Sunrise at Sunset by Jaz Primo Page B

move an inch as his mouth neared hers. He ever-so-gently brushed his lips once against hers. There was warmth as their lips touched, and his eyes softened as his face hovered before her.
    Katrina listened to Caleb’s accelerated heartbeat and felt his warm breath against her lips. She was feeling extremely satisfied with how he had conducted himself. Now she understood his intentions even better than he probably did, and it pleased her.
    Her right hand went immediately and gently to the back of his neck, where she cupped the base of his head, and her lips pressed with firm, deliberate pressure against his. She drew deeply against his breath for a single passionate moment, and he responded with a shudder that went through his body as he returned her kiss in kind.
    She drew back from him, gazed into his eyes, and whispered, “I don’t have devotion problems either, with the right person.”
    A surge of adrenaline shot through his body, and his heart raced. At that moment, he wanted so much to be the right person in her life. It was stronger than most anything he’d felt before. But he was suddenly lost in a sea of uncertainty as to what he should do next. “And now?” he asked quietly and with a sincere desire for guidance from her.
    Katrina smiled, having read the question in his eyes as he asked it. “Now?” she replied as she pulled away from him slightly. “Now we call it a night, and I let you get some rest. Tomorrow will be busy for you, as I’m sure the first day of the semester usually is.”
    His eyebrows rose with some surprise at her response. He certainly hadn’t expected that. “And?” he queried with a grin.
    She playfully smiled back at him, but replied with a sober tone, “And we take it one day at a time.”
    He was amazed by the seemingly uncanny sense of experience emanating from her. She appeared to be no older than he, but she spoke so sagely and with such confident reassurance. She was an anomaly to him in so many ways. And yet he trusted her implicitly.
    “Count me in, coach,” he agreed as he sat up and reached to examine the bag of tea still perched on the table.
    He was prepared at that moment to do the right thing, no matter what that was. He felt convinced that there was something very special about Katrina, mysterious and enchanting. And he meant both to discover and experience all of it.
    For approximately two weeks, they exchanged emails and text messages during weekdays, while conversing over the phone any evenings they didn’t see each other. There were dinner dates, a movie, and taking in an evening at one of the local art museums. No matter the activity, they both thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company.
    However, even as Caleb openly shared his own background, he found Katrina’s to be continually vague. She rarely provided straightforward answers to questions about her youth, her family history, or even what kept her so busy during the daytime that she was never available for lunches or entire days together.
    Caleb didn’t really feel that Katrina was deliberately trying to mislead him, but rather that she felt uncomfortable confiding in him with details. That prospect bothered him quite a bit.
    What he didn’t realize was that Katrina was all too aware of his concerns. She expertly gauged his body language and voice inclinations, as well as the context of his statements. Furthermore, she realized the time was very near when she would either have to reveal herself and her true nature to him or risk losing all they had worked towards.
    Of course, she realized from the beginning of her journey with him that the day would come when she would have to make a delicate and serious decision on how to proceed with him. If she left him now, he would perhaps never be the wiser and might live his life out within the traditional parameters of human existence. However, if she pursued him further, he would face an important decision of his own, one with potentially grave consequences