Reye's Gold (33 page)

“Okay, thanks, I’ve heard you. Now what?”

“I was hoping we could start over. Could we talk, get
together before you leave?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Been there, done that.
Would you leave now?” She reached for the door handle
and opened it.

“Reye,” he said again.

“What, Stephen? I need to get back, would you please
just leave?” Her voice was firm, her expression set.

He looked at her, searching her face for an inkling of
forgiveness. Seeing nothing, he decided to leave. He’d
g
ive her a little time and try to talk to her later. The
evening was still young, or so he hoped.

* * *

Sam was surprised to find Reye coming out of the room
as he opened the door. He surely hadn’t expected to find her
dry-eyed and in the process of returning downstairs.

“Sam, I was on my way back.”

“Oh. I saw Stephen getting off of the elevator and got
a little worried,” he said.

“Don’t be. I had given some consideration to running upstairs to cry my heart out, but you know what, I’ve had
enough of that, no more tears for me. He wanted out, he
walked away, remember.”

“Yeah, I do, but I wasn’t sure you did.”

* * *

Stephen had returned to the ballroom and was imme
diately accosted by his mom. “I wondered where you went to. I saw you and your dad talking with Reye.”

“Yes, we were.”

“She is a beautiful girl,” she said, her attempt to
demonstrate, if not her approval of Reye, at least not her
opposition.

“Yes, she is.”

They both looked over as Reye and Sam returned to
their table, taking their seats, engaging in conversation
with the people sitting next to them.

L
ater on that night, Stephen watched Reye and Sam
walk to the dance floor, the band playing some tune he didn’t recognize. Deciding to ask her to dance, he headed
in the direction of the dance floor. His dad stepped in front of him again, and he almost fell over him. What was up with his dad?

“Take some advice from your old man. Give her some
time. You are going to have to reintroduce yourself to her
and let her know that you are serious about her this time. You are serious about her, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.”

“How serious? Do you want to marry her?”

Stephen didn’t have an answer for that. He was at a
loss for words. He hadn’t given any thought to what
would happen beyond Reye agreeing to see him again.
What did he want from her ultimately?

“I think you owe it her to be sure of what you want
from her before you do this again. Don’t you?”

He slowly nodded. He looked over at Reye, dancing
and laughing, her head back as she gave Sam one of her
favorite smiles, wide and open, eyes dancing. Just as sure as he knew his name, he knew he loved her and wanted
her permanently in his life. He would do what was nec
essary to have her again.

“I can tell from your face that you’ve answered my
question. Good luck then.”

“Thanks, Dad. Knowing Reye like I do, I’m going to need it.” He laughed with his dad, but his gaze was still focused on her.

* * *

Toward the end of the evening, Stephen sat at his
table waiting for yet another song to end. He’d not given
up yet, so he’d sat and watched and waited. Reye and Sam were finishing yet another dance. He was deter
mined to talk to her again before she left. The evening
was winding to a close and fewer people remained. Now
seemed like a good time, so Stephen stood and walked
over to her table.

“Would you dance with me, Reye?”

She sat there for several seconds, not looking at him,
her gaze focused on her lap. After a few more seconds, he
thought she wasn’t going to answer, but she looked up
and met his eyes. She nodded. He reached for her hand
and led her to the dance floor. He pulled her into his
arms, lifting her arms and placed them around his neck,
moving his hand to her waist as he pulled her in to him.
He took a second to stand there, holding her, not
moving, just getting re-acclimated to the feel of her body
next to his. It had been so long since he had held her, and
it brought back so many memories for him. “Are we
going to dance or just stand here?” she asked, breaking
his reverie.

He laughed softly and started moving in tune with
the music. It was a slow song so he didn’t have to concen
trate on his moves, just her. She danced with her cheek
pressed next to his, his mouth next to her ear.

“Reye,” he said.

“Yes,” she answered, a little breathlessly.

“I miss you.”

“Don’t.”

He paused for a second. “I love you.” His voice was
sincere, his hands tightening around her as he felt her start to pull away.

“Just listen, please,” he said. “Will you just listen to
me?”

For several seconds there was silence as he and Reye
moved slowly to the music of the band. “Okay,” she said
finally. He pulled her closer, slowing to move with the
music. “I want to see you again. I realize you’re angry, and
you have every reason to be, but I want the chance to make it up to you.” She pulled one of her arms from
around his neck. He grabbed her wrist before she could
pull away completely, holding it near his face as he con
tinued talking, his voice earnest. “Don’t answer right
now, just think about it. Okay?”

She pulled her head back to look him in his eyes. The
eyes looking back at her were intense, sincere, and hungry.
Her body, the traitor, began to respond to his nearness. They both stopped moving, all pretense of dancing gone.

