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Heidi and Kyle looked at each other as if having some telepathic conversation then Heidi said, “Not sure. Perhaps you should do some research into the matter though.”
“Yeah,” Kyle said. “By dating him. Or are you afraid to ask him out?” He arched a brow in challenge as he backed over to the brick oven to check on the pizza.
“He’s already asked me out three times,” she said.
“Wait. What?” Heidi clamped a hand onto Leah’s forearm. “Why didn’t I know this? You have to tell me these things, Leah. Dakota’s asked you out three times? I knew he made the attempt at the school ceremony, but he asked again? And again?”
Leah nodded.
“Wow,” Kyle said from the oven. “That’s two and a half more times than he’d usually ask anyone.”
Hmm.So Dakota was trying harder than usual to get her to do something with him. Interesting.
“What’s keeping you from saying yes?” Heidi asked.
Leah blew out a long, slow breath.Fears. Anxieties. False hopes. Ghosts.“I don’t know.”
Heidi stared at her, no doubt waiting for an explanation. She’d be waiting for a while because Leah had no desire to go down memory lane. She was on a forward path now. No looking back and no making the same mistakes either.
“Well, it’s ultimately your decision, but I’d advise giving Dakota a shot,” Heidi said. “It might be the best decision you’ve ever made.”
Heidi got up and joined Kyle by the oven. She rested her hand on the small of his back and peeked over his shoulder as he wiggled a piece of pepperoni at her. She pushed his hand away and snagged a tomato slice instead. They laughed together about something and the intimacy of their contact made Leah feel incredibly lonely.
Lonely was better than heartbroken though, wasn’t it? Lonely was an improvement over the complete and utter mess she’d been in New York.
Leah ate pizza and enjoyed the evening with Heidi and Kyle despite her conflicting emotions about her past, her future, and Dakota. Kyle did make a damn good pizza, and she’d discovered that bacon put a whole new spin on things even if Heidi didn’t agree. She made a mental note to stop into Mountain View Pizza the next time she had a hankering for more than the standard pepperoni and olives.
After a few hours, she said her goodbyes and began the drive back to her cottage. Her dark, empty cottage where the rest of the weekend stretched out before her. Sure she had the typical things to do on her agenda, but none of that held its usual appeal. She’d enjoyed her time with Heidi and Kyle tonight. More than she’d thought she would and definitely more than she should. Social interaction used to be something she craved. Maybe she still did. She’d moved to Maplehaven to get away from people, but perhaps she had been looking for therightpeople. Heidi and Kyle seemed like the right people.
Maybe Dakota could be too.
What was she going to do though? He’d asked her on three occasions to spend time with him and she’d taken no action to accept his offers. Did she have it in her to call or email him? Could she stop by his business and tell him she’d changed her mind? Was she ready for an adventure with him?
She leaned forward and rested her forehead on the steering wheel. This was making her brain hurt. Trying to keep life simple and safe warred with the social connections she knew she needed. All this alone time was getting to be a bit much.
Maybe I’ll get a cat.
One of her students had recently written a poem about her new kitten, Fluffers. A rhyming poem—not Leah’s favorite style of poetry—but the sentiment of the work had come through loud and clear. Love could be found in owning a pet. And if Leah cared for the pet responsibly, it could live a long time. It could love her back for a long time too. When it finally died, maybe Leah’s heart would have learned that things eventually die, and she wouldn’t be so surprised when it happened.
So, yeah. A cat. She’d head to the shelter in town tomorrow and see if she could make a furry love connection. How hard could it be?
With this new plan in place, Leah got out of the SUV and went inside the cottage. The clock in the kitchen said eleven-thirty, but she wasn’t tired. She probably shouldn’t have eaten such a big piece of the chocolate cake she’d brought to the Lennings, but it was chocolate cake… so…you know… down it went. The maple walnut ice cream Kyle scooped high beside the cake was no doubt overdoing it and she regretted that now. She addedextra exerciseto Sunday’s mental agenda belowget a cat.
Of course the notion of extra exercise made her thoughts instantly wander to Dakota as she stripped off her clothes and stepped into a hot shower. Biking, canoeing, hiking… those were all exercise and all things Birch Peak Adventures offered.
Sex is exercise.
Leah shook her head and shampooed her hair. She was not having sex with Dakota. Where had that idea even come from? Perhaps it had popped into her head because she was naked and covered in suds.
That immediately conjured up an image of Dakota naked and covered in suds.
She let out a grumble and squeezed her eyes shut. Unfortunately, that did nothing to clear the vision from her mind.
“I am not this desperate,” she said to the shower curtain. She hadn’t been pleasured in quite some time, but that was her choice. Sex brought about a closeness she knew she couldn’t handle right now. Maybe she’d never be able to handle it again. Maybe she’d die an old, sex-deprived lady, smothered to death by dozens of cats.
Can that really happen?
Leah wrenched the shower off and yanked open the curtain. Grabbing the towel off the rack, she dried and quickly put on her word-lover pajamas. The button-down top had nouns scattered about and the pants had verbs coursing down the legs. She’d bought them for pajama day at school and the kids had a blast reading all the words. Of course in the teachers’ room, Heidi had asked if they made an X-rated pair of the pajamas and Leah chuckled now thinking of the sample words her colleague had suggested. They were crude enough to have the entire table roaring with laughter.
