“The browns that complete your skin’s color profile. The fact you don’t seem to workout but don’t look like you’ve missed a day in the gym. The way you read your novel in complete silence without even cracking a smile or batting an eye. The way you’re disciplined enough and caring enough to not consume foods that cause harm to animals.
“The way you keep your guard up to protect what’s rightfully yours, even though I want you to let it down for me. How poised you are. How proper you are. How well groomed you are. How good you look at all hours of the day. How much you care about your body and what goes in it. How well-informed you are. How clean you are.
“How confident you are. How big those eyes of yours are. How easily you’ve captured my attention and how much you don’t care to have it. I can’t think of nothing I don’t find attractive about you. And, I want to get to know you. We have nothing but time on our hands which should make things easier for us.
“Let me make this time the best time of your life. I can do that. I won’t waste it. I won’t horse around. I want to discover what makes you laugh. I want to know what makes you smile. I want to read some of the pages of your favorite novel. I want to learn about your family and your closest friends.
“I want to know what pisses you off and how easily your buttons are pressed. And, I want to call you Kit. Because, I like your name as much as I like you. I like the way it sounds. I likethe way it commands your attention. I like the way it fits you–perfectly,” he explained, sending me on a rollercoaster.
My head was spinning. At any second, I would fall from the dizzy spell I was under.
“As far as my proximity. I don’t want it to scare you. I want it to invigorate you, excite you, move you in ways you’ve never been moved before. Make you do things you’ve never done before. Make you say things you’ve never said before. Make you try things you’ve never tried before. Make you feel things you’ve never felt before.”
My breath hiked in my chest as his lips neared mine, again. This time, they sat right in front of them. Unmoving. Just existing. Until finally, he spoke again.
“Understood?”
I nodded, brushing my lips past his. My lipstick stained them with a smear. I could feel the moisture they obtained without being able to see it.Or them.
“Yes.”
“I won’t pressure you into agreeing to anything I’ve said tonight. As long as you understand it. Take some time to think about it, Kit. I’ll be here, and I’ll be waiting. Please note that my side of this home is no longer off limits to you.”
I shuddered. With each syllable, Fohr was wrecking me.
“Okay?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Without another word, he turned to leave. My eyes followed him down the hall until he disappeared. And, finally, my legs gave in. I slid down the wall as if I’d just lost my lover. But, I hadn’t. I’d just found him.
Possibly.
SEVEN
Six days.
Seventeen hours.
And, a few minutes.
“Urgh.”
The final pull up in the final set forced a grunt from my throat. I landed on my feet and grabbed the clean towel Kit had left by the water fountain this evening. She was an observer with the memory of an elephant.
How she didn’t remember she hadn’t given me a response to the spilling of my deepest, truest thoughts and feelings was baffling. But, so was her beauty. And her charisma. And hertemperament. Even more so now than since I walked through her front door a week ago. Something happened in that hallway that night.
Something special. Because, though Kit hadn’t addressed what we both understood to be the inevitable, she was calmer. She was more present in my presence. The discomfort had faded.
“And, our sources tell us this is promising. We can only hope this is accurate information and a solution to this crisis is on the way, John. I’m hopeful. What about you?”
“I don’t know, Phillip. But, like you, I am hopeful. Not only for my sake but for the sake of the city and every other city that has been affected by Blunder. No one is ever ready for an epidemic of this magnitude. It’s gutting, no matter how we look at it.”
“You’re righ–”
I stared blankly at the television, secretly praying my time with Kit wasn’t coming to an end. It had only just begun. I was only just beginning to see the spark in her eyes and the curve of her lips when she spoke slowly, carefully, and thoughtfully.
Uninterested in the broadcast, I powered the television down and shoved the remote back into the pouch on the wall before exiting. Sweat blinded me partially, forcing me to stop and press the towel against my moist skin.
