Raining Down Rules (15 page)

Chapter 32

I find myself in awe of Vic and all he’s accomplished since high school. He’s amazing, has admirable goals, and of course it doesn’t hurt that he’s really good-looking. Somehow I’ve found someone I find myself falling for, and deep inside it scares me. I’ve exposed myself, opened up to him like never before. I have to wonder, with what I’ve experienced in the past, when the other shoe will drop. When will all this be too much for him?

“So what’s your story? Why aren’t you married or at least dating someone seriously?”

Vic turns to me, a questioning look in his eye. “I thought I was,” he says with a wink, making my cheeks flush. “God, that looks good on you. I’ll never get tired of seeing it.”

Biting my bottom lip to distract myself from blushing, I can’t help but melt a little inside at his insinuation. This is, after all, our first real date; I’d hardly call that serious.

Vic turns down a rural road outside of Torrance that winds through fields of green and then stops at a large white farmhouse with a massive red barn and several smaller outbuildings.

“I’m starving. How about you?” Vic asks as he opens my door and helps me out of the truck. “I know this great place I think you’ll like.” His smile is contagious, and not for the first time today do I wonder what he has in store.

He guides me around the side of the barn with his hand on my lower back, and up a set of wooden stairs to a door on what looks like the second story.

“After you,” he says. With a turn of his wrist the door opens and we walk inside. I’m expecting a hayloft, dusty rafters covered in spider webs, and creaky floors. But what I see is a large apartment built where the hayloft should be. The ceilings are vaulted and tall with skylights, and the furniture is casual and comfortable. A good-sized kitchen flanks the far wall and there is a set of doors in the back.

“The bathroom is the door on the right, if you want to clean up while I make lunch.” Vic squeezes the tops of my shoulders gently, kisses my cheek, and takes my jacket and purse.

“Do you live here?”

He nods and walks to the kitchen and pulls out a couple of pans from the island while I head to the bathroom. The room is nothing fancy, but I take a couple of minutes to go through his medicine cabinet above the sink. There is nothing unusual in it, though I see a bottle of Aqua Di Gio cologne, uncap it, and smell. The scent is incredible, filling my mind with images of Vic and me dancing, or now kissing at his house, or how his arms felt around mine as he helped me to shoot a gun for the first time. Somehow I’ve become Cinderella and have found a prince.

Vic is chopping onions and garlic when I make my way back to the kitchen, and when I offer to help, he turns me down, saying he wants to make sure I am well taken care of. Hiding my smile, I plop down on his tan microsuede couch and watch as he prepares lunch. He won’t tell me what he’s cooking, but whatever it is already smells delicious. The onions and garlic go into a sizzling pan, and with his back turned to me I have the incredible desire to wrap my arms around him in a warm hug.

“Where did you learn to cook?”

Vic looks up from the pan and smiles. “Who said I could cook?”

That smile of his is going to kill me, crooked and dimpled, filling my stomach with butterflies. Unable to stand the tension swirling in my stomach, I join Vic at the counter, placing my elbows on the flat surface.

“You’re cooking right now,” I say playfully.

“Ah, this,” Vic says as he stirs the onions and garlic in the pan. “This isn’t cooking, this is just sweating some veggies.”

My butterflies are back. The reprieve was short lived.

“Will you grab the ground beef from the fridge?” Vic points to the fridge with his shoulder, and as I walk behind him, his hand taps my hip, which does nothing for the swirling in my stomach.

“So, onions, garlic, and ground beef,” I say as I think about the possibilities of the food he is preparing. “Spaghetti?”

Still his smile remains as he adds the meat to the pan. He continues to cook and only when he pulls a box of taco shells from the cupboard do I realize what he’s making.

Lunch is delicious and I can’t help but admire this man sitting beside me. He lives here, on his parents’ farm, in a place he and his older brother built when they were in high school. We finish lunch and clean up and Vic surprises me with a caramel cheesecake, which he claims came from a store.

“Are you tired of me yet?” he asks as I finish my last bite of cheesecake.

“Tired of you? Hardly.”

“Okay, then, let’s head out.”

The rest of the afternoon has us walking through Rose Park in Warner along the river, holding hands as we climb onto the city view tram and gaze at the people and buildings below. By the time we arrive for our dinner reservations at a fancy Italian restaurant, I’m starving and wildly amazed I’m not ready for the date to end. Vic and I share a massive plate of fettuccini alfredo with parmesan encrusted chicken and then enjoy a slice of tiramisu.

While waiting for the check, Vic reaches across the table for my hand. “It’s still early, what do you say we go see a movie?”

It’s just after seven and a small part of me feels guilty for leaving Gran all day, but then I’m not sure I’m ready to go back home yet. This day has been incredible. A perfect day of getting to know each other.

“I should call Gran and make sure she’s okay,” I say, and excuse myself to make my phone call. Gran answers on the second ring and I can hear her game show playing on the TV in the background.

“Oh, honey, you know I’m all right. You go on and enjoy yourself with that nice young man.”

“Are you sure, Gran? I can be home in a little over an hour if you need me.”

“Jemma, dear, you’ve not been out on a date in ages. Don’t go feeling like you’ve got to come home to me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I love you, Gran,” I say as she echoes the sentiment and we hang up.

Vic stands when I arrive back at the table and pulls out my chair. “Everything okay?” he asks.

“Yep. What movie would you like to see?” My stomach flutters at the thought of sitting so close to him in a dark theater. Will he hold my hand? Will we keep the armrest between us? My nerves suddenly shoot through the roof. How many rules will this date break?

“I’m not sure. I thought we’d go and see what’s playing.” Vic catches the server’s attention and he comes rushing to our table. “Can we get the check, please?” The server nods and quickly walks away.

“Can I ask about your parents?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, sucking in a breath.

