Chapter 15 #3
“It’s our teacher’s night out tomorrow,” Peter said, his expression one of casual amusement.
“About a dozen of us get together at the pub for dinner and dancing once the DJ starts. Everyone brings their partner or spouse or whatever and I’m always the sad single bloke who’s there by himself.
If you came along, it would stop my colleagues trying to pair me off with random women from the bar. ”
Peter laughed and to ease the fraught moment Gaby laughed too as she tried to think how to respond.
She didn’t have to say yes. She could claim a desire to spend the evening with her beloved aunt rather than in a pub with strangers and that would bring all this to an end.
Bringing this to an end was exactly what should happen.
But then Peter’s expression cleared and all humour vanished from his expression.
“Actually, that’s not why I’m asking,” he said with a tortured sigh. “I’m asking because I want you there with me, Gaby. I want more time with you. I need more time with you before you leave.”
His eyes searched her face, his expression wretched as he waited for her to speak.
Gaby was too dazed by what he’d said to do anything but stare. His words made the ground tilt beneath her, and the way he’d said them with such desperate longing made her dizzy.
“Peter, you can’t say something like that.”
“I can say it. I did say it.”
“But… I’m leaving next week. You can’t say something like that when you know I’m leaving.”
He shrugged. “I can’t help it. I want more time with you, Gaby.”
“You don’t think that might be a mistake?”
“It’s just dinner. Some dancing. What could be wrong with that?”
The idea of dancing with him, of feeling his hands on her hips as they moved to the music, was simply too tempting.
“Okay.”
His desperate expression lifted into a cautious smile. “You’ll come with me to the pub tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
His cautious smile widened into one of delight. “Good.”
His eyes searched hers for a long, long beat as they stood facing each other in the darkness. When he stepped closer, his gaze still locked on hers, she understood the silent question he was asking.
Reaching out, she slipped her hand into his and pulled him close. The spicy scent of his aftershave drifted around her as Peter dipped his mouth to hers.
The kiss sent her flying and made her heart beat out a happy dance inside her chest. It brought back every sweet memory of every delicious kiss they’d shared during that long-lost summer together.
But it also reminded her that Peter was no longer the teenage boy he’d once been.
He was a man now and he’d learned a few things since their last encounter.
The way his lips moved over hers and the way his hand caught her waist and held her body tight against his caused every thought inside her head to simply vanish without trace.
When Peter swept one last kiss across her mouth and stepped back, Gaby had to make a conscious effort to open her eyes and breathe and not melt into a pathetic puddle on the ground.
Their gazes met and Gaby saw her own surprise and astonishment and amusement reflected in Peter’s eyes. Still holding hands, they laughed softly, both bewildered and pleased with themselves and quite lost in the unexpected moment they’d just shared.
“Okay then,” Peter said on a low chuckle. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six.”
“All right.”
He squeezed her hand again and brushed another kiss across her lips before smiling and returning to his car. By some miracle, Gaby found her key inside her bag even though her hands were shaking so much it was a wonder she didn’t upend the entire contents as she searched for it.
Peter waited until she’d waved goodnight and stepped inside the house before he drove off. As she closed the door behind her, she was still seeing stars.
Sagging against the door, Gaby was relieved the quiet house meant her aunt wasn’t yet home from visiting her friends. Gaby needed a minute to pull herself together after that epic kiss on the doorstep.
She closed her eyes and relived the moment Peter’s lips had touched hers, feeling every nerve ending in her body light up all over again.
A kiss like that changed everything about their plans to meet again tomorrow night. So far, their time together had been friendly and decidedly—no, deliberately—non-romantic.
But after that searing kiss? They were in new territory now. No longer just old friends catching up, but old lovers reanimating a scorching summer love affair.
Peter had made his intentions clear, and when Gaby stepped into his embrace on the doorstep tonight, she’d made her intentions clear, too.
Gaby made a decision. She wouldn’t overthink any of this.
They were just two people remembering how much they’d once meant to each other and reliving the passionate moments they’d shared long ago. And once they’d done that, they’d go their separate ways.
If she thought about it like that, then maybe she could actually enjoy whatever might come next.
So much for tonight being the last time they’d see each other. Gaby wondered if she’d truly believed that she could’ve said goodbye to Peter tonight and drawn a line in the sand of their brief reconnection.
After the evening spent at his parents’ house and with his family, and in the wake of the wild thoughts unleashed as a result of watching the Bailey clan spend time together, she now knew she’d been kidding herself about walking away and never looking back.
Peter wanted more time with her. She wanted more time with him. What could be wrong with that?
Before her mind offered answers to that question which she might not like, she hung up her coat and turned on the living room lamps to make the place welcoming for her aunt’s return and prepared tea things in the kitchen and stayed busy, because staying busy stopped her mind from conjuring up those daydreams she’d had tonight when she’d foolishly imagined a future with Peter at the heart of it.