Wings of Deception (31 page)

He kept talking as much to himself as to her for it felt so liberating to openly declare his love for another person. It was a new experience for him.

“I know what I feel now is love. I love you. It sounds so right that it can
not
be wrong. What I feel for you goes beyond physical attraction.” He grinned and Honey’s heart did a
flip flop
. “Not that I don’t find
you very tempting there too
,
because I
think you know I
do but there is more, so much more here
than attraction
. Tell me you do
not
feel it too? No, because you can
’
t
;
you know
you
can
’
t
. Then why can’t we go with it, enjoy it, live it?”

“I wish it were so simple.”

“Why make it complicated? Honey, I am not asking you to sleep with
me,
I am just asking that you do not close the door here
.
G
ive it a chance. We
already
have a good friendship, so okay we shared a couple of kisses, but
I can just not do that again. Not unless you want me too
,
of course.
”
Again he grinned the quirky grin that she so loved.

“I am not trying to
complicate things,
but I guess I am, huh?”

“Yes you are. In one breath you tell me that God is love and in the next you deny the love between us. It just does
not
make sense to me.”

Honey was feeling less vulnerable and had her emotions in check. She was still a baby when it came to being savvy to the Word
,
but she had learned some things since becoming a convert
and she had the faith of a child that was pleasing to her Heavenly Father.

“Jacks, this love you talk about is very precious to me but even more so is the love of Jesus, who actually died on a cross because He loved me, you and every one of
us
, so that we can live eternally with Him.”

“Should I be jealous?”

She saw that he was teasing and threw her pillow at him.

“No…remember t
hat
song
in the sixties….
about love?
Jealously has no place in love.
”

“I
am
not really the jealous type
,
so you do
not
have to worry, but if I can be satisfied with coming in second with you, surely you would
not
have a problem being first with me. How much easier is that?”

“That is the problem, though I know you can
’
t
understand, I want the man I love here on this Earth
,
to love Go
d
as much as I do and I want to
come second. You see
,
if two people have mutual love for Him, then it makes their love
for each other
even better.”

“How so?”

“Because He is love and it is through Him that we can even experience love.”

“Hmmm.
So, what you are telling me is that if I do
not
love or believe in God
,
then what I feel for you can
not
be
real
love. Come here.” When she did
not
move
,
he laughed. “I just want to see something, prove something. I
am
not even going to kiss you, I promise.”

She slid over closer to him and he pulled her into the crook of his arm coaxing her head to his chest and leaning back on the sofa
’s arm as he got into a comfortable position.

“What?” She was curious.

“Just lie here with me. No kissing, no talking, just me and you. I want to see if it is real.”

Again she said, “What?”

“This love I feel for you, I want to see if it is fake like you say, if it is, then surely it will go away, so I want to see if it does.”

Honey laughed aloud at him and raising her head to see him said, “Now you are making fun of me.”

“No I am not, I really do want to see if we can just lie her
e
togeth
er...
not being intimate and
see if I lose that loving feeling…and it’s gone, gone, gone.” Singing the last
of the
words
and holding her in his arms. There was silence following and it was a few minutes before Honey realized he was fast asleep.
She lay there breathing in his smell and faintly remembered wondering what the fragrance was he wore
,
before she too dozed off.

The sun was shining through the patio doors before they woke up. Honey woke first and when she moved Jacks sleepily said, “It did
not
leave, did it?”

Honey
had risen and was
smoothing her rumpled shirt
but stopped and said softly, “No Jacks, it did not leave.” Then with more of an alarm in her voice she said, “Jacks! Your flight! Get up or you will miss it!”

“I do
not
care.” But he jumped up anyway.

“Hurry, get your shower and get ready and I will make some breakfast. Your bag is in the guest room.” She blushed as she realized they had actually spent the night in each other’s arms. He grinned at her knowing what she was thinking.

“At least you do
not
have to make
my
bed….hey, you are really embarrassed aren’t you?”

“No….oh, I don’t know, maybe I am but you better go if you do
not
want to miss your flight.”

He was obviously not in a big hurry
,
for he put his arms around her and hugged her
. “I won’t, did you know it is only six-thirty? My plane does
not
leave until ten so I have plenty of time. You know, I think you should come with me.”

“
What
?”

