9 - The Enchanted Forest

An enchanted forest was quite possibly the last thing Lilah had ever expected to come from Tony Bongiovi’s mouth.  A mental asylum?  Sure, she would buy that he was trying to cart her off and have her committed.   A leprechaun barber for a quick shave?  It was Ireland, so it wasn’t that far off the reality chart.

But an enchanted forest?  You could have knocked her over with a feather.

The helmets and cool air rushing noisily around them prevented her from asking for further details, much to her frustration.  It didn’t, however, stop her mind from working overtime.  Clearly, they were going into the woods someplace – dark, deserted woods where one could easily disappear, get lost, or be left intentionally behind.

You haven’t been that big of a pain in his butt.  He’s not going to abandon you in the middle of Ireland.

Maybe not, but she didn’t really know him either.  No matter how much she’d researched him, how many ‘signs’ there were, or what connection she felt to him – the bottom line was that he was a virtual stranger.

In the ensuing twenty minutes, she made sure to take excellent note of her surroundings.  She diligently memorized each and every cottage, signpost and any other significant landmark within eyesight of the road.   If he did leave her, she would at least have some idea of how to get back.

The motorcycle slowed and took a right turn, making Lilah cling to Tony with both her hands and knees.  Once he straightened the wheel, he reached down to pat her leg.

A man who goes out of his way to comfort your riding nerves isn’t going to ditch you someplace.  Dipstick.

The bike glided to the side of the road, and Tony put it up on its kickstand.  Drawing off his helmet, he dismounted the Harley and offered her a hand.

“We’re here?” she asked after removing her own helmet.

It didn’t look like much of an enchanted forest from where she was sitting.  It was a small meadow about the size of a football field, and on the other side was a cluster of trees.

“I think so.  It’s been years since I’ve been here.”

She tentatively accepted his assistance in getting her feet on the ground, pleased to note that she didn’t have any trouble standing this time.  Lilah tugged at the hem of her sweatshirt, where it had ridden up on her back a bit, and trying to talk herself out of saying something stupid.

Tony extracted his camera from the bike’s built-in saddle bag, slipping the strap over his shoulder and turning to her.  “Ready?”

“Uh.  Can I ask you a question first?”  Her self-talk was unsuccessful.  Something very stupid was about to come tripping out of her mouth.

He had exchanged his sunglasses for regular glasses, so she could clearly identify the wariness in his eyes when he cocked his left eyebrow.  “Yeah.”

In the interest of fairness, she removed her own sunglasses and hooked them into the neckline of her sweatshirt.  Lilah squinted one eye against the early afternoon sunlight and asked, “You’re not going to dump me in the woods and take off are you?”

The chortle of laughter resonated through the meadow before he teased with a wicked grin, “Little late to be worrying about that now, don’t ya think?”

“Probably.  Better late than never, though.”

That had him laughing again.  “I may be an asshole sometimes, but I’m not that bad.  You’re not getting dumped anywhere.  C’mon.”  As he had at the hotel, he put a hand in between her shoulder blades and guided her – this time toward the cluster of trees. 

“Just for the record, this doesn’t exactly look like an enchanted forest.”

“Funny, I never pegged you for a pessimist.  I figured you’d be one of those optimistic Pollyanna types looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.”

“Hardly,” Lila scoffed as they stepped into the shadows of the first trees.  “I’m a weird combination of gullible and cynical.  Guess that makes me a realist.”

“Yeah, well, Ms. Realist, get ready to eat your cynicism.”

They stepped deeper into the shadows onto a wide dirt path and there, in front of them, was something straight out of a fairytale.

“Ho-ly …”

Tony grinned at her breathless captivation over his ‘enchanted forest’.  Popping off his camera lens, he impulsively decided to capture her reaction on film. 

