Uh oh.

I knew exactly what this was going to be about.

“Adam told me about the choice that you made to be with Michael,” he said.

Yep, there it is.

“While we were locked inside that safe, we didn’t know if we’d ever be coming out alive. I think that Adam was trying to be noble about it and give you the chance to tell me yourself, but after being in there together for a while, he thought that I deserved to know too.”

“You did deserve to know,” I agreed. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. I should have. “Well, yeah,” he chuckled. “I agree that you should have. But it’s okay. We all make questionable calls in judgement from time to time.”

“So you’re not angry with me?” I asked in surprise.

I thought for sure he would be angry too. Maybe not quite as mad as Adam had been, but still upset at least.

“I mean, I would have liked you to choose me. But no, I’m not angry with you, Lisette. We can’t control the pull of our hearts any more than we can control when it stops beating.”

I was relieved and sort of impressed. Rob was definitely more selfless than I had given him credit for.

“But,” he said as he set a glass down and turned to look at me. “There is something that I want to do.”

“What is it?”

“I know that Adam was really upset. And I know that Michael was really upset too. It’s hard not to be jealous, especially now that you have voiced your intention. But I just want one thing, and then I’ll be at peace with your choice to pick Michael.”

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. By the way he was making it sound, it sounded like this “thing” was going to be something big.

“Do you remember when we talked about making love again in the garden on the mountainside?”

“Of course,” I smiled. “How could I forget that?”

“That’s what I want,” he said. “I want to make love to you again in the garden, just like you wrote in the letter that you left for me to read.”

“You want to go back to Asheville now to make love in the garden?” I asked.

It was a beautiful idea, and something that I would love to do, but I just didn’t think it was feasible for us to leave here and go to Asheville right now.

“As much as I would love to do that,” he said. “I was thinking about something a little bit different. But it will be similar to that, and I promise that you will love it. If I can have that one thing, then I will be happy.”

“Okay,” I smiled at him as I leaned forward and gave him a kiss.

Rob and I hadn’t had enough time together to have as much intimacy and love-making as I had with Michael and Rob. I would have liked to have had more time with him too.

“So you’ll agree to it?” he asked. “Without knowing all of the details?”

“Yes,” I said confidently. “If what you want is something similar to making love to me in the garden just like my letter said, then I agree to it. But dealing with Adam and Michael about it is on you.”

Rob laughed.

“Don’t worry,” he grinned. “I have a great idea for that too.”

14

The next night, when Rob came to get me from the overstuffed chair that I was reading in, I could already tell that his intentions were of the arousing nature.

It was well into dusk and the air was getting slightly warmer still as it headed into the middle of springtime. It was cool, but not cold, and I didn’t need to grab a jacket as he led me outside by the hand. I was going to tell Michael and Adam that Rob and I were going out for a walk (since I didn’t really know what it was that we were going to go and do), but I couldn’t find the other two guys anywhere.

“Do you think everyone at the house will be okay?” I asked.

“That’s what you have staff for, right?” Rob answered.

“Yep,” I smiled. “You’re absolutely right.”

“This night is for you to enjoy,” he said with an excited grin. “So, let yourself enjoy it.”

I didn’t even know what it was that I would be enjoying yet, but I could see by the already bulging excitement in the crotch of Rob’s jeans, that it was bound to be wonderful.

When I saw the garden that I had made on the campus to honor the memory of lost loved ones, I immediately felt a smile grow on my face.

“Is this the garden?” I asked. “The one that you want to make love to me in?”

Rob nodded and looked out at the garden as we stood just outside the gate. It had flourished and thrived beautifully. It was a long rectangular patch of soft grass and scattered wildflower beds that were in beautiful full bloom. The time of night was perfectly suited for something as magical as a night of lovemaking. There were fireflies darting above the tops of the flowers with the glimmering lights that softly blinked in and out.

“This is beautiful,” I said in a revered whisper. “It’s a perfect surprise.”

Rob looked at me with the most mysterious and mischievous look I had ever seen on his face.

“What is it?” I asked, extremely curious now more than ever about what it was that he was grinning about.

“Oh, this is only a small part of the surprise,” he said. “I think you’re going to like the rest of it even more.”

“There’s more?” I asked.

Rob simply smiled and didn’t answer as we opened the gate and walked into the garden. The garden itself was located in a remote area of the Lineage campus. I chose its location purposefully so that it would be secluded and peaceful, and so that you could come to the garden to get away from the watchful eyes of people on campus and enjoy some beautiful solitude. The edges of the garden were also all lined with trees, aside from the very front where the gate was.

I obviously never planned it with the intention of making love in this garden, but it worked perfectly now as a lush and private outdoor fantasyland of intimacy.

We walked toward the center of the garden where there was a large patch of soft grass bordered by flowers and a few smaller, leafy trees. Before we had even stopped walking, Rob was already kissing me and starting to remove my clothes. I had forgotten how sensual the feeling of his tongue in my mouth was, and how aroused he made me feel when he pressed his sizable cock against me. He tossed my shirt to the side, and then unclasped my bra and did the same. When he bent his head down to kiss my breasts, his hands busied themselves with pulling my jeans down until I was able to step out of them and kick them away. Then, with a sexy, crooked smile, Rob wrapped one finger inside the fabric of my panties and pulled them down to my toes.

“You are so lovely,” he said to me as he stared at my body in awe, and couldn’t stop himself from reaching back for my face to kiss me.

After a long and satiating kiss, I spoke with my lips still touching his.

“This isn’t quite fair,” I teased. “I’m completely naked and you still have all of your clothes on.”

Rob laughed and took a step back from me as he held his hands up in the air and beckoned for me to come and undress him.