Read Winter Hopes (Seasons of Love) for Free Online Page B

they talk to me, like you said you don't want me to do with you. It’s annoying as hell.”
    “Yup. That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Sam replied. “You get it. So let’s make a deal right now. Let’s not walk on eggshells around each other on these subjects—or on anything. You can ask me anything you want, and I’ll do the same, without ambivalence, without fear. Can we try that?”
    “I don’t know,” Lydia quipped, only half joking. “But I’ll try.”
    “Great. Hey, it’s worth a shot.” Sam’s breath quickened slightly, as if he were doing laps around his living room. “So… on that note, can I ask you a few more things?”
    “Of course,” Lydia said. She stood by her sink and sipped her water.
    “You said the divorce was your idea,” Sam started. “You asked him to leave.”
    “Yes,” Lydia said.
    “When was that?”
    “Labor Day weekend, last year.”
    “And did he leave right then?”
    “Yeah, pretty much. He left two days after I asked him, once he realized that I was serious. He stayed with his parents for a while. But we had to sell our house, which actually happened faster than I thought it would. We found apartments in November, moved into them in December, and closed on the house in mid-January. We each got half of the money. I'm saving mine, hoping to eventually buy a new house for Andy and myself. I want him to have a backyard.” She sipped her water again. “Why do you ask? Did that answer what you wanted to know?”
    “I was just wondering. I wasn’t clear on the exact time frame.”
    Lydia took a deep breath, with Sam’s words about “no fear” lingering in her head. “I know you’ve said you don’t care that I just got divorced,” she said quietly, “but I can’t help wondering, with this line of questioning, if you’ve changed your mind?”
    “God, no!” Sam said. “That’s not why I asked. Don’t think that. I’m just trying to figure out how long you've lived apart, all the logistics, that’s all.”
    “Oh. Well, now you know. I've been in this apartment for almost a year.”
    “Okay…” Sam drew out the word and his breathing increased again. She wished she could see what he was doing. She thought about asking, but it was more fun to imagine. “Hey. Lydia. I haven’t changed my mind. I told you I’d like us to try to start something, and I meant it. So is this the point where I remind you that since we left each other at that hotel, I’ve been texting you every day because I can't stop thinking about you? And calling you every night, because I want to hear that rich, sexy voice of yours?”
    She couldn't help but smile. “Yes, you have been.”
    “I don’t play games. Life’s too short. Learned that a long time ago. I'm open. I say what’s on my mind, for better or worse.” Sam exhaled a deep breath and started again. “So here it is. We both seem to feel the pull. I think that this… could be something great. If you lived here, I'd be going after you with everything I have, so I'm not going to let something like the long distance get in our way. You and me, this could be really good. If we’re open with each other, and take it slow, and give it time. And I want to try. Is that straightforward enough?”
    Lydia crushed her lips together, but the smile broke through. “Yes. Delightfully so.”
    ***
    Only ten o’clock on Wednesday morning, and Sam was already completely distracted, lost in daydreams. He turned to his computer, clicked on a thumbnail on his desktop, and a picture of Lydia appeared. A half smile curved up the corner of his mouth. He’d asked her to send him a picture or two, and her photos, along with a short note requesting photos of him in return, had been waiting in his email inbox in the morning. He’d looked at them several times already. She was beautiful, appealing. The long, dark red hair; the glorious golden brown eyes, piercing with intelligence; the sweet smile; the lush, sensuous curves that had