Page 47 of Until Now

“Why, Ms.Villa, have you been checking me out?” Heat rises in my cheeks. “It’s the Tree of Life… Cycle of life, connection with God and the universe and…all that stuff.”

There’s more to the story, I’m sure of it. More that he isn’t ready to share just yet. I don’t want to push.

“I never pegged you for the basic tattoo trend kind of person.”

A tight smile pulls at the corner of his mouth.

“Can I ask you another question?”

“You just did.”

I stick my tongue out at him. “When we met, you looked so familiar, but I just… I can’t figure out where we might’ve met before. We didn’t go to high school together, but you did go to Rosecliffe. And, you studied architecture, I studied architecture. Did we meet there?”

He’s quiet for a second too long as we walk down the street. “We probably ran into each other. Lee was in a frat, right? I hung around Sig Phi a lot.”

“This had to be more than a casual run in.”

“So, you can remember my brother at a football game, but don’t remember me?” I laugh realizing how weird it sounds. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but—”

“There are so many things I’ve forgotten because… Well, because I did party. I had fun in school, sometimes a little too much fun. And, some things are a little fuzzy.”

“That’s fair.”

We come to one of my favorite spots in all of downtown — a courtyard with an unobstructed view of the mountain. No buildings, no ski lifts, nothing. I take a deep breath of fresh air and smile — there’s a storm coming.

“So Fossette, how are you feeling about me now?”

A dimpled smile when Nick takes my hands in his. “Dee, I like you. Something, I never thought I would say, but—”

Nina, don’t push it.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

There’s so much I want to ask him. So much I feel like he’s not telling me. I know we’ve met before, I can feel it tugging at me somewhere deep inside my mind… But, right now, maybe it’s not worth digging. Maybe, I just need to let go. “I’m not looking for an undying love confession, Nick. We can agree to take it slow. Get to know each other, see what happens. We don’t have to cement a future right this minute.”

I smile at the thought of a possible future.

I pull my phone out of my purse and pull him close to take a photo. I capture a few selfies, but my favorite is the one where we stare at each other — a bright smile on my lips, his dimple on display. Almost instantly after I put my phone away, a few raindrops fall on us. Soon, it’s pouring. I giggle and resist when he tries to pull me under a nearby shop awning. “Nick, c’mere!”

“Dee, you’re soaked.”

“Vivi un po’!”

Giggles echo through the courtyard as I dance in the rain. He’s still fighting the urge to join me, but I know he feels it too…that invisible string pulling us together.

I jump when his hands graze my sides. He pulls me impossibly close, our bodies fit together like missing pieces of a puzzle. I meet his gaze and molten honey stares back. That feeling is back. The warmth that spreads wherever we touch. It draws us closer, inching until our lips just barely touch. It seems like forever, but finally… He kisses me. The first one is soft and nervous. Just like the one we shared on the Fourth of July. A smile on our lips when we pull away. By now, we’re soaked to the bone, but I don’t care. He kisses me again. This time, sure and honest, hungry. And in this moment, I know, I’m falling for Nick Davis.

Part Two

Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps not record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Daddy, can Iask you something?” I ask, picking at my salad. He invited me to lunch at the Country Club, but if I’m honest, I’ve been distracted the whole time. I can’t stop thinking about last night.

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