Chapter XI.
Jonah closed the door behind them. They remained on the first step a moment allowing their eyes to adjust to the sudden blackness. Only, it wasn’t total blackness. An eerie glow emanated from below. Lyra still could not make out the stairs, but now she had a target to aim for. She placed her free hand on the wall to steady herself as Jonah began to lead her downward. They took each step cautiously and as they did, the strange luminescence grew brighter. Lyra imagined it would be similar to being underwater at night. Jonah stopped. “Okay, this is the last step.” He took a deep breath (she held hers) and pulled her around the corner of the staircase.
Lyra was totally disoriented for a moment. She’d fallen off the earth and been instantly transported into deep space. Off-balance, she swayed drunkenly and Jonah put his arm around her. Lyra knew her mouth was hanging open, but could do nothing about it; she was awe-struck. The Milky Way galaxy, with its blinding bands of far-flung stars, shone before her, spiraling like white, blue and pink diamonds.
When she was finally able to tear her eyes away from it, she saw to her left Andromeda swirling in glittering iridescent hues. She looked to the right and another galaxy whose name she did not know shimmered incandescently. Between these celestial mega-clusters were hazy, pastel clouds of phosphorescent gases and blinking stars trillions of light years away. Everywhere she turned, the heavens were spread out magnificently around her.
Lyra didn’t know how long she stood there staring mutely, but eventually Jonah, his hand still grasping hers, led her forward into the room. All around and above her there were galactic wonders to see. When they reached the middle of the room, her feet hit something hard. She looked down and could just make out a raised, circular platform with a big round cushion on it. Jonah sat down and gently tugged her hand indicating for her to do the same.
When she was seated, Jonah scooted back onto the middle and stretched out. Lyra followed suit. Directly above their heads was their own solar system in miniature, with the sun blazing yellow-orange and the planets frozen in their rotation.
After several long minutes, Lyra found her tongue. “Jonah,” she whispered reverently, “this is amazing. Did you do all this? How did you do it?”
“I painted it,” he replied, his voice low. “First, I covered the walls and ceiling in a midnight blue. Everything else I did with glow-in-the-dark paints. When I started, I was just going to do the solar system overhead, but when I’d finished with that, it seemed too lonely up there by itself. So, I just kept going. I think it is complete now. I brought Jet down here this morning. I wouldn’t let him see it while I was working on it.”
“Its like the stars are all lit from within.” Lyra asked wonderingly.
“That’s the black lights—there, along the floor.”
Lyra’s eyes searched the floor and saw long, cylindrical, purple lights placed at intervals around the room.
She turned her head, contemplating him in the other-worldly glow. She’d known from the very first day there was something unique about Jonah, something more than met the eye. She now realized, however, that she had not even begun to fathom the depths of this man. And he was a man. That was the difference between him and the guys she went to school with. There was no youthful immaturity, no foolish revelry.
He turned his head to meet her gaze. Something hot and tingly dropped into Lyra’s stomach. Without breaking eye contact, Jonah rolled onto his side and rested his head on his hand. A magnetic field could not have generated more electricity than did his nearness. He peered down at her, searching her eyes, her face—for what she did not know. He reached out slowly and swept a tendril of hair from her neck. Lyra shivered from the gentle caress. His fingers were cool, but her skin felt seared where he’d touched her. Her heart hammered in her chest and a ringing began in her ears. Is he going to kiss me? She was suddenly desperate for him to.
One millimeter at a time, Jonah lowered his face toward her. He stopped when his mouth was almost touching hers, their breath intermingling. His eyes closed and he brushed his lips across hers so lightly she sensed the movement more than felt it. Lyra’s breath hitched in her throat, and her body strained with the desire to reach for him, but she did not move. Jonah’s lips grazed hers once more and came to rest softly on hers.
When she could not passively endure the tortuous sweetness any longer, she lifted her arms to encircle him. She felt the muscles beneath his shirt quiver. She drew him closer until his chest pressed gently into hers. He pressed his lips to hers more firmly and wrapped his arms around her. Oh, it was heaven. As close as he was, Lyra wanted him closer still.
Far too soon, he tore his lips from hers and buried his face in her hair. It felt glorious to finally be with him this way. Lyra’s body shook with repressed emotion and desire.
“I love you, Jonah,” she whispered in his ear. His body tensed and he tried to pull away, but Lyra held him close. “I know that sounds crazy. I barely know you, but it feels like I’ve always known you, like I’ve been waiting for you all my life but never knew what I was waiting for. She loosened her hold so that he was able to raise his head to look into her eyes once more. “I know that you don’t want me to…I know that you don’t love me back and…that’s okay.” She tried to swallow the lump in her throat and blink away the tears, but a few spilled over and dripped into her hair. “I don’t expect anything from you, I promise. I just want to be with you, however you’ll let me, for as long as you’ll let me.”
It looked as though he was struggling with some strong emotion, but he did not speak. Eventually, he nodded and touched his lips briefly to hers once more. She dropped her arms and he lay back down beside her. They returned to gazing at the heavenly phenomenon he had masterfully replicated. He took her hand again and Lyra sighed in pleasure; she had not completely scared him off.
“Why didn’t you want me to see this?” Lyra asked after a while.
Jonah didn’t respond immediately. “You’ve seen for yourself that I am not…normal.”
Lyra sucked in a quick breath to argue, but he shushed her before she could get a word out. He squeezed her hand. “Just listen to me.”
She exhaled in a huff and kept her silence.
“You have seen for yourself that I am not normal,” he repeated. “I think…I know…it’s best to keep my distance from others as much as possible.”
Lyra had to bite her tongue painfully to keep from denying what he said.
“I could hurt people—I have hurt people. Several years ago, I gave up on close relationships, friendships, all together. I have made it my goal to avoid others whenever possible. Up ‘til now, I’ve been very successful in keeping everyone at arms’ length. I’ve been called cold, rude, stuck-up, a bastard…you name it…. No one likes rejection—especially girls. After one or two attempts, they all gave up—everyone but you.” He turned his head to look at her and she turned hers. “For some reason I cannot figure out, you persisted. You saw through all my attempts to push you away. You wore down my resistance with your unrelenting kindness.
“It was as though I’d been walking around in the desert all my life—body scorched, throat parched—and then I stumbled upon a cool, shady oasis. I could no more stay away from you than a dying man from the waters of life.”
The lump returned to Lyra’s throat and she swallowed to keep the tears at bay. Jonah returned to staring at the ceiling.
“But I have tried to protect you, to keep you from getting too close. The less you know about me, the less you care about me, the better off you’ll be.”
Lyra was shaking her head back and forth. She would never believe that.
He sighed. “But like I said before—you are utterly irresistible. It’s become impossible to push you away when every cell in my body screams to hold you tight.”
A tear leaked out of the corner of Lyra’s eye. It was just as she’d suspected. He was desperately lonely; h
e needed her. No one should live such a barren existence.
“Hold me tight then, Jonah,” she whispered in answer. “Please.”
He gathered her into his arms and held her close while she cried for him.