Fire In His Eyes (Secrets & Seduction #1)(17)

Victor took my hand, and we went back into the bedroom. “We will shower when we come back, Monica, Is that okay?” He was now in the bathroom brushing his teeth.

“Sure,” I muttered, as I quickly pulled my blue panties down, and then pulled on a pair of fresh white ones. I had brought two pairs of shorts. I selected the denim for canoeing instead of the white ones. Hurrying, because the water was now off, I turned and pulled off his t-shirt, and slipped into my bra, and to go with the denim I chose a pale pink t-shirt with the American Idol insignia on it. I was still a fan of the show despite all of the changes in judges and format.

He came out of the bathroom and saw what I wore. “Cute. You like reality TV?”

I blushed, “Yeah, my one guilty pleasure.”

“You will have plenty of guilty pleasures before I am done with you,” he smirked with that crooked grin. And the fire in his ice blue eyes was back, which I was very happy to see.

“Have you ever been canoeing?” he asked as he gathered items from his dresser to put in his pockets. He also took a small framed photograph and put it frame face down, I noticed. I had not seen it last night as it had been dark in the room last night and we had not put on the lights. Earlier, I had been in too much of a hurry to get out and join Victor and Kat for breakfast that I hadn’t scoped out my surroundings either. I did notice that there were not a lot of personal possessions in the room, though. He also had several boxes in the corner that he had yet to unpack.

“Lots of times, actually. I am a farm and wilderness girl. Grew up in a village in Maine, spent my summers fishing, camping and hiking. My dad loved the outdoors, and so do I,” I informed him as thoughts of the photo slipped from my mind.

“Really, awesome! A farm girl. Mmmm,” he teased, looking at me through the reflection in the mirror, and then giving me a bit of his own history. “I grew up just over the bridge in Clearwater. My parents are Italian. They were from New York originally, obviously.” He pointed at himself. “They retired here, when I was . . . hmm, fourteen, I think. So I am a city boy, but I love the great outdoors and Florida.” He fastened his watch on, and turned back to me. “Ready to go?” I nodded. He looked pleased. I was too. We had our obvious differences, but we had a great deal in common as well.

The ride to Pinellas Park was about thirty minutes from his apartment complex. On the way there he was quiet at first, but eventually he started to quiz me on the music and the artists. Of course, I reminded him that I was horrible with names, artists, and song titles. He laughed and said what do you call your students, “Hey, You?”

“Sometimes,” I said with a straight face, then I laughed also.

We parked and made our way to the rental hut. It was a rough structure made to look like a large tiki hut. He rented a canoe for the two of us and handed me a paddle and a lightweight life jacket as park policy required we wear them. For about ten minutes, we paddled in silence enjoying the fresh air and the bountiful flora and fauna around us.

“Monica, I don’t want to ruin the mood, but I want to be as honest as I can with you, ok? Those things I told you the other morning I meant.”

My heart hammered into my chest. This was the only man I had ever been excited about, but he kept warning me off. “Okay,” I said hesitantly and I waited for him to continue.

“My life is complicated. I have a lot going on with switching careers, seeing what direction my life is going to take. I am still in the reserves, so one weekend a month it is all about that. Two weekends a month I have family obligations, and it’s all about them. I don’t have time for a full time relationship. There are things going on that I don’t want to talk about with you. I am busy right now with trying to start up this new business. I can tell already, you are a good girl, who deserves someone who will put you first, but I just can’t do that right now, if ever. I can give you one weekend a month maybe, and one or two nights a week.” When I didn’t respond right away, he continued. “Look, you can even see other people if you like?” Then he waited.

Other people? I only met him four days ago, but instinctively knew no one could compare. It just wasn’t in me to juggle two guys at once. I also didn’t want to be just a casual occasional sexual encounter. Again, I wondered why he was pushing me away. I chose my words carefully.

“Victor, I like you, a lot,” I emphasized. I am willing to take what you can give me for now. I like my life; it is simple and not complicated. I am not interested in seeing two guys at the same time, ever. It is just not who I am. Can’t we just enjoy the time we have together when we are together and worry about the rest later. If it’s because you want to see other girls when you are not with me then. . .” I lowered my gaze and left the thought unfinished. It bothered me too much to think about it at the moment.

His smile was like diamonds. “No, Monica that’s not it at all. Please believe me when I tell you it’s not that. I don’t have time for one relationship, let alone two. Please don’t think that. I just don’t want to be unfair to you. But, I was hoping you would say something like that. I don’t like to share, but I can’t commit. I just wanted to give you the opportunity so you weren’t waiting around for me all the time. I can’t do dates, work stuff, family gatherings. I’ve already explained I can do one weekend a month, and maybe one or two nights a week. Don’t fall in love with me. I’m pretty busy. I don’t want entanglements, arguments, or drama because you’re home twiddling your thumbs for three weekends a month resenting me. I just want to draw the line in the sand. This is all I can offer. If you’re sure that you can handle this, then I am game.” He pulled the boat to shore, and then carefully stood to cross the boat to sit beside me. I was feeling a little lost at the moment. He cautiously placed his hands on my face and whispered, “You are so beautiful, Monica.” Then he kissed me for the first time that morning. In the warm spring breeze it helped to melt some of the ice that had formed around my heart at his words. It was soft, and tentative, not rushed or demanding like the others we had shared. When it ended, he gazed into my eyes, and asked me one more time, “Are you sure?”