American Heroes Series - 03 - Purgatory by Kathryn Le Veque

and
toast was set down before her.  It was enough food for three people.
    “I’ll get more coffee,” the old
man said as he scooted away.
    Elliot stared at the food,
shocked by the amount. “Good grief,” she breathed. “Alec is going to be sorry
he missed this.”
    She picked up her knife and fork,
unaware that Nash was still staring at her. He wasn’t even looking at his
food.  He was just staring at her. The old man came and went with more coffee
before Elliot finally looked up to notice that Nash was just sitting there,
looking at her. She cocked her head quizzically.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked.
    He shook his head.  Then, he
shrugged, sitting there with his knife and fork as if unsure what to do with
them.
    “I… I’ve just been thinking,” he
stumbled over his words.
    She smiled curiously. “What
about?”
    He shrugged again, ending up
waving his knife and fork around. He looked really confused and almost
frustrated. Elliot’s brow furrowed.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked.
    He sighed heavily and finally set
the silverware down. “I… well, I really want to do something but I don’t want
you to think I’m a… a…”
    “A what ?”
    He looked at her. “An
opportunist. Or that I would do this with anybody. I’m not like that at all.”
    She had no idea what he was
talking about. “Nash, what’s the matter with you?”
    He grunted again, looked at her
with an odd sort of expression, and stood up. Elliot looked up at him as he
moved around the table, realizing that his hands were moving for her face. She
just sat there like an idiot, knife in one hand and fork in the other, as he
cupped her face with exquisite gentleness and planted a warm, soft kiss on her
right cheek. She tasted so good that he did it again. Then he dropped his
hands, moved back to his chair, and picked up his silverware.
    “There,” he said, looking at his
food because he was absolutely unable to look her in the eye at the moment,
fearful of her reaction. “I did it.”
    Truthfully, Elliot wasn’t quite
sure how to react. It was the sweetest kiss she’d ever received. But he
wouldn’t look at her and a smile played on her lips.
    “Happy now?” she asked softly.
    “Yes.”
    “Nash,” she leaned forward,
whispering. “Look at me.”
    He did, reluctantly. When their
eyes met, she broke out in an enormous dimpled grin. “It’s okay,” she said
softly. “I’m not mad.”
    He sighed heavily, dropped his
silverware, and was out of his chair in a flash. For the second time, Elliot
just sat there like a dummy with a knife and fork clutched in her hands as he
kissed her again. But this time, he kissed her on the lips, a deliciously
tender kiss that she allowed herself to thoroughly enjoy. It was a little
shocking but not at all unwelcome. He suckled her lips gently and she responded
in kind, tasting the man just as he was tasting her. In fact, she was
disappointed when he pulled away and regained his seat again, collecting his
silverware with shaking hands. She could see the tremors.
    As he delved into his meal,
Elliot was now the one staring.  He seemed genuinely confused and despondent of
his actions, cutting into his eggs with his quivering fingers. She watched him
take a big bite, his eyes looking at everything but her.
    “So why won’t you look at me?”
she asked softly.
    His chewing slowed and he
swallowed. “Because I’m afraid to,” he whispered. “Sweet Jesus, I’m terrified
to look at you. I’m afraid… afraid you’re just going to walk on out of here and
pretend you never met me. I shouldn’t have done that; God knows, I shouldn’t
have and I am truly, sincerely sorry if I offended you. But you are the most
beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and I have never in my life been so attracted to
anyone.”
    “Do you want me to just forget
about it so we can move on?”
    “Yes,” he said flatly, then
looked up at her in horror. “No, I don’t. I really don’t.”
    Elliot gazed at the man for