The Darkest Joy Read Free Page B

me.”
     
    “I would like to know you, if that is possible.” Caim let his thumb glide along the smooth skin of her hand as they walked.
     
    “Um, I am letting a strange man walk me to my car in the middle of the night. My mom would call me stupid right now. But I think I would like if you got to know me.”
     
    “I am very glad to hear that.” Caim felt elation at her words. It was a small step to happiness, a small step toward humanity. “What shall we do? It is your choice. Wherever you want to go, I will take you there.”
     
    “How about Rome?” Bliss looked up at him with a smile on her face.
     
    If she kept looking up at him with those big, beautiful eyes, he would bring the stars to her. He lost his thoughts for a minute, all the careful planning he had put into revealing himself to her. He pulled her into his arms, and her small hands rested on his chest.
     
    “Then Rome it is. Hold on.”
     
    “ Caim , Caim !” she said breathlessly, a laugh in her voice. “I was just teasing. Coffee is fine. We can go for coffee!”
     
    “Coffee . . . You want to go for coffee?”
     
    “Yes, coffee is fine. The way you held on to me, for a moment there, I thought you were going to whisk me off magically,” Bliss said. She stepped out of his arms and looked up at him with her hand on her hips and a big smile on her face. To Caim , she was a sight to behold.
     
    “Coffee it is then,” he said as they resumed their walk. Soon, they stood next to the little blue sports car.
     
    “I’ll meet you out at the diner on East D Street. Do you know where it is?” Bliss asked. She slid into the seat and started the car.
     
    “Do not worry, Bliss. I will find it,” Caim replied. “May I ask you a question?”
     
    “Since we are going to get to know each other, yes, you may.”
     
    “Would magic be something so hard to believe?”
     
    “In a perfect world, I’d believe in magic in a heartbeat,” Bliss answered. “I’ll see you at the diner in a half an hour.”
     
    She pulled out of the parking space, and Caim watched the headlights of her car fade over the hill on the pitch-black highway. There was honesty in her voice when she answered the question. He closed his eyes and phased out of the parking lot. He was tuned in to Bliss like a radio to a station’s frequency. Caim did not have to know where the diner was to find her. She was like his soul’s addiction from the time he met her. If she had asked for espresso in the lava pit of hell, he would have met her there and set up the table.
     
    * * * *
     
    Merry Go Round Diner was a local piece of history in the small town. The landmark had stood for over eighty years, from the town’s conception, and still was a hub for people to meet. The neon sign that looked like a child’s play toy blinked, a beacon in the night sky directing Bliss into its parking lot.
     
    She pulled past the doorway, and her eyes widened when she saw Caim sitting by the window in one of the booths. How did he get here so quickly? She locked her car after she stepped out and then headed to the warmth of the diner. The bell over the door jingled in welcome as she stepped across the threshold. The smells of grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken fingers, and the soup of the day made her stomach rumble. She had only had a quick sandwich for dinner in between the mayhem of the ER and decided that the smells were too good to pass up.
     
    Caim sat unmoving in the booth, his dark clothing and coat standing in stark contrast against the red imitation leather that covered where he sat. His eyes met and kept on her face from the time she came into the diner, but his lips never cracked a smile. His eyes were so deep she could drown in them. There was so much turmoil behind them, she could tell. What could have happened to him that he didn’t smile?
     
    “Hi. I can’t believe you got here before me.” Bliss smiled warmly as she slid into the seat across from him.
     
    “I move