Fade to Black (8 page)

“I know, don’t get between boys and their
pizzas.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Devlin
said.

“I don’t think I want to know the half of
it.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” He
grinned at her.

“All my adventure is sitting in the
backseat.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that.”

“Here we are. Come on. Let’s go! There’s
Aunt Dory!” Leo got out of the car and looked both ways before racing across
the parking lot and into her arms.

Lily sat in the car with her hand on door
handle and made sure her son was safe before turning to open her door. Before
she could open the door, Devlin stood there holding it open, his eyes on her
son. After Dory swung Leo around, he looked to her.

“After you, my lady.”
He bowed.

“A girl could get used to this.”

“Your wish is my command.”

“Hmmm…” She wasn’t sure what to say so she started
to walk over to her son and Dory, who was gawking at Devlin.

Dory turned to Lily and said, “He does look
like a movie star.”

“Gee, I wonder why?” Lily said dryly.
“Devlin, this is Dory, Dory this is Devlin.”

Dory held her hand out to him.
“
Very
nice to meet you.”

Lily tried not to laugh as Dory actually
batted her eyelashes at Devlin. Just because Dory preferred women didn’t mean
she couldn’t appreciate flirting with the opposite sex, and Devlin was fun to
flirt with.

“Please call me Dev.” He brought her hand
up to his lips and kissed the back of it. With her hand still at his lips, he
looked at her. “Lily has told me so much about you.”

“Lies, I’m sure it’s all lies.” Dory
squinted at Lily.

“So you aren’t a kind-hearted woman who
will take in any stray animal and give it a home along with unconditional
love?”

“Well, you’ve got me there.” Leo snickered
and Dory looked down at the boy who had his arm around her. “You hungry, bud?”

“Always!”

“Well, by all means, we should go eat.
You’ll sit with me, right,
bud
? That way we can let
the two lovebirds sit together.”

Dory laughed as Lily gave her a gentle
shove from the back to prod her into the restaurant. Once they were seated and had
placed their order, Dory and Devlin spent time getting to know one another.
Lily was happy to see the two people she loved the most getting along so well
with someone she cared for. She made a point to sit back and let the
conversation flow around the three of them. She watched the nuances of their
personalities come out and mesh with the other two. She had her family, Leo and
Dory, and now she saw how well Devlin was fitting into it.

~^~

Lily stood with Dory as they watched Devlin
and Leo play around her SUV.

“He seems like a really great guy,” Dory
said.

“Yeah, I kind of think he is too.”

“So, when are you going to ‘do it’?”

Lily nudged her away with her shoulder.
“‘Do it?’ What are we, twelve?”

“No, and you’re trying to change the
subject.”

“Damn straight I am,” Lily sighed. “I don’t
know, Dory. Part of me wants to. I mean, really, it would be perfect. He’s hot,
there’s no doubt about that. He’s also nice, caring, and fun. Plus, once this
movie is done he’ll be out of here. I don’t have to worry about anything long
term. Leo likes him, so while he’s around it will be fine.”

“But…”

“But, the other side of the coin is, what
if I do fall for him, what if I want more than he’s able to give?”

“What if, what if, what
if.
Honey, we never know what is coming.” Dory turned
toward her. “Look at me. Think ahead ten years, Leo is graduating from high
school and going off to college and you’ll be left alone here. When you look
back, what do you want to remember? That you had a chance to spend some hot
times with a sexy movie star, or that you didn’t act on what I know you want to
do. Don’t end up like me.”

Lily knew what she was talking about. Years
ago she’d let love slip through her fingers because it wasn’t as socially
acceptable as it was today. She still thought about what might have been if
she’d been stronger when she was younger.

“What about your new mystery girlfriend,
Ashley?”

Dory smiled. “She’s great.
Really.
I’ve never met anyone like her before. And she gets
me. I’m actually thinking of the future for the first time in a long time.”

Lily hugged her. “That’s wonderful. When do
I get to meet her?”

“Soon, very soon.”
She nodded toward Devlin and Leo. “But right now, you’d better get them home
before they start climbing over
all
of the cars.”

Lily whipped her head around and saw her
son on the top of her SUV and Devlin climbing up from the back making growling
noises as her son laughed and danced around.
“Boys!
It’s a vehicle, not a toy. Get down.”

“Mom, come on! I was about to kick Dev’s
butt.” Leo put his hands together, begging.

“Yeah.
Come
on, Mom. We’re almost done. I’ve almost got the little twerp right where I want
him.”

She shook her head and pointed to the
ground.
“Now.”

“Fine.”
Devlin plunked the boy from the roof and threw him over his shoulder. “Just
wait, this isn’t over,” he whispered.

“Awesome,” Leo said then started to giggle
when Devlin tickled him.

Chapter
Ten

“Mom!
Mom!
Mom!”
Leo said as he ran into the room.

“Leo! Leo! Leo!” Lily replied as she marked
her place and closed the book she was reading, not moving from where she was
cuddled up with Devlin. They’d become so comfortable with each other, they were
always finding an excuse to touch each other or be in each other’s company.
When they discovered they both liked to read they started spending time each
day in comfortable silence while they each read a book.

