gently, almost affectionately, “you deserve better than you asked for just then, and I should have given you better than you got. But I’m human; try to remember that, will you?” There’s something about her that’s different, he thought, but couldn’t name it. Shrugging it off, he reached both hands toward the ceiling and grabbed fists full of air, stretching his big frame like the great cats for which he’d been nicknamed.
Naomi admitted to herself that her passionate exchange with Rufus was a humbling experience, and she had the guilty feeling that she’d brought some of it on herself. She knew how she looked in that dress, but she didn’t intend to worry about it. His last remark convinced her that he really was very likeable, that she could trust him with herself anyplace and at any time. Frankly observing him, she could almost pinpoint the second that he decided to change the tenor of the conversation.
“All right, let’s get started,” he directed. “I’m sure some of the fraternities would be glad to join this; I can get my frat to go along and you might contact your sorority.”
“What’s yours?” she asked. “I’m a Delta.” She shook with laughter at his stunned disbelief that they belonged to brother-sister Greek letter societies. Her Delta to his Omega. Stranger things had happened, she reminded him, hinting that at last they had found common ground.
He feigned innocence. “You’re joking! What do you mean, ‘at last’? What kind of ground was that we found when we were setting each other on fire a minute ago? As an English teacher, you should take a page from Shakespeare, ‘to thine own self be true.’”
She had backed away from involvements, from attachments that she would have liked to pursue, because she didn’t trust a man to love and accept her as she was. And she paid for it in loneliness. Even now, she chose craftily not to reply to his message but to the package in which he wrapped it. “Mr. Meade,” she queried, “where is it written that you’re not a man unless you mention sex at least once in every sentence?”
“Who mentioned sex? I was talking about whatever it is between us that draws us together, no matter how much we swear we don’t want it. I know what I’m backing away from, Naomi, and I know why. But do you?”
She wouldn’t have dared to tell him that she was backing away from what she thought she wanted, but hadn’t previously known she needed; the love of a strong, tender man. A man like him. And she couldn’t tell him that it was fear of his rejection, his scorn, that wouldn’t let her reveal herself, the self she knew he would like, that he might even love. Nor could she tell him that, if she were true to herself, he might even become hers for a little while—before her world caved in. And never could she utter the words that would tell him what he was coming to mean to her.
A frivolous reply that would hide her feelings was on the tip of her tongue. But his question was too threatening, too intimate for a trivial answer, and she heard herself say, “I’ve been backing away so long that I do it without thinking.” She must have made him speechless; he was quiet for a long time. When he did speak, it was to suggest that they get something to eat. Relieved, she nodded in agreement. “Sounds good to me.”
Naomi rarely sat in the front seat of a car when she wasn’t driving; when she did, she tended to be uncomfortable. But not with Rufus at the wheel. She turned to him. “Driving a car is an ego trip for a lot of men, but not for you; you’re very careful.”
She wouldn’t have thought that such a simple statement would please him so much. But his face showed genuine pleasure. “Life’s a fragile thing, Naomi, and I don’t risk mine or anyone else’s, if I can help it. Besides, I’m all that the boys have.”
There was a silent minute while he seemed to test her interest, and then he added, “Those little rascals are my
Naomi admitted to herself that her passionate exchange with Rufus was a humbling experience, and she had the guilty feeling that she’d brought some of it on herself. She knew how she looked in that dress, but she didn’t intend to worry about it. His last remark convinced her that he really was very likeable, that she could trust him with herself anyplace and at any time. Frankly observing him, she could almost pinpoint the second that he decided to change the tenor of the conversation.
“All right, let’s get started,” he directed. “I’m sure some of the fraternities would be glad to join this; I can get my frat to go along and you might contact your sorority.”
“What’s yours?” she asked. “I’m a Delta.” She shook with laughter at his stunned disbelief that they belonged to brother-sister Greek letter societies. Her Delta to his Omega. Stranger things had happened, she reminded him, hinting that at last they had found common ground.
He feigned innocence. “You’re joking! What do you mean, ‘at last’? What kind of ground was that we found when we were setting each other on fire a minute ago? As an English teacher, you should take a page from Shakespeare, ‘to thine own self be true.’”
She had backed away from involvements, from attachments that she would have liked to pursue, because she didn’t trust a man to love and accept her as she was. And she paid for it in loneliness. Even now, she chose craftily not to reply to his message but to the package in which he wrapped it. “Mr. Meade,” she queried, “where is it written that you’re not a man unless you mention sex at least once in every sentence?”
“Who mentioned sex? I was talking about whatever it is between us that draws us together, no matter how much we swear we don’t want it. I know what I’m backing away from, Naomi, and I know why. But do you?”
She wouldn’t have dared to tell him that she was backing away from what she thought she wanted, but hadn’t previously known she needed; the love of a strong, tender man. A man like him. And she couldn’t tell him that it was fear of his rejection, his scorn, that wouldn’t let her reveal herself, the self she knew he would like, that he might even love. Nor could she tell him that, if she were true to herself, he might even become hers for a little while—before her world caved in. And never could she utter the words that would tell him what he was coming to mean to her.
A frivolous reply that would hide her feelings was on the tip of her tongue. But his question was too threatening, too intimate for a trivial answer, and she heard herself say, “I’ve been backing away so long that I do it without thinking.” She must have made him speechless; he was quiet for a long time. When he did speak, it was to suggest that they get something to eat. Relieved, she nodded in agreement. “Sounds good to me.”
Naomi rarely sat in the front seat of a car when she wasn’t driving; when she did, she tended to be uncomfortable. But not with Rufus at the wheel. She turned to him. “Driving a car is an ego trip for a lot of men, but not for you; you’re very careful.”
She wouldn’t have thought that such a simple statement would please him so much. But his face showed genuine pleasure. “Life’s a fragile thing, Naomi, and I don’t risk mine or anyone else’s, if I can help it. Besides, I’m all that the boys have.”
There was a silent minute while he seemed to test her interest, and then he added, “Those little rascals are my
Similar Books
