Page 60 of Unscripted Love
“I published a book,” Chaz blurted out, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say. “That’s what I plan to do full time if, or when, I leave Curl Up and Dye.” His announcement sidetracked my mom from what she’d been about to say. My man had thrown himself on the sword to spare me. Chaz winked playfully as he was bombarded with one question after the other about his writing. Surprisingly, he told them everything. My mom and sisters broke the No Phones at the Table rule to buy his book even though he told them he’d gladly give them a copy.
I loved the way Chaz glowed when he talked about his passion for telling stories and the easy way he interacted with my family. It didn’t feel like it was the first time I brought him home and I was certain it woudn’t be the last. I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed so hard and felt so happy. I knew the biggest reason for my happiness wasn’t my cool lunchbox, my amazing new home, or my crazy family; it was the man smiling at me from across the table.
“You really haven’t traveled out of Ohio until now?” Kyle asked me for the second time as we got in the back of the hired car. He asked me the first time when I confessed that I was flying for the first time when we boarded the plane.
“No,” I said again. I wasn’t annoyed by Kyle’s question because he asked out of surprise, not derision. The things I worried would turn Kyle away from me, actually drew him closer. He loved that I had limited experiences so that he could be with me as I discovered new and exciting things. He thought I was refreshing, not unsophisticated.
“I wish we were staying longer than four days then,” Kyle replied. “There are so many things I want to show you.”
“We can always come back.”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing like Christmastime in New York,” Kyle said. “Are you excited about tomorrow?”
“Yes, but nervous too,” I answered honestly. “I’m not convinced I need an agent, and I don’t want to disappoint my idol.”
Kyle reached for my hand, and I resented the gloves we wore that kept me from feeling his flesh against mine. “You can’t disappoint anyone,” he said softly. “Everyone loves you and she will too.”
I was happy that only one of the four days involved book stuff so that I could have plenty of time to sightsee with Kyle. As excited as I was to attend the book convention and meet Agnes, I was more excited to see what Kyle had planned for us. He refused to tell me anything, but I loved surprises almost as much as I loved him.
I considered myself an imaginative person, but not even I could’ve written a date as romantic as the one Kyle planned for us. Our excursion started late in the afternoon when he took me to see the Rockette’s at Radio City Music Hall. “You can’t have Christmas in New York without the Rockettes,” Kyle said.
“It was amazing,” I told him. “Thank you so much.”
“Baby, we’re just getting started,” Kyle said.
He wasn’t joking either. After the show, he took me to an incredible dinner where I ate exotic foods I would never find in Ohio. I thought that would be the end of our night, but he had one more surprise up his sleeve when he took me on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the city. I snuggled beneath a flannel blanket with him and took it all in. I loved the cold crisp air, the sounds of hooves clomping against the pavement, and the taste of hot chocolate on my tongue. My favorite thing of all was the way Kyle smiled at me as I enjoyed each of those things.
A light snow began to fall from the sky on our ride back to the hotel. Kyle pulled me to him and kissed me tenderly while snowflakes fell all around us. It was so ridiculously romantic that I expected a director to yell, “cut,” at any second. It was too impractical and perfect to be real, but I wasn’t dreaming. Not even I could imagine the adoration and sensual promise that simmered in Kyle’s eyes when he looked at me.
“You’re not the only one with a surprise,” I told Kyle when we strolled through the hotel lobby. “I wanted to find the right time to give it to you, and I can’t imagine I’ll have a better night than this one.”
“This weekend was supposed to be about you,” Kyle said, but I saw the excitement in his eyes. He probably thought he was getting another lunchbox or comic book to add to his collection and I hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed.
I instructed him to sit on the couch while I retrieved his gift from my suitcase. I blew out a shaky breath when I handed the box to him.
“You look really nervous,” Kyle said. “Terrified, actually.”
“I am,” I admitted. It was the boldest move I’d made in my life. “Go ahead and open it.”
Kyle took his time pulling off the ribbon and removing the paper, unlike the time I gave him the lunchbox. Of course, he was probably reacting to the energy I put out in the room. I was nervous and made him edgy too. After what seemed like twenty minutes, Kyle pushed aside the tissue paper and looked down at his gift.
“It’s your new book!” he said excitedly and lifted the paperback out of the box. “I’m so excited that I get to hold it in my hands months before anyone else can.”
“There’s more,” I told Kyle. He looked into the empty box then back at me. “It’s inside the book.” I saw the minute he realized what I meant. He swallowed hard then opened the book to the dedication page.
To Kyle,
You put the stars in my eyes, fireworks in my heart, and magic in my words. I love you.
I held my breath the entire time he read the words I’d written to him, worrying that the sentiment was too sappy. Hell, I might as well have started singing Bette Midler’s “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” I started to feel a little lightheaded and wondered how many times he’d read the words and why hadn’t he said anything.Oh my God! It’s too late to change it if he hates it. Breathe, dumb ass, or you’ll be dead before he has a chance to tell you.
I breathed easy when Kyle looked up at me and said, “Wow,” in an awed voice. I recalled the times when that word was all I could say to express feelings so intense that words failed me. “I love you too.” Kyle set his book aside, and we reached for each other.
I kissed Kyle the way I had wanted to that magical night beneath the stars while fireworks exploded in the sky. I reached for Kyle and held him close rather than pushing him away. I kept my eyes open, so I could see every expression on his face when I kissed him in all the places that drove him wild, like the back of his knees, his ticklish rib cage, and the crease between his pelvis and thigh. I heard the whispered words of love as Kyle lay me down and slid inside me. I felt the way his body trembled when I ran my hands up and down his spine as he made love to me. But what stood out to me the most that night was the look in Kyle’s eyes that promised me a love beyond my wildest imagination and greater than my most vivid dreams.
There are some moments in life that you don’t ever want to end. You don’t want to fall asleep because you’re afraid that you won’t recapture that moment again. You just know there won’t be another time in your life when everything aligns so perfectly again. Then you wake up the next morning beside the person that brought you so much pleasure the night before, and you’re grateful that you get another chance to recapture those feelings again, or perhaps surpass the memory.
That was how I felt once I opened my eyes and stretched the next morning. I was ready to go forth and conquer, starting with my morning wood. I nestled into the covers and allowed my imagination to run free while I plotted the many things I could do to start Kyle’s day off right.