Chapter Thirty-Four

“Why so glum?” my grandmother asked at dinner.

“It’s that fella, isn’t it?” Grandpa asked. “He has a friendly smile.”

“He seems nice,” my grandmother added. “Are you dating him?”

My face grew hot. I pushed my carrots against the last few bites of chicken on my plate.

It was impossible to lie to my grandmother. But no way I could I tell her he was a time traveler.

“He’s out of town on business right now. I don’t know when he’s coming back.”

“What’s meant to be will be,” Grandma said. “And you know Kyle has always been a favorite of mine.”

“Grandma, we’re just friends.”

“Your grandmother’s right.” My father spooned another helping of carrots onto his plate. “And I think what’s up next in your life is you go whole hog into your studies. Did you get your letter off to your advisor?”

“I sent it this afternoon.”

“My gut is telling me this is going to hit the big screen by the time you’re through,” Pa said.

I laughed. “It’s just a small project for film class.”

“Don’t downplay yourself.” He set his fork on his plate and leaned back in his chair. “Someday you could be up for one of those Academy Award statues.”

“Well, then when I’m accepting it, I’ll have to thank all of you,” I said, feeling extremely lucky to have this family.

The meal dragged on longer than usual. Or at least that’s how I felt. After talking about my film project, we moved on to my car situation and then ended up discussing the high price of gas which led back to the days when my grandparents met and how much everything had changed since then.

After dinner, I sat with them for a while in the den, watching TV. My grandparents fell asleep, and my father and I talked for a bit. I could tell he was getting tired, and I was tired of talking around the elephant in the room. I knew if I brought up Renn, my father would spout off again and I wasn’t in the mood.

Around ten, he claimed he needed to scoot off to bed.

“He’s not lying,” I said after kissing him on the cheek. “You’ll see.”

“Good night, little lady. Get a good night’s sleep. Everything looks different when the sun is up.”

The only difference I wanted was for Renn to be with me.

I curled under my blanket, surrounded by my thoughts, expecting a long, sleepless night. It turned out to be sleepless, but for better reasons than tossing and turning.

I was lying flat on my back, staring at the ceiling, when the scent of lemon wafted toward me. My heart sped into hyperdrive. I sat up, expecting to see Renn.

He wasn’t in my apartment. But he was nearby unless Natasha was playing games again. I sat perfectly still, knowing I couldn’t run from her.

After a few tortuous moments, I heard a faint knock. I walked slowly to my door, as the smell of citrus grew stronger.

“Who’s there?” I called.

“It’s me.”

I was in Renn’s arms before my mind could catch up with my actions.

He touched his lips to mine, and we kissed, like a circle with no ending. I was hardly satiated when he pulled away and smiled at me. “Jessica.” His voice melted into my skin. And then we were kissing again.

The next time, I pulled away. I needed to look into his face, to know that he was really here.

“How did it go?” I ran my hand across his cheek. His short beard prickled my fingers.

“Let’s not talk about that now,” Renn said, pulling me against his chest. The crinkling of his trench coat felt like home. This is where I wanted to stay for the rest of my life.

“Shall we go inside?” he asked.

“Do you want something to eat? Are you hungry? Thirsty?” I pulled him toward my small fridge.

“Not for anything from your kitchen.” Renn took my hand and led me to my bed. Carefully, he took off his coat and draped it on my chair. A fine, blue mist rose into the air.

He put his hands on my hips and pulled me toward him.

I couldn’t control the way my body reacted. I pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him. As he tangled his fingers through my hair, we kissed like the world was coming to an end.

I practically tore his shirt off his body as he pulled my T-shirt over my head. My breasts ached for his touch. All he had to do was look at me and my nipples hardened. When he cupped them in his hands, my groin pulsated.

I yanked off my sweats, tossing them to the floor. Then I pulled down his pants and pressed my body against his.

Hot skin against hot skin.

