Geren kissed Tempest passionately on the lips. She hesitantly reciprocated.
“It’s okay, baby. You have me now. Everything’s going to be okay from now on. I promise you that!”
They lay together in silence for about thirty minutes. Geren was taken aback when Tempest straddled him and started kissing him hungrily. That was all the motivation he needed. They made love for the remainder of the evening, and in the morning, they went down to the Portland waterfront to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia.
Once they were on board and standing at the helm, overlooking the ocean, Geren decided to go for it. “Can I ask my question now?” he inquired, reaching into the right pocket of his denim carpenter pants.
“Please, Geren. Not right now,” Tempest replied adamantly, holding a finger up to his lips. “If you ask me now, I’ll feel like you’re only doing it because you pity me. Because you think I’m pathetic.”
“How can you say that, baby? After the way we made love last night?”
“I just want you to take some time to think about this.”
“I don’t need to think about anything.”
“I want you to think about the things I told you yesterday, because they will influence the rest of your life. I know you want kids, Geren. Don’t even try to pretend otherwise.”
Geren removed his hand from his pocket and ran his fingertips over Tempest’s cheek. “I do want kids, and just because you’re physically incapable of having them doesn’t mean we can’t adopt.”
“I realize that, but it wouldn’t be the same. I can’t give you a child with your own flesh and blood.”
“Listen to me very carefully, Tempest. I can live without having a child, but I can’t live without you. I have no intention of living without you.”
“Please, just think about it,” Tempest pleaded.
Geren reluctantly postponed asking her the question, even though he didn’t want to wait one more second. He didn’t want her to have any doubts about his intentions, so he decided to wait. They went back to watching the ocean.
CHAPTER 26
the proposal
“you know, these quarter-ouncer burgers from Raoul’s place aren’t half bad,” Geren commented, plopping another miniature burger into his mouth.
“For real!” Tempest agreed. She washed down the remains of one, taking a long sip of cherry cola through a straw. “If you can get past the way they look, it’s all good!”
Geren chuckled. “Well, they have to make them small. Most of the clientele are midgets.”
Tempest slapped him gently on the arm and giggled at his remark. “You’re so silly!”
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“I’m serious. The place is so far out of the way.” Geren picked up his own soda out of one of the built-in cup holders in his car and drank some. “How many people do you honestly think pass up Burger King, McDonald’s, and Checkers to get food at Raoul’s?”
“I don’t know,” Tempest answered, pondering the question. “Maybe a bunch of horny women hunting for midgets with huge dicks.”
Geren looked at her suspiciously out the corner of his eye. “You sure you don’t want a big-dicked midget?”
“All I want is you,” Tempest replied without hesitation.
“That’s my sweetheart.”
“Why are we out here in the boondocks?” Tempest asked, surveying the dirt road where they were parked and the surrounding area. “We’re not trespassing on personal property, are we?”
“No, not really,” Geren responded, growing more nervous about coming clean than he had been when he suggested they drive out there. Dvontè was right about one thing. He hadn’t been totally honest with Tempest, and it was time to fess up.
“Okay, if you say so. As long as we don’t get locked up in the county jail,” Tempest joked.
Geren pointed to the north. “You see that building over there on the hill?”