Heart Waves (4 page)

Quickly lulled into that delicious place between consciousness and sleep, I felt completely at ease. I enjoyed drifting into the realm where the body is limp and the mind relaxed, not sure if the sights and sounds are real or part of a dream induced wonderland. I stopped fighting and let my mind have its way. In return, it shut out anything unimportant such as the delicate sounds closing in on me.

“Boo!”

I shot up with a silent scream, letting the blanket slip from my hands. My heartbeat pulsed in my throat. And there, under the silvery moon light, Reece knelt on the ground beside me, looking every bit as alluring as I remembered.

“I’m sorry,” he said through a fit of laughter. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

I couldn’t wait to look into those honey brown eyes, “What did you think you were going to do?” I asked.

“I just meant
to .
  .  . ” he held his belly, still laughing.

“Give me a heart attack?” I asked shoving his chest half-heartedly, finding it warm and hard beneath my hand.  

Reece’s eyes traveled over me, yearning evident in his face, “You look pretty healthy to me.”

Conscious of how little I had
on,
and how thoroughly he seemed to enjoy looking at me, sent a wave of heat through my body.

“No thanks to you.”

He took on a serious tone, “Why are you out here by yourself this time of night? It’s not safe.”

“I’m in my back yard. Nothing’s going to happen here.”

He shook his head. “I don’t like it. You’re too vulnerable. It’s like an invitation for some crazy to attack you.”

“Was that what you had in mind?” I asked playfully, astounded I could be so forward.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he raised an eyebrow mischievously.

More than I should. “You’re a jerk.” I paused a moment, thinking of something to say. “What are you doing here?”

“I was on my way to bed, when I looked out my
window .
  .  . ”

My ears perked up, “Your window?”

He pointed to a window with a light on, two houses down.
Mike’s house.
I couldn’t believe I didn’t put it together, especially coupled with what Grace hinted at tonight.

Mike’s parents stopped by before they left on their annual trip to Nova Scotia and asked if we’d keep an eye on the house. His parents went away every year from the Fourth of July until the week before Labor Day. This year, they left Mike behind. To make the most of his summer, he asked a few of his college buddies if they wanted to spend the summer parent free at his house.   
             

I tried to hide my enthusiasm. I hadn’t been sure I’d ever see Reece again, let alone see him any time I wanted. We were already into the middle of July, I wondered how much longer he’d be there.

“I looked out the window and saw an exquisite creature,” he continued, “with waves of blonde curls lying here. I had to come make sure all was well, and here we are.”

I realized he laid it on thick, I didn’t care. Still, I wondered when he looked out the window if he knew it was me. Before I could get the words out to ask, a bell went off in my head and I understood something I hadn’t at the party.

“So you weren’t there just to hook up,” I said, enlightened.

“Now you’re catching on,” he winked with a smile.

“I owe you a huge apology.” I looked down, nervous to meet his eyes, afraid I’d find judgment there. “I guess I jumped to conclusions and assumed the worst.”

“I know, cold, heartless, typical guy,” he said.

I hoped the night sky obscured my flushing cheeks. He was right. I thought him cold and callous and felt awful for thinking such terrible, unfounded thoughts.

“I guess I’m the cold heartless one, huh?” I stated slowly, cautiously, hoping he would disagree.

“Definitely,” he said with too much confidence and a cocky grin.

I giggled, “You’re not supposed to agree.”

“And I thought you wanted my opinion. Next time
be
sure to give me the script ahead of time.”

“I’ll make a note of it.”

I enjoyed the ebb and flow of the conversation. It seemed so different than the crude lines strung together by most of the guys I’d known.  

“Do you make a habit of playing superhero?”

“Only when I’m not trying to take over the world.”
             

“How do you know Mike?” Intrigued, I sat up straighter, shifted my legs over and patted the space I made for him on the lounge.

“College,” he answered. “We were roommates this year.”

“And you volunteered to spend the summer with him?” I grimaced.
“
Eew
.”

“He’s not so bad when you get to know what he’s really about.”

“I know all I want to, thank you very much.”

I bent my legs and hugged them to my chest. A thrill ran through my body when he placed a hand on the blanket covering my knee.

“Where do you go?” A hopeful light shined in his eyes.

I smiled a little embarrassed, “I’m still in high school. It’s my senior year.”

“So that would make you, seventeen?

I nodded. “I’ll be eighteen in the fall.”

He twisted his mouth, “Too bad. We had some of the best parties on campus. This year we’ll be in a suite, they’ll be even better. I guess I’ll just have
lure
you over.”

I bit my lip imagining what he might use as bait. I needed to change the subject and go back to something safe.

“So you’re the same age as Mike?” I asked, brushing a lock of hair back behind my ear.

He nodded. “Nineteen. Did you know a two year age difference when you’re dating is ideal?”

I shook my head and laughed. “No. I didn’t. So what is this I hear about you asking around about me?”

At first he looked confused, or maybe surprised, I couldn’t be certain which. “You mean at the party?”

I nodded.

I watched his face intently, looking for any sign of insecurity or uncertainty, finding none. Even his voice was smooth and steady.

He looked down at the ground and smiled, “I wanted to size up the competition.”

“Competition?
You have no competition.” My eyes grew three sizes bigger and I covered my mouth when I realized I said it out loud.

He chuckled, not in an obnoxious way like I would have expected. His laugh sounded warm and inviting.

“That’s not quite how Mike put it.”

