Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
He lifted a corner of the blanket and straddled me, and as he buried his face in my shoulder he said, “I didn’t know there’d be cuddling. Next time, lead off with that.”
“I will.”
I turned off all the lights before putting the phone beside us on the lounge chair. Then I wrapped my arms around him and let myself relax. After a moment, Jack raised his head and muttered, “It’s pitch black.”
“Yup.”
“I mean, like, alarmingly so.”
“You’re fine, doll face. I’ve got you.”
“Okay, but why are we out here recreating a scene from a horror movie?”
“I’ll show you in a minute,” I told him, as I held him securely. “We just need to give our eyes a little time to adjust.”
He tucked his head beneath my chin, and as I rubbed his back I could feel him start to relax. After a while, I kissed the top of his head. One of his hands slid to my face, and he patted all around it to get his bearings, which I thought was pretty funny. Once he located my mouth, he sat up a bit and kissed me. I grinned against his lips before deepening the kiss.
Then I said softly, “Turn around and look up at the sky, Jack.”
He shifted around so he was sitting between my thighs, and then he leaned against me and murmured, “Oh, wow.” The back of the house faced the open desert, so there was nothing to dim the jaw-dropping view of the night sky. He reached out and traced the river of stars above us as he whispered, “I’ve never seen the Milky Way before, except in pictures. It feels like I’m dreaming.”
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and said, “This is my favorite thing about living out here, and a big reason why I haven’t abandoned the house and moved back to the city.”
“I get it. This is extraordinary.”
We both fell silent as we took it all in. After a while, I told him, “I want to bring you back here to see the meteor showers. There’s one in December, but the one in summer is even better.”
When he shifted around to face me, he bumped my phone and lit up the screen. In its faint glow, I saw his look of surprise as he asked, “You think we’ll be together then?”
I’d said more than I’d intended. It wasn’t like me to just put it all out there, so I tried to reel it back in with, “I hope so.”
Instead of replying, he hugged me tightly. The phone powered back down, and once again, we were in darkness. After a moment, I felt him shiver, so I said, “Maybe we should go back inside.”
We both got ready for bed, and once we were under the covers I drew him into my arms. He was uncharacteristically quiet, but that was probably because he was tired. Lord knew I was, too.
I settled in and said, “Good night, Jack.”
He whispered, “I want you to know this time with you has meant the world to me.” I kissed his forehead, and then I closed my eyes and let sleep pull me under.
When I awoke the next morning, I was alone in bed. A glance at my phone told me it was nearly nine a.m. Since I’d slept in, I figured Jack was probably in the kitchen, making himself some breakfast.
I used the bathroom and brushed my teeth before going downstairs. But instead of finding Jack, I found a note on the kitchen counter. All it said was:
I decided to go back to San Francisco. You’re going to think I stole your Cadillac, but I only borrowed it. I’ll leave it with valet parking at one of the hotels on the Strip before I take the bus home. I don’t know which hotel yet, but I’ll message Romy and let him know, since I don’t have your number. The valet ticket will be at the hotel’s front desk, in an envelope with your name on it.
Also, I swear to you I’m going to get your watch back. It’s the first thing I’ll do when I get home. I’ll send it to your Vegas address by certified mail, since it looks like you might be there a while.
Please stay safe, Adriano. You mean more to me than you’ll ever know.
I didn’t care about the car or the watch. All I cared about was Jack, and I needed to know why he’d suddenly decided to slip out in the middle of the night like that. Why didn’t he tell me he was going? And did he ever plan to see me again? The note left me with a million questions and an ache in my chest.
The thought occurred to me that maybe he’d only left a minute ago, so maybe I could still catch him. I rushed to the front door and threw it open, which set off the alarm. It kept shrieking as I ran out into the middle of the street and looked all around.