Perfection #3 (4 page)

He did. Soon my hips moved faster and faster until
we
both reached our crescendo. I released Bullet’s hands and
he pulled me to him holding me tight. He groaned loudly and kissed my neck
whispering my name again and again. I felt empowered and happy. We cuddled for
a few minutes and then I popped up. “I am going to get a shower. You said that
ferry comes at three?”

“Yes, but I want to talk to you about that,” he said
dressing himself and folding the blanket. “It is okay if you say no, but think
about it before you do. I was wondering if you might consent to staying a few
more days. I understand you have a schedule for school but I would like it very
much.” He sat on the couch and put his head in his hands rubbing his hair. He
peered up at me looking embarrassed. “I screwed up. I’ll admit that. I would
like a chance to make it up to you. What you say?”

I pulled my robe closer around me. Boy, it was chilly
in here. Did I want to spend a few more days with this man? “When you say spend
time together, what do you mean?
Like sex or are we going to
get to know one another?”
I was not in favor of being Bullet’s booty
call for two more days.

“Both! I would like both.
But if
that is not possible then at least the latter.
I’m willing to go out on
a limb here and say that I like you and not just because you’re beautiful and
smart and fun to be with. I don’t understand it. I just thought maybe.
Period.”

“Okay!” I gave him a big smile. “But won’t that be a
problem for you? I mean don’t you have patients that will be waiting on you? I
would hate to mess you up.”

“I do not have any surgeries until the end of the
week and the clients that I do have at the first part are pretty forgiving. If
I call Page now, I’m sure she can work it out. So if we came back Tuesday, that
would give me plenty of time to get all my appointments in before Friday
surgeries.” My eyes widened; he was really into this.

“Well, okay then. It sounds great. I will email my
professors and give Kate a call. I’m sure that will be okay.”

Bullet looked pleased. He had a big grin on his
face. He stood up and stretched, showing off his muscular frame.
Stop that! You know you are ridiculously hot
.
“Since we are going to stay in the cabin a few more days we’ll need to go into
town to pick up a few supplies. Are you ready for that? I mean are you feeling
better?”

“That sounds perfect. I would love to check out the
town. I guess we would have to go tomorrow since the ferry only runs once
today.” We walked up the stairs together.

“I hadn’t thought about that. Yes it’ll have to be
tomorrow then. Still I am sure we will find plenty to do around here.” He
arched his eyebrows playfully and I smacked his bottom in reply as we both went
our separate ways. It was nice having the cabin to ourselves without Rafe and Eve
dropping their clothes everywhere.

As I turned on the hot water and shimmied out of my
clothing I had time to think about all that happened this past weekend. Was
this really happening? Was the guy I made love to this morning the real Bullet?
I sure
hoped
so. I was running out of second chances
to give him. This would absolutely be the last one. If he couldn’t behave
himself then I would have to say no to continue our relationship—or whatever
this was. For now, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. After
all, he did open up to me and share some painful parts of his life. I couldn’t
believe how similar our pasts were and even more so, how differently we handled
grief and personal tragedy. He was showing me that he could be a real man, a
real guy, not just a caricature of himself. As I soaped up my body and stood
under the hot water, I had to admit that I was conflicted. My brain, heart and
other parts of my body were not in agreement at all on the topic of Bullet. For
the moment, I was listening to my heart. It was hard to do — I barely trusted
it and yet I did plan to trust it one more time. I wondered what his intentions
were. I guess only time would tell.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped my hair in a
towel. I dried off my body and reached for my silky, black robe. I loved this
luxurious garment. What a thoughtful gift! With my phone in hand I sat on the
edge of the bed. A few emails and a couple of pings on my social media sites
but nothing else, not even a voicemail. I thought about calling Kate but there
was so much to tell I knew we would be in for an hour-long conversation and I
did not have that kind of time to invest right now. Instead, I tapped in a text
message.
What a weekend! Chased by a bear
— not kidding. I’m okay, spending a few more days with B. TTYS
I quickly
added,
PS don’t get married without me!
Love, Lilly

I waited a few minutes to see if she would respond,
but as usual, nothing. It was Sunday and it was kind of early for Kate to be up
and about. I imagined she was still snuggling with her man, Riley. I wondered
how that was going. 15 minutes later, I was dressed in a fresh pair of blue
jeans and a fitted, long-sleeved T-shirt. I slipped socks on my feet to keep
them warm but didn’t bother putting on any shoes. I suspected we would be
hanging around the cabin today but I was not sure what Bullet had in mind. I
guess I would find out.

I was not surprised to see I was the first one
downstairs. Bullet had major shifts in his schedule to contend
with
. I wasn’t convinced that all of his clients would be as
happy about his impromptu vacation as he was. However, I had spoken with Page
before, and she was both efficient and dedicated. I was sure she could handle
it. Curiously, I opened the refrigerator looking for something to cook for a
late breakfast. I found everything I needed to make some ham and cheese
omelets. I may not be the best cook on the planet but I could cook a mean
omelet.

I melted butter on the stove and prepped the cheese
and ham. The eggs were ready to go and about the time the first omelet was
completed, my cabin mate walked into the kitchen with his phone to his ear. He
had also put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. I was happy to see him looking
so relaxed and casual. “Yes, yes. Tell her we can do that. Wednesday works fine
for me,” he looked over my shoulder appreciatively and gave me a thumbs
up
. “Did we receive the blood work back from last week?
Right, Pendleton and Henson — those two.
Well if they can’t
speed it up we will have to find another lab. Will you stress that to them when
you talk to them again? Yep. Let me grab a piece of paper and pen.” Bullet searched
his kitchen looking for a notepad. I remembered seeing one by the refrigerator
and pointed to it. He wrote down a phone number and promised Page to call a
client who had some questions about an upcoming procedure.