“Yeah, I can get you a ticket and you can come with me to New York. It will be fun.”

“You are serious aren’t
you
!
”

“I am.
We have a three day weekend and
we can
come back on Monday.
How about it, be compulsive and come with me, please?”

She hesitated
,
thinking what better way to
find out
what was going on
in New York
than to see for herself. After all, it was the prime reason for the overnight visit and since that had gone in a complete
ly
different direction, why not?

“Okay.”

“
You are kidding?
Alright, then forget breakfast and pack a bag. I will make the reservation and get ready….yeah!”

Honey laughed at his excitement
and was beginning to feel it too. She did not have a compulsive nature but she was not even going to think about it
.
S
he was going to New York with Jacks.

After s
he packed her bag,
she
jumped in the shower. By the time she got out she was wondering if she had lost her mind. By the time she had dressed
,
she was sure she had. She had two voices going on in her head. One was saying
,
I can’t go traipsing off to New York just like that, what am I thinking?
While the other replied,
oh
but you can, you can
’
t
back out now, he has probably already
purchased
the ticket!
Then,
what
will your friends say?
a
nd
,
“If they are your friends, they won’t say anything, because they will know you are not doing anything wrong!

Her
thinking
was interrupted by Jacks voice coming down the hall.

“Hey you!
Bout done?
Time to
leave
!”

She stuck her head out and said, “Just a minute, I am almost there.”

She leaned against the door as she shut it. “Dear God, please do
not
let this be a mistake!”

She picked up her bag and taking a deep breath
,
left her room and joined Jacks in the den where he took her bag from her.

“I got it. I will just put these in the truck while you lock up.”

This caused her to laugh as she followed him out.

“Jacks, I could
not
even tell you where my key is
,
it has been so long since I used it!”

“You are kidding?”

“No, I am
not;
there has never even been a burglary in my neighborhood that I can recall. We all watch out for each other here. Believe me
, if someone went into my house they would be seen. Just like now.”

She waved at her elderly neighbor who lived directly across from her.

“Good morning Mrs. Dallas!” Turning to Jacks
,
she made a face. “See. Now I do not even have to worry about what the conversations will be about today!”

She was laughing as she slid into the front seat and put her seatbelt on.

“Gossip, huh?”

“They are dears and it will be nice gossip they will do. They are just curious
,
so you see why I do
not
have to lock my doors.”

“I guess.”

He was busy fastening his own seatbelt
. I
t was after he was on the main street that would lead them out of town
that
either talked again. Honey was still silently battling herself with the pros and cons of what she was doing and Jacks was thinking how
brilliant
it
was to think of taking her with him
.
He had finally admitted his love for her and it
was a good feeling and he knew she felt the same
,
even though she had expressed doubts. They could work out their differences. He was happy.

He looked over at her. She looked incredibly beautiful to him and he thought
,
if there was a God, I would want it to be the one she believes in so much.
Then he thought about when he was a child and how he perceived God. He was a fearsome thing to him and someone who could make him burn in a fire forever. It seemed to him that there must be two of them
out there,
for the one
Honey declared to him was a God of love and one to be revered and not feared. He wondered if he could have been wrong.

Honey was just about to ask Jacks to turn around and take her back when he asked a question that made her sure she was doing the right thing.

“Honey, I was thinking that maybe….if you want….you could tell me about, you know, some of the things you mentioned before about Jesus.
I never really cared to know this stuff but it is such a big part of your life, I would like you to share it.” He quickly added, “Not that I am buying into it or anything, I just want to know this part of who you are a little better.”

“Oh.”

“You do
not
have to. I just thought….”

“No, I want to
,
really.
” She hurriedly assured him but he had so surprised her by his request that she could
not
think. Before she could say anything more
,
her cell phone rang. She looked at it to see who it was. “It’s Sheila. Hello Sheila.”

“Where are you? I went over for coffee and conversation and you were already out this morning
,
but your car is still in the drive.
”

“Uh, yes
,
I left pretty early.”

“Well, how did things go with Jacks and what happened last night between the two of you and don’t say
nothing
,
because I won’t believe you!”

“Okay, but
it
will have to
wait
.
I am on my way to the airport with Jacks.”

“Wait a minute. You are with
J
acks right now
.
I don’t understand. Did he stay at your place last night?”