Third Life - Noelle Adams Page 0,21
one special at all.”
Emotion starts to shudder in my throat as I think about Matt. His brown eyes. His lopsided smile.
“What is it?” Richard asks softly, turning my face so I’m looking at him again. “There was someone?”
“Y-yeah. There was. Kind of.” I swallow hard, trying to contain the emotion. I’m not sure why it’s hitting me so hard right now. I haven’t cried over Matt in a really long time. “It never got anywhere, but it might have.” I have to pause to take a shaky breath.
“I don’t understand.”
“I know. It’s not... It’s... Six years ago, I was set up with this guy named Matt. It was... amazing. The date lasted for six hours. We talked about everything. I really, really liked him. I felt like he was the one. The one. I’ve heard people talk about that, but I’d never experienced it before. I’m sure we could have... we would have...”
“Gillian, what happened?” Richard is still speaking softly, but he sounds almost urgent.
“The next day—the very next day—he was killed in a car accident. Some idiot was distracted by their phone and ran a red light. Matt died. So I never... I never got to...” My eyes burn. My voice is blocked by the lump in my throat. I turn my face away in an attempt to hide it.
“Shit.” He reaches over to cup my cheek, turning my face back toward him. “Shit, Gillian. Are you serious?”
I nod. A single tear slips out, and I swipe it away quickly. “And it’s hard because... because I don’t really have the right to grieve for him. I barely knew him. We had one date. He had family and friends who had loved him for years. What I had with him couldn’t even begin to compare to that. But still I... I really think we could have...”
When another tear slips out, Richard is the one to brush it away. “You lost something when you lost him.”
“I did. I lost a future I might have had.” I shake off the emotion and manage to smile at him. “Sorry about that. It’s been six years. I usually don’t get like this anymore. Anyway, he was the one time I felt like there was something real there. I haven’t felt that way since.”
“So what prompted the sex-cation this weekend?” He obviously sees that I’m trying to lighten the mood, and his lilting tone reflects it.
“I don’t even know. It’s just been building up. The desire to... to do something. Change something. My mom died four months ago. She was sick for a long time with MS.” If I talk too much about Mom, I’ll start crying again, so I quickly change the subject. “And ever since then I guess I just wanted... a second chance. Or something. It finally got to the point where I had to do something about it.”
“I get that. Sometimes I think I want a second chance.”
“A second chance at what?”
He gives another of those half shrugs. “At life?”
“If you want it, then you should do it. Look how well it worked for me.”
He laughs and reaches over to move me onto my back, rolling over on top of me. He smiles down at me for a moment before he kisses me.
He tastes like coffee and bacon. I probably do too. It’s warm and pleasant, and his kiss is deep and skillful. I feel relaxed. Leisurely. Not nearly as uptight as I did last night.
So when his hands start to move over my body, I don’t stiffen up or pull away. I’m a little sore but not too bad. I think I can manage sex again.
Might as well get as much practice as I can.
After this weekend is over, who knows when I’ll have sex this good again.
WE DON’T LEAVE RICHARD’S hotel room until noon on Sunday, which is when both of us need to check out and get to the airport to catch our flights.
I’m a little sad that it’s over. Okay. More than a little. But I had a great time, and there’s nothing weird or awkward or negative about my feelings for Richard and the time we spent together as we say goodbye in the hired car we share to the airport.
He leans over to kiss me briefly. “Thank you for this weekend,” he murmurs. “I had a really good time.”
“Me too. I won’t forget it.” I smile at him—knowing, knowing, knowing that this is the last time I’ll see his handsome face. The deep experience in