“Look, Stephen,” she said. “I’ll think about it, but I don’t know if I’m willing to risk myself like that again, or
if you’re worth it. Should I take the chance that you
might change your mind down the line if things get too
difficult? What if you encounter others who don’t
approve of us, what then?”

“Shsssh,” he said placing his finger to her lips. “How
about we start again? Take it slow if you want, until
you’re comfortable with me, us,” he said.

“
I don’t know. I’ll think about it, and don’t push me.”
They were quiet for a few minutes. Realizing that they’d stopped dancing, they began moving slowly to the music
again. “I’m really tired. Do you mind if we stop?”

“Sure,” he said trying not to sound disappointed,
adjusting his face into a smile that didn’t quite reach his
eyes. He didn’t know what he expected her to say, but this
wasn’t it.

He took her hand again and led her back to her table.
Once they’d arrived, she turned to him and said, “Thanks
for the dance, Stephen. See ya around.”

“Yeah. See ya, Reye. I’ll be in touch.” He looked over
at Sam, who sat intently watching them. “Good night,
Sam,” he said and turned and left. He walked over to say
goodbye to his parents and left the ballroom for good. He
needed some air and space, somewhere he could be alone,
to lick his wounds. He saw the red dressed beauty
walking towards him, stepping in front of him before he
reached the main doors.

“What’s your hurry?” she purred through pouting
lips.

“Long night,” he said, giving her a tight smile as he
walked past her and continued on out through the door.

* * *

Sam looked over at Reye as she sat in the passenger
side of his Grey Ghost, staring out of the window. Grey Ghost was the name he’d given to his white Escalade, a
graduation gift. He and Reye were now on the road
d
riving down I-35 towards Austin. They’d left the gala, returned to the room, packed, and checked out, stopping
only for Reye’s favorite Starbucks drink.

Earlier he’d been shocked to see Stephen walking into
the ballroom. Reye hadn’t seem him enter, and Sam had
been grateful for life’s small wonders. She was nervous
enough without the ex showing up. He’d watched them
on the dance floor and was struck by how beautiful they
were together. They made a striking couple, Reye with
her brown skin against her white dress next to Stephen in
his tux, with his golden boy looks. They’d turned heads.
Apparently they’d forgotten that dancing was required on
a dance floor, because they’d stood still, talking and
looking intently at each other, as if they were the only
two people in the room. He knew, had known all along,
that Stephen was serious about Reye, that he loved her.
He also knew he would have a hell of a time convincing
Reye that her golden boy was for real this time. But he
hoped Stephen was successful. Reye had become singu
larly focused on her job, to the exclusion of a personal life. And that worried him. He looked over at Reye out
of the corner of his eye.

“After all we’ve been through, you’re not going tell me
what Stephen said to you?”

Reye was quiet for a few minutes, staring out of the
window at the passing dark landscape. “He said he loved
me, he wants to see me again, wants us to be together and
would I please think about it. He is willing to go slow,
blah, blah, blah, if that’s what I need,” she said flatly.

“Well, what do you think?”

S
he turned to face him. “I don’t know. Why should I?
He’ll just hurt me again. He thinks he misses me, and he
might. We were good together, and I don’t just mean the
sex. But I’ve learned that I need more than that. What if
he tires of the hassles that may come with being with me?
What then? I do love him still, but you of all people saw
what I was like after he left. Why would I willingly do
that to myself again?”

“You
do
still love him, and that’s a place to start.
Right, Reye?”

“Yeah, I do, but what’s love got to do with it?” She
laughed.

“Maybe you should just wait and see. He might sur
prise you.”

“Maybe, we’ll see.”

Christmas Day found the Jackson clan together again.
Reye loved her family dearly, but the noise level they cre
ated when they were together was overwhelming sometimes. Or maybe it was just her. Since leaving Dallas, she
had been weepy and fretful. She looked around the room,
taking in the wrapping paper scattered everywhere, along
with a multitude of gifts, the conclusion to the family’s
gift-exchanging ritual. Leaving the family room, she went
in search of quiet. Grabbing her jacket from the hall
closet, she walked through the kitchen, inadvertently
interrupting a conversation between Sam and her mother.
“Don’t mind me, I just need some air,” she said, opening
the back door and stepping out onto the deck.

“Hey, baby girl. You needed some peace and quiet,
too?” her dad asked. He’d settled back into his favorite
lounger on the deck, cup of coffee in hand.

She was like her dad in so many ways. “What are you
doing outside?”

“I’m just sitting out here watching the stars, taking in
this quiet evening, enjoying God’s day. What brings you
out?”

“The same,” Reye answered.

“Come over and tell me about your trip to Dallas.
Did you have a good time?”

R
eye located a chair and pulled it over to him while
looking around for something to prop her feet on. Not
finding anything, she took off her shoes and settled her
feet on her dad’s legs.