Bittersweet Deceit (32 page)

Sometime in the morning I felt a shake on my shoulder that woke me.

“It’s supposed to be another hot one today,” Stay said, sitting on the edge of the bed beside me. “Let’s eat breakfast and then do the first part of the date early. We can reconvene at my place later for the rest of the date.”

“That
’s too much for my brain to take in first thing in the morning.”

He reached over to my nightstand and held out a cup of coffee.

I smiled and yawned, stretching my arms above my head. “Thank you,” I said as I took the mug from him. I drank a sip. “Perfect. Did you shower?”

“Yes, I’ve been up for a
while,” he said as he caressed my leg.

“
Where are we going? What shall I wear? I have a new dress—” My body began to respond to his touch. “If you keep doing that we won’t get out of the house.”

“
Sorry, it’s hard for me to keep my hands to myself. Wear shorts, a T-shirt, and comfortable shoes. The place is a surprise. I’m certain you’ll love it.”

“It’s already ten-thirty? Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be ready.
”

“
Okay. I cut up the fruit in the fridge and there’s yogurt and cottage cheese.” He gave me room to get up.

“Great,” I pushed myself out of bed and gathered the clothes I needed. “I love surprises,” I said over my shoulder on the way to the bathroom.

I
n Stayman’s convertible, my ponytail waved in the wind. I turned on the stereo and we sang along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers to
Scar Tissue
. My body hummed with what felt strikingly similar to joy. Without censoring myself I said, “I like you Stay.”

He flashed me his adorable smile and said, “I like you too
, OC. You’re a lot of fun to be around.”

Me fun? I’ve thought of myself in many different ways
, but fun never topped the list. I liked that he thought so. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“No,” he said with his devious
expression.

“How much longer?” I asked.

“Not much.”

I couldn’t imagine what he might have in store.

He drove north on I-95 and exited the highway onto Sample Road. We traveled west until we reached Tradewinds Park. After driving for a bit, he parked near a sign that read Butterfly World in orange.

“Have you ever been?” he asked
as he helped me out of the car. He retrieved a Nikon 3000 digital camera from the trunk and hung it around his neck.

“No.”

“Awesome,” he said, taking my hand. The ultra-modern entrance had palm trees and flowering bushes on either side. We entered a roped off line where Stay paid for us. We strolled through the butterfly farm and then the museum. Through two large doors we entered an open-air hallway. On the right wall hung pinned butterflies.

I found it fascinating that butterflies had such a short life
—mere days. Stay shot pictures of me as I perused all the information.

When we
accessed the next section, I gasped, “Wow!” The butterfly wonderland lay out before me. Trees filled the space and a vast variety of butterflies flew about. Classical music mixed with the sound of cascading waterfalls and streams provided the backdrop.

“Oh
, Stay.” I threw my arms around him. “I love it!”

He moved the camera from between us and hugged me back.

“I feel like a little kid on a new adventure,” I said. The same feeling I had at the concert re-emerged. “I didn’t know you were into photography.”

“It’s an old hobby
. I’ve been inspired to pick up again.” He winked at me.

Two paths
diverged in either direction and we went to the right. A black and yellow tiger butterfly lit on my arm and we watched it flap its wings. Stay shot pictures of it from different angles, a few with my smiling face in them.

My eyes
filled as I pushed back the emotion. It wasn’t sadness so much as awe because of the beauty of the place, and that fact that Stay thought to take me there.

The butterfly f
lew away as we walked deeper into the environment. We crossed a bridge, and next to a small waterfall we found a bench and sat on it. Across from us several butterflies ate fruit from a hanging plate.

“This place is amazing. Thank you so much for taking me here. Have you been here before?
”

“I haven’t. I found it while I was searching for something fun to do.
Lainie, watching your face light up, there’s nothing like it.” With his arm around me, he drew me in for a kiss.

