12. Miles
12
MILES
H aving someone who loved where they lived show off their town was a completely unique perspective. The fact that Lydia even jokingly told me about where she partied in her youth without any embarrassment was refreshing. She loved this little place. She wasn’t interested in cashing out and escaping.
I knew how to work with and motivate someone willing to and wanting a change. What did I do with someone who loved what they had?
If it had been me giving a tour of where I grew up, it would have been a very short afternoon as I drove from the factory where I would have been expected to sell my soul for the rest of my natural life, to the bar where my folks and older brother regularly blew their paychecks getting drunk before coming home to smack me around, to the trestle bridge where me and my friends drank too much and smoked pot. And that would’ve been it.
I didn’t have happy memories of the elementary school where I met my best friend who ended up turning on me in the eighth grade. I certainly didn’t have funny stories to tell about being in high school, considering how often I had been suspended for fighting. Maybe I would have shown Lydia the football field where I spent one season on the team dreaming NFL dreams and thoughts of making it big in professional football. But I would’ve messed that up by showing her that secret space under the bleachers where I lost my virginity and was given the virginity of half the girls on the cheerleading squad.
But this was Brookdale, not that crap hole of town that I had escaped from. And this was Lydia’s tour of a place she deeply loved.
She drove us into the country, and the road began to wind up into the mountains before I bothered to ask any questions.
“So, where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see.”
“You aren’t planning on losing me in the woods, are you?” I teased.
“No one is getting lost,” she said with a little smirk playing across her lips.
After another ten minutes of winding road, she pulled over onto a gravel shoulder where the road got wider.
“Come on,” she said as she got out of the car.
I climbed out and followed her across the road as she made her way into the tree line.
“There aren’t any bears out here, are there?” I asked.
“We get bears occasionally. When I was younger, there was even a report that somebody in town saw a moose. We’re not very high up in the mountains, so we should be fine.”
“Are you seriously taking me out into the woods with wild animals?”
Lydia stopped and put her hands on her hips as she turned around to glare at me. “Are you calling me a wild animal?”
I could not help myself. I stepped in close, wrapping my arms around her for the first time in months. I spoke quietly, placing my lips right next to her ear. “I remember exactly how you screamed when I made you come. You were very much a wild animal, and I cannot wait to see you unleashed in all your passionate glory again.”
She stiffened in my grasp, and I heard the gulp in her throat.
“Miles, Miles,” she sighed as I placed a trail of soft kisses under her ear and down her neck.
“This is exactly what I’ve missed about you.”
“Miles.” She chastised me with my name and pressed her palms against my chest before pushing me away.
“It’s not as if anyone else is out here to discover our secret,” I said.
She grabbed my hand and started walking again. “I don’t want some bear to catch us,” she teased.
The trees cleared and we stepped out onto a rocky ledge. I was speechless as I took in the view. Below us, spread out like a detailed map, was the perfect overview of the town. From here, I could see the Sweet Mountain Inn, the library, and even the gazebo at the end of Main Street. The houses and buildings all looked like miniature children’s toys.
I glanced back at Lydia. She looked out over the town. I stepped in close, and she turned her head to face me before I lowered to claim her lips. She tasted like cherry pie and dreams.
“I would make love to you right here if I didn’t think you would evaporate from pure embarrassment at being outside in the nude.”
Her cheeks burned bright red with another blush.
“I think you might be right and I might just die right now,” she said.
I sat on one of the outcroppings of rock as we both looked at the view. “How many people come up here?” I asked. I didn’t see any garbage or abandoned beer cans or cigarette butts. Clearly, this was not a space where kids liked to party.
“I’m pretty sure everybody knows about this place. It’s pretty special, and fortunately, people treat it that way. It’s pretty popular for things like engagements or other private moments.”
I nodded in understanding. This would be one of those near sacred places that small towns were rumored to have. This was where romance and longing came together to make happy memories.
“Didn’t you have a place like this where you grew up?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Definitely not. It wasn’t that kind of small town. And if it was, I wasn’t that kind of kid who would have paid attention. Brookdale is very much not like the kind of place I came from.”
“You really don’t miss anything about where you grew up?”
“God, no. If I had to say I missed anything about it, it would probably be the food. When I was a kid, all I wanted was to eat fast food and we didn’t even have a local McDonald’s. And now I can have all the junk food I want, and I pay someone far too much money so that I have a home-cooked meal.”
“You miss home cooking, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes?” she teased.
“I don’t think anyone ever misses meatloaf. However, there are times I don’t want to have to look at a menu to decide what I’ll be eating that night. Sitting down and having that decision made for me is probably the part I miss the most.”
“You miss having a mom,” Lydia said.
“I shook my head. “I don’t think my mom was that person, but maybe you’re right. Maybe I miss someone taking care of me.”
Lydia came and stood in front of where I sat. “You know, if you came home with me, I would take care of you.”
I looked up into her eyes. Her eyes were full of tenderness and something else. Maybe it was caring or hope. Or maybe I was simply projecting what I wanted from her onto what was really there. I stood and pulled her back into my embrace once more.
“I thought you were trying to keep me a secret from your new front desk employee,” I said.
“She’s going to be off duty soon. I don’t think we have to worry about that for too much longer this evening.”
“And then what?” I asked.
“Are you going to make me spell it out and beg?” Lydia asked.
“Begging is always nice,” I teased.
“Come home with me, Miles. Let me make you a home-cooked meal, and stay with me tonight.”
I lowered my head and claimed her lips in a kiss. That kiss was everything I could have wished for. Lydia was the embodiment of the small town past I never had and a future that I had never even thought about.
We were quiet on the drive back into town, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a connection happening between us. I did not stop touching her. If she didn’t hold my hand while she navigated the car, I had my hand resting on her leg. There was no denying the burning spark of attraction and desire between us.
If she could have safely driven faster, I’m sure she would have. Once we were back in town, I followed her into the lobby of the inn, but instead of going to the counter to check in like a guest, I took a seat in the lobby and focused on my phone.
Lydia and the older woman talked about how the afternoon went. They discussed any questions she may have had regarding the computer system. It was all very efficient and on topic for the job. I was never once bothered, and my presence wasn’t questioned. I continued to pretend to ignore them until the other woman said goodbye and left, and then Lydia was standing in front of me
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Everything is fine,” she said. “I have a phone-in reservation to expect later this evening, but other than that… she didn’t quit on the spot, so I would say it was a success.”
“What’s next?” I asked.
“Next, I go clean up and start making your dinner.”
“And after that?” I reached out and took her hand in mine. I rubbed my thumb over the backs of her knuckles. I wanted her to say that after that, she would welcome me back in her bed.
“We wait until the reservation checks in before we get to have dessert,” she said.
“And what would that be?”
“Hmm,” Lydia said. “I was thinking I would like you for dessert.”