My girl is beautiful.
Despite the alarm bells going off in the back of my head, I relax and have some fun while Linda and Kenneth introduce me to an entire branch of the extended family. They welcome me without judgment and share stories about my mom growing up in the area. I wonder how my father managed to erase every tie to her family. Did she miss them?
While my uncle is surrounded by his loving family and friends, Angus Rawlings would have turned it into a business opportunity. I can’t help but imagine the type of person I would’ve been if I had the chance to spend my summers here, surrounded by rowdy cousins and benevolent relatives.
Eliza is in and out of my line of vision, but I never lose track of her. She’s laughing and dancing, a vision vibrating with life, a beacon of light drawing me in.
Joy is pouring out of her like radio waves, and it gives me such a rush seeing her so relaxed in the middle of my family. It’s a taste of what if. Couldthis be my life?
I scowl at my second glass of Maine-made rum. A knot lodges deep in my airways and I ditch the glass on the first flat surface I find. Where’s that mint lemonade my aunt is raving about?
“Is this seat taken?” Eliza asks playfully, nodding toward the bench.
“Didn’t think I’d talk to you again tonight,” I tease her.
Her head whips around, strawberry blonde strands grazing my jaw. “I’m sorry. You were getting to know your relatives.” She sounds remorseful. “I wanted to give you privacy.”
The band slows down to a mellow tune and my body acts on its own.
“You can make it up to me.” I hold my hand out, hoping and dreading that she’ll say yes.
Eliza smiles, bright-eyed, her warm hold tight as we make our way between other couples. Dusty floorboards creak under our weight as I pull her closer, the sway of her body calling to every fiber of my being.
She lowers her voice. “You fit in here more than you realize.”
“I don’t know how to feel about it.” I let the truth slide out. But I wouldn’t mind finding out.
The singer’s twang vibrates with emotion, pouring out a soulful nostalgia about a small-town, lost love, and the smell of pines.
I’m caught in her gaze, unable to tear my eyes away. Diving into pools of warm caramel, my awareness zoomed in on the spots our bodies touch. The pulse thrumming in her wrists gives the rhythm to my heartbeat.
The barn and party become a fading watercolor of people, wood beams, and dry hay.
“Did you also take dancing lessons?”
“Yes, but not this type.” My grip grows tighter, an unfamiliar possessiveness rushing through my veins. “It’s considered highly improper.”
Her lips part, their softness inviting me to taste them. “We wouldn’t want to damage your reputation and ruin your prospects.” She laughs lightly.
“You can ruin me all you want, Eliza.” I know I’m on the precipice, toeing the point of no return, the momentum unstoppable.
The fairy lights above us cast a golden gleam waving through hazel and gold specks. The colors in her irises shift, unfurling like silky petals. Blooming dark peonies so delicate and beautiful, drawing me in with their mesmerizing dance.
I want to tell her how beautiful she is, but my tongue is too heavy for words. I dip my head, nudging the tip of her nose and she goes still, holding in a breath. Her lavender scent mixed with fresh grass and ginger ale makes me dizzy.
The strong gravitational pull toward her lips feels natural and I close the gap between us, softly brushing our lips. The connection is effortless and floods me with warmth while my stomach does a concerning flip. I don’t lean back, breathing in her shuttered exhale, but I do give her the chance to push me away, even though the urge to taste her again is overwhelming. I want to chase the thread linking us. It’s like nothing I’ve experienced before, and I’m being pulled to opposite sides by curiosity and fear.
Eliza fists my shirt, rises on her tiptoes, and pushes closer, sealing the microscopic space between us. It spursme on, and my hands cradle her head, the kiss morphing with eagerness and lust. It goes from tentative pecks to liquid strokes, pushing and demanding.
The unsteady sensation of stepping into the void has my pulse racing.
When we part, we’re sucked back into a too bright and loud world. We hadn’t noticed the song changed, guests clapping and dancing to an upbeat song around us.
She looks up at me, dazed and flushed. Her panting warms my neck before she steps back.
Without a word Eliza turns on her heels, heading out of the barn. The look she throws me over her shoulder is pure heat and leaves no room for interpretation.
An enormous bonfire my cousins were so excited to start roars tall behind us as we walk toward the guesthouse, our shadows searching for each other on the uneven dirt road. The unpaved path around one of the greenhouses leaves the sounds of the party behind, the silence stretching over green hills into a clear night sky. It adds to the pressure of everything unspoken, growing the closer we get to the guesthouse.
