Free Spell Checked by C. G. Powell Page A

the saleswoman for his transactions.  When the saleswoman left, he moved Mae’s hair aside and inhaled deeply.  He kissed the back of her neck causing butterflies in her stomach.
    “That perfume is intoxicating on you,” he whispered in her ear.
    She could feel his warm breath on the side of her neck as he spoke, making her weak in her knees.  There was something in the perfume that left both of them heady from its scent.  The saleswoman returned and before she could give Beck his credit card back, he added the bottle of perfume for her to ring up also.
    Settling into the back of the car once again, Beck and Mae held hands as they continued their journey.   Mae could feel his pulse racing with hers, yet both of them felt afraid to make a move, for fear of repeating the animal-like fury they felt on the dance floor two nights previous.  This time there was no bewitchment involved and any emotions they felt would be their own.  Beck drew her closer, leaning over to kiss her.  This time it was slow and controlled.  He kissed her neck then ran his tongue up just below her ear, his warm breath against her skin as she quivered.  Mae moved her hand to his thigh, both of them pausing as if they were approaching some invisible boundary.  Then Beck pulled away, leaving her somewhat confused.  “Maybe I went too far or maybe he doesn’t feel the same way I feel,” she thought, moving back to her seat.
    “We should stop and take things slow,” Beck said, feeling the urge to regain control.  Falling in love with Mae was not an option; for now keeping her content would have to be enough, anything more would be an invitation to chaos.
    She did not want to take things slow.  She knew she would soon be returning home and all of this would just be a memory.  Feeling dejected, she didn’t know how else to take what he said as she thought to herself.  “He is handsome, smart and generous.  Why would he fall for someone like me?”  For a time, Mae just sat in awkward silence.
    “Mae what is wrong?  What did I do?”  Beck asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
    “Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought there might be something between us,” she said, her voice heavily laden with disappointment.
    “There is…and that is what scares the hell out of me,” he said calmly, in a half-whisper.
    “Honestly Beck I’m terrible with relationships.  I am not beautiful like Gemma or witty like Meredith…I am just plain Mae.  When I meet a person like you, they are usually only talking to me to get Gemma’s number.  So, forgive me for taking everything as rejection, it’s just what I’m accustomed to,” Mae said softly, carefully avoiding eye contact with him.
    “You are more than just plain Mae.”  He tilted her head to look at him.  “You are beautiful, smart and I have laughed more in the last two days than I have the last two years.  All I can think about is you and I am afraid I might say or do something to scare you away,” he said as he thought in the back of his mind, “I am so screwed!”  He knew there would be no turning back now and someone would pay the price for his indiscretion.
    “Where do we go from here?” Mae asked.
    “For now, you lie back in my arms and enjoy the view.  I am not going anywhere,” reassured Beck.
    “By the way, I don’t scare that easily,” she said, lying in his arms against his chest.
    “That perfume still drives me crazy,” Beck whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her.
    She giggled at his comment.
    They spent the rest of the morning at the Heritage Center in Cobh.  There was a lot to see; Cobh was previously known as Queenstown and a major point of emigration from Ireland to the United States and Canada.  It harbored many ships such as the Titanic and Lusitania.  The inside of the Center was a restored Victorian railroad and a replica of what life on a prison ship bound for Australia was like.  Mae wanted to spend more time there, but