Page 88 of Kiss Me Tonight

“And I’m gonna take a hell of a lot more from you tonight.” My seat belt abruptly loosens, then rappels up, like he’s undone the clasp. Sure enough, I feel the webbed polyester jam under my armpit. “Those judgments I listed off? Those are the one’s you’re holding againstyourself. Yeah, you can frown all you want. You can even tell me to fuck off, if it makes you feel any better. But that won’t prove me wrong. So what’s it gonna be? You going to give your inner self the big, ol’ middle finger, Dominic DaSilva-style? Or are you going to ask me to take off that blindfold and drive you home where you’ll crawl into your safe bed and read a sexy book and dream of all the things youwishyou could be doing, if you dared to take a risk?”

Blood roars in my head.

Sweat dampens my palms.

The seat belt clings as it meets its maker, and I reach out a hand, fumbling for the door handle.

I’m grateful for feeling safe after all these years with Rick.

I’m grateful for returning home to London, even knowing not everyone in town would be happy to see me back.

I’m grateful to Dominic-friggin’-DaSilva for essentially telling me to put on my big girl panties and live my best, most adventurous, life.

The door swings open and my shoes greet what feels like dirt. It’s slightly spongy. Not nearly as compact as cement.

Dominic’s voice coming from the driver’s seat halts me in my tracks. “You know how I figured you’d get out of the truck?”

I look over my shoulder, seeing nothing but various shades of black. “Why?”

“Because there’s nothing you enjoy more than flipping me the bird, Aspen, and this will be the most satisfying middle finger you’ve ever given.” A door slams shut, and then I catch the sound of heavy footfalls coming around the front of the truck. “Now hold my hand and let me lead the way. It’s time to take you on a midnight hike you’ll never forget.”

25

Dominic

Cadillac Mountain is nothing but shadows at this time of night.

Broken twigs beneath our shoes.

Grasping branches raking through our hair.

But the air up here . . . Fuck, it’s good. Crisp. Light. Forgiving in a way that only Mother Nature can be.

I followed my GPS on the way up to Mount Desert Island’s tallest peak, putting the sucker on mute so Levi wouldn’t overhear the British lady giving me directions to Summit Road. I haven’t had the chance to hike Cadillac Mountain yet, but I’ve skimmed enough articles online to know what to expect as we enter the trails.

Like an old friend, adrenaline guides me down the narrow dirt path. Slung over my back is a bag stuffed with an oversized blanket, two bottles of water, and two hastily made turkey sandwiches. I hold a flashlight in one hand and Levi in the other.

I don’t know what it says about me that the anticipation of stripping Levi naked is just as thrilling as heading to the Super Bowl—if not more.

“Are we almost there?” Her voice breaks through the still of the night.

“Almost.”

During the day, this trail is apparently well-used. The soil is jampacked after being stomped on for hours on end, and the overlook site we’re heading to is usually teeming with tourists searching out a peek of the bay and the surrounding islands.

“Do you think we’ll get caught?” Levi asks.

“If you haven’t been cuffed at least once, are you really living?”

“Sonot funny.”

“Would you be opposed to me cuffing you?”

“I thought you said your sexual prowess doesn’t require accessories?”

At her flippant tone, I chuckle. It’s the most I’ve laughed in years, if ever.I don’t want it to end. “It doesn’t need anything besides me, myself, and I.”

The flashlight casts a wide scope, revealing the overlook I read about: flat stones lining the perimeter of the cliff that were supposedly formed during the last Ice Age; a sharp drop that leads straight to injury, at best, death, at worst. Trees protect the otherwise grassy, enclosed space, offering natural privacy.

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