Island of Lost Girls - Jennifer McMahon [60]
Whoa there, cowgirl, Warren stood up, placed a steadying arm around her. I dont think youre in the shape to go confronting anyone. Itll wait till morning. Ill go with you. Well get to the bottom of it, I promise. In the meantime, Im gonna take you home.
RHONDA WAS NOTa drinker, and the beer had made her feel brave and floaty and like she could do or say anything.
I should go, Warren said. He was hovering in her doorway.
Whys that? Rhonda said.
Because youre a little drunk.
Actually, Im a lot drunk. But I know what Im doing. I want you to come in. She held out her hand. He took it, and she pulled him into the hall and kissed him. She staggered backward, taking him with her, the kiss uninterrupted. She hit the wall, her head landing beside her drawing of the eviscerated rabbit. Warren pulled away.
I need to go, he said, his voice a husky whisper, his eyes moving from her face to the dissected bunny beside her.
Stay, Warren. I really want you to stay. She kissed him again.
Its not that I dont want to, he said, pulling back. You have no idea how much I want to. Its just that
Youve got a girlfriend, right? It was Rhonda who pulled away now. Waiting for you back in Pennsylvania?
No, Warren said. Thats not it. I dont have a girlfriend.
Is it because of everything I told you about Peter? Because if thats it
Thats not it.
Let me guess, Rhonda said, smiling, drawing him to her, her fingers hooked in the belt loops of his jeans. Youre a monk and youve taken a vow of celibacy?
He shook his head, smiling as she pulled him down the hall toward her bedroom.
Is it our age difference? Am I like an old lady to you?
Definitely not, he said.
Remember what you told me how everything happens for a reason? Maybe this is it. Maybe this is part of why I was there in that parking lot when Ernie was taken. So I would meet you.
Rhonda, it was She put a finger on his lips.
Shhh.
Warren looked slightly worried.
What do you feel right now? she asked him.
Too much, he said.
Good, she told him. Thats just perfect.
She started to unbutton his shirt. Then she switched over to her own. Only when they were naked on the bed, kissing, did she tell him the truth.
Ive never done this before, she whispered.
Warren pulled away. She guided him back on top of her.
I want you to be the first, she said.
Are you sure? he asked.
She was sure.
WHILE WARREN SLEPTnaked beside her, Rhonda dreamed of the rabbit. In the dream, she was a child again, chasing the giant white Easter Bunny through the seemingly endless woods behind her house. Brambles scraped at her face. She twisted her ankles on roots and loose stones. The rabbit ran ahead of her, stopped and waited until shed nearly caught up with him, then bolted off through the trees. Soon, she was lostunsure of the landscape around her. Then she looked up just in time to see the rabbit jump down into a hole, and eagerly, without fear, she followed.
The rabbit hole was a moist, earthy tunnel that smelled of worms and grubs, deep underground smells.Here, she thought,here is where I will find what Im looking for, but in the dream she couldnt recall just what that might be.
Peter!Rhonda cried in her dream, there in the dark of the cave, in the heart of his burrow, where she hoped the hidden rabbit would hear her and take pity.Peter.
And then, he appeared. Not the rabbit, buther Peter, only he was young againthirteen or fourteen maybeand he was dressed in his costume from their play, covered in his green suit of leaves, a ring of them woven like a crown around the top of his curly head. When he appeared in the cave, it filled with light, as if he was imbued with the power to dispel darkness, to banish fear. She studied each detail of him, her beautiful