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“Me neither,” I said. “I’ve done the whole snow thing, and it’s nothing I care to do again. It’s nice sometimes, but I don’t ever want to deal with shoveling snow just to get out of my driveway.”
“Not that you have a car, anyway or at least I haven’t seen you driving one.”
“I have a car. I keep my Mercedes in a garage close by since I don’t use it much here.”
“I just got one this week although not quite a Mercedes,” she joked.
“I noticed a car in your driveway. But you walk everywhere anyway.”
“I’m going to use it when I go visit my best friend,” she said. “She’s about two hours from here, so I’m going to make the time to do that soon.”
“Sounds fun,” I said.
“So, thanks for loaning me the guitar,” she said after a few minutes of silence. “I appreciate it.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked in surprise. I hadn’t seen that coming, and I was confused. Why would she think I was loaning it to her? I figured the note I had left told her well enough that I was giving it to her outright.
“The guitar,” she said. “You were the one who left it on the doorstep, right?”
“I had it delivered,” I said. “But I’m not loaning it to you.”
“There’s no way I can afford to pay you back for this,” she said. “I have never had a guitar this expensive, and with what I’m making here, I’m just barely keeping a roof over my head. Not buying instruments this nice.”
“Who said anything about paying me back?” I asked. “You clearly know how to play it, and after what you have been through this past week, you deserve the break. I’m glad to contribute to your career if that’s all that I can do for you.”
“Are you sure?” she asked with wide eyes. “It’s so expensive.”
“If I didn’t want to buy you that one, I would have chosen something else to give you. Don’t worry about it. Just do me a favor and keep playing it well. And don’t let some creep in the mangroves step on this one, okay?” I asked.
She laughed. “Deal.”
We were nearly back to the bungalows, and I slowed my pace a bit. I wasn’t ready for the night to be over, though I knew it had to be once we got back to our homes. I wasn’t going to ask her to come over to my place. It was too soon for something like that. And with how well this had gone, I didn’t want to say something that would cross the line.
But I also didn’t want to bid her goodnight. It had been a good time, and I hadn’t felt so much at ease talking to anyone in a long time. I wasn’t ready for her to head back to her place.
I noticed she did the same, but neither of us said a word about it. It was as though we both just wanted to spend a few extra minutes with each other, even if there wasn’t anything more to be said. I felt confident in my ability to read her body language, and there wasn’t anything about her that seemed in a hurry to leave.
Still, even at a slower pace, we wound up at her front walkway too quick.
“Thank you for the drink, and the guitar,” she said. “I guess there’s a long list of things I have to thank you for, so here’s one giant thanks for everything, how’s that?”
“Good enough for me,” I said with a small scoff.
I didn’t know what came over me, but I had an impulse to lean forward and kiss her. If I had more than just a couple of drinks, I might have ignored my common sense and have done so, but I held back. There was something that told me it wasn’t the right time, and I chose to listen before I made a mistake.
“Have a good night,” I told her. “And keep playing.”
“Same to you,” she told me with a smile. “On both fronts.”
She turned and headed for the door, and I waited until she was safely inside before going to my place.
I headed inside and closed the door behind me, then I let out a sigh.
My mind was a battlefield of desire and confusion. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know what to do. I hated the feeling, and I hated even more that there wasn’t a clear-cut answer.
All I knew was that girl was one in a million. That was easy to see.
And if tonight had told me anything, it was that I wanted to know her more than ever.