“What happened to them?” His eyes glance from the table to my face and I can see a bit of unease in his eyes.

There are not enough deep breaths in this world to stop the stinging in the corners of my eyes. I sigh and place my elbows on the table and tell him about my parents. “When I was about three, my mom was in a car accident and died.” The server arrives with our check and Vic hands him his Visa, allowing me enough time for another breath.

“I’m so sorry about your mom,” Vic says quietly, and takes my hand in his.

“Thank you, but I don’t even remember her.” My lips offer a quick smile and I continue. “My dad was really torn up over it, you know, and did his best with me for about a year. One day he brought me and a large suitcase to my gran’s house, telling me I was going to stay with her a while so he could figure some things out. Well, that was sixteen years ago, and I guess he still hasn’t figured stuff out.”

The server arrives with Vic’s card and the receipt and wishes us a good evening. As he walks away, Vic stands and pulls out my chair for me and without thought, kisses me softly, letting his lips linger just a moment.

“Your dad’s a fool for leaving you,” he whispers, and then guides me out of the restaurant with his fingers tracing circles on my lower back. “So your gran is your mom’s mom?” he asks as we pull out of the parking lot.

“No, my dad’s mother, and really she’s my mother too. When she got sick I was devastated. I don’t really think the medicines she’s on are helping her, which scares me. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she…when she dies.” It’s so hard for me to say it aloud. I know she’s eventually going to die, but I can’t help but feel like my time with her is growing short. She’s been more tired than usual and there are dark circles below her eyes. I close mine against tears that are trying to slip free.

***

The movie theater is pretty slow since it’s a Tuesday night, so we have the choice of an action-adventure, romantic comedy, or an animated show for children. I haven’t seen any of them and decide to let Vic choose for us. He surprises me by selecting the animated movie, which begins at eight, stating the theater should be pretty empty. My heart leaps in my chest and then falls through my stomach, landing someplace my brain has no control over.

“Want some popcorn or candy?” Vic asks as we give our tickets to the teenager inside the doors.

My stomach is doing gymnastics and I hardly think I can eat anything more, so I shake my head and we make our way to theater seven. Vic was right, except for a couple of older ladies and a mom with her two young children, the theater is empty. He wraps his fingers around my hand and leads me to the back row of seats at the top of the theater. We sit in the center of the seats with no barriers between us. Vic turns his entire body toward me, props his long legs over the chair in front of us, and then drapes an arm over my shoulders and whispers for me to scoot closer. As I lean against the side of his chest, I wonder if he can feel how fast my heart is beating. That somehow a bird has been caught in my chest and is flapping its wings against my ribs. I wonder if he can feel the heat coursing through my body, settling in unfamiliar places, or how my stomach is doing cartwheels.

My phone vibrates in my purse as the movie begins, and I sit up quickly to dig through my bag and pull it out. It’s a number I don’t recognize, and being the responsible person I am, I’m having a hard time not answering. After the third ring, and fighting all instincts, I ignore it and settle back against Vic’s chest.

“Who was it?” he whispers.

Shrugging my shoulders, I whisper back, “I didn’t recognize the number.”

“They’ll leave a message if it’s important.” His smile sends shivers down my body, and when his lips brush softly against my ear, my entire right side bursts into goose bumps. His fingers trace circles on my upper arm, the mere touch igniting a fire deep in my belly. Between his fingers dancing over my arm and the light kisses at my ear, I’m completely distracted from what is playing on the movie screen. Through his gentle nips at my ear, he whispers again, “Thank you for coming out with me today. I’ve had a really great time and I’m not sure how to say good night.”

I turn to him and study his blue eyes, which reflect the feelings I’m seemingly unable to ignore. My rules have been such a constant presence in my life for the last three years, like an anchor. What makes Vic so special that I’m almost willing to throw them away? The kiss we shared earlier today had my body practically begging for me to rip my clothes off just to be closer to him. Just to savor the way his skin would feel on mine.

And what is most frightening is I’m so close to saying yes. I’m so close to losing the safety and protection I’ve made for myself. And a small part of me is okay with it.

His lips curve into the slightest smile, giving me a glimpse of his dimples, and it’s of no use. I’m lost in him, completely. His free hand moves to my chin and gently brings my face to his. He slowly licks his lips, dips his eyes to my mouth, and kisses me so tenderly and slowly it sets my entire body on fire. Every bit of my skin awakened, every hair on my body stands at attention. Warmth pools in my belly and sinks down, down, down. The movie is playing in the background, characters sing about rivers and lakes, and all I can think about is moving closer to Vic to savor how my body is reacting to his touch. I turn in my seat, break the kiss for one agonizing moment, and move in front of him. As if he knows what I want, he drops his legs from the back of the seat and pats his thighs as he raises the armrest on his other side. My stomach’s gymnastics routine has gone from the rolls and twists of a floor routine to the uneven bars and is twisting and twirling all over the place.

Vic guides me to his lap, pulling my legs over his, and then laces his fingers through my belt loops and pulls me even closer. He strains against his jeans and his eyes darken with desire. His hands fall to my hips and as we lean in to each other, his hands slip to my upper thighs. Oh God, they are so warm, and as he tightens his fingers over my thighs, our lips collide in a fury of hunger. I twine my fingers together at the back of his neck as Vic’s tongue works its way through my swollen lips and then flicks over and around mine. There is an explosion of feelings and emotions flying through me as we kiss and Vic’s hands are inching their way up my thighs. One of his fingers brushes against the middle seam of my capris and I can’t hold back a soft moan. His lips leave my mouth and trail down my chin to my neck, all while his fingers run circles around my core. My heart thunders in my chest, rings in my ears, and all thoughts are lost. His unoccupied hand works its way under my blouse and tank top and supports me from behind at my lower back.