18. Surprise Photoshoot
Chapter eighteen
Surprise Photoshoot
Maggie
The butterflies in my stomach only intensified when I saw Paul in the fading sunlight. There he was, standing by our pond, the one surrounded by lavender. My best memories from my childhood were here with him.
“You made it,” he said. “I’m glad you remembered the way.”
I wet my lips, wondering if Mom was right. Should I just go for it?
Nope, I needed to ease into it, so I’d brought my camera with me.
“Want to have a seat?” he asked.
“Wouldn’t mind taking a few pictures first,” I said, lifting the camera at my side. “The light is perfect.”
When I thought about the times we’d spent out here, I usually had a camera nearby. It was just an extension of me back then. I tried not to let Paul know I was taking pictures of him, usually because he made goofy faces, but I liked the candid photos better. Where he was just himself. Like now.
Paul sat on the log as I took a few shots of the pond in the sunset.
I took one of him glancing out toward the horizon and almost squealed with delight.
My creativity had returned. Using my lens, I took shots in different places around the pond, catching a frog mid-song, a bird of prey mid-flight, and a bee drinking from the lavender.
“Do you have a place like this in the city? Somewhere you go to relax after a rough day?” he asked.
“Usually my balcony,” I answered, thinking about how it had a small view of the lake. “There’s a little corner of water in the distance. It’s as close to being at the pond as I could get within my price range.”
Paul’s eyes swept over me. “Do you like living in the city as much as you thought you would?”
“I really do,” I said, aiming off to the south to take another photo. “It’s been a dream to have so many great experiences as I was starting my career.”
He didn’t ask any other questions, so I took a few shots of the big oak tree. Something about this light was perfect for these shots.
When I’d finished, as much as I wanted to sit and talk to Paul about us, there was something about him that made me think this might not be the right time.
“Is something going on with you? Maybe my instincts are off, but you seem distracted,” I said.
Standing, he gestured for me to follow him. “Come on, there’s something I want to show you.”
It took me a minute to follow him, realizing that he completely ignored my question.
But then again, it was Paul. He’d always brushed over the things he didn’t want to talk about with me.
While it wasn’t unusual for him to move on in the conversation without answering me, it was disappointing that maybe he hadn’t changed as much as I’d hoped.
Paul led me down the path past the pond, through the brush, and beyond a copse of trees until we reached a clearing.
“The old barn is worn out. Doubt it’ll be around after another storm or two. Thought you’d like to see it,” he said, pointing to the skeleton of the barn we used to play in as kids. “You always liked photographing the old barns.”
“Time’s been tough on it,” I said, taking a few test shots.
Trying a new setting, I found one that captured the light. I’d come back other times of day as well over the next week or so, but this would be hard to beat.
While I looked for angles, took a few shots, and continued my work, Paul rested against a nearby tree.
His eyes never left me as far as I could tell.
The weight of his gaze was a comfort but also held something I couldn’t name.
The intensity of it made me realize that even in those days when I thought he’d forgotten about me or moved on with Jo Ellen, which was clearly not the case after seeing them at the diner today, I knew Paul was with me.
In spirit. In thought. In my heart. Knowing I was right, that he really did care for me, at least as a friend, consoled me more than I could say.
Moving all around the barn, I took so many shots.
The fading light gave the perfect glow in the background, so when I was done, I had to see them.
Slowly, I meandered back to Paul, flipping through the photos on my screen.
When I’d almost made it to him, my foot caught on a tree root.
Paul reached out and caught my arm, keeping me upright.
Instead of scolding me, Paul held me until I was steady. When he released my arm, though, I missed his touch immediately. I covered my disappointment by staring up at the stars shining above us.
The light faded until the almost full moon brightened the sky. Including the moon in the shots was part of what made the photos so amazing. Where Paul stood, under the canopy of a tree, there wasn’t much light.
“Paul, you never talked about what was wrong. I know we haven’t spoken in ages, but I’m still your friend,” I said earnestly. “You can tell me anything.”
Taking my camera from my hands, he hung it safely on the branch of the tree, never removing his eyes from mine.
I smiled awkwardly, trying to understand what he wasn’t saying. “Paul?”
The intensity of his eyes caused my breath to hitch.
Paul may not have been touching me, but everything about his lingering gaze made my skin tingle with anticipation.
Breaking eye contact, his eyes purposefully wandered lower, tracing my every curve.
I swallowed hard, unused to the scrutiny, and wet my lips.
Trembling with hope, my body craved his touch.
With a gentle hand, Paul tucked my hair behind my ear.
His lips soon followed, barely brushing my sensitive skin.
I shivered, then strained to listen for a clue as to what was happening.
Instead, I felt his warm breath deliciously coating my neck.
I shuddered with desire, drunk on his unique fragrance of grass, musk, and maybe a hint of something like aftershave now, too.
Something fragrant that made my core tighten.
I wasn’t experienced with men. All the time I’d been in Chicago, I hadn’t dated or hooked up with anyone.
While the offers had come on occasion, I’d always found a reason to decline.
As I stood in the moonlight with the man I’d loved since childhood, I knew why.
No one could even come close to creating this flame burning inside of me like Paul did.
He hadn’t even touched me, and yet I was completely at his mercy.
When my heartbeat roared in my ears and my legs wobbled from the heady mix of Paul overtaking my senses, I braced my hand on his chest. Only then did I uncover how affected he was by this, too. Paul’s heart pounded under my palm in a frenetic tempo.
My lips parted as I pulled back to check for a sign that I wasn’t losing my mind.
Was it possible that after all these years, we were finally on the same page?
Was he finally feeling for me what I’d been feeling for him?
I searched his eyes for a sign, a hint. Anything to answer the question of whether Paul Stratton was finally about to kiss me.