“You’ll never believe this.”

“Let’s see,” Devlin started. “Aliens have
invaded Earth and the government is looking for pilots. Since you’ve mastered
all the latest video games, you know you’ll be perfect for this mission and
you’ll save all of mankind!”

“No, Dev, but yeah, I totally could.
Anyway, Mom, Billy’s family is going camping this weekend since the weather has
been so nice. Can I go, please? There’s like ten families going. Please?”

“Leo.”

“I know all the rules and you know I always
follow them. Please, Mom. It’s only for one night.” He gave her big eyes.
“Please…”

Lily looked at him. She didn’t like the
fact he wouldn’t be with her. She wouldn’t be there to protect him, watch out
for him, and be there if he needed her. She also realized he was growing up and
he needed to spend time away from her. “Okay—”

“Awesome!” He ran over to her and gave her
a big hug. “This is going to be great.”

“But, I need to talk to his mother before
you head out.”

“No problem, she’s stopping by the gallery
tomorrow morning.” He grinned at her.

“You were so sure I’d say yes?”

“Oh, yeah, I know how to work it.” He
struck a He-Man pose.

“Sadly, you do. Now go and let his mom know
I’ll see her tomorrow.”

Devlin put his book to the side and looked
over at her. “So, you’ll be alone all weekend?”

“Well, for one night.”

“One night.”
He leaned over and slowly traced his finger along the side of her face and down
her jaw to her lips. “One night could be a lot of fun.”

Lily didn’t have to be a rocket scientist
to know what he was getting at. “It could. Then again, I could have a quiet
night, relaxing all by myself, which hardly ever happens.”

“Sure, you could do that.” He ran one of
his fingers down the side of her neck. “Or you could go somewhere and order
room service, get yourself pampered, and sleep in. Things you deserve.”

Lily shook her head. “While all of those
things sound nice, that’s really not me. Besides, I don’t want to be too far
away from Leo.” She offered up a small smile. “It’s a mommy thing.”

“Hmmm… let me think…” He moved closer to
her, gathered her up in his arms, and leaned back. “So, let’s start with –
where exactly are they going camping?”

“There’s a campground about thirty minutes
away.”

“Hmmm… we’re in the wilds of Maine here.
There has to be a cabin somewhere around here we could rent.”

“And what would we be doing in this cabin?”

“Well, the way I see it, we could spend
some serious time getting to know each other.” He laced his fingers through
hers. He brought her wrist up to his mouth and started nibbling on it.

Praying her voice wouldn’t crack, she
asked, “Isn’t that what we have been doing? Getting to know each other?”

“Yes, but this way,” he said as he nibbled
further down to the inside of her elbow, “there’d be no distractions.”

“So you’re saying there is no way we could
get to know each other the way you want with all of the distractions here?”

“Oh, yeah.”
He hooked her hand behind his head and gave her neck a slow lick. “The only
distraction I want is your body weak from the hours it takes me to worship it.”

“Well…
ummm
…
there is that.” She tried hard not to let him know how nervous he made her, but
she knew he could tell. Her shaking was a dead giveaway.

“I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” She wanted him.
Heaven help her, she wanted him.

The next thing she knew she was on her back,
lying
on the couch with Devlin on top of her. “What…”

“Shhh… Just let me…” He dipped his head and
nuzzled her neck. It tickled and she started to squirm. “Oh, well look what I
discovered.
Someone
is ticklish.” He
rubbed his stubbly chin along her skin. His low laugh rumbled through him.

“Stop… Dev…
lin
… you’ve…. got to… stop!”

“Never.
Squirm some more.”

“You… asked for… it.” With one swift move
she bucked him off of her and onto the floor, wincing to herself at the thud
when he hit. Rolling over, she looked down at him and said, “Sorry.”

“No problem.
My fault.
Totally my fault.”

Lily rested her chin on her arm, still
looking down at him on the floor, and smiled at him.

“What?”

“I kind of like you.”

He smiled back. “That’s great, because I
kind of like you, too.”

They lay there staring at each other with
goofy smiles on their faces until Leo bellowed for his mother.

Chapter
Eleven

Lily
had one ear listening to Leo playing and the other waiting to hear Devlin’s
car. Looking at her suitcase, she had a thousand second thoughts about going
away with him. She knew it was only overnight and not too far from where her
son was spending the night with his best friend. The boys would have fun staying
up all night doing all the things boys do. Lily had no idea why she felt she
had to stay home alone while her son was out having fun. Somehow it didn’t feel
right that she should also be having fun.
Adult fun.

“Mom, have you seen my Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtle Shellraiser?”

“No, Leo, I have not. I am not the keeper
of your toys.” Her mind was going in twenty different directions as she was
trying to remember everything she needed to pack for
herself
and make sure Leo was packed, too.

“Can you help me?” His voice started to
border on whining.

“Sure, where did you see
it last?”
Sighing, she put down the shirts she was
rifling through to pack.

“In the house.”

“Well, that narrows it down. Tell me again,
whose toys are these?”

“Mom!”

“Your toys, your responsibility.
And why do you need your Shellraiser on a camping trip?”