The shutter clicked away as she slowly twirled on the beaten-down walkway that was a broad dirt ribbon through the huge tunnel of gnarly, fantastical trees.  On each side of the path, twisted tree trunks stood only feet apart in rows straight as soldiers.  Their branches, however, lacked any such orderliness.  Over the years, the leafless limbs had knit together in an intricate wooden cobweb, strongly resembling hand-crafted lattice work.  It gave the illusion that the whole thing was one giant woodland pavilion.

Lilah’s head was tipped all the way back to take in the fine pinpoints of light that snuck in between the hopelessly tangled boughs.  The way they danced over her like a shower of sun drops, randomly dispelling the shadows, would make for some good shots.

He continued to snap frame after frame, even when she dropped her chin and turned on him with a radiant smile.

Damn, she’s pretty when she smiles.

“Do you have wine recommendations for eating cynicism?  Because this is out of a freakin’ fairytale.  I can so totally see Hansel and Gretel skippin’ along here.  Or Red Ridin' Hood.  There’s a trashy Big Bad Wolf reference lurkin' around in there somewhere, but I’ll just leave it alone.”

It was the most natural acting Lilah he had encountered so far.  He knew five minutes after meeting her that she was quiet and shy, yet with enough guts to do what she wanted to.  This unguarded Lilah was someone new and, for the first time, he found that he was more than curious about her.  He kind of liked her. 

“Nah, I’m not a big wine guy.  Good cold beer goes with about anything though.”

“I’m screwed then,” she laughed.  “I’m a foofy girl when it comes to drinkin’.  Fruity cocktails with little umbrellas are about the only things I drink and, outside of booze, it’s iced tea all the way.”

He would try not to hold that against her. 

Lowering the camera, he gestured toward the center of the well-worn path.  “Go stand in the middle of the tunnel.  I’ll take a souvenir picture for you.”

Her face crumpled into an unhappy frown and her ponytail swung and she shook her head in denial.  “That’s okay.  I don’t really like having my picture taken.”

“Too late, Bluegrass.  I’ve already got about fifty of you.”

“Okay, could you not call me Bluegrass?  And I wasn’t looking at your camera lens when you were taking them, so I can pretend those don’t exist.”

Biting the inside of his mouth to keep from smiling, he looked at her innocently.  “What do you want me to call you, then?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  Lilah?”

“Back up and pose for one,” he ordered, directing her again with his chin and knowing without a doubt that she was going to refuse.  “Then I’ll consider it.”

The unpredictable Lilah surprised him yet again by doing as he asked and putting herself in the absolute center of the archway.   Then she lifted her hands to cover her face, completely shattering the brief illusion of obedience. 

“On one condition,” she bargained from behind splayed hands. 

“Don’t you think you’ve negotiated enough deals with me?”

Tony had purposefully made his voice rough to see if he could bully her into submission.  Was she going to turn out to be a steel magnolia or a shrinking violet?

“I’m starting to get the hang of it, don’t you think?”

Steel magnolia it is.

“Just let me take the goddamn picture.”

The top half of her head popped out from behind her hands.  “Jeez.  Impatient much?  I just wanted to take a picture of you, too.”

He actually wasn’t feeling the least bit impatient.  The unexpected banter with her was pretty entertaining.  Having her backstage for a show might not be so bad after all.  However, she was going to have to get over this fascination of taking his picture.

“I stay behind the camera, not in front.”

“Just let me take the goddamn picture,” she mocked his words and drew an unwilling laugh from deep in his throat.  Her comebacks were quick and well-placed.  This girl was sharp enough to hold her own if he chose to unleash his natural sarcasm on her.  It was another point in her favor.

“Fine.  Now move your damn hands.”

“Not yet!”  She spun away from him, busily scrambling to untie the ponytail fastened at her nape.  Once the hair was freed, she fluffed it around her shoulders in a soft fall.  A quick pat on her neck assured that it was draped to her satisfaction, and she slipped both hands behind her back, finally giving him her face.  With a deep breath, she declared, “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

The significance of her primping wasn’t lost on him.  Something told Tony that messing with her hair wasn’t about her hair, but about her scars.  Now that she’d done her thing, they were no longer visible. 

