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"But what?" he asked when she paused.
"But I was in a hurry to come over here and see you. I noticed what time it was, and I told them I couldn't even think about things like taking unexpected trips when I was already late for something else—somewhere I really wanted to go."
They sat next to each other in the gazebo, talking softly and staring at each other. She had on no makeup and her hair was pulled back. She was completely exposed to him, and he could see every nuance of her facial expressions. She wanted him, he could tell that. She was flirting with him.
"I was hoping you'd call me this week," he said.
"I was hoping you'd call me," Hope returned. "You were the one who has family visiting. I didn't want to interrupt y'all."
"Well, I'm the one who kissed you last time we were together, so I wanted to give you time to think about it."
"I was giving you time to think about it," she said. "I thought you regretted it."
"I can promise you, I did not regret it."
She stared at his face. "Charlie?"
"Yes, Hope?"
"I hope your leg feels better."
She ended the sentence uncertainly and he smiled and pulled back to stare at her.
"Is that what you were going to say?"
"I don't know what I was going to say," she said. He knew she wanted him, and he wanted her. They had become close in the last few months. She was a part of his life now, and being away from her these last few days made him realize he didn't want to move forward without her.
She looked at him like she thought they might kiss, and the last thing he wanted to do was let her down. He leaned in, closing the gap that remained between them. Charlie ached to touch her, and it took a great deal of restrain for him to do it patiently. He let his mouth touch hers. She was relieved to kiss him, and he did it two or three times with her smiling at him between each one. She was absolutely adorable.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"I'm not thinking anything," she said. "I'm just smiling because it's… fun to kiss you." She bit her lip and stared hopefully at him.
There was nothing Charlie could do to stop himself from doing it again. He pulled her over to him, and she leaned onto him, resting in his arms. Charlie held onto Hope, opening his mouth to her and kissing her deeply. She leaned into him, getting closer, holding onto him as they connected in a slow, rhythmic pulsing motion.
Charlie kissed Hope gently but with barely restrained passion, and she let out a little moan when he pulled back. He leaned in and kissed her again because of the moan, and they repeated the process a few more times. Hope made a sound every time he tried to stop, so he sat out there and continued for what must have been a half-hour but felt more like a half-second.
It was the most fun Charlie ever had kissing a woman. He had been in love with Savannah, but they had never shared a kiss like this. There would always be a place in his heart for the memory of Savannah, but Charlie couldn't help but feel like everything in the universe, like God himself had led him to this moment.
Hope was his happily ever after. She had to be.
They barely talked—they just sat there and looked at each other and kissed. It was better than perfect. The sun was setting, the light was disappearing, and neither of them wanted to be anywhere else but in that gazebo. Charlie and Hope connected sweetly and lovingly. She was exquisite, and Charlie could not fathom that she was the girl who had always been at the lake house in Arkansas.
He felt like he needed to have her with him all the time now. He had to let her know where he stood. Charlie thought of how he felt during the last few days compared to how he felt right now, and he knew he never wanted to be apart from Hope again.
