Julia smiles at me and wipes at her eyes. “I’m still mad at you, Will.” She stands up and looks at both of us. “Okay. Now that we have that out of the way.” She turns her attention to Lake. “I’m taking you to the doctor tomorrow. You’re getting on the pill.” She turns to face me. “And both of you need to think about this. There’s no rush. You have the rest of your lives to be in a hurry. You both need to set good examples for these boys who look up to you. Sneaking around is not the kind of thing you want to be modeling. You think they don’t notice, but they do. And you two are going to be the ones dealing with them as teenagers, so believe me. You don’t want them throwing your own actions back in your faces.”
She makes a terrifying, but excellent point.
“I want you both to promise me something,” she says.
“Anything,” I say.
“Wait one year. There’s no rush. You’re both still young, so young. You’ve been dating all of two weeks and believe me when I say this, the more you know about each other and the more in love you are, the better it’ll be.”
I do my best to pretend this is not coming out of my girlfriend’s mother’s mouth, but it doesn’t help ease the awkwardness.
“Mom,” Lake groans, sinking back into the couch.
“We promise,” I say, standing up. I immediately regret making the promise to her, knowing what that will entail. An entire year of having to keep myself in check around Lake is like agreeing to infinity. Especially after being on that couch with her tonight.
“I’m sorry, Julia. Really. I respect Lake and I respect you and . . . I’m sorry. We’ll wait. I love Lake and that’s all I need from her right now. Just knowing I can love her is more than enough.”
Lake sighs and I look over at her. She’s smiling at me. She stands up and throws her arms around my neck. “God, I love you,” she says. She pulls away from my neck and kisses me.
“Make sure that kiss is a good one, Lake, because you’re grounded for two weeks.”
Lake and I both snap our heads in Julia’s direction.
“Grounded?” Lake says incredulously.
Julia nods. “Regardless of how much I love your boyfriend . . . you snuck over here knowing I told you I didn’t want you alone at his house. So, yeah. You’re grounded. I’ll give you five minutes to say your good-byes and get home.” Julia walks out and shuts the door behind her.
“Two weeks?” I say to Lake. I press my lips to hers and kiss her crazy for five solid minutes.
•••
I MADE IT twenty-one years without her. After meeting her earlier this year, I somehow made it three months without her. Now, after finally being able to date her, I’ve had to go another two weeks without her. But these past two weeks have been the most unbearable two weeks without her of my entire twenty-one years.
I know it’s not even eight in the morning and it might seem desperate if I show up at her door this early, but we’ve been waiting for these two weeks to pass for what feels like an eternity. I rush across the street and am lifting my hand to knock on the door when it swings open and she jumps into my arms, showering kisses all over my face.
“Way to play hard to get,” I hear Julia say from behind Lake. I put Lake down and shake my head slightly, letting her know we need to tone it down. Lake rolls her eyes and pulls me inside.
“What are we doing today?” she asks.
“Whatever you want. I was thinking maybe we could take the boys somewhere.”
“Really?” Julia says from the kitchen. “That would be great. I need a day of peace after being cooped up in this house with your mopey girlfriend for two weeks.”
Lake laughs and pulls me toward the hallway. “Come to my room while I get ready.” We disappear down the hallway and into her room. She shuts the door and pulls me to her bed. She falls back and I fall on top of her, our lips reconnecting after the torturous time they had to spend apart.
“I missed you so much,” I whisper.
“Not as much as I missed you.”
We kiss some more.
And some more.
And some more.
I wish we didn’t have to leave this bedroom, because I could do this all day. She’s already working her hands up the back of my shirt and I’m groaning into her neck, remembering how close I got to actually being with her two weeks ago. I want to run my hand up her shirt, or touch her waist, or pull her legs around me, but I have no idea what’s safe with her now. Now that we have to wait a whole damn year.
Why did I agree to that? As much as I understand where Julia was coming from, I still don’t know how in the hell we’re going to wait an entire year. Especially considering how much it’s already driving me insane.
“Babe,” I say, pulling my lips away from hers. “We need to talk about this.” I lift up and sit on the bed beside her.
“About what? Our plans today?”
I shake my head. “No.” I lean forward and kiss her again. “This,” I say, waving my hand up and down her body. “We need to talk about what’s okay and what’s not. I really want to respect the promise we made to your mother, but at the same time there’s no way in hell I can keep my hands off you. I just need to know what my boundaries are before I slip up.”
She smiles at me. “So you’re saying we need to set limits to how far we can go?”
I nod. “Exactly. I need you to tell me when I’ve reached the point of retreat.”
She grins mischievously. “Well, there’s only one way to find out what our boundaries are. I guess we need to test them.”
