The Last One (The One Trilogy #1)

by Tawdra Kandle

  I touched the side of her face, pulling a few strands of hair away from her damp cheek. “Me, too. You have that effect on me.”

  One side of her mouth lifted in a half-smile. “I thought I drove you crazy. And not in a good way.”

  I chuckled. “Well, you did. But turns out this was the crazy you were driving me to. So I guess it’s okay.”

  “Just okay?” She raised one eyebrow.

  I rolled to my side, facing her. “Much more than okay. I think I died for a minute there.” I sat up and felt a trickle sweat roll down my spine. “Hey, I have an idea. Want to cool off?”

  Meghan pushed herself up. “How?”

  “Swim in the river. C’mon.”

  But she didn’t move. “Sam, aren’t there snakes in the river? And it’s really cold.”

  “Babe, the only thing that might bite you in there is me.” I leaned across her and sank my teeth gently into the slope of her breast, then ran my tongue over to soothe it. “And cold is the point.” I swiped something from the pillow and then jumped off the tailgate and offered her my hand.

  She was still reluctant, I could tell, but she crawled down toward me anyway. I caught her waist and swung her down to the ground with me.

  “You trust me, right?” I gazed down at her, at the moonlight reflecting on her skin. She turned luminous green eyes to me, considering for a minute before she nodded.

  “Yes, I trust you, Sam.”

  It felt like we were both talking about more than just a dip in the water, but neither of us acknowledged that. Instead I pulled her toward the riverbank, lacing our fingers together as we picked our way through the dark, the feel of each other’s hand the only sure thing in the night.

  “THAT WATER WAS FRIGID.”

  I sat in the back of the truck again shivering as Sam wrapped me in a quilt and pulled me onto his lap.

  “Yeah, it was, but I warmed you up, didn’t I?”

  I tried to bite back a grin, but it didn’t work. “Yes, you might have raised the temperature of the river by a degree or two. And scared some fish, probably.” I reached up to smooth his wet hair out of his eyes. “I’m very impressed you thought to bring the condoms with us.”

  “Hey, I’m nothing if not resourceful. And hopeful.” He smiled as he leaned his forehead against mine.

  “You know, you don’t do that enough.” I traced a finger around his lips. “Smile, I mean. You’re so serious.”

  I felt rather than heard his sigh. “I haven’t had much chance to be anything but in the last ten years.”

  “I get that. But I hope you’ll try to smile more often. Play a little. There’s this whole side of you that no one really sees. If you’d asked me when we met, I would’ve said you were a grump. And maybe a little bit of an asshole.”

  He laughed then, settling back on the pillows, and pulled me to lie against his chest, my legs still tangled with his. “Yeah, you had every right to think that. The day I walked into Boomer’s and saw you there, it just knocked me off my feet. I don’t know why, but being a jerk felt like the best way to deal with it.”

  “You did it well.” I shifted so that my ear was against his heart. We were both silent for several moments, as the water evaporated from our chilled skin and a breeze stirred the leaves above our heads.

  “Thank you for tonight.” I traced a line down the middle of his stomach. “This is the best date I’ve ever had, in my entire life.”

  His arms tightened around me. “I’m glad. And me, too.” I felt him draw in a deep breath. “I’ve never brought anyone else to this spot. Ever.”

  My heart stuttered, and I swallowed hard. “You haven’t?”

  “No. My dad first brought me here when I was about twelve. He said as I was getting older, he knew there were going to be times I needed to be alone, to think, and fishing was the best way to do that. We had other spots he and my grandfather had taken me to fish when I was little, but this was secret, and special. He told me I was only the second person he’d taken to this spot.”

  “Who was the first?” I snugged my body even closer to Sam’s.

  “My mom. He brought her here on their first date. I, uh, assume they didn’t enjoy it in quite the same way we did, seeing as it was the first date, but he told me there was nothing like fishing with a woman to really get to know her.”

  I laughed. “I think I would’ve liked your dad.”

  “Oh, yeah, you would’ve. And he would’ve gotten a kick out of you. He liked feisty girls.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. I mean, look at Ali.”