“Mike is an ass!” I snapped. “He has no idea what he’s talking about.”

Reece laughed again, this time he seemed amused. He reached for my hand and entwined his fingers with mine. His hand, so much bigger than mine, felt warm and gentle. I thought for certain he could feel my pulse through my fingers.

“You don’t have to be so hard on him. He pretty much said though many have tried, no one’s been able to win your heart.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, amused by the pleasant spin he tried to put on what I knew was an unflattering assessment of me.

“More likely he called me the Ice Queen,” I said, annoyed.

“He obviously knows nothing about you. If he did,” Reece leaned closer to me and stroked my hair with his free hand. “If he did, he’d know there’s nothing cold about you.”

I swallowed hard as I tried to push back, away from him. Being unable to create any physical distance, I cleared my throat, “How’s the girlfriend doing?”

He caught on, and pulled back.
“Ex-girlfriend.”

“C’mon, you are incredibly smooth, even I could see that. Didn’t you call and work things out with her? I’m sure she’s putty in your hands.”

“Are you?”

I couldn’t find my voice to answer back. 

He grinned, a sly sexy look about him. “I’m a one woman man. And right now, the only one I want is you.”

I took a deep breath in and had to tell myself to release it. No one ever took my breath away. I wanted to believe him. More than anything else at that moment I wanted to believe he had the same intense and inexplicable pull toward me as I to him.

“You forget. I know you’re only saying that because she hurt you.”

He shifted his gaze down. “After meeting you I realized, only my ego was hurt,” he explained. His eyes met mine again, fire burning in them. “Like you, I haven’t found that special someone.” He paused then smiled deliciously.
“Until now.”

“Oh, please.” I rolled my eyes feeling very flattered, but totally aware he wanted me to feel that way.

“Seriously.”
He leaned in again, this time his eyes were locked on mine. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you. And no matter how much you deny it, I know you feel the same way. You said yourself, your instincts are almost always right.”

“Don’t do this.” I felt panic rise in my chest as I realized he was closing in for the kill. He wanted to kiss me. As much as I wanted it too, I shuddered.

Fear took over. Fear that he would be like the others and not want to stop at a simple kiss. Fear that I’d have to fight him off and ruin the enchantment I felt when he was near.

“I see it when you look at me.” His eyes never wavered. They held mine captive as I could not break the hold.

My teeth chattered before he stopped dangerously close, only centimeters away. Relief swept over me, yet I wanted to reach out and pull him against me, feel the warmth of his full lips against mine. I closed my eyes, willing him to bridge the slight distance between us.

I could no longer feel his breath against my lips. He pulled back, I didn’t want him to. The distance between us grew. It hurt. Like having the wind knocked out of me.

He smiled tentatively. “Are you okay?”

I looked toward the water as I nodded in response. I couldn’t find my voice.

“I frightened you.” He stroked my hair, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

I could see the remorse in his soft brown eyes as he stood. He would leave if I didn’t stop him. I had to do something. I didn’t want him to go.

“Stay?” I reached up for his hand. My voice cracked, leaving me feeling more exposed than if I would’ve been lying there naked.

“Jenna . . .” I loved the way my name rolled off his lips. Hearing him speak had a hypnotic effect on me.   

“Sit down.” I hoped I didn’t sound as weak to him as I sounded to myself. “Let’s talk some more.”

He looked at me warily.
“You sure?”

I nodded and tried to dazzle him with my smile so he would know I meant it. He sat back down tentatively measuring my reaction.

“I want to hear more about you,” I said, wishing we could find that nice comfortable give and take again.

“Okay,” he agreed easily enough. “What do you want to know?”

“You’re so different from Mike and his buddies.”

“Judging from your reaction to Mike, I take that as a compliment.”

I smiled. “It is. I’ve known him forever, and he’s such an idiot. But you . . .” I hesitated, afraid to voice what I was thinking. “I can talk to you. Like have an actual conversation. The guys I know, they’re not like that. If it’s not about them, they’re clueless.”

He smiled slyly, “I like to think I’m not egocentric.”

“Egocentric.”

“It means I don’t think the universe revolves around me.”

“I know what it means. It just surprises me to hear you use it in conversation.”

Reece’s face lit up as he smiled, “I love words and books. Unlike most of my friends, I like learning and talking about things. It brings enlightenment, don’t you think?”

“I guess.”

He appeared to be the complete package - looks, brains, confidence. There had to be something he lacked. The only negative thing I could find about him so
far,
was his choice of friends.  I didn’t care, in every way that mattered he seemed perfect. That scared me the most, because nothing in life is perfect.

“What else do you do?”

“I work part time for my buddy’s dad in IT.”

“Huh? You mean computers?”

“It’s so much more than just computers. Its software and social networking . . .” He started to ramble on about systems and threw out letters that obviously were supposed to mean something, like SAN and TCP/IP and some other things that got lost in the jumble as I watched with interest as his lips moved.

“Social networking, but you’re not even on Facebook.” I realized my mistake immediately. My eyes opened wide in horror. I let on that I’d been searching for him, and brought my hands up to cover my eyes. I didn’t want to see the cocky look of triumph I knew he’d have.

Gently, Reece pulled my hands away from my face. The warmth and adrenaline that overloaded my system at his
touch,
left me stunned and awed. I lost myself in his eyes. I couldn’t speak. I realized I never felt more alive than I did at that moment and didn’t want to break contact with him.