Once he was inside me, I gripped his back, squeezing every part of him. We fell into a slow rhythm. Until neither of us could stand it any longer. Our thrusting became quicker and harder, reaching that wonderful peak of release. Spent, we collapsed simultaneously, as one. Never, ever in my life had love making been like this.

“I missed you,” Renn said when we lay cuddling in each other’s arms.

“Ditto.” My fingers danced along his chest.

I smiled, closing my eyes. I didn’t want to fall asleep, but I was so happy. So relieved. My body couldn’t stay awake any longer.

The next thing I knew the sun filled my apartment. When I turned to face Renn, he was staring at me.

He leaned over and kissed me lightly on the lips. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” I could definitely get used to this.

We lay face to face for a few minutes. My mind conjured up a future scenario. We lived in a small apartment with a cute kitchen nook. I saw us acting like a normal couple. Eating breakfast together, discussing the news. Driving over the canyon to the beach. Watching movies. Buying groceries. Bickering over silly things such as who didn’t put the top back on the toothpaste. I saw us together forever. So beautiful, it was scary.

Renn pulled me even closer. Staring into my eyes, he traced the edge of my nose. Slowly, he moved his finger to my lips and down to my chin. Still staring he smiled with his lips closed.

“What?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. I saw it in his eyes, darker than usual, rimmed with sadness.

“What?” I pressed.

“Jessica, I can’t stay, not yet.”

All those future memories knotted into a ball inside my stomach. The pressure climbed into my chest, past my throat, settling behind my eyes. The tears were only seconds from pouring out.

Renn moved his finger up my cheekbone. “There’s going to be a trial against Natasha. What she did, sending me here to take you to someone else who is not your soulmate, that’s grounds for a jail sentence. What she has currently, house arrest, is too lenient a punishment.”

I untangled myself from Renn’s body and sat up.

“But she won’t be found guilty without me there to testify.” He picked his clothes off the floor.

I imprinted the image of his naked body, taut with muscles, into my mind, as I watched him dress. “What about Arlianna?” I asked, remembering her curly hair brushing across my face. “She’ll testify, won’t she?”

“We still don’t know where she is.” Sadness filled the space between his words. “But she’s strong. She’ll be safe.”

“I hope so.” I hugged a pillow to my chest.

“There is some good news,” he said. “I found someone for Kyle. I made the calculations myself and Moira did the leg work. Zoe is perfect for him.”

“I told you he’d help me.”

“Thank him for me, will you?”

“Can’t you…” I stopped talking when Renn picked up his trench coat.

Time stood still. He looked at his coat for a few seconds before putting it on. My heart slivered into tiny pieces.

He was leaving. Again. Just like that. And there was nothing I could do to stop him.

“You’re going now?”

“Jessica.” His eyes dazzled with his smile. “Why don’t you come with me?”

“Seriously?” I clutched my hands to my chest, my smile so stretched, I thought my skin would crack. “Is that possible?”

“What Natasha did was illegal.” Renn shoved his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. “But technically you’re not the subject of my mission any longer. Arlianna once took someone to their future as a favor. I think we can do that now.”

“And we can get back here?” I got out of bed and dressed quickly.

“Haven’t I been coming back?” He placed his hands around my waist. “We can come back anytime.”

Knowing my family would be worried to death if they didn’t hear from me for a few days, I told them Renn and I were going camping. I threw a few pairs of jeans, T-shirts, a toothbrush, and some makeup into an overnight bag. And tossed in my cell phone. God knew why. But I took it everywhere with me. So, why not take it to the future?

“Ready?” Renn asked.

My pulse raced as I took Renn’s hand. “What’s it like there?” I asked.

“You’ll see in a few minutes.”

He placed his arm against mine, making sure the fabric was pushed tight against my skin. My breathing came in short gasps, and my pulse raced faster than I thought possible. I tried to calm it, but my heart thudded and pounded so loudly, I was sure Grandma could hear it on the other side of the door.

Renn kissed me. Something electrical passed between us, but nothing else happened. We were still in the middle of my apartment.

