Page 34 of The Seduction
He scrubbed a hand across his scalp. Still with that close-cropped hair. Now that she’d made the connection, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed before.
“I guess it is. Jesus. Quite a coincidence.”
“Yeah, I’ll say.” She could still hardly believe it. Was it a coincidence or something more like fate? The thought gave her a shiver. “I never even knew your name.”
“My mother never liked me telling people my name. She was weird that way. Well, not weird considering her history. She didn’t trust anyone. Not even an eight-year-old girl. After we left, she told me, ‘never trust a blond, they get everything handed to them. They’ll stab you in the back without even a blink.’”
Bliss didn’t know what to say to that. “Yikes. So when you called me ‘Blondie’…”
He shook his head at her. “Nah, nothing like that. I was just trying to get a reaction. I learned a long time ago that my mother had strong and ridiculous opinions about everything and everyone. She thought everyone ought to be given five hundred dollars a month, so she wouldn’t mind stealing that amount—but not a penny more. She never once dated a white guy. She said they wouldn’t understand her. Whenever she needed a break, she’d set us up with unofficial temporary foster homes and take off. When she was doing well, she’d take in foster kids to return the favor. She didn’t really believe in private property. She could be crazy generous and give shit away. Including my shit. She was something else.”
She heard the sadness in his voice.
“I’m sorry to hear that she’s gone. Losing a parent is…” She trailed off, and looked down at the box she still held in her arms. It was a small wooden box with dovetailed joints, with the words Box o’ Bliss painted on the top in a rainbow of colors.
“Yeah.” Granger turned back to the chili, which was now bubbling and sending spicy steam into the air. He turned off the heat and dished out two bowls. As he offered her one, he glanced at the box. “Are you going to open it?”
“I took a quick peek. I’ll go through it more later on.” What she’d seen, in the short time she’d allowed herself, was a pile of handwritten songs, along with some notes in Gault’s handwriting. The one bit she’d read blew her mind.
You’re the one most like me,B,he’d written.
How could that possibly be true? Gault had been a risk-taker, a spotlight-seeker, an outspoken warrior for what he believed in. She was nothing like that.
She set the box on a side table and accepted a bowl of chili. It smelled wonderful, like spicy comfort on a stormy night. Granger picked Moses up and plopped him next to his own food bowl.
“So why were the two of you here?” She asked as she curled up on the couch, careful not to spill the chili. It was the kind of thing she did regularly, but she was trying to be more careful since this was a shared living space.
“I have no idea. That’s why I came back. We hitchhiked three days to get here, she talked to Alvin for maybe fifteen minutes, came out in a terrible mood, kicked our fish back in the water, and then we left the next day. I’ve always been curious.”
She got the sense that he wasn’t telling her the full story. It didn’t add up. Why come all the way back here because of one short encounter nearly twenty years ago? After a sip of chili, she said, “I would never stab you in the back. Even with a blink.”
He gave a startled laugh as he sat down at the table with his bowl. “Thanks. Good to know.” After a spoonful of chili, he added, “I already knew that. I didn’t blame you for getting us kicked out. I got mad at my mother for making us leave. I really wanted to finish that damn fort on the beach.”
“Yes!” She beamed a radiant smile at him, and noticed him blink. “So you remember that!”
“Of course. I don’t like leaving things unfinished.” The banked heat in his voice made her shiver. Granger was definitely a “get it done” kind of guy, whatever “it” was. And, as usual around him, her imagination was going wild with “it” possibilities.
“Did you ever think the girl with the fort would be here?”
“To be honest, I haven’t thought about her. I’m too busy dealing with the girl who’s right in front of me.”
She pointed her spoon at him. “Who you didn’t recognize.”
“True. You’re a lot taller and you have boobs now.” His wolfish smile gave her a shiver of a thrill. “It was the kind of thing I was just starting to notice back then.”
“I…haven’t changed that much, to tell you the truth. Queen of the A cup here.”
“Oh, you’ve changed plenty. Take it from a guy who knew you then.”
Again, a sexual thrill swept through her. She realized that this attraction had been simmering ever since that elevator door had opened and she’d seen him standing there with his arms folded across his muscled chest.
The discovery that he was the boy with the fish…her one-night friend, so much better than her imaginary friends…
Just like that, a crazy, nutso thought occurred to her.
It went something like….why not?Why not make her imaginary sex life into something real?
She eyed him under lashes. He kept shooting her little glances of surprise, as if he was comparing her to his memories of the little girl with the fishing rod. Even at the age of eight, she’d felt a connection with Granger. She’d been drawn to him, considered him a friend even after knowing him for only a day. The time they’d spent together had been pure fun. He’d made her feel respected, accepted…seen.