Finding Kylie (33 page)

             
MMM … just as good as I remembered,
she thought as a groan escaped from her throat. 

             
“It’s so good to see you again,” he softly whispered in her ear and kissed her neck. 

             
She rolled her head back, unable to move.  He left her feeling powerless.

             
“Okay, now I’m the one putting on the brakes.  If you keep that up, we’ll never get to the café to meet Anne,” she sighed.

             
“Did you have to schedule that so close to when I got here?  I’d like a little alone time.”  He pulled back and looked down at her.

             
“I know, but I figured we’d get the meet and greet out of the way as soon as possible.  Then we’re not obligated and we’ll have the rest of the weekend to ourselves.  Something we’ve not had before, so it should be fun.”

             
Timothy internally groaned.  He wanted to take this weekend at Chastity’s pace and go by her rules, but he was going to have a hard time restraining himself.  She pulled him by the wrists and led him into her apartment. 

             
“Come take the short tour.  You can drop your bags over there,” she said pointing to the couch.  “This is my place.” She stood in the great room.  “From here, you can see the kitchen, the study, and my bedroom.  Not much, but it’s home.”

             
Her place was a clear reflection of her taste and style, which was eclectic and passionate.  Her walls showcased bold art, which that left him no doubt that they had to be hers.  Her furniture, obviously all hand-me-downs, were all unique one of a kind pieces.

             
“I like what you’ve done with the place.”  He turned a full circle and stopped when he saw a photo of the two of them on her desk.  “This is from that day at the park,” he said in amazement.  “So when I asked about the incident …you said it was taken care of.  I didn’t think you’d track the guy down and have him taken care of!  How’d you get this?” 

             
“No, Silly!”  She rolled her eyes.  “I told you all about Jesse, right?”
         “Yeah.”
         “These were the photo’s he’d received from the private investigator from the park.  He gave me the disk, and I waited to surprise you with this.  It’s the one part of that day that I would go back and do again in a heart beat.”

             
“I’d do it all over again … well almost all of it,” he gruffly responded.

             
She pulled her desk drawer out and handed him a frame.  “Here, I made a copy for you.  It’s our first official picture.”  She stopped herself from saying the rest of the sentence.

             
“As a couple?” He didn’t hesitate to finish it for her.

             
Chastity nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

             
Timothy squeezed her hand.  How in the world was he going to keep a respectful distance at night if she kept smiling at him like that?

             
“Let’s go meet Anne.”  She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “It will be painless, I promise!”

             
The café was only a few miles away.  Anne called that morning to let her know she was short staffed, but the truth of the matter was – she gave her manager the day off.  She wanted to make sure she gave Chastity and Timothy their privacy.  As excited as she was to meet her friend’s dream guy, she wouldn’t dream of monopolizing their time.  Chastity wasn’t one to waste her time on just anyone, so she knew this one had to be someone pretty special.

             
As they walked in, Anne thought they looked like two kids with their first crush.  Chastity was beaming at her new boyfriend, who couldn’t keep his eyes off her.  What a pair they made with their striking good looks.  Chastity, who was tall, thin, and elegant, and Timothy, who looked like someone who could clean up playing rugby, while still sweeping someone off their feet on the dance floor.  He was the handsome all American man. They complimented each other perfectly. 

             
Anne made her way from behind the counter.  “Right over here guys.”  She directed them to the most private booth she had.  “Sorry I couldn’t get off to spend more time with you, but my manager called in sick,” Anne lied. 

             
“That’s okay, we’re just glad to see you at all.  Anne – this is Timothy.”

             
“Nice to meet you,” they said in unison, and shook hands.

             
Nice handshake,
she thought. 
Firm but not too powerful … balanced.

             
“Here are some menu’s. I’ll be back in a few to take your order.  I’ve got a customer I have to go check on.”

             
As Anne walked away, Chastity looked her menu over, and said,  “I’m in the mood for appetizers.  Hope you don’t mind.”  She stood to grab a pitcher of water and a couple of glasses.

             
“Not at all.  I ate on the way up so that’ll be perfect.”  He poured their water.  “So … Anne seems nice.”

             
“Yeah, I’ll bet a million dollars that her manager didn’t call in sick.  She probably gave him the day off.”  Chastity smiled.

             
“Why would she do that when she could sit with us, and give me the inquisition?”

             
“Because she knows how much I like you and how fast time flies.  She wants me to spend all my time with you while you’re here.” 

             
“That’s nice.  You told her how much you like me?” He watched her face turn pink.

             
“No, I didn’t tell her anything.”  She took a sip of her water to ease her dry throat. “She’s just knows that I don’t bring anyone around, so she you must be somewhat important.”  She tried sounding casual.

             
Timothy reached across the table to grab her hands.  “Well just to let you know … you’re pretty important to me too.” 

             
Her stomach flipped, like she was on a roller coaster.