His lips touching mine felt different. The chemistry still simmered but instead of flaring, it tugged on my emotions, pulling me into him in a new way. It was if he influenced
my resolve with the love he felt for me. His feelings called me to open up and terrified me too.

When we disengaged, he
held my face and I rested my head in his hand and closed my eyes. He didn’t have to say the words. They floated all around on the wings of the butterflies. When I looked into his intense, blue eyes, the tears fell. He kissed my eyes, my cheeks, and then my lips again. We held each other tightly as if something on the horizon might force us apart.

Other people milled around
, but I hardly took notice.

Stay stopped a father and daughter passing by. “Would you mind taking shot of us?”

“Sure,” the man said.

Stay showed him how to use the camera and we posed for a picture.

“Smile,” the father said. He fired off a few shots. “You guys are a good looking couple.”

“Thank you so much,” I said as the man handed the camera back to Stay.

When another kind of butterfly landed on Stay’s knee, neither of us moved not wanting to disturb it. The Blue Morpho had iridescent, blue wings with black trim and white dots lining the outside of the top of the wing and red dots on the bottom. After it flew away, Stay and I explored the rest of the ecology hand in hand.

We exited
from the back and he said, “There’s more.” He led me through the gardens and across a suspension bridge that crossed a body of water.

He showed me to the
Lorikeets pavilion where we were able the hold and feed the colorful medium-sized birds. We took turns taking pictures of each other.

Then we went to
enjoy the hummingbirds. Entering the environment, we had to be very careful not to let any of the birds fly out. We sat on a bench and watched their antics. So fast, they would fly and dip into the water and soar away again. Stay focused his lens to get a good shot.

After we sat there for a while, a humming bird decided that it liked my hair and kept buzzing around
my ponytail and the side of my face. The odd sensation caused me to laugh. I tried to stay still as a crowd gathered to take shots, Stay included. Laughing and staying still didn’t go so well together. When the humming bird decided to try to steal one of my long hairs, chills took over. Between shaking and laughing, I doubt anyone got a really good shot but it amused me to know I could potentially be a part of so many photo albums.

Once the bird gave up on my hair, the crowd dispersed.

“Did you get any good ones?” I asked.

Stay shuffled through the photos and said, “A bunch. Check
this one out.”

In the photo,
I’m laughing, my eyes wide, and somehow Stay managed to get the bird in mid flap.

“Wow
, Stay, that’s very cool. I mean other than I look totally ridiculous.”

“Not at all
, OC, you look totally adorable. Look at the light in your eyes. I might have to frame this one. Are you ready?”

“Sure,” I said, taking his hand.

We went to the gift shop and Stay bought me a butterfly calendar. I planned to hang it in my office at the shop. “I love it. Thank you!” I spontaneously kissed him.

After returning the kiss, he took a stray hair of mine and placed it behind my ear. He kissed my forehead and held the car door
open for me. We both smiled from ear to ear.

On the way back to my place, before he dropped me off, I said, “That was so much fun. I could totally do that again.”

“Me too,” he said, taking my hand in his.

“What time do you want me to come over?” I pulled my ponytail holder out and let the wind blow my hair.

“I can come get you,” he said, driving down the street to my place.

“No
, I need to drive. I have brunch with Jacqs tomorrow morning.”

“Right. Five o’clock
, and bring a jacket in case it cools off.” He parked in front of my building and came around to open my door.

Butterflies from
the day attempted to swarm in my stomach. Again I felt the shift to the next level in our relationship, and I felt even less prepared for it than the last.

“Come on
, Lane, it’s all good.” He ran his fingers over my clenched eyebrows and smoothed them across my forehead. “Don’t do too much thinking before you get to my place. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

He gave me a light kiss goodbye and I waved to him as he drove out.

Inside my apartment, I combed my
refrigerator for something to eat. I picked one of the items Stay had previously purchased for me. Standing by the island, I ate a few bites of curry chicken salad.

In my bedroom, I
placed my phone on speaker and called Jacqs.

