screw up this second chance.
I won't.
He hadn't forgotten how miserable the last eighteen years had been.
At the truck, he opened the door for her and brushed his mouth across hers, feeling chilly cheeks and warm lips.
She looked up at him. "I can't wait for you to meet my friends." She giggled.
"Why are you laughing? You're keeping something from me, aren't you? What is it?"
She mimed zipping her lips.
"Okay, don't tell me." He laughed. "But remember the last time you surprised me."
"How could I ever forget?" She broke into laughter.
He did too, when he pictured the shocked and horrified faces of their family and friends standing in his living room bursting to shout 'surprise' when he came prancing from the bathroom, naked and primed to receive his birthday present — her.
"Those were good times."
"The best." He kissed her hand. "There'll be more good memories. You'll see."
She nodded, taking her time to sit. Her wounds gave her more trouble than she let on. He got in behind the wheel and started the truck.
"Boston here we come," he said, backing from the parking spot.
"Coffee first," she said.
On the highway, Nate asked about the Quints.
"Who should I start with?" She drummed her finger on her chin.
"How about Justin?" Nate prompted. She mentioned him twice as often as her other friends. He gathered they were close. Very close, he corrected. If Justin would compete with him for Asia's affection, he wanted to know everything about the man. She looked at him with a sly grin.
"You're interested in him, huh? Let's hope he doesn't take a fancy for you."
It took five seconds for her subtle implication to make sense. "He's gay?"
"Mercilessly."
"Oh," he said, like gays were to be pitied. Realizing how he'd sounded, he did damage control. Justin was very important to Asia and anyone important to her, was important to him. God love her. She didn't have a prejudiced bone in her body.
"I didn't mean anything patronizing or derogatory." He hoped she could determine the depth of his sincerity from the sound of his voice.
"Justin's comfortable with who he is and gets his quota, believe me. Don't feel sorry for him. He has what you and I share only with a same sex partner."
"Funny, with everything you said about him, I never picked up on his sexuality." A thought dawned on him. "Or did you engineer that?"
"Maybe." She smiled, dimpling her cheeks.
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. She rested her head against the back of the seat and looked at him. "No second thoughts?"
"Not one."
She turned to stare out the windshield. "I wish Bobby would make his move."
Nate did too. He was anxious to move forward with his life, with their lives. The first on his list after Bobby was out of their lives was to propose to Asia. He was as laissez-faire as the next, but there were some things that should be left to the man to do. Proposing marriage, was one. Second on his to-do list was to marry before year-end. There was no point in waiting. What would they wait for exactly? To determine they weren't making a mistake? To see whether their love for each other would last a lifetime? Whether they fit well together? Wait for someone better? Timing? No better time than the present. They'd lost too much time together as it was. He doubted she'd argue.
***
A chill wind blasted Nate and Asia as they walked the short distance to Aphrodite . He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to hold her steady. Anxious to get inside and out of the weather, he hurried as much as he dared. Not that she'd complained, but her wounds had given her some discomfort on the trip.
A bell above the door jingled when they entered.
"Crystal, I'm back," Asia said.
No one came to greet them.
Nate looked around. There were no customers and no sign of Crystal. The hair on the back of his neck bristled.
"Where is she?" Asia asked. "She shouldn't be leaving the shop unattended. Anyone could have entered and wandered out with
R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)