“When did it happen?”  The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

“A lifetime ago.”

Feeling slightly embarrassed about his tactlessness, he let it go at that.  Tony pushed his glasses onto the top his head and peered through the viewfinder.  “Smile.”

She accommodated him for about three shots, and then Lilah was done.  She strode toward him hands outstretched.  “Gimme.”

Putting the camera up in the air, he kept it from her grasp with a gruff, “Hold on.  You don’t just go grabbin’ a man’s equipment.  I’m particular about who handles my stuff.”

That froze her in her tracks for about half a second before she popped off with, “If I were a gutter girl, I would be all over that, Mr. Bongiovi.  Lucky for you, I’m a lady.  Please note that’s twice I’ve taken the high road since we’ve been here.  Now cough up the camera.”

“What the hell happened to the woman who was shaking like a Chihuahua last night, afraid to talk to me?”

Her shoulders lifted indifferently, clearly unconcerned about his put-on belligerence.  “She found out that you were exactly the man she thought you were.  If you’re not body dumping me, what do I have to be nervous about?”  She extended a flattened, upturned palm.  “Camera, please.”

I didn’t think she had it in her to be so friggin’ feisty.

“Do you know how to work one of these things?”

“Just show me which button to push and I’ll manage.”

Sighing, he reseated the glasses on his nose and went through the basics of the camera with an impatient Lilah.  

“I won’t drop it and I’m not going to do anything but point and click.  Relax,” she admonished the corners of her mouth curving up prettily.  “Now go.”

Grumbling quietly, he nonetheless turned to take up the same spot in the center of the tunnel

“So how did you find this place?”

She thought she was being sneaky by snapping a dozen pictures while encouraging him to talk, but Tony wasn’t stupid.  He’d used the same tactic too many times. 

“I stumbled onto it with some friends a few years ago.  We were out riding on an off day and had to take a leak.”

“Enchanted porta-potty.  Nice,” she giggled from behind the lens and forcing his own chuckle.

God, she’s funny. 

He didn’t know if he’d ever met someone who reacted to things the way she did.  The quirky way her mind worked and the crazy things she effortlessly spewed were amusing.

“This is the first chance I’ve had to get back here with a camera.”  He crossed his arms over his chest and looked directly into the lens without smiling.

“Nice macho pose.  Now smile.”

“No.”  What compelled him to argue with her, he couldn’t say.  Maybe he just wanted to see what outlandish thing she would come up with next.

Her face poked up over the camera with a look of astonishment.  “Seriously?  A gorgeous smile like that and you’re not going to show it off in a photo?  Come on…”

Shifting his feet, he felt unaccountably fidgety.  He’d gotten lots of compliments on the ‘Bongiovi smile’, but her matter-of-fact statement felt different.  Lilah wasn’t trying to schmooze him with it; she was just calling it like she saw it, which was also at odds with last night.  Out here alone in the woods would be the perfect place to offer up an improper proposition, especially after the way her body had been wrapped around his on the Harley.  Yet she was being nothing other than friendly. 

She’s jacking with your head.  Stop trying to figure her out. Take her at face value and go.

“Please?  Just one smile…”

But he couldn’t.  She had wormed her way into his brain and was stuck there until he could figure out what to do with her.  What the hell made her tick?  What was she really after?  It didn’t seem to be sex, and who came all the way to Europe to look at a bunch of video monitors?  Then there was also that crack about him making ‘an impact’ on her life.  What was that all about?

No, there was something else going on and it was bugging the shit out of him.  Unfortunately, he could only think of one thing that was going to help him decipher Lilah Bennett’s ulterior motives.

“One smile, on one condition,” he bartered impulsively.

She tipped her head to the side in cautious curiosity.  “What's the condition?” 

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

Next post:  Wednesday, October 24