All my promises forgotten, I lean down. Stars explode in my veins as our lips meet. I’m lost in her touch until a flash brings me back to the bank of the loch, followed by a crack of thunder so loud, my chest rattles with the vibrations.
Skye’s eyes are wide. “Now we really have to go.”
She runs to the trail, wheeling her bike with her, and I follow. We make it back to the road completely soaked, rain pounding the asphalt.
“Let’s ride to the pub. It’s closer,” she yells over the downpour.
“I’ll follow you,” I call back, and it’s the truth. At this moment, I will follow her straight into the loch if that’s where she rides.
We ride to the Thistle House as the light begins to wane, silent the whole way.
She pulls her bike over and leans it against the side of the building around the corner from the front door. I do the same. The rain drips off the awning, but we are relatively sheltered. Before she opens the door to go inside, she turns to me. Now that I know just how soft her skin is, I want to touch her all the time. Could I reach for her hand? She points at the Thistle House. “There will be no kissing in there, got it?”
I frown. It’s not like I was going to take her on one of the tables while we wait for dinner or anything. But now that the image is in my head, I lose my train of thought.
She waves a hand in front of my face. “Hello. You with me?”
I nod. “What about a little hand holding?” I don’t know why I’m pushing this. I shouldn’t be doing any PDA either. I just crave contact with her.
She shakes her head. “I’ve known these people forever. If we go in there all lovey-dovey, they will ask me about you for centuries after you’re long gone. They don’t know the meaning of the word fling. Well, to them it’s a dance. But casual dating is not in their vocabulary.”
“Is that what we’re doing? Is this a fling?” I don’t know why the word stings so much. Of course, we’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks. I live in another country. How could this be anything more than a casual affair? But her kiss didn’t feel casual. Her touch didn’t feel breezy.
Skye’s cheeks turn bright pink, and she covers her face with her hand. “Ah, I’m... Of course, you were just caught up. You thought you saw a sea monster. Forget I said anything.”
“No, no. Idowant to kiss you again. A lot. All over.”
She takes her hand away, and a tiny smile tickles her perfect lips. “Oh. Good. But we can’t in there, okay?”
I nod. She’s about to open the door when I put a hand on her arm. “There’s something you should know.”
Her face falls into the puddle beneath her feet with an almost audible plop. “You have a girlfriend.” She takes a deep breath and talks so fast it’s hard to keep up. “I can’t believe it. I’m no cheater?—”
I cut her off mid-tirade. “No, it’s not that.” I explain about the director’s concerns and my promise not to date her.
“Aye. I overheard a bit of that. This is perfect. In there,”—she points to the building again—“we are just friends. But when we’re alone, we can?—”
I lean in and kiss her, running my hand through her hair. She pulls away, looking as dazed as I feel.
“Exactly,” she says.
“Okay,” I say.
I go to open the door, but this time she stops me. “One more thing. We are not going to fall in love with each other, right? No meant to be, no soulmate talk. It’s just two mature adults expressing their attraction to each other.”
Her blue eyes bore into me, and it’s like she can see my soul, which is not supposed to be getting involved in this. I take a deep breath, gearing up for one of my best performances. “I will not fall in love with you.”
I follow Skye inside.Thistle House is bustling. Nearly every table is full, each with a small candle flickering on it. Scottish folk music plays over the speakers, and the hardwood floors creak under my feet. We find a spot in the corner, but not before just about every person says hello to Skye and asks about “her fella.”
She introduces me to each person with the assurance I’m not her fella, explaining about the movie. By the time we finally sit, I’m dizzy. Five people have auditioned for me, I’ve had three slaps on the back, one offer of a date, and half a beer spilled on my sleeve.
I let out a quick breath.
“See what I mean? Everybody is in everybody's business.”
I nod. “I’m starting to see that.”
Margie comes to our table with two pints of Guinness, not bothering to ask if it’s what we wanted. The candlelight doesn’t even penetrate the thick liquid as she sets them down and runs a hand over Skye’s wet hair. “Yer soaked. How’d you get here? Swim?”
