Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (23 page)

*****

Lana's phone ran just as
she
finished a cup of coffee and visited
with
some people who also h
ung
out in the cafeteria.

H
er
heart fluttered
knowing it was him on the phone.
"Hey sweetie," answered
Lana
.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Only if you are, and your call
was
perfect timing, I just finished a cup of coffee."

"Stay there and I'll come get you."

"Okay."
She
was
thankful for
that
because
her
feet hurt. New shoes and a lot of walking do not go together.

There were only a few people left in the cafeteria and Mike spoke to a couple of them and he introduced
her
. It
was
so nice to have
his
arm to hold on to,
she
felt protected and loved. He took
her
hand and they walked out the side door. He helped
her
in the passenger's side. As he walked to the other side he waved and said something to some guys leaving the church.

"Who were those guys?"

"A bunch of the guys and their families
have decided to meet
for pizza. They w
anted to know if we wanted to meet them
." The truck sputtered and coughed while Mike tried to coax
her
to run.

"Mike
, we can g
o if you want to, I
would
love to meet your team."

"I don't want to go. I want to spend my evening
with
you, alone."

She
couldn't help herself. "What about Elizabeth?"

Mike rolled
his
head back
with
laughter. "Oh baby you don't have to worry about Elizabeth."

"
She
likes you,
she
told me so." Just the thought of
that
hussy upset
her
stomach.

He laughed even harder. "Honey
she
has liked me since I met
her
at a BBQ a few years ago.
She
stayed
with
Frank's wife Robin when
she
was
pregnant
with
their second child. Robin had morning sickness so bad
she
needed help
with
their oldest child. Frank invited the team over for BBQ dinner on the fourth of July, Elizabeth
was
there and
she
has liked ever me since
that
day. But …," he look at
her
with
his
devilish grin. "… It won't be a problem anymore. I told
her
you were my fiancé."

"Are you serious?"
She
was
so thrilled he told
her
that
. Instantly
she
was
n't mad at Elizabeth anymore. Now
she
felt sorry for
her
.

"Yep."

When
she
looked into
his
eyes they danced
with
mischief and love.
She
also saw some question in them.
She
knew he wondered if he
might be a little
pretentious. To show him he
was
n't,
she
unbuckled
her
seat belt and moved to the seat right next to him.
She
buckled the middle seatbelt and held on to him as tight as
she
could.

They both
sat
quiet
as they took
in their feelings for each other. T
his
small move let him know
she
cared deeply for him.

He finally broke the silence as 'ole Bessie' jug lugged down the road. "How about pizza for dinner, I'm hungry. When the guys mentioned it, I thought it sounded good. Besides I want you to try Franco's."

"Yep,"
she
answered. They both laughed and he squeezed
her
knee and slowly ran
his
hand up and down
her
thigh and calf.
She
knew by the way he touched
her
, he anticipated the night, and
she
couldn't wait for tonight either.
Her
insides got warm just dreaming about
his
touch.

Chapter 18

5:55 p.m.

They stopped at Franco's for the best pizza ever, or at least
that
's what Mike swears. They ordered a meat lover for Mike and
she
got a pepperoni
with
onions and black olives.
She
liked cheese but not a ton on the top, so
she
ordered stuffed crust. Franco's had something
she
had never seen before, but a unique idea, customers could order different crusts. Franco's had sour dough, sweet dough, onion dough, herb dough, and regular. Since
she
loved sweet bread
she
got the sweet dough and Mike ordered the herb dough.

As they got in the truck, Mike noticed how
Lana
legs
shivered from the cold.
"Baby I'm sorry I didn't realize how cold you are
with
only a dress and those thin nylon hose to keep you warm." He removed
his
overcoat and laid it across
her
lap, then abrasively rubbed
her
legs
.
The coat
was
so warm it only took a few minutes for
her
legs to
stop shaking.
"Is
that
better? Honey you have to let me know when you get cold. The winter in Boston can chill you to the bone. I can't stand it when you're cold."

"I will from now on, you have to remember it's been years since I've had anyone care for me."

"You better get used to me. I'm going to be around for the rest of your life."

On the way home
his
strong arm felt good in
her
hands.
She
was
tantalized by the lines of
his
muscles, and how they harden as he moved them
with
the steering wheel.
She
watched
his
face and noticed how intently he watched the snow covered road. Later
she
hoped
that
intensity
would
be in eyes when they made love.

When they reached the house Mike opened
his
truck door and the cold air
was
rejuvenating, or at least for him. Mike scooted out and leaned over
Lana
to reach for the pizza. Temptation took over and he blew on a fart on
her
neck.

He's such a guy
,
she
thought.
She
took a deep breath and wondered if he
would
do
that
the rest of their lives.
She
hoped so.

As soon as they entered the house,
she
wanted to shed clothes. "Honey, I'm going to change clothes and put on your t-shirt.
Would
you unzip me please?"
She
turned around and pulled
her
hair to the front.

"It will cost you ten kisses."

"When do
I have to you
?"
She
could feel
his
hot breath on the back of
her
neck and
she
knew he
would
blow farts. But he didn't.
His
soft lips brushed
her
shoulder. The warmth of
his
breath and the softness of
his
lips made
her
legs week.
She
could only imagine t
his
feeling
for
the rest of
her
life.

"Tonight," he w
his
pered breathlessly.

Knowing Mike had to start the fire,
she
left for the bedroom
with
out looking back. If
she
turned around and looked into
his
eyes,
she
could
never
leave.

Mike already inhaled two slices of pizza by the time
she
got to the kitchen. He mumbled
with
food in
his
mouth. "I
was
hungry."

"I see the pizza tastes good. Did you save me any?"
She
reached over and pinched off a piece of
his
dough to try out the herb flavor. It
was
delicious. Mike's right, Franco's had great pizza or at least the crust.

He pointed to the box
with
a glass of coke poured and a plate sitting there. "I'll fix your plate. I wanted to wait until you got here because I didn't want your pizza to get cold." He jumped up grab a plate for
her
.

The minute he opened the box the aroma of sweet dough, onions and pepperoni filled the air.
She
took a quick bite before moving
her
plate to the bar. The dough
tasted
better than Mike's pizza, at least
she
thought so. The onions were thinly sliced and
that
's how
she
liked it. When the onions were cooked they burned on the edges. The dough
tasted
a sweet roll
with
a little garlic flavor on the crust.

Mike excused himself to change
his
clothes.

Lana
thought the pizza tasted
incredible. If
she
lived here
she
would
get fat. Between the great pastries and great pizza,
she
would
be doomed.

Mike came back wearing only boxers and a t-shirt, a tight shirt.
She
almost choked on
her
pizza when
she
saw how good he looked. A sight such as
that
stirred every female emotion possible.
She
knew how Elizabeth
was
heartbroken, poor girl.

They both grabbed their plates and headed for the living room. They sat in front of the warm fire a
s they ate. For some reason
she
seemed
a little worried, maybe because they were alone out in t
he middle of nowhere or maybe it was
because the wind
's
howling
was so loud
. "Mike, what
would
you do if someone tried to break-in
the house
?"

He finished chewing
his
pizza before he answered. "You know I can shoot a little bit, and I'll just point my gun shut my eyes and hope I hit them." He grinned at
her
innocence.

"You fart, you know what I mean."
She
laughed at how stupid
that
question
was
, especially after he nabbed the two men last night. "I guess
that
was
a stupid question. I'm tired and I'm not thinking straight. If you don't mind I think I'm going to bed."