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“I knew it,” he whispered intimately against her lips. The words barely registered in her mind as she basked in the circle of his embrace. “Don’t turn me away, Lily. I’m sorry I pushed you but…”
Lily boldly stood on her toes and kissed him this time, silencing his words. She had to feel that rush again and understood what made people crave this sensation. This was what she had wanted for so long. What she felt when looking at that brief video on her laptop of him in the interview had been visceral. She’d felt it deep in her core and recognized it. Being in John’s arms felt molten, like her bones were melting.
After several moments, she realized that Radar had nestled herself atop their feet in-between their legs. She felt him laugh happily against her lips as he must have realized it as well. John simply held her a moment, and Lily savored the touch, before his hands dropped and he pulled back. He’d released her, but still clung to her hand for several moments as if he was afraid she’d back away from him.
“Radar probably needs to go out for a moment,” he admitted and smiled at her. “Do you have a lot left in your day? I could leave and come back if I’m bothering you. I don’t want to interrupt your life more than I already have.”
“What? No, let me get my purse. I’ll meet you outside if you want to go ahead and take Radar out.” Lily quickly showed him the exit down the hall. It was the nearest to a small field beside the teachers parking lot. She wondered idly where he was parked, but before she could ask him, he tenderly kissed her cheek and was leaving the building. Lily found herself mesmerized by the simple way he held himself, or moved so gracefully for such a tall man.
Grabbing her purse, Lily let out her breath in a large whoosh at the abrupt change in her day, her month, her life. Gone was the despair and utter loneliness she’d felt for the last few weeks wondering what had gone wrong. It was washed away in sheer joy knowing he was here.
She had some questions to ask, a lot of them to be honest – but he was here. She grabbed her purse and unlocked her computer to clock out, grinning at the wallpaper on her monitor. His smile looked back at her and she blushed fiercely, glad he’d not seen it. When she’d put it on the computer, she’d rearranged her desk immediately, so the screen could only be seen from where she was sitting. Her eyes alone. She stood and exited the classroom, shutting off the light and locking the door. Taking a deep breath, she felt a different stirring in her mind and body as she looked forward to her afternoon ahead that would be spent getting to know who exactly Officer John Griffin was.
Lily felt hope.
11
John waited patiently outside for Lily and resisted the paranoid urge to run back into the building to see if she’d fled. He understood the fear and anxiety she must be feeling. He’d not slept a wink last night wondering how today would go. He’d wanted to surprise her and impress her. He’d fought long and hard to get this position here in Tyler. His mother had wanted him to stay there in Lexington and settle down, yet when he told her about Lily, his mother understood what he couldn’t say aloud yet.
He loved the person Lily was long before he’d ever met her. He was head over heels for the woman he imagined her to be and the moment he’d met her on stage, he was bowled over again by her. She was a gift from above and he wanted to cherish every moment he spent with her, even if things went sideways and they could only be friends. He needed her friendship and craved her smiles.
He’d left Lexington, fearless. He had an interview set up with the department, but no job as of yet. He’d acquired a tiny studio apartment until he got settled in and began trying to set back up his life. He’d moved to Tyler after being home five days, not able to stand the wait. He’d been with the police approximately two weeks. He deliberately won over the chief and impressed him with his tenure in Afghanistan. The chief had been ex-marine and the two hit it off. John had suggested several outings in order to drum up support for them as well as awareness for the job that they did. He felt free of his military life and welcomed the chance to serve in a civilian capacity.
His second day on the job, he’d gone straight to the school to speak with the principal about thanking them for the letters. John had jumped at the chance to speak on career day and knew it would be the right moment. He had immediately suggested that she not say a word to Miss Hogan or her class. He’d left the school feeling like he’d left something vital behind.
John sat for several moments in the patrol car, wondering which classroom Lily was in and how she was doing. It was killing him to keep silent, but he wanted so much to impress her. He felt like he had nothing to win Lily over with, nothing to bring to the table.
He was barely employed, starting out fresh, and was literally sleeping on the floor of his apartment. What if she wanted to see his place or perhaps have a glass of wine? Did she drink wine, because he had no dishes at all except paper cups and paper plates from the grocery store. He barely had a vehicle, only signing the papers moments before leaving Kentucky bound for Texas. He was still getting on his feet and pride kept him from reaching out to her.
It had been a very busy two weeks and every time he was out in town or at the store getting his home established, his eyes were scanning the crowd for a glimpse of her. The image of her was burnt in his mind and he had her photo tucked on the instrument panel of his cruiser. In the evenings he spent alone, he took this time to exercise like crazy, wanting desperately to make a good impression for Lily. The running, pushups and crunches he did was therapeutic for both he and Radar. He wanted to look his absolute best when he saw Lily and Radar wanted to explore their new home with him.
Lost in thought, he glanced up to see Lily emerging from the school building and he was struck again by how blessed he was to have her in his life. He knew he was grinning like an idiot but knowing who she was on the inside and seeing the beauty of it mirrored in her form simply made his heart beyond happy. She came quickly down the steps to where he stood and looked up at him in anticipation.
“Hey there,” she said simply in greeting, making his chest tighten as he recognized it was the same greeting he’d heard repeatedly over the phone back in that cramped room on base. He almost grabbed her and hugged her again but fought it off.
“Hi,” he uttered blankly, his mind a jumble of emotions and thoughts. He shook it off and felt his face blush as he saw her looking at him curiously.
“If you are having second thoughts about dinner, it’s okay because, I mean, it’s the holidays and I know that you probably have stuff to do. We could always grab coffee or something next weekend, if you are busy? Or if something comes up then maybe the weekend after? I can’t go during the week because of school and my hours. Do you even drink coffee? I do, probably too much of it. The stronger the coffee the better, with just a bit of heavy cream, you know? …and I think I will hush now,” he heard her say as her own porcelain cheeks pinkened with embarrassment.
“No second thoughts from me,” he said honestly. “I just can’t believe you are real and how utterly gorgeous you are to me.” He saw her cheeks flush even darker as her mouth made a perfect O in surprise before she clamped it shut. John wanted to impress her, win her over and make up for the last several months for things he wanted to say to her or tell her. He wanted her to realize that while he was flawed or scarred, he wanted nothing more than to be her prince charming. He wanted his girl to have a fairytale love story and for him to be at the center of it. He put one leg back and took a deep bow, extending his hand.
“Will you do me the honor of having dinner with me?”
“I’ve already said yes,” she reminded him, a quizzical look on her face.
“I know, but I wanted to ask you again,” he admitted in all seriousness. “I find myself wanting to secure your time for tomorrow too.”
“Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.”
“I’ve never cooked, but I’m willing to give it a try. We can share hospital rooms when we both have food poisoning,” he teased and saw her giggle. She put one hand delicately over her mouth to hide it and the other she gave him. He admired how long and delicate her fingers were just before kissing her hand.
“Are you busy Friday? What about Saturday or Sunday?”
Lily laughed aloud, her voice sparkling and washing over him. Oh yes, he was infatuated with the woman before him. John pulled her towards him and while he wanted to kiss her senseless, he instead curled her hand on his forearm and guided her down the rest of the steps.
“I’ll bring you back to your car after dinner, but for now I’d like to have you all to myself.” Lily gave him a shy sideways smile and tucked her hair behind her ear. John called for Radar, who scampered over from the grassy area she was playing in. He opened the car door for Lily and then Radar. She immediately took her spot at the very center and stuck her muzzle forward before licking Lily’s face. John grinned as he heard her laughter from inside the car as he walked to his door. Oh yes, nothing would change his mind.
She was utter perfection.
