The Moment of Letting Go - J. A. Redmerski Page 0,43
you to feel uncomfortable, and if anyone I know can pull that off, it’s Kendra, but I didn’t know she was going to be at the barbecue.” I pause because I realize I’m just jumping around the point, and then decide to do what I always do—be vague. “She was my brother’s girlfriend.” I pause again, because I don’t like to talk about it and every time I start to, even when at first I feel like it’s going to be OK and that I can get through it, I realize that I can’t.
I fall back against the bus seat, resting my head and looking up at the fiberglass ceiling.
“Are you OK, Luke?” Sienna’s voice is so sweet and caring that I wish it were closer—she’s not even touching me and I feel like her arms are wrapped around me in solace.
My head falls to the side and I look at her.
“I’ll be fine if you tell me that you’ll spend the entire day with me tomorrow.” I smile softly and brace myself because all I want in the world right now is for her to say yes.
Slowly, her lips spread amid her delicate freckled face and my insides begin to warm just looking at her.
“I had hoped that’s what I’d be doing the whole two weeks,” she says, and my heart stops beating for a moment.
She blushes and starts to look downward—she does that a lot, I’ve noticed, and I think it’s adorable. I reach over and fit my fingers underneath her chin, keeping her gaze on me.
“Are you blushing?” I ask with a grin.
She blushes harder.
Damn, she needs to stop doing that! I like it a little too much …
My hand drops from her chin and I raise my back from the seat, propping my elbows on my legs. “I had hoped the same thing,” I admit, and then top it off with some humor. “I mean, come on, I didn’t try to talk you into staying in Hawaii just so you could spend all your time alone.”
She smiles, but then again, she never really stopped.
“But what about your job … or jobs?” she asks. “I guess I didn’t think about that,” she adds apologetically.
“Hey, don’t you worry about that,” I tell her with a wink. “Let’s just say I’ve sort of got vacation time of my own saved up—I can work around it.”
She seems to be pondering, her lips in a cute little pucker.
And then she gives in. “OK, but no more barbecues,” she says. “I’d rather see where you live than your friends.”
That takes me by surprise, but naturally I feel compelled to screw with her head. I grin and say, “Oh, so you wanna see my place? So soon?”
Her hazel eyes widen and she bumps my knee with hers.
“You are unbelievable,” she jokes. “Well, if that’s what you think, then you’re more full of yourself than I thought you were.”
I laugh and leave it at that.
When we arrive back at the resort, I walk her as far as the lobby, where we stop among the grandeur laid out in marble and expensive furniture and strategically placed plants. Tourists come and go from the nearby elevator. Sienna stands with her bag draped over one shoulder, her fingers interlocked down in front of her. Her long, dark auburn hair hangs loosely over her shoulders, dropping just below her breasts, and her bangs are cut short just above her eyebrows. Even unbrushed and a little rough at the ends from being in the ocean all day, it still looks soft enough I’d like to run my fingers through it.
“So what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” she asks, beaming at me.
I raise a playful brow, cross one arm over my stomach and rub my chin with the other hand in pretend contemplation. “Hmmm,” I begin, “how about I pick you up at ten—is that too early?”
She shakes her head. “No, ten is perfect.”
“Awesome. I have to stop by the community center not far from here,” I say. “And then after that, I’m all yours.”
“Is that where the art event will be?”
I nod. “Yeah, but we won’t stay long,” I say casually. “I just need to check on a few things. I promised Melinda that I’d stop in—she’s like fifty, so don’t get any ideas.” Sienna blushes again, trying her best not to smile too broadly.
She thinks on it for just a fraction of a second.
“I look forward to it,” she says. “And I don’t mind how long we stay,