Морган Райс - Loved

“Want to sit?” she asked, as she walked around and sat in the loveseat.

Do I ever .

He tried not to show his excitement. He tried to walk as casually as he could, as he came over and sat beside her. It was a small loveseat, and his leg brushed up against her as he sat. He could smell her perfume, and he felt his blood race. It was getting hard to think clearly.

She tucked one leg under the other, and turned and faced him. She sat there, smiling, staring into his eyes, and he wondered for the millionth time if this was all a dream, if one of his friends was setting him up for a prank.

“So,” she said. “Tell me about you.”

“Like what?” he asked.

“Are you from here?”

Sam thought how to answer that one. It wasn’t easy.

“No, not really. But I guess you could say I am, since I’ve lived here more than just about anywhere. We moved around a lot. My family. Well me, my sister, and my mom.”

“What about your dad?” she asked immediately.

Sam shrugged.

“He was never around. They said he moved out when I was young. I don’t really remember.”

“Haven’t you tried to track him down?”

Sam looked into her eyes, and wondered if she was able to read his mind.

“It’s funny you should ask,” he said, “because I actually have been trying. I’ve always wanted to know. But I never found anything. Until last week.”

Her eyes opened wide in surprise. Sam was surprised by how excited she looked. He couldn’t really understand it. Why would she care?

“Really?” she asked. “Where is he?”

“Well, I don’t know exactly, but we’ve been talking on Facebook. He says he wants to see me.”

“So? Why don’t you see him?”

“I want to. It just has all gone down so fast. I guess I just need to make a plan.”

“What are you waiting for?” she asked, smiling.

Sam thought. She was right. What was he waiting for?

“Why don’t you write him back? Make a plan to see him? You know, if you don’t set a plan, things never happen. If it were me, I’d message him right now,” she said.

Sam looked into her eyes, and as he did, he felt his thoughts shifting. Everything she said made so much sense. It was weird: he almost felt like every time she said something, the thought became his. She was right. He shouldn’t wait.

He reached into his pocket, took out his phone, and logged onto Facebook.

As he did, she cuddled up next to him, leaned her shoulder into his, and looked at his phone with him. His heart started racing. He loved the feeling of her shoulder touching his. It was so soft, and fit perfectly. He could smell her hair, and it was overwhelming. He was getting really distracted.

He had forgotten, for a second, why he had taken out his phone.

Then he saw the new message light, and opened it.

There it was. Another new message from him.

It read: Sam, I would love to see you. We do need to get together. I know that you are busy in school and all, but what does your schedule look like? It’s hard for me to travel, because of my bad leg, but I’m wondering if you could come up here and visit me? I live in Connecticut .

Samantha smiled. “There you go,” she said.

“What should I say?” Sam asked.

“Say yes. Tomorrow’s Saturday. It’s the weekend. What better time?”

She was right. Saturday was the best day. Wow. This girl was not only really hot, she was really smart.

Sam typed back: OK. Sounds good. How about this weekend? What’s your address?

He hesitated for a second. Then he clicked send. He already felt better.

“I’m so excited for you,” Samantha said, smiling. “Wow, it’s so cool that I could meet you at such an exciting time.”

Sam suddenly felt her smooth fingers reach out and stroke his face, then slowly run through his hair. The feeling was intense. Amazing. His heart was slamming, and he could barely think.

He turned and looked at her, and saw that she was facing him, both of her hands now, caressing his face, his neck, his hair. He couldn’t pull his eyes away from her large, glowing green eyes. He could hardly breathe.

“I really like you,” she said.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but it was too dry. It took him a couple of tries. “I really like you, too.”

He knew he should lean in for a kiss, but he was too nervous. He was relieved when she leaned in, and planted her lips on his.

It was amazing. The blood rushed to his brain, and he prayed this would never end.

As Caitlin flew with Caleb, arms wrapped around him, loving the feel of his body, she thought of how lucky she was. Just the day before, she’d been worried that Caleb would say goodbye. And now, for once, her luck had changed.

Thank God for that necklace , she thought.

It was late afternoon by the time they arrived in Salem. He set them down inconspicuously in an empty field on the outskirts of town, so no one would notice.

They walked a few blocks, and arrived right on the Main Street of Salem.

Caitlin was surprised. She had expected something more. She’d heard about Salem her whole life, from textbooks mostly, always in connection with the witches. But to see it as a real, living place, as an everyday town, she found quite strange. She had imagined it as a perfectly preserved, historic place in her head, almost like a stage set. To see normal, modern, everyday people living their lives, driving, hurrying to and fro, caught her off guard.

Salem looked almost like any small, New England, suburban town. There were a few chain stores, the typical pharmacies, everything modern, and almost no sign that this town had so much history. The town was also a lot bigger than she had imagined. She had absolutely no idea where to even begin to look for her Dad.

Caleb must’ve been thinking the same thing at the same time, because he looked over at her with an expression: what now ?

“Well,” she began, “I guess we didn’t expect him to be standing on Main Street and waiting to give us a big hug.”

Caleb smiled.

“No, I didn’t think it would be that easy, either.”

“So? Now what?” she asked.

Caleb looked at her. “I don’t know,” he finally said.

Caitlin stood there, thinking. Several people passed them on the street, and some of them gave Caitlin and Caleb a strange look. She looked at them in the reflection of a store window, and realized that they were a startling couple. They were anything but inconspicuous. He was so tall, and dressed elegantly in all black. He look like a movie star, plopped down in the middle of the street. Standing next to him, she felt more average than ever.

“Maybe we should start with the obvious?” she asked. “My last name. Paine. If my Dad still lives here, maybe he’s listed.”

Caleb smiled. “You think he’d make his number public?”

“I doubt it. But sometimes the most obvious answers are the best ones. Anyway, can’t hurt to try. You’ve any other ideas?”

Caleb stood there, staring. Finally, he shook his head.

“Let’s do it,” she said.

For the millionth time, she wished she still had her cell. Instead, she looked around and spotted an Internet café across the street.

Caitlin had typed every variation on “Paine” she could think, and still, there were no results. She was annoyed. They had searched every possible residential and business listing in Salem. They had tried Paine and Payne and Pain and Paiyne. Nothing. Not one single person.

Caleb was right: it was a silly idea. If her father did live here, he wasn’t going to make his number public. And she had a feeling, given the mysterious clues so far, that he would never make it that easy on them anyway.