I smile and scoot back down beside her, slowly looking her up and down. “I like that idea.” I brush away a strand of hair from her face and kiss her softly on the mouth. I run my nose across her jawline and kiss my way to her ear. “How’s this? Should I retreat yet?”
She shakes her head. “Hell, no. Not even close.”
I place my hand on her shoulder and slowly run my fingers down her arm, resting my hand on her waist. I lean in until my lips are barely touching hers again. “How about this?” I ask her. I part her lips with my tongue, sliding my hand beneath her shirt and across her stomach. The muscles in her stomach clench beneath my palm. “Is this your point of retreat?” I whisper.
She shakes her head slowly. “Nope. Keep going.”
I lower my lips to her neck and my fingers crawl up her stomach and come to a stop where her bra usually is, if she were wearing one right now. I bury my head in her pillow and groan. “God, Lake. Seriously? Are you trying to kill me?”
She shakes her head again. “Not retreating yet. Keep going.”
I raise my head away from her pillow and scroll over her lips with my eyes. My thumb grazes her breast and that’s when we both lose it. Our lips crash together, and as soon as I cup her breast, she moans into my mouth and wraps a leg around my thigh. I immediately slide off her and stand up.
“I think we found my point of retreat,” I say, breathing heavily. I run my hands through my hair and back up to the wall, putting a safe distance between us. “You need to get dressed so we can leave. I can’t be alone in here with you right now.”
She laughs and rolls off the bed, then heads to her closet. “And Lake? If you want to survive the day without being completely mauled by me, make sure you put on a bra.” I wink at her and walk out of the room.
19.
the honeymoon
HER EYES ARE closed, but there’s a smile spread across her lips. I lean forward and lightly kiss them. “You asleep?”
It’s late and we have to drive home tomorrow. I’m not ready to go to sleep yet. I want to drag this night out as long as I can.
She shakes her head no, then opens her eyes. “Remember the first time we didn’t call point of retreat?”
I laugh. “Well, considering it was just last night, then I’d say I remember it pretty damn well.”
“I want you to tell me all about that,” she says. She closes her eyes and cuddles up to me.
“You wan
t me to tell you about last night?”
She nods against my chest. “Yeah. It was the best night of my life. I want you to tell me all about it.”
I smile, more than willing to tell her what I thought about the sweetest sweet I’ve ever had.
honeymoon night
“THREE MORE MINUTES,” she says. She reaches behind her and pulls down on the handle, swinging the door open. “Now carry me over the threshold, husband.”
I bend down and grab her behind the knees and pick her up, throwing her over my shoulder. She squeals, and I push the door all the way open with her feet. I take a step over the threshold with my wife. The door slams behind us, and I ease her down onto the bed.
“I smell chocolate. And flowers,” she says. “Good job, husband.”
I lift her leg up and slide her boot off. “Thank you, wife.” I lift her other leg up and slide that boot off, too. “I also remembered the fruit. And the robes.”
She winks at me and rolls over, scooting up onto the bed. When she gets settled, she leans forward and grabs my hand, pulling me toward her. “Come here, husband,” she whispers.
I start to make my way up the bed but pause when I come face to face with her shirt. “I wish you’d take this ugly thing off,” I say.
“You’re the one who hates it so much. You take it off.”
So I do. I start from the bottom this time and press my lips against her skin where her stomach meets the top of her pants, causing her to squirm. She’s ticklish there. Good to know. I unbutton the next button and slowly move my lips up another inch to her belly button. I kiss it. She lets out another moan, but it doesn’t worry me this time. I continue kissing every inch of her until the ugly shirt is lying on the floor. When my lips find their way back to hers, I pause to ask her one last time. “Wife? Are you sure you’re ready to not call retreat? Right now?”
She wraps her legs around me and pulls me closer. “I’m butterflying positive,” she says.
I grin against her lips, hoping that this entire year of being frustratingly patient will be worth it to her. “Good,” I whisper. I reach my hand beneath her and unclasp her bra, then help her slip it off. She slides her hands through my hair and pulls me against her.
By the time all of our clothes are off and we’re wrapped together under the covers, I’m breathing too hard to hear the pounding in my chest anymore, but I can definitely feel it. I press my lips to her neck and inhale a deep breath.
“Lake?” My hands are exploring her and touching her and I can’t decide if I ever want to stop long enough to actually consummate this marriage.
“What is it?” she says breathlessly.
I somehow find it in me to pull back and give myself enough space to look her in the eyes. I need her to know that she’s not the only one experiencing something for the first time right now. “I want you to know something. I’ve never . . .” I pause and pull back a little bit farther and hold my weight up on my left arm. I reach up and slip my hand to the nape of her neck, then dip my head and kiss her softly on the mouth. I look her directly in the eyes and finish telling her what I need her to know. “Lake . . . I’ve never made love to a girl before. I didn’t realize that until this very moment. You’re the first girl I’ll ever make love to.” She smiles a heartbreakingly beautiful smile that completely swallows me up. “And you’re the last girl I’ll ever make love to,” I add. I lower my head and press my forehead to hers. We keep our eyes locked together as I lift her thigh and brace myself against her.
