Romance: The Second Chance - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance, Suspense Romance Book 1) (10 page)

             
A
bby hadn't heard from Eli since they went up into the mountains a couple of days ago. His unexplained absence left her angry, but mostly she just wanted to see him.

She couldn't figure out why she felt so strongly about him. Or why she struggled to get him out of her mind. And even though they’d had a ‘moment’, she wasn't sure if she was ready for something serious. She wasn't sure her heart could handle any more pain.

              In the meantime, she had been spending some quality time with Melody, though it was tough to enjoy the moment when she really wanted to be somewhere else.
With
someone else. She tried everything to keep her mind off Eli, and sometimes it even worked. It was always short lived, though.  Everything around town reminded her of Eli, now.

              The only time she ever could have any peace was when she was surrounded by nature. Her first love. She had been doing a lot of kayak tours around the bay, and the best part was that she got to choose where they went.

              Sometimes she chose sand dunes, and other times it she chose the breakers. There was Treasure Rock, and the cove, and a secluded little beach where sea lions congregated. The tourists liked listening to them bark, and Abby enjoyed it too. But what she really enjoyed was meeting all the new people that she was tasked with leading. Watching them come and go, joy and wonder on their faces. Many of them were couples. Whether dating, newly married, or celebrating some major milestone in their journey together, they all had something in common. They all loved each other. Passionately, and with abandon. Abby would watch them. Laughing, touching, enjoying one another’s company. What must it be like to be so free to love? Maybe one day she would look at a man with the same intensity and conviction as those couples. But what she wanted even more than that was to have her affection reciprocated by the man of her dreams.

             
If only....

~*~

              Abby arrived home that day exhausted and emotionally spent. She’d given up hoping
for things to happen a long time ago. But only today had she finally decided to be content with where she was. With what she had.

              It was a short-lived resolution.

              Melody was reading on the couch when Abby got home, and as soon as she saw Abby, her face opened in a pleased, secretive look.

              “What?” Abby asked. Not in the mood for games.

              “Oh come now, don't give me that grumpy face. It didn't suit you when you were a little girl and it doesn't suit you now.”

              Abby struggled to keep her face cold, she didn't want to back down just because Melody told her too.

              Melody exaggerated a long sigh, “Alright then, I guess you don't want to know.”

              Melody gathered her things, stood up, and started to walk away. Just as she was about to reach the stairs, she turned back to Abby, and teasingly said, “It's too bad though... he sounded
really
excited on the phone...” She turned, and began creeping up the old steps.

              Abby's face went pale.
He
? “
Grand
ma!”

              Melod
y
laughed as Abby ran after her, up the stairs into Melody’s bedroom. “Tell me! What happened? Who's
he?”

              Melody sat the bed and smiled. Obviously happy with the way the tables had turned, and that
she
held all the cards. “Oh but honey, I thought you didn't want to know. You should take a nap first and then—”

              “Grandma!”

Melody laughed. “Alright, alright, I'll tell you. Sit down here next to me.” Once Abby had sat, she continued, “I got an interesting phone call today. It was for you, but obviously you weren't here, so I took a message.”

              Abby could barely sit still. The anticipation was killing her.

              “It was a nice young man, and he was interested in possibly taking you out on a little
excursion
tonight.”

              A million tiny butterflies burst into flight in Abby's stomach.

“But I know you've been so tired lately... so I told him no.”

“
What
?”

              Melody laughed, wiping a tear from her eye.

              Abby sighed. “Grandma, please. The truth.”

              “Oh, I'm sorry dear. It's just, after that entrance, you can't blame me for wanting to watch you squirm a little, can you?” She grinned, cheekily, but Abby just rolled her eyes.

              “I'm sorry, OK? Can you get on with it now. Please?”

              “I forgive you. Oh alright, I suppose I've made you sweat enough. The young man asked if you'd like to go out tonight, and I told him you'd love to.”

              “
Who
, Grandma.”

              “Sweetheart. Patience has never been your strongest attribute.”

              Abby gave her a withering look.

              “Eli will be here to pick you up at seven,” Melody finally said.

              And Abby froze.

~*~

             
Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock
.

              6:45 PM.

              The clocked ticked slowly, painfully, taunting Abby from its place on the wall. She couldn't stand the wait. Nervousness bordered on insanity. She wasn’t sure how much more her fragile mind could take.

              6:52 PM.

              Melody simply watched, delighted, waiting patiently for Eli to show.

              “I can't do this.” Abby said, at 6:54.

              “You'll do fine.” Melody reassured. There wasn’t the least bit of fear in her voice.

