“Well, that explains why he’s so hard to impress,” said Xavier flippantly.
“You’re the only person that knows this,” I said. “You can’t breathe a word of it to anyone.”
“Who am I going to tell?” he asked. “Who would believe me anyway?”
“Good point.”
He laughed suddenly.
“My girlfriend is an angel,” he said and then repeated it more loudly, changing the emphasis, testing out how the words sounded. “My girlfriend is an angel.”
“Xavier, keep your voice down,” I warned.
Spoken aloud it sounded so outrageous and yet so simple at the same time that I couldn’t help but giggle as well. To anyone else, Xavier’s use of the word angel would have sounded like nothing more than a lovesick teenager professing his admiration. Only the two of us knew differently and now we both shared a secret—a dangerous secret that brought us closer than ever. It was as if we had just sealed the bond between us, closed the gap, and made it final.
“I was so worried that you wouldn’t want to know me once you found out.” I sighed, relief flooding through me.
“Are you kidding?” Xavier reached out and curled a lock of my hair around his finger.
“Surely I’ve got to be the luckiest guy in the world.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’ve got my own little piece of Heaven right here.”
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. I nuzzled against his chest, breathing in his scent.
“Can you promise not to ask too many questions?”
“If you answer just one,” Xavier replied. “I suppose this makes you and me a big no-no?”
He clicked his tongue and wagged his finger to emphasize the point. I was happy to see that the shock had passed and that he was behaving a little more like his old self.
“Not just big,” I said. “The biggest.”
“Don’t worry, Beth; there’s nothing I love more than a challenge.”
The Covenant
“So what happens now?” Xavier asked.
“How do you mean?”
“Now that I know about you?”
“I honestly can’t tell you. We’ve never had a situation like this before,” I admitted.
“So you being an angel doesn’t mean . . .” He hesitated.
“Doesn’t mean I have an answer for everything,” I concluded for him.
“I just assumed it would be one of the perks.”
“Sadly, no.”
“Well, it seems to me that so long as no one else knows, you should be safe. And when it comes to secrets, I’m a vault. Ask my friends.”
“I know I can trust you. But there is one more thing you should know.” I paused. This was going to be the hardest part—more difficult even than what I’d just done.
“Okay . . .” Xavier seemed to be steeling himself this time.
“You have to understand that sooner or later this mission is going to end, and we’ll be going home,” I said.
“Home as in . . .” He turned his eyes upward to the sky.
“Exactly.”
Even though he must have been expecting the answer, signs of strain suddenly materialized on his face. His ocean eyes darkened, and his mouth turned into an angry scowl.
“If you leave, will you ever come back?” he asked in a tight voice.
“I don’t think so,” I said quietly. “But if I do, it’s not likely to be anytime soon or even to the same place.”
Xavier’s body stiffened beside me. “So you don’t get a say?” he said with a note of disbelief in his voice. “Whatever happened to free will?”
“That gift was given to humankind, remember? It doesn’t apply to us. Look, if there’s a way for me to stay I haven’t figured it out yet,” I continued. “I knew when I came here that it wasn’t going to be permanent, that eventually we’d have to leave. But I didn’t expect to find you, and now that I have . . .”
“Well, you can’t go,” Xavier said simply. By his tone he might have been giving a weather report: Today there will be late showers. He spoke with a confidence that challenged anyone to defy the decision.
“I feel the same way,” I said, kneading my fingers into his shoulders in an attempt to smooth out the visible tension, “but it’s not up to me.”
“It’s your life,” Xavier countered.
“No, that’s not quite true. I’m kind of on a lease arrangement.”
“We’ll just have to renegotiate the terms then.”
“How do you propose doing that? It’s not like making a phone call.”
“Let me think about it.”
I had to admit his determination was impressive and so typically human. I wriggled closer to snuggle under his arm.
“Let’s not talk about it anymore tonight,” I suggested, reluctant to ruin the moment by discussing things we didn’t have the power to change. For now, it was enough that he wanted me to stay and that he was prepared to take on heavenly powers to make that happen. “We’re here together right now, let’s not worry about the future. Okay?”
Xavier nodded and responded when I pressed my lips against his. After a moment the tension seemed to slip away, and we fell back onto the sand. I could feel the contours of our bodies fitting perfectly together. His arms wound around my waist as I ran my fingers through his soft hair, stroking his face. I’d never kissed anyone before him, but I felt as if a stranger had taken over my body—a stranger who knew exactly what she was doing. I tilted my head to plant kisses along his jawline, down to the base of his neck and along his collarbone. He stopped breathing for a moment. His hands came up to hold my face, stroking my hair and tucking it behind my ears.