“I love you, Will Cooper,” she whispers.
“I love you, Layken Cooper.”
I hold still against her, taking one final look at this amazing, beautiful girl beneath me. “You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to my life,” I whisper. As soon as I push myself inside her, our lips collide, our tongues collide, our bodies collide, and our hearts collide. Then this girl completely shatters the window to my soul and crawls inside.
20.
the honeymoon
“I LIKE THAT version,” she says.
She’s wrapped up in my arms where she’s been most of the weekend. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend the last forty-eight hours. I think back on everything we’ve gone through . . . everything I just shared with her. Everything she learned about me and I learned about her and how, by some miracle, I’ll leave this hotel room loving her just a little bit more than I did when we arrived. I kiss her on her forehead and close my eyes.
“Goodnight, wife.”
“Goodnight, husband.”
welcome home
I CAN’T COUNT how many times I’ve pulled into my own driveway. At least once a day since I’ve lived here; sometimes twice. But I’ve never pulled into this driveway with my wife before. I’ve never pulled into the driveway of a house where I live with my own family—a family other than my mom and dad. I’ve never pulled into this driveway feeling so complete before.
“Are you gonna turn off the car?” Lake asks.
Her hand is on her door handle and she’s waiting for me to put the car in park and turn it off, but I’m staring at the house, lost in thought. “Don’t you just love this driveway? I’m pretty sure we have the best driveway in the whole world.”
She lets go of the door handle and falls back against her seat. “I guess,” she shrugs. “It’s a driveway.”
I put the car in park and reach over and grab her hands, then pull her onto my lap. “But it’s our driveway now. That makes it the best. And it’s our house.” I slip her shirt over her head and she tries to cover herself, but I move her arms out of the way and kiss up her neck while I talk about all the things that are no longer just mine. “And the dishes in the kitchen are our dishes. And the couches are our couches. And the bed is our bed.”
“Will, stop.” She laughs and attempts to pull my hands away from her bra. “You can’t take off my bra, we’re in our driveway. What if they come outside?”
“It’s dark,” I whisper. “And it’s not your bra. It’s our bra and I want it off.” I slip it off her, pulling her against me as I rub my hands down the length of her back, then around to the button on the front of her jeans. “And I want to take off our pants.”
She grins against my lips and slowly nods. “Okay, but hurry,” she whispers.
“I can be quick,” I assure her. “But I’ll never hurry.”
•••
AFTER CHRISTENING THE driveway, we make it inside to a completely empty, dark house. I flip on the light switch in the kitchen and there’s a note on the table.
“My grandparents left a few hours ago. The boys are with Eddie and Gavin across the street.”
Lake tosses her purse on the couch and makes her way into the kitchen. “Do we have to go get them right away? I sort of want to enjoy some quiet while we can. The second we tell them we’re back, the honeymoon will officially be over. I’m having fun; I don’t want it to end yet.”
I pull her to me. “Who says it has to end? We still have rooms to christen. Where should we start?”
“Besides your driveway?”
“Our driveway,” I correct her.
She squints her eyes, then they suddenly widen with excitement. “Your laundry room!” she says excitedly. “Our laundry room,” she adds quickly, before I can correct her. She grabs the collar of my shirt and stands on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to mine. “Come on,” she whispers, pulling me along with her while she continues to kiss me.
The front door swings open and someone runs through the living room. I squeeze my eyes shut and groan as Lake separates her mouth from mine.
“Don’t mind me, we just need the ketchup,” Caulder yells. He runs past us and into the kitchen. He grabs the ketchup and glances at us as he makes his way back to the front door. “Gross,” he mumbles before he pulls the door shut behind him.
Lake laughs and presses her head against my shoulder. “Welcome home,” she says unenthusiastically.
I sigh. “I wonder what they’re
eating? You gave me a solid two-day workout and I’m hungry now.”
Lake shrugs and pulls away from me. “I don’t know but I’m hungry, too.”
We both make our way across the street. When we reach the front door, she puts her hand on the doorknob, but pauses and turns to me before opening it.
“Should I knock? It feels weird knocking on my own door, but I don’t live here anymore.”
I ease past her and grip the doorknob. “Nobody else knocks, why should we?” I open the door and we make our way inside. The boys and Kiersten are seated at the table and Eddie and Gavin are both in the kitchen, filling plates with food.
“Look who’s back!” Kiersten says when she spots us. “How was the
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