Free Playing with Fire by Amy O'Neill

down. “Do you want any dessert? They make the best
fried ice cream.”
    “Fried ice cream?”
    Trent laughed and explained what it
really was. Noelle finally shook her head. “Though it sounds like
heaven on a spoon, I think I’m good. Thank you for tonight. This
was really nice.”
    Trent handed the waitress
his credit card and turned back to Noelle. “What makes you think this is all
we’re doing?”
    She shrugged. “Why? What else do you
have in mind?”
    What he wanted to say and what he did
say were two totally different things. “I didn’t plan that far
ahead. All I really want to do is get to know you
better.”
    “Excuse me?”
    Trent held up his hands. “I don’t mean
it that way. I mean talk and get to know you. I just like talking
to you. I love that southern accent of yours.”
    She blushed. “Well I like that accent
you got going on when you say certain things.”
    Once the waitress returned and he
signed the receipt, Trent reached out his hand to Noelle. “Shall we
go?”
    He saw the hesitation in her eyes as
she stared at his hand. Finally she took hold and nodded. “Lead the
way.”
    They walked out of the restaurant and
he rushed to open the car door for her. Once he got behind the
steering wheel he put the car in reverse and headed back to La
Jolla.
    He was tempted to drive around for
hours just so he didn’t have to take her back to the motel, but for
now having her by his side for any amount of time was good enough
for him.
     
     
     
    Noelle sat in the passenger seat and
watched the city fly past. She felt like there were a million
butterflies congregating in her heart. Trent reached over and
gently put his hand in hers.
    She looked up and smiled at him. He
was focused on the road, but when she tightened her grip on his
hand, he turned his head and smiled back.
    He used his thumb to rub a small
circle on the back of her hand. It was a nice, safe feeling. She
was amazed how at ease he made her feel.
    He pulled over at a scenic area
overlooking the ocean. The waning moon shined brightly in the dark
sky, with a billion stars scattered around it.
    “I thought maybe we could sit here and
talk. Do you want to get out? I have a blanket in the
backseat.”
    Noelle gave him a sarcastic grin.
“Well, of course, you have a blanket in the back seat.”
    Trent laughed. “It’s not like that.
Come on Smarty pants.”
    She patiently waited as he laid the
blanket out on the hood of his car. When she finally sat back,
using the windshield as a back rest, she let out a sigh.
    “This reminds me of when I was younger
and my momma and I would stargaze. That’s Pegasus over there and
Aquarius is right below it.”
    She pointed south at a cluster of
stars and used her finger to drawn imaginary lines between
them.
    “Huh, guess there’s some things about
you that are going to surprise me too.”
    She smiled. “I guess so.”
    “What does your mom think about you
moving out to California?”
    Noelle thought for a moment about what
her mother would say. “I think she’d be proud of me. She passed
away last year.”
    Trent reached for her hand and gave it
a squeeze. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’d do without my
mother.”
    “It’s been hard. Lots of regrets about
stuff, but since her passing I’ve really started to see that you
only get this life once and you have to make the most of it. She
used to say that all the time.”
    He nodded. “That sounds like sage
advice. Your mom must have been a great lady.”
    Noelle smiled. “That she was. It was
just me and her for most of my life. I really miss her.”
    She was surprised at how easy it was
for her to say those words to him. Any time she’d verbalized her
feelings with Lenny he had mocked her and told her to get over it
already.
    Trent slid closer and put his arm
around her shoulder. She’d never had a man comfort her like this.
“Thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “For listening.”
    He pulled back a little and looked at
her. Even in