              “It's been too long. What if I forget how to act? Or say the wrong things? Or—”

              “Abigail, relax.” Abby felt body immediately go quiet;
Abigail
sent her right back to her childhood. “Everything is going to be fine.”

              “But what should I do, Grandma? What if he hates me when he sees the
real
me?”

              “The
real
you? Honey, if he didn't already have some idea what you were like, he wouldn't be coming by.”

              “But what if—”

              “What if
what
?” The sudden rise in volume set Abby on edge. “What if he doesn't like you? What if he see's your darkest, ugliest secrets and decides he doesn't want any part of them? What if he completely rejects you, and breaks your heart?” Abby had stopped pacing by the end of it. Melody's words cut deep. Then her voice softened, and she said, “Then he isn't worth your time or thoughts, and he certainly isn't the one for you. But please darling, don't for a second think you need to be something you're not, or hide who you truly are. That's not how this is done. Love has no boundaries, and if he loves you then he’ll care less about some silly quirk, or ugly scar.”

              Abby’s gaze snapped back toward her grandmother.
How did you know?

             
“Honey, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But don't treat me like I'm stupid.”

              Abby shook her head. She was on the verge of tears again, and pressed the sides of her fingers beneath her eyes to protect her mascara. “But what if... what if he sees the ugly parts... and decides to leave anyway?”

              Melody smiled. “That's the thing about love, sweetheart. It sees the ugly parts. The parts you want more than anything to keep hidden. The parts you keep hidden, from everyone and everything. The parts you thought only
you
could ever know, because no one else would ever stay with you. Except love, true love, sees these parts, and still says ‘I’m here to stay’.”

              The doorbell rang.

             
T
he doorbell rang again. “You should probably get that,” Melody said, then stood up and left Abby alone. Abby turned slowly towards the door, her last line of defense. Crept towards it, and turned the handle with one shaking hand.

              Eli stood there, a dozen red roses in his left hand. Hair perfectly combed, eyes gentle, grinning.

              Abby's cheeks flushed, and she struggled to not run away right then and there. Struggled not to turn back into the safety of the home behind her.

              Eli offered her the flowers. “These are for you,” he said. His voice was deep, romantic, without a quiver of nervousness.

              “Thank you,” she managed. Then, forcing herself to relax, “They’re beautiful.”

              “I thought so too. Figured they matched you pretty well.”

              Her legs turned to jelly. She managed an awkward laugh, and then he held out his hand to guide her down the dark steps.

              “Shall we?”

              “Where are we going?” she asked, trying to sound normal even as her insides fluttered with nerves.

              Eli just grinned. “You'll see.”

              He led her all the way to his truck, and helped her into the passenger seat. The first thing she noticed was how clean it was this time around. All the garbage was gone, and the seats and windows looked as if they’d been scrubbed down. She hadn't minded how it was before, but he’d obviously cleaned it up for her, and she felt a warmth spread inside her. Gentler than her nerves. When he climbed in on her other side, she smiled.

              Eli stepped inside and shut his door. “You ready?”

              She nodded.

He inserted the key, and the engine started with a lazy roar. He looked back at her. “Alright then, here we go.” He pulled out of the driveway, and together they drove out into the night.

~*~

              Like the last drive they’d taken together, they drove out seemingly into toward the middle of nowhere, leaving her unable to guess their destination. But the mood in the cab was completely different. This time they both seemed to feel the same anxious excitement.

              They continued on in darkness for another 30 minutes, going away from the mountains this time instead of toward them. They spoke a little, but not of anything serious, just casual conversation. Abby could feel Eli’s suppressed suppress. Obviously eager to share whatever it was that he had planned with her. And her anticipation grew with his.

              Eventually they came to a dead end, nothing in sight. Of course, even if there
was
something out there Abby wouldn't be able to see it in night. A small hill was all she could see in the bright beams of the headlights directly in front of them. What they could they possibly be doing here?

              A sudden shock of panic flew through her, without warning, an unconscious reflex.

             
Calm
down, she told herself. Calm
down. Everything is going to be fine.
She took a few deep breaths, trying to slow her rising heart rate. Carefully trying to hide her concern from Eli.

              “We're here,” he said. He put the truck in park, then killed the engine. He jumped out of his door and walked quickly over to hers, opening it and offering his hand to help her down.

              Abby breathed. And took it.

              Eli headed around to the bed of the truck. He reached over and grabbed a picnic basket and two big blankets. Abby looked at him, perplexed. “Just follow me,” he said, grinning. “It will all make sense in a minute.”

              He led her up and over a hill, as soon as they reached the top she understood why he brought her here.