  “True.”

  I hoisted myself above him and moved my mouth up his neck to his lips, where I nibbled and licked until I covered him, drawing out a long kiss. “Thank you, even more. It makes tonight special to know that.”

  Sam held my face in his hands. “Not over yet. I think we still have three condoms yet.”

  I smiled. “Wow. You really are ambitious. But it’s got to be getting late, and you have to work tomorrow. I mean, I do, too, but I don’t have to be up at the crack of dawn.”

  “I don’t care. I can deal with a few yawns tomorrow. This is a night when we’re not looking at clocks.” He rolled over, pinning me down beneath him. “And I have so much more I want to do with you.”

  I ran my hands down his back and gripped that solid rear. “And when I can’t walk tomorrow?”

  He grinned into my eyes, a wolfish gleam in his. “Well, you can always teach sitting down.”

  DAWN WAS PAINTING THE sky when Sam and I finally climbed back into the cab of the truck. I’d helped him fold up the quilts and pile them along with the pillows in under the tarp, and we’d gathered the fishing supplies, blown out the candles and put away the bug spray.

  “You know, we still have one of these left.” I waved the last tiny square of paper as Sam got into the driver’s seat.

  “Yeah, I know. I did that on purpose.” He winked at me. “I figured it was an incentive to do this again. Soon.”

  “I don’t think I need an incentive.” I slipped my hand into his. “This was the most perfect night I’ve ever had, Sam. But the porch is going to seem awfully tame after tonight.”

  “That’s okay.” He eased the truck over the road, and I grabbed the door with my free hand, trying to stay on the seat. “You need some porch time to balance out the nights when we can get away. You know? Like a tease. Coming attraction, and all that.”

  “True.” I laid my head back, closing my eyes with a huge yawn. “God, what time is it?” We’d dozed a little throughout the night, but I felt heavy with sleepiness.

  “I think about four. You can catch a few hours before you need to get ready for work.”

  “What about you?” I rubbed my thumb on his palm, between our hands.

  He shrugged. “I’ll probably just grab a shower and head out to the fields. If I start feeling bad, I can always come home and catch a nap mid-day. The house is empty, and it’s quiet.”

  I smiled. “Something to remember. You know, when the house is empty ... I do have an hour-long lunch break between my morning and afternoon classes.”

  “Aw, don’t tell me that. I’ll start scheming.”

  “I’m counting on it.” I thought of how I could justify a trip back to the farm at lunch, and then it hit me, with a painful weight, that I only had four more weeks in Burton. At the beginning of the summer, two months had felt endless, but now ... I wished I could freeze time, or at least slow it down. I wasn’t ready to let go of whatever this was between Sam and me. I knew its limitations, but as long as summer went on, so could we.

  The farm was silent as Sam parked the truck. We closed our doors as quietly as we could and snuck through the kitchen door. Sam whispered to me that he would take care of emptying the truck out later, after everyone was gone.

  I turned to go toward my room, but Sam caught my arm, pulling me tight to his body. “One more kiss.” He wrapped his arms around me and covered my lips.

  I opened my m
outh to deepen the kiss, and our tongues twined lazily around each other. Sam ran his hands down my sides, pausing to tease my breasts, and I felt him harden against me.

  “We still have one more rubber, you know.” He murmured the words with his mouth on my neck, making me squirm.

  “And so you’re going to come join me in Grandma’s bed?” I whispered.

  He blanched. “Okay, you got me. But I have to admit, for a minute there, I was tempted.”

  I pulled his head down and put my mouth next to his ear. “Then you better not think about the fact that I’m going to go into my room, strip off all my clothes and crawl naked between the sheets. I bet the blanket will brush up against my boobs and make my nipples go hard ... and while I’m falling asleep, I’ll still feel you there, between my legs. Your mouth ... your hands ... and ... hmmmm.” I twisted out of his arms, tip-toed to kiss his cheek and whispered, “Good night, Sam. Thank you for tonight. See you later today.”

  As I slipped away toward my waiting bed, I thought I heard him laughing softly as he said, “Damn it, Meghan.”

