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“I remember the kiss, Joel, but I don’t think that there really is anything to discuss about it. It was a kiss, nothing more,” she insisted. It was so much more than a kiss and she knew it too. He could see the truth written all over her face.
“Just a kiss?” he asked.
“Yes, Joel,” she said, “it was just a kiss. Please don’t tell me that was the first time that you’ve ever kissed a girl, Joel,” she teased.
“No, it’s not the first time I’ve kissed a woman, Trista,” he insisted. “You told me that you know that Melody and I were together.”
“Yes, I know about you and Melody,” she said.
“Then, I’m sure that you can guess that I’ve kissed a woman at least once,” he said.
“You know, this is really the most ridiculous conversation that I’ve ever had with another person,” Trista said.
“We could go back to talking about me going jogging. How about you go with me?” he asked. “That way, I’ll be following the rule of no jogging alone.”
“I don’t run—not unless I’m chasing someone or being chased.”
“Well, I’ll chase you, if it helps,” he teased.
“Ha, ha,” Trista drawled, “I’m not going running with you. I did notice that you have a treadmill in the basement and some weights. Why not use that instead of putting your life at risk to run outside?” she asked.
“You were in my basement?” he questioned.
“Yes, I was looking for the bodies that you must have hidden down there,” Trista joked. The more he talked to her, the more Joel liked Trista. She was not only beautiful, but she was funny too.
“You’re funny,” he said. “I missed that last night while you had a gun pointed at me. But you’re really funny, Trista,” she said.
“Thanks,” she said, “my brother used to say that to me all the time. I guess I haven’t had much to be funny about lately. You know, since he’s been gone.”
“Yeah, I guess that could take the fun out of life—losing a sibling like that. How have your parents held up, losing their son?”
“Not well,” she admitted. “I don’t go over there as much as I should because I really hate seeing them that way. They seem to just be going through the motions in life, just surviving day to day. It’s painful to see.”
“I bet it would be hard to watch. Were you all close before your brother died?” he asked.
“Yes, before Pete died, we used to have Sunday dinner every week, and mom and dad would tell us that they weren’t getting any younger and they’d try to guilt us into giving them, grandchildren. Of course, Pete and I would explain to them that we’d need to meet someone to do that and that we were both committed to our jobs. They’d get angry and tell us that we just didn’t care about them, and we’d end up having a heated debate about our dating lives. You know, before I would have told you that I hated all of it, but now, I have to admit, I miss it.”
“I’m sorry,” Joel said.
“Thanks but talking about Pete helps. At first, I couldn’t even say his name, but now that some time has passed, it’s gotten easier,” she admitted. “I just don’t ever want to forget him, you know?”
“I’m sure that you won’t forget your brother,” Joel assured. She nodded and he could tell that she was ready to change the subject. “If you’re off the case, how will we get updates about Dante?”
“I have some contacts in the CIA who will keep me in the loop, even if I’m not on the case. Plus, my boss has already given me a pretty big clue to go off of. He said that his intel has Dante in another location. He moved his operation and that’s probably why we haven’t been able to trace him down since his release.”
“Yeah, that helps,” Joel agreed. “How about you track down your contacts and I’ll do the same? I’m betting that we’ll be able to track him down in no time if we combine forces.”
“I agree,” she said. “I’ll be up in my room if you don’t mind.” She stood and turned back to him. “By the way, you were right about your mattress—it was awful.”
“Just say the word and I’ll trade with you,” he offered.
“No, I’ll be fine,” she lied. He wanted to offer to let her crawl into his bed with him, but he was sure that one kiss didn’t warrant such an offer.
* * *
Joel woke in the middle of the night and realized that the downstairs lights were on. He must have left them on before going up to bed. He threw off his covers, noting the chill in the air, and pulled on his sweatpants. He passed Trista’s closed door and thought about peeking in to make sure that she was all right but decided against it. If she was sleeping, he didn’t want to wake her.
He walked down the steps and found the family room light in the corner on, and as he walked across the room to turn it off, he found Trista sound asleep on his sofa, covered with a thin quilt that he kept on the sofa. She had to be freezing and he hated that she was on his very lumpy sofa, trying to get some rest.
