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she got up and left the room. He didn’t see her again before they left the Elliot’s house.
    * * *
    The pickup truck rolled to a stop on the state park playground. Laurel parked away from the street lamp so as not to draw attention and turned off the engine. They both sat for a second, she looking down at her lap, he looking across the seat at her. But then, she raised her eyes to his, and suddenly they were in each other’s arms, kissing. He pulled her close. She shifted until she was on top of him, with a knee on either side of his hips, grinding against him as he slid his hands all over her. After a time that seemed both too short and almost too long, he made himself stop. She leaned her warm trembling body against his while he stroked her hair and down her back in a soothing motion. Each time they did this, he came closer to losing control of the situation, and it worried him. He had never felt quite this way about a girl before — protective one minute and predatory the next.
    Laurel had an intellectual understanding of the birds and bees, of course, but that was different from exploring the nest and the hive up close and personal. She was both an eager student and a quick learner, and what troubled him was that he repeatedly found himself trying to make her lose control as well. Tonight, given the sounds she made and the current disarray of their clothing, he’d come very close to succeeding. He pulled the hem of her tank top down over the flat, soft surface of her stomach, dragging his knuckles seductively across her skin.
    “Okay there, sweetheart?” He felt her nod.
    He chuckled. “That’s good, because I’m not.”
    Her head snapped up from his shoulder and she pushed herself off him. “Oh, I’m . . . I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I — ”
    “Shh.” He stroked her hair and let his fingers slide down her neck and across her collarbone. “It’s okay,” he murmured.
    She looked down and mumbled, “You must think I’m such a naïve twit or a tease — ”
    “No, I don’t.” His voice was hoarse, but gentle. “It’s fine, Laurel, honest.” He couldn’t seem to take his hands off her completely, but he confined himself to her shoulders and outside her clothes. “I’ll never ask you to do something you’re not ready for, I promise. Although,” he teased lightly, “I don’t think I can promise not to try and convince you.”
    Searching his face with piercing eyes that shone in the moonlight, she reached up and ran her hand along his jaw. Wide-eyed and earnest, she whispered, “And I can’t promise not to let myself be convinced.”
    He shivered and took her hand in his. “How about we walk a little?” He opened the passenger door and pulled her along with him. They walked to the playground and sat on the merry-go-round platform, facing each other.
    He intertwined his fingers with hers. “Laurel?”
    “Yes?” Her voice was still throaty from the rush of desire.
    “I’ve been meaning to ask you, but it never seemed like a good time to bring it up. Have you thought about the fall?”
    “What about it?”
    “What we’ll do about . . . us?”
    “What do you want to do?” Her voice was soft, guarded.
    “Well, Stuart and Virginia see other people when the summer is over.”
    Her face was solemn, but she didn’t answer.
    All at once, words tumbled out of his mouth. “But I don’t think I want that . . . for us. Can we try to keep this going once school starts again? I know it will be tough, being in different cities — ”
    She interrupted him, her voice filled with excitement and relief. “Yes. I don’t know exactly how it will work, but yes . . . we can try.” She smiled her brilliant smile. “I want to try, because . . . I love you.”
    He was mesmerized by her, so mesmerized that the big scary words she uttered didn’t even faze him. He wanted to bask in her smile and feel the red silk of her hair covering him while he held her. He wanted to crawl