth becausereally? He was going to sit behind us for the next two hours? Awkward. I knew how observant he could be. As if he didn’t manage to do so even when riding in the front seat, anyway.
Frustrating.
“You okay?” William inquired under his breath. I nodded.
“Thank you for letting us use your house for the shoot and for letting me stay over. You kind of didn’t have a choice, anyway.” I smiled.
“What did you think of my bed? Isn’t it the best?” he asked.
William! He made it sound as if we hadsharedhis bed.