  “MEGHAN—ARE YOU UP?”

  A knocking at my door made me sit up straight in bed, disoriented and sleepy. Ali leaned in and her mouth dropped open when she spotted me.

  “Sheesh, Meghan! I’m leaving for the stand, and I saw you hadn’t had coffee yet. It’s nine o’clock.”

  “Shit. Damn. Hell.” I clutched the sheet to my chest. “Get out of here and let me get dressed, please. I can’t believe I overslept.”

  Ali turned around in the doorway but didn’t leave. “Late night, I guess?”

  I jumped out of bed and grabbed my robe, shoving my arms into the sleeves. “More like an early morning. You can turn around.” I opened a drawer and began pulling out clothes. “Can you call someone, let them know I’m running late? Have one of the parents stay with the kids ‘til I get there?”

  “Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Ali grinned at me. “But don’t think you’ve heard the last of this.”

  I made it into school before ten by some miracle of time bending. The mother who was watching the class smiled at me sympathetically. “Ali said you weren’t feeling well. You okay?”

  “Oh ... yes. Thanks. Just something I ate, I guess. Thanks for covering for me. I’m so sorry.”

  “Not a problem. You’ve been working so hard for us, and we all appreciate it. I know it must not be much fun for a college kid like you, stuck in a backwater town like Burton. Not really anything to do.”

  An image of Sam standing with me in the river last night, water streaming from his hair down his perfect chest flashed into my mind. I coughed and shook my head. “Oh, not really. I love the town. Everyone here has been so welcoming. And teaching has been so much fun. I’m not much of a party girl, so this has been a perfect summer.”

  And after she left me with my little group of budding artists, I realized that I had spoken the truth.

  I struggled through the rest of the morning, trying to keep my yawning to a minimum until the first class left. As the last student’s voice echoed down the hallway, I laid my head on the desk.

  “Looks like teacher had a long night.”

  I jerked up my head, my heart thumping in surprise. Sam stood in the classroom doorway, leaning against the jam.

  “God, you scared me to death. Again. What are you doing here?” A tiny thread of trepidation circled my heart, remembering the last time he’d shown up at the school, after he’d kissed me. Was this a replay? Was he going to tell me last night had been a mistake?

  “I thought you might need a little pick-me-up about now.” He held up a brown paper bag. “And I remembered you said you had an hour for lunch.”

  “Oh, God bless you. I overslept this morning, didn’t get here until almost an hour after I was supposed to, and I didn’t bring anything for lunch.”

  Sam walked into the room and dropped the bag onto the desk. A delicious aroma floated from it, and my mouth began to water. He reached in and pulled out two foil-wrapped packages.

  “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got you the same thing I eat.” He peeled back the wrapping, revealing a seed-covered bun. “Pulled pork with cole slaw on top. And there’s extra barbecue sauce, too.”

  “It smells so good. That’s perfect, exactly how I like it.”

  He pulled two bottles of water out of the bag, unscrewing the lid on mine before handing it to me along with a bunch of napkins, and then opened a foam container filled with French fries and little tubs of ketchup. As I picked up my sandwich, he dragged over a chair and sat down across from me.

  “So how’re you feeling? You overslept, huh?” A mischievous smile, almost cocky, spread over his face.

  I swallowed my bite of sandwich and stuck out my tongue at him. “Yes, I did. Proud of yourself, are you? If Ali hadn’t come in to wake me up, I’d probably still be asleep.”

  He tried to tamp down the smile. “Why would that make me proud? Oh, you mean because I kept you awake all night?” He lowered his voice, leaning toward me. “Because I made you come, like, seven times?”

  My face heated. “Were you counting?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Well, you missed one then.” I picked up a fry and dipped it into ketchup before popping it into my mouth.

  Sam’s eyes widened. “Really? Eight? Wow, I’m even better than I thought.” He caught my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the knuckles before releasing it. “You know I’m just playing, right? I mean, yeah, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself last night, but I’m not that kind of guy.”

  “The kind who goes around bragging about his conquests? Nah, I didn’t think you were.” I wiped my face with a napkin. “But after last night, you’d have the right.”

