The Weight of Love

Chapter 15

"Shit."

Lila woke, her eyes snapping suddenly open. She was still in Cameron's bed, in his bedroom, but it was much darker in the room, and he wasn't next to her. She sat up and saw him at the foot of the bed, hurriedly pulling on his clothes.

"What time is it?" she asked blearily, running a hand through her hair.

"Late. Fucking late. Here's your shirt, get your clothes on. I have to get you home and get into the city. Jesus. We must've dozed off."

"I'm sorry. I was tired from the party last night."

"Not your fault, baby girl," he said, watching her pull on her shirt. "I was tired, too. I feel better now, but we'd better haul ass out of here, pardon my French."

She laughed.

"You swear a lot sometimes."

"Yeah, sometimes. When I've fucked something up or when I'm in a rush," he said with a roll of his eyes. He flicked the lights and pulled on his jacket and tossed her shoes and socks at her. She caught them clumsily. "All right, let's go. You can put them on in the car."

She followed him out of the room, his long strides eating up the distance to the front door. Outside, the Mercedes and the Porsche stood side by side in the eight o'clock darkness. He seemed to hesitate before going for the Porsche.

"We're going to drive back in that thing?" Lila asked, casting it a circumspect glance.

"Yeah. There's a need for speed, baby. Now hop in." He jerked open the passenger side door for her and jumped in the driver's seat.

Five minutes later they were back on the highway, cruising in the direction of Boston. Lila leaned her head against the car's comfortable leather seats, staring out the window. Lights flashed by, and trees, and other cars. She imagined all the little lives unfolding in each of the little houses, and drew a breath.

"Thank you for everything," she said when they pulled up at the end of her street. Robert's street, really. None of it was hers. Cameron had made his house feel more like hers than the place she spent every night.

"No, thank you," he said. He took her hand and kissed it, and their eyes met.

"Will I see you again soon?" Lila whispered.

"Not soon enough," he said. "But soon."

He folded her into his arms and kissed her, first on the forehead, then on the tip of her nose, and last on her mouth. Then he got out of the car and walked around and let her out. For a moment they stood on the sidewalk, facing each other.

"Give Cloud a big kiss for me when you get home," Lila said softly, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Cameron on the cheek.

"I will. I almost forgot -- I talked with Ed Krueger. He said he'd give you a ring on Monday. I'd tell you not to disappoint, princess, but I'm sure you won't."

She smiled at him. For a second, she thought her heart was melting. Then she steeled herself and nodded at him.

"So long, then," she said.

"So long," he said, bending to capture her lips one more time.

When they broke apart, she felt feverish. She watched him get back into the car, and then it pulled away from the curb, reversed back into the main road, and drove swiftly out of sight. She began to walk down the block, her head spinning.

On her way, she wrapped her arm around a lamppost and danced with it beneath its luminescent glow.