“What’s up
, girl?” she said. “How was the date? I thought it was all day?”

“How d
id you know?” I could feel myself shaking my head.

“Stay told Bond
, who told me. So?”

“Amazing. He took me to
Butterfly World. Have you ever been?”

“No but I’ve wanted to. Maybe we could get the gang to go.”

“Maybe you should just take Red; it’s very romantic. Did you know Stay’s into photography?”

“Yeah
, some of the framed art photographs at Red’s are his.”

Stay
was like unwrapping a package only to find another box inside. “I had no idea.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along. He’s a very interesting guy.”

“Yeah, you were right. So tomorrow? Here or there?” I straightened the sheet on the bed, tucking the bottom and sides.

“Can we
meet at your place? It’ll give us more privacy to chat.”

“Good thinking.”
Holding onto the ends, I whipped up the comforter and let float down in place.

“I thought you had an all-day date.”

“I’m heading over to his place at five. Do you know what he has in store for me?” I asked.

“Nope, sorry
, girl, but I want to hear all about it tomorrow.”

I aligned the pillows and
asked, “See you at ten?”

“See you then. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

In the bathroom, I scrubbed the bottom of the tub
and then filled it with warm water and lavender oil for a bath. It felt decadent and I vowed not to let my mother’s voice into my head. After relaxing for a while, I used the time I had left to shave my legs, vagina, and arm pits. I showered as the bathwater ran out.

I scoured my clothes for just the right jacket to compliment the blue
and turquoise, color block, sheath dress I planned to wear. A navy bolero dressed up the look, but the short-cropped jean jacket made the outfit more casual. I chose sandals and the jean jacket.

Downstairs, I unlatched the top on my Saturn Sky and let my hair dry on the way. A mantra played in my head the whole way over to Stay’s.
Have fun. Have fun. Have fun. No one is pressuring you. You can enjoy yourself without having to make promises or commitments. Have fun. Let the past stay there. Have fun. You can pick it apart again tomorrow. Shut up and just have fun.
“Ahhh,” I yelled and that seemed to turn off the chant.

Once at Stay’s
I texted him.

Me:
Where should I park?

Stay
man:
I’ll meet you downstairs and you can pull into my spot once I back out.

Me:
Are we going somewhere?

For some reason I had assumed we were staying in.

Stay:
Yes. I’ll be right down.

He entered the garage wearing brown slacks and an Asian style, cream, open-necked shirt. He looked incredibly sexy. Once he backed out his car, he came and opened the door of my Saturn after I parked in his spot.

“Wow, look at you,” he said as
I exited the car.

“I was thinking the very same thing. You look incurably handsome.
” I stepped up to him and put my arms around his neck.

He kissed my
shoulder and murmured, “You smell so good. Another dress from the shop?”

“Yes,” I said,
lifting my chin as he kissed up my neck. “Sam suggested I try it on.”

He pushed me up against his car, my face in his hands and
he inflamed me with his plundering.

“Stay,” I said.

“Yes, sweetheart.”

“We’re blocking the way.” I pointed to the car waiting behind
his Corvette. I gathered my purse and coat and with a click of a button the convertible closed and the doors locked.

He held
the passenger door open for me and then jogged around to his side of the car. As he drove out of the garage, he said, “You’re legs look incredible in that dress, and I love what you’ve done with your hair.”

I had twisted the top sides of my hair and pulled it back into a barrette. “
Thank you. I’m glad you like it. Where are we going?”

“Downtown Fort Lauderdale but that’s all I’m saying.”

“Two surprises in one day? I love it.” I relaxed into the seat and watched the scenery pass by.

Stay drove into a parking garage at Las Olas Riverfront. We walked to the water and down the boardwalk. People had gathered to board a water taxi. Stay walked up to the booth and purchased two tickets.

“We’re going on there?” I asked, pointing at the yellow, twenty-six passenger water taxi with a yellow and blue awning.