             
“Hey you two - break it up.” Anne set their food on the table, and slid in next to her friend.  “I can only sit for a sec. When someone comes in, I’ll have to go.”

             
Something tells me they won’t care. 
She looked to Chastity who looked flushed.

             
“So Timothy, you from around here?”

             
“I live in Southern California, but I’m from a lot of different places.”

             
“He’s a brat just like you,” Chastity explained.

             
“Ah.” Anne nodded, knowingly.  “You got to love the military.  You know I wasn’t one that really liked all the moving around.  I must have gone to about ten different schools.  It’s so nice to finally have roots.”

             
He understood.  He knew a lot of kids, who felt the same.  “Yeah, it can be hard.  I loved it, but to me every new place was a new adventure … new friends … schools.”

             
“The chance to reinvent yourself a little?” She grinned.              He cocked his head.  “Yeah, I guess so.  I never thought about it that way, but you’re right.”

             
He grabbed some cheese fries, anxious for a distraction.  All these questions were making him hungry.

             
Anne heard her front door sound, as more lunch crowd filtered in. 

             
“Be back when I can guys.  If you have to leave before I’m done … it was nice meeting you.” 

             
“You too.”  Timothy stood, wiped the remaining grease from his hands, and gave her a quick handshake.

             
As Anne was busy working her tables, she watched the pair from the corner of her eye.  She smiled to herself as they flirted from across their table.  She felt confident that Timothy was a nice guy.  He had the kind of eyes you could see into, and tell he was warm hearted. 

             
One thing was for sure; he was definitely into her best friend.  Yes, her friend had reeled in a good one all right.  Anne watched them finish their food, wave their good-byes, and leave with their arms wrapped around each other.  She had never seen Chastity so invested before, and it was nice to know she found someone that she could let go with … to let herself be loved.

Chapter 45

             
Chastity fought the urge the entire weekend.  Each night she forced herself to stay in her own bed, when all she could think about was tiptoeing toward the sleeper sofa and slipping under his covers to feel the warmth of his skin. 

             
The only thing that kept her at bay was her conscience and a lot of prayers for strength. 

             
That’s not what this is about,
she reminded herself while she lay awake. 

             
Frustrated, she rolled over and punched her pillow.  Normally, she wasn’t one to jump into anything this serious, and she wasn’t about to complicate things with sex.  Not that she wasn’t tempted every second of the day and night. 

             
After two nights alone on her sofa bed, she wasn’t sure what Timothy thought of her.  She wouldn’t blame him if he thought this was completely sophomoric, but if he were going to know her—he would have to appreciate who she was. 

             
Besides, she’d rather know up front that he wouldn’t want to continue seeing her because she wouldn’t sleep with him, than to find out he wouldn’t because she did.  Chastity had to admit, so far she was impressed with his control, especially when it was obvious how physically compatible they were.

             
Timothy didn’t know how he held it together.  He wanted more than anything to be lying next her rubbing his hands across her smooth tight skin.  All he could think about were her long legs wrapped around him and how bright her eyes would get when he brought himself inside her.  Every part of him wanted to see what happened to them if he took it further, but he wasn’t about to cross that line.

             
The night before he flew in, Timothy asked her what she’d had planned for weekend.  He was only referring to their everyday activities.  Chastity on the other hand, went to where he wouldn’t have dreamed of … to the conversation of their nighttime activities. 

             
Originally, he figured he’d wait to see what pace she set.  He planned on letting her make the first move and see how it went, but Chastity made it clear that she thought sex would complicate things.  Since she didn’t want to mess anything up by getting physical, he felt honor bound to keep it that way, especially in light of her mother’s history. So, instead the entire weekend they connected on a mental and emotional plane, talking about their backgrounds and families; the good, bad, and ugly. 

             
Of course, that led to Chastity’s story as edited as she could make it.  When she finished—he didn’t pull back like she thought he would.  He didn’t overcompensate by trying to comfort her either.  He simply told her how rough it must have been for her and asked more questions. 

             
Timothy was so completely unexpected.  He was like a gust of fresh air, exhilarating and soothing.  What gave her the most peace is that he didn’t make her feel like a freak, although she secretly was afraid he would.  He just simply listened and wanted to know more.  He was genuinely interested in what made her – her, and she got more attached to him for it.  He wasn’t afraid to tread water with her history, which scored more points for him in her book.

              They spent their weekend shopping in Laguna, having picnics and taking lazy strolls on the beach.  They finally had their overdue walk in the sand … the one that they both wanted from day one. At night, they ate romantic dinners and cuddled through movies.  Not that cuddling lasted long, but Timothy continued to gently put on the brakes.

             
“Got to stick to the ground rules,” he’d pant and then slow them both down. 

             
Chastity’s insides churned when she felt his breath on her neck.  She knew she would have given in if he hadn’t taken the choice out of her hands.