In front them lay a perfect view of the entire town. Brightly lit with twinkling lights. Just off to their right stood the remnants of an abandoned lighthouse; she could just make it out in the light from the town below. She was overcome by the sheer beauty of it all, and stood in absolute amazement of the spectacle before her.

              Eli had continued on towards the lighthouse, and she could see him fiddling with something. A flicker of light suddenly appeared near him, and she saw him light a number of candles, which sat on something she couldn't make out.

              When she moved closer to see what was going on, Abby couldn't believe her eyes.

              He’d set up a full table with chairs, dining cloth, plates, drinks, and three lit candles to provide just enough light to see their food and each other. Eli slide one of the chairs back, and stood behind it waiting for Abby to sit down. It moved her almost to tears. This whole gesture. The whole thing. It was all for her. She wasn’t worthy of such devotion and meticulous planning, but here she stood. In front of a candle lit picnic dinner, with an extravagant view as their backdrop, and an extremely handsome man beckoning her forward.

              Eli eased the chair forward beneath her. He then picked out two neatly wrapped ham and mozzarella sandwiches, and placed them on the table. His hand then reached back inside, and reappeared holding a very nice-looking bottle of wine. Abby didn't drink very often, but even she could tell this wasn't something you would buy from the clearance rack at Walmart.

              He popped it open, and then poured them each a glass and finally sat down across her.

              Abby looked at him, drawn to his eyes just as she’d been the first time they’d met. She wanted his attention, and didn't want to let go of it once she had it. He stared back at her, an excited smile coming over his face. There was something so charming about his smile. It drew her in. Completely captivated her. He lifted his wine in a toast. She did the same, holding her cup just inches from his.

              “To the gift of being able to feel.” He said, “Without it we’d never know what it's like to really give ourselves to someone else. There’s no pleasure without pain, and without valleys, there are no mountains. Let’s enjoy the peak of this one.”

              He tilted his glass forward against Abby's. The sharp
ching
of it rang through the empty air around them, and yet Abby felt surrounded by the atmosphere Eli had created for them. She never wanted this moment to end.

              They had eaten while talking extensively about their pasts. Eli shared how he’d grown up mostly with his mother, since his father was a navel officer and often out at sea. When he would see his father, he said, it was mostly aboard the ships he captained, and that was how he’d begun to love the sea. Abby then shared her past growing up in central New York with her parents, how she’d hated the confined city, and desperately wanted something greater and more in touch with nature. She told of how she would visit Melody as a child, and that's how she met Molly.

              When they finished eating, they moved towards the wide concrete platform surrounding the light house. It was flat, and more than wide enough for them to sit comfortably. Every ten feet or so large, pillars provided  perfect back rests. They sat there, facing each other as they overlooked the flickering lights down below. Sneaking peeks at each other. Their eyes often locked, but instead of quickly turning away in embarrassment, their gazes lingered, trying to decipher the others emotions.

              The tension between them grew ever stronger, and elation began coursing through Abby’s body.

              She wanted him. She
needed
him. Needed to feel the warmth of his touch just once more. The taste of his lips called to her... but she resisted. What if she,  couldn't go through it like last time? Raising his hopes, only to smash them once again would not just be mean, but cruel. No, she couldn't do that to him. Not again. Though the desire persisted, and she didn't know how much longer she could keep it at bay.

              Suddenly, Eli leaned in close, and her heart skipped beat. “Abby.” Even the way he even said her name sent chills down her spine. “I... I think I need to tell you something.” She sat very still, waiting. Then, he leaned in closer, lips touching the stray hairs on her neck. “I think I may be falling in love you”. The butterflies that had been tormenting her back in the living room with Melody rushed back in with a vengeance. A sickly sweet feeling of doubt and desire all consuming. She didn't know what to say. How to respond? Abby couldn't make sense of her emotions. They veered and swerved into a million different directions. Leaving her completely lost, and without course.

Eli pulled back, still staring into her eyes, and as she still said nothing his expression slowly shifted into regret, probably wishing he hadn't laid his heart out in front of her so soon. And then it opened into despair. He began pulling back, clearly unsure of how to proceed next.

              But what he actually did next took Abby completely by surprise.

              He turned back to face her suddenly, lifting both hands, gradually, gently, until he touched her cheek. She didn't move. He slowly caressed her face. Then he placed both hands gently behind her neck, just beneath her ears. Making her feel completely lost, and yet completely safe in his warm embrace. He leaned forward, and pulled gently on the back of her neck so that she would do the same. She didn’t pull away, just let herself go with it, inching closer and closer towards the very taste she have been craving endlessly. Their lips met. Passionately... intensely... lovingly.  Fireworks lit up inside her, and in a moment all doubt was wiped away.

             
Oh no.

              She was falling in love with him, too.