in awe of you.”
“I don’t cook. Really and truly. I do not cook,” she answered. “Granny did the cooking when she was alive. And she did a fine job, so I didn’t need to know how. Then when she died, I learned I could live on cans of pork and beans and wieners from the grocery store. By the time I got tired of that menu, I was in the oil business. Hilda cooks for me, and she does a fine job. I suppose you won’t ever call me for a second date now, will you?”
“That’s where you are wrong.” He picked up a breadstick and dipped it in marinara sauce. “I can cook. There are restaurants on every corner no matter where you go. Cooks can be hired.”
Angel yawned. “That’s pretty much what I think.”
“Sleepy?” Clancy asked.
“A little,” Angel answered. “Watch whatever you want. Just wake me early enough so I can get dressed and do something with my hair before it’s time to leave,” she said as she closed her eyes.
“Good night, Angel,” he said as he slid off the side of the bed, put all the leftovers on the desk, and got into his own bed.
“Night, Clance,” she mumbled.
***
That she called him Clance, as she’d done when they were meeting at the sandbar in Tishomingo, didn’t merely go over the top of his head. Sure, she was sleepy and tired, and it could have been just a slip of the tongue, but it meant something to Clancy.
He watched a couple of reruns of NCIS, but he didn’t remember much of it. All he could think about was Angel, sleeping soundly beside him in the next bed. He wondered what it would be like to see her face the first thing every morning. He made a trip to the bathroom and stopped by her bed. He bent and brushed a sweet kiss across her lips.
“Clance,” she mumbled.
“Good night, Angel,” he whispered softly in her ear.
Before he could straighten up, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his mouth down to hers for a searing kiss.
“I told you…” She sat straight up in bed, eyes wide open.
“Hey…” He backed up and put up his hands like the victim in an Old West bank robbery. “You started it. I just stole one little kiss and said good night.”
“Oh, I must have been dreaming,” she remembered. “We were…” she stammered. “Never mind.” She looked bewildered.
“Never mind what?” he pressed.
“This is crazy, Clancy.” She sat and patted the bed beside her.
He sat down and took her hand in his. She reached out to touch the soft hair on his chest where the silk bathrobe parted, and the thrill of it inched up and down his spine.
“Kiss me again. This time for real,” she said.
“Are you sure about this?” Clancy asked.
She pulled his mouth down to hers in a passionate kiss.
“Angel…” His low voice was almost a growl.
***
“Crawl in here with me.” She pulled the covers back and invited him into her bed. Tomorrow she might be sorry. But tonight, she was going to make love with Clancy Morgan, and the devil could have tomorrow. The future was a blur, the past was a mistake, but the present was theirs. Angel wanted to feel his body next to hers like she had on those hot summer nights a decade ago.
There was no hurry. Neither of them was eighteen years old nor did they have to be home by midnight. They enjoyed long, exploring kisses until they were breathless. Clancy undressed her slowly, and the whole world stood still while they rediscovered each other’s bodies.
Afterward, she curled up to sleep in his arms and he drew her close to his side. Was that closure? she asked herself as she drifted off to sleep. Or was it another heartache waiting to happen?
Angel awoke with a start when the alarm on her phone buzzed at seven o’clock. She was still in the crook of Clancy’s arm, snuggled up beside him. Lord, what had she done? This was all her own doing. She’d made the first overture so she couldn’t blame what happened on him. Before she could get anything sorted out, he opened his eyes, smiled, and kept staring at her, making little ripples travel up and down her spine.
“Good morning,” he finally said when she didn’t blink her green eyes. “Regrets?”
She shook her head. “Not a single one.” But you might have some when we get to Tishomingo, she thought. A fling out here