The Dance Part 2

Chapter 286 In Your Arms

Lila tiptoed down the stairs much to her husband's chagrin. The conversation had lulled and Lila wanted to know if everything was alright. What she saw pleased her and she quickly darted back up the stairs and gleefully told Bam that they were kissing.

"Well at least somebody's getting lucky tonight," mused her husband.

Bam followed Lila back down the stairs and cleared his throat to signal his brother they were coming. The pair casually passed by as  Matt released Jill from his arms. Lila could see a faint blush on Jill's cheek.

Dinner was a somewhat quiet affair despite Lila's attempts to liven up the conversation. Matt chased peas around his plate with his fork all the while staring at Jill. Jill tried to eat but she too did not have much of an appetite at least for food. It had been far to long since she and Matt had been together and he was leaving in the morning for a thirty day rehab program.

After dinner, Lila served coffee and Jill's chocolate cake. Bam indulged himself in a huge slice while Jill and Matt passed up the sweet concoction.

"I guess I should be going. I still have to finish packing." Matt stood up and headed for the door. It was Lila who suggested he walk Jill back to her home. Jill did not protest as it gave her a few more minutes to spend with him before he left. "Is that okay with you?" Matt didn't want to appear to be too pushy. His relationship with Jill was still fragile.

Jill walked purposefully slow feeling the nip in the air. "Chilly?" asked Matt. He removed his jacket and gave it to her to wear. The scent of his cologne laid heavy on her sending all her senses reeling. Maybe it was the moonlight that danced off his silver curls or the way he gently brushed her hair behind her ear but she found him irrestible as always and he sensed that in her. She stood with the door against her back as she reminded him to pack things he usually forgot when they travelled together. He nodded in compliance staring off to the right as he acknowledged her instructions. For a moment, she thought he was fighting back his own tears.

Her hand brushed over his cheek feeling the roughness of his stubble. She played with the curls on his head. "I had better go before this gets too complicated." His voice cracked ever so slightly. He knew he had to leave to get better, to prove to her he could be the man he once was. He was going away for such a long period of time, longer then they had ever been separated before. Jill reached behind her back, turned the handle ever so quietly, and gently pushed the door open.

Christina Perri-Arms