“Let’s use both arms,” Renn suggested. I nodded and swung my bag over my shoulder.

He put my hands together between both his arms and pressed. A few sparks shot into the air. Still nothing else happened.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Here, come inside my trench coat.”

We pressed against each other. Leg against leg. Foot to foot. My head nuzzled into his chest. His heart raced faster than mine.

I closed my eyes. I wished for myself to be in the future with Renn. I felt myself rising. Moving in a circle. I clutched onto him. Inhaling his scent. I squeezed my eyes even tighter. Colors flashed against my eyelids.

And then…I heard my grandparents’ landline ringing on the other side of the connecting door.

I felt totally deflated. We weren’t going anyway. At least, I wasn’t.

“I don’t understand,” Renn said. “Something isn’t working properly.”

He began pacing across my small apartment.

“Our training film explained the motions.” He stopped in front of me and placed a hand on each of my shoulders. “But something is off.”

“Are you sure we’re doing it right?”

“Positive. I studied that scene a dozen times.”

“Scene?”

“From that movie I told you about. The one that inspired our business.”

In that moment, it hit me like a tidal wave.

“Who wrote that movie?”

“J. Arezzo.” The way he said the name was even more romantic than the picture of the town. “Why do you ask?”

“Ohmygod.” I slapped my chest. Now I was the one pacing. I grabbed at the air, hoping to find a word to describe what I felt.

“What?” Renn said, stopping me from moving. “What is it?”

“Look.” I showed him the postcard of the romantic town where my parents met. “I know what’s wrong, Renn.”

And before he could tell me that I was crazy, I told him about the movie I now knew I was destined to write. Up until that moment, I hadn’t realized I would be using a pen name. But it made perfect sense.

Singleton wasn’t a very romantic name, and this movie was all about romance and true love.

“I can’t go with you until I finish my screenplay,” I explained. “It’s the movie you’re talking about. I’ve been going in circles trying to get it right. And now I know what I need to do.”

“Damn.” Renn stared at me. “You’re even more beautiful when you get passionate. But this is…”

“The truth.”

“You’re J. Arezzo?” Renn shook his head. “Incredible.”

Renn sank to the floor with his back against my bed.

I sat down next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder. “If you tell me how it ends it will help me write faster.”

“I can’t tell you that. Law #29.”

“You can stay here while I work on it,” I suggested, knowing that I was asking the impossible.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“But what if…”

He traced his finger along my lips. “Don’t say a word. I will be back.”

“When?”

“When you finish the movie. Like you said.”

“But you’ve been going back and forth,” I reminded him.

He cupped my head in his hands, running his thumbs along my hairline. He took long, deep breaths, studying every part of me, everything. “We can’t chance it anymore. Now that we know. Too many things could change.”

When I looked into his eyes, I saw the unshed tears. He pressed his lips on mine, kissing me deeply yet with a tenderness I knew I would carry with me forever.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I know. I love you, too.”

And then he was gone. Just like that. All that was left was his lemony scent, lingering in the spot where he stood seconds ago. And would hopefully be standing again someday.

Outside, I heard my tree brush up against the window. I picked up the leaves Renn had given me, sat down at my computer, and opened a new file.

The Time Traveling Matchmaker By J. Arezzo I didn’t know everything that was going to happen in my screenplay, but I knew that eventually my lovers were going to find their after. That Renn and I would be together again someday.

“I love you, Renn,” I whispered.

I wiped away my tears and began typing as fast as possible.

****

Mission Statement – 'The Time Traveling Matchmaker’s Handbook.' There is one and only one true soulmate for each of us born into this world. Those lucky enough to have been born into the same time have the chance to meet and love and live as one. As a consequence, those who are not born into the same time shall depend on Time Traveling Matchmakers, Inc. We must never falter in our obligations. We at Time Traveling Matchmakers, Inc. are committed to using the technology provided us, to bring soulmates together, to live as one, in harmony, peace, and LOVE.

Once upon a time in the distant future there lived…