Page 22 of Eternally Yours
“I’m not discussing this with you right now.” Silas works his jaw, making the muscles in his neck pop out.
“That’s all right, we’ll just talk about her at dinner tomorrow with the folks,” Spencer replies matter-of-factly.
We’re stopped at a red light when Silas talks again. “Please just stop talking,” he says, closing his eyes and pushing the back of his head into the headrest.
The light turns green and the cars before us start advancing, but Silas remains in his position. I delicately place my hand on his arm and give a little squeeze, gaining his attention. He opens his eyes and looks at me with an expression I can’t quite place before refocusing on the road.
“Fine, I get it, you’re not in the mood. I’ll let it slide for now, but tomorrow we are having this conversation. See you then.”
“Yeah, yeah. Bye.” Silas ends the call the moment the words have left his mouth and lets out a defeated sigh. “I’m sorry about that, I shouldn’t have picked up.”
I lean back into the seat, facing him and offering him a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay, although I do have some questions now.” My smile turns into a smirk.
“Of course, you do,” he says as he places his right hand on my thigh and starts rubbing little circles with his thumb.
“You told your mother about me?” I ask hesitantly. This is only the second time we’ve seen each other, isn’t it a bit too soon to be telling our parents? Although it’s something I personally wouldn’t know.
His hand lifts from my thigh to rub the back of his neck as he lets out a suppressed laugh, his beautiful smile returning to his lips. “Well, not exactly. I may have answered her call last night thinking it was you... let’s just say that calling her by another woman’s name was not the right thing to do.”
I laugh when he wrinkles his face with a slight shake of the head, recalling the moment. It must have been something worth filming.
“Fair enough. As long as you aren’t taking me to meet her right now, I’d say all is good. But on that subject, where are we going?” I ask as I look out the side window, noticing we have exited the city and are entering New Jersey.
His hand returns to my thigh, beginning its circling journey all over again, and by the cautious look on his face, I can tell whatever he’s about to say may bother me.
“See, here’s the thing, Clay’s wife has this tradition where she sets up all her Halloween decorations on the first of the month. And well, I kind of forgot I promised to help.”
He’s taking me to his friend’s house? That can’t be right, we just met. We haven’t even been on a proper date.“You’re taking me to meet your friends...?”
“Yeah, I’d like you to meet them. If that’s okay with you?” He peeks my way. “I just wasn’t sure how long it would take, and I really didn’t want to cancel our date tonight.” He squeezes my thigh in a reassuring way.
“Um, yeah. I guess that’s okay,” I tell him, not sounding sure at all but hoping to convince myself. He watches my features closely, clearly noticing the hint of panic coursing through me.
“Are you nervous?” he asks.
“A little, yeah,” I tell him sincerely, chewing the corner of my bottom lip.
He offers me a genuine smile. “Don’t be, they’ll love you.”
When he turns his gaze back to the windshield, I stare at his profile. The outline of his jaw, that well-defined cheekbone, the green in his iris vibrating with the sun’srays shining our way. His hair looks lighter with the outdoor light, that rogue curl falling over his forehead.
On instinct, I reach up and pass my fingers through his hair, putting the strand back in its place. As my hand lowers to the back of his neck, his focus turns my way, jaw locking while his pupils dilate.
The look he sends me is pure desire, and I find myself leaning in, my lips parting slightly, eyes wide, our breaths getting heavier. It feels like we’ve been stuck in this trance for an eternity, but in reality it’s only been a few seconds.
I drop my gaze to his pink lips, wondering what they would taste like against mine, before coming out of our moment. “You should probably focus on the road,” I whisper over to him, caressing his nape.
He looks back at the road, shifting in his seat and clearing his throat. “Right.”
I let go of him and slip my hand beneath his, still resting on my thigh, intertwining our fingers. His smile grows wide, pearly white teeth showing through. Contentment pours from him. I turn back to the window and smile, feeling pure happiness for the first time in what feels like forever.
It takes us a little over thirty minutes to arrive at our destination as we enter a wealthier community, the homes growing in size as we drive farther down the street. My nerves start to spike despite Silas reassuring me that everything will be fine.
We near the end of the street when a ginormous house comes into view, and Silas turns into the driveway, parking the car behind a similar SUV. He looks my way, giving my hand one final squeeze and a smile, then lets go and steps out of the car.
By the time I’ve gathered myself, he’s opening the passenger door and holds his hand out for me to take. I unbuckle my seatbelt, take a deep breath, then put my hand in his as I exhale.
Stepping out of the car, I look up at the beautiful home in front of me. It’s breathtaking and intimidating. Made with red bricks and large windows along the facade, five steps lead to two white columns separated by a huge black front door. The front lawn is perfectly manicured, with multiple storage bins labeled ‘HALLOWEEN’ lining the small portions of grass.
