Life and Other Near-Death Experiences(38)

“I did not freak out,” I said crossly.

He kissed me lightly. “Okay, cutie. Just don’t be so set on your decision this early in the game. Think about it, okay?”

Cutie. Unless “Libs” counted, Tom had no pet names for me. I kind of liked it. Even so, Shiloh’s gentle nudging made me wonder if deep down, he wanted to take me on not just as a lover, but also a charitable endeavor.

I sighed and nestled into the crook of his arm. “We’ll see.”



I woke the next morning to a dent where Shiloh had been sleeping. I heard clanging in the kitchen and smiled. A note would have been sufficient, but a warm body was that much better.

He was standing in front of the espresso machine, which I still hadn’t figured out how to use. “Hola. I made you a coffee.”

“Thank you.” I stood there for a few seconds, wishing I’d slipped my bra on before coming out in nothing but a T-shirt and underwear, then sat at the bar. He handed me a small cup and stood across from me drinking the coffee he’d prepared for himself.

“Gotta take off soon,” he said. “I have to go to San Juan to take care of some things.”

“Sure.”

“That’s it? Sure?”

“Were you expecting a different reply?”

“I guess not,” he said, looking at me quizzically. Then he leaned across the bar and kissed me, which led to some spirited groping. “I really enjoy spending time with you, Libby,” he said when we came up for air.

I smiled. “I enjoy it, too. Let’s do this again soon.”

He ran his hands through his hair and grinned back at me. “Absolutely.”

My smile faded as I listened to his Jeep pull out of the driveway. I went to the bedroom, lifted my shirt, and stood before the mirror. My stomach was markedly less enthusiastic than I was about the evening’s adventures with Shiloh: it felt as though a very angry squid had worked its way beneath my skin and was attempting to breach the walls of my intestines. I located Advil in the cupboard and took three. I would have to begin prophylactic self-medication, for I had every intention of sleeping with Shiloh again in the immediate future, and I was not going to let this festering fatality stop me.



I didn’t see Shiloh again that night, which I told myself was for the best, even as I did frantic, libidinous calculations in my head. I had just nineteen more days on the island, and with the way my wound was weeping, there was no guarantee all those days would be sexually salvageable. “Nothing gold can stay,” Paul was fond of saying. As per usual, he was right, even if his wisdom had been pilfered from Robert Frost. I figured this, if anything, earned him a phone call.

“Aw, you finally remembered little ol’ me,” Paul said by way of a greeting.

“Cease ye sulking, for I bear glad tidings.”

“Go on.”

“I’m getting laid!”

“Excuse me for a second.” He made a gagging noise into the receiver. “You’ve now successfully dislodged nine hundred calories worth of burrito. Thank you for speeding my weight-loss efforts.”

“Whatever, Paul. First of all, you don’t have an ounce to lose. Second, didn’t you tell me to find myself a cabana boy? Be happy for me.”

“I am happy for you, even if I’m less than interested in the particulars. Who’s the guy, and where’d you meet him?”

I recalled nose-diving into the shallow end of the Caribbean and decided it was best if I again self-censored. “It’s a long story. But he’s a pilot here, and he’s Puerto Rican.”

“Ca-rumba!” Paul said. “Seriously, though, Libs, be careful. You don’t know this guy from Alejandro.”

“His name is Shiloh, and I do know him. And I’m always careful.”

“So says the girl who put her apartment on the market without telling its legal co-owner, then packed a bag and headed to an island in the middle of nowhere without even informing her beloved brother.”

“Hmph. I said I was sorry.”

“And all is forgiven, dear sis, provided you watch your back with any and all men who so much as glance your way.”

I flushed as I recalled Shiloh pressing me up against the tiles in the shower, proving that we were both sportier than we’d given ourselves credit for. “My back’s never been better,” I assured Paul. “Promise.”



“Hola, mija,” Milagros said when I let myself into her courtyard. “You’re looking muy linda this evening. Love agrees with you.”

“Love?” I said. “Who said anything about love?”

“You share a driveway with old Milly. I can see when certain male visitors leave early in the morning.”

I frowned.

“Ay, don’t be angry. Think of me as a built-in security system. Besides, I’m not looking through your windows or coming over. Just making sure you’re okay.”

“All right,” I conceded, if only because this fact would make Paul happy. “Thank you.” I handed Milagros the bottle of rum I’d purchased at the convenience store down the road.

“Y gracias a ti. Let’s have some now,” she said and went to the kitchen. She returned with two small glasses, which she filled with two very generous pours of the amber liquid.