  “Maybe, but so would you. And that’s why I wanted to bring you lunch. Just to tell you ... last night was incredible. I’ve never had anything like that, ever.”

  “I haven’t, either.” I covered his hand with mine. “And thank you for lunch. It’s going to get me through the afternoon.”

  “Like I said, I aim to please.” He finished his sandwich, balled up the wrapper and tossed it into the trashcan.

  “I was kind of surprised to see you here, though. I have to admit, for a minute I thought you might be here to tell me it was a mistake. That you hadn’t meant for it to happen.”

  His face grew serious. “No, I’d never say that. Not about last night. A kiss, yeah ... and I felt so guilty that day. I’d been telling myself to stay away from you, so when the kiss happened, it felt like I’d done something wrong.”

  “Do you still think I’m too young for you?”

  He glanced up, and I caught a fleeting expression of vulnerability. “Probably. But I’m tired of finding reasons not to touch you. Tired of spending all day building walls, just for you to knock them down the minute I see you.”

  “I’m glad.” I stood up and walked around the desk. Taking his face between my hands, I kissed his lips, swiping my tongue into his mouth and when it opened for me, I tasted barbecue sauce. I’d only meant for it to be a quick kiss, a thank you, but when he snaked his arms around me to rub his hands over my ass, I pulled him tighter and deepened it.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” We jumped apart at the sound of a voice in the door. Maureen Evans stood there, holding her nephew’s hand. He was staring at Sam and me, his eyes bright and mouth open.

  Sam recovered first. “Hey, Reenie. Hi, there, Graham.” He stood up and held out his hand for the boy to give him a fist bump.

  “I’m so sorry,” Maureen repeated. “We’re early, but I told Mom I’d drop Graham off on my way to the office. I thought he could just sit and draw until the other kids got here.” She flashed me a smile. “No sugar today. Mom learned her lesson.”

  “That’s okay.” I managed a smile. “Sam just brought me some lunch. Wasn’t that nice of him?” I was rambling, but Maureen took pity on me.

  “Is that Smoky Joe’s I smell? God, I did
n’t realize how hungry I am. Might have to swing by and get some to-go.”

  “Well, I better get back to work.” Sam stood by the door. He looked at me, indecision on his face.

  “Thanks again for bringing me lunch. It was delicious.”

  He glanced at Maureen, who had gotten over her embarrassment at interrupting us and was watching back and forth as we spoke. And then, as though he had finally made up his mind, Sam strode back over to me, tilted my face up to his and kissed me. “See you at home.”

  He left the room without looking back. I stood gaping after him, my fingers on my lips as though I could hold his kiss there.

  “Oh. My. God.” Maureen came the rest of the way in. “Graham, get some paper and crayons and sit down.” She walked up to the desk and swatted my arm. “Get the hell out. You and Sam?”

  “Um.” It was the most I could manage at the moment.

  “I mean, everyone knows Sam’s a catch, but he’s never let himself get caught, you know? There’s rumors about him ah, visiting certain women.” She cast a look at her nephew, but he was busy coloring. “But he doesn’t date. This is huge.”

  “Maureen.” I managed to find my voice. “Please don’t make a big deal over this. Don’t tell anyone. It’s not what you think. We’re not really dating, we’re just ... you know. Just a summer fling, okay? I’m leaving to go back to Savannah, but Sam’ll still be here, and I don’t want him to have to deal with people asking him what happened. Please.”

  Her face was inscrutable, but she nodded. “Yeah, sure.” She cocked her head. “But are you sure this is just a fling? It didn’t look casual to me. The electricity in this room—good God. It crackled. It felt like more than a fling to me.”

  “No, really. Sam has the farm and his family. I have another year of college. We’re just enjoying each other right now.”

  Maureen sighed. “Whatever you say. You don’t have to worry about me telling anyone. I don’t gossip.” She took her phone out of her jeans pocket and checked the time. “Oh, shit, I’ve got to go. I have an appointment in fifteen minutes.” She turned to Graham. “Listen, kid, behave yourself, and Granny will see you after class.” She sketched a wave at me and took off down the hall.