I scooped the omelet out of the pan and slid it onto
a plate. We had not used the dining room very much on our trip so I thought it
would be a nice treat this morning. I set the table as Bullet stepped out of
the room to make his phone call. I understood the need for privacy and
respected him for it. I took the orange juice out of the refrigerator placed it
on the table — Andre was such a thoughtful chef. I wondered if he had squeezed
this juice himself. I didn’t stand on ceremony, I was starving. I dug in,
enjoying the buttery flavor of the omelet. I felt like I had not eaten in a
month!

“Sorry about that. I think everything is squared
away now. Wow, this looks great. Thank you.”

I poured myself some juice and offered him some too.
“No problem but I have to admit this is about the extent of my culinary skills.
Unless you want omelets morning, noon and night, you better plan to cook the
next meal.”

He took a big bite. “Mmm…delicious, I could eat
these three times a day.”

I frowned at him. “Okay now, total honesty from this
moment forward. Even I know my omelets aren’t that great.”

He chuckled at first but then gave me a serious
stare.
“So, totally honest, from this point on?”

I blushed knowing that I had probably embarrassed
him. I did not mean to keep dragging up the past. I knew he had lied to me
about a few things and I was willing to let that go. I had not intended to
bring it up again, if that was what he was thinking. “I was just making a joke.
I’m not asking for commitment — I promise.”

“What if I told you I was willing to
try
to be totally honest with you? Could
you handle that? I mean total honesty can be hard to hear.” He cut into his omelet
and took another bite. “I don’t mean to clump you into the category of ‘most
women’. But in my experience most women don’t want to hear the truth. Are you
one of those women? I mean, if I were to be totally honest with you would you
condemn me for it? Would you hate me?”

I put my fork down and wiped my face with a napkin.
“Let me ask you this? When was the last time you were completely honest with a
woman and I don’t mean your assistant, Page?”

To his credit, he thought about the question before
he answered it. “Talk about hitting all the sore subjects — I guess that would
have been about six years ago. That did not go so well.”

“Really?
Was that the last time you were serious with someone?”

Bullet took a big swig of his orange juice. “Yeah,
it was about that time. I am willing to be honest with you, Lilly but it won’t
be easy and not because I want to lie to you. I have done a lot of things that
I am ashamed of — you
know,
things you do not want
anyone else to know about. I have been a man of the world and I have enjoyed
it. Being honest with you could definitely put me in a bad light. Are you
prepared to be shocked?”

With wide eyes and an incredulous look I asked, “After
this weekend with Rafe and Eve? How much more could there be?”

Bullet leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. He
lingered a few inches from my face and whispered in my ear. “That is just the
beginning of who I have been. I don’t know why, but I care about what you think.
Do not judge me too harshly.”

I smiled nervously at him. “I am a big girl — I
think I can handle it. You know, you are not the only one with secrets. I might
just shock you before this trip is over.”

With the throaty laugh Bullet said, “I bet you will.
I look forward to it.” I knew exactly what he had in mind.

Chapter
Six

Bullet

We walked along the
shore
of Blue Lake. I threw rocks and tried my best to impress her by skipping them
across the lake. It had been many years since I skipped rocks and my lack of
skills was obvious. It took a bit of convincing to get her outside again. I
assured her that the bear had been found and taken away and that the animal
control folks assured us that no other bears were in the area. “Besides, that was
quite a ways into the woods; they don’t come to the shore of the lake, at least
not that I have ever seen.” In the end, I had to promise to bring my pistol so
I did.

A crisp breeze blew off of the lake. I thought about
taking the boat out again but it would be kind of chilly out on the open water.
Plus I wanted Lilly to forget about our recent trip to Taylors Island. Those
two were ridiculous. I was glad they were gone. “So what shall we do since we
can’t go into town until tomorrow? Did you happen to bring your violin?”

She laughed — it was a pretty sound from a pretty
woman. Her wild blonde waves tossed around in the wind. Her small nose and
cheeks were pink from the fresh air. I was glad to be here with her and a
little surprised that she was still here. So what did that say about her?
Don’t be so damn negative, Bullet!

“Have you ever heard of truth or dare?” She slid her
arm through mine as we walked along the sand.

I looked down at her puzzled. “You mean a kids game?
Sure, I think I have heard of it. What did you have in mind?”

“Well, you get to pick. You get to tell the truth
about something or you have to take a dare. It’s that simple.”
Oh, here we go again with the truth thing.
Well, I warned her.

“Why don’t you show me how it is played — you go
first.”

“Okay so you have to ask me truth or dare?” She
walked backwards in front of me, her arms crossed challengingly. I loved her in
those blue jeans.

“Truth or Dare, Lilly?”

“I will take truth for five hundred, Alex,” she said
laughingly, imitating a popular game show host. “Now you have to ask me a
question and I have to tell you the truth. So what do you want to ask me?”

“Hmm…that’s a toughie. Let’s see…
Alright
,
I’ve got one. I noticed that you keep certain areas of your body nice and
smooth. Do you wax or shave?”

“What? That is your question?” Lilly laughed aloud.

“Hey, you never said what kind of question.” She
raised her hands as if to say, you got me.

“You are right. There is no such thing as a stupid
question. At least, that is what my professors tell me. If you must know, I
wax. Now it is my turn. So what will it be, Bullet?
Truth or
dare?”

“I will take truth. I’m turning over a new leaf,
right? This seems like a good way to practice.”