by M. Mabie
She’d looked like a centerfold when I picked her up. Short, lacy dress. Her hair looked pretty and messy and sexy. And her face had a smile that never really seemed to fade the whole evening. Then there were the boots. Hell, a woman in cowboy boots could set me on fire and roll me down a hill, and I’d still come back for more. The kicker was it was Sunny wearing them.
As I drove down the lane, I waited for her to ask why we were at the quarry, but she didn’t. I made it to the spot I’d set up earlier and backed in, then turned off my headlights.
“Did you bring me here to park?” she guessed. I liked where her head was.
“Not exactly.”
That wasn’t far from my mind, but I’d had more up my sleeve than just taking her to a dark place to make out in my truck.
I hopped out, and she followed.
Pulling the rubber bungees, I unhooked the black cords that held the tarp down over my gear. When I pulled it back and revealed the stuff, she still didn’t know what was going on.
I climbed up the tire and into the bed to get the other side released.
“I am so confused,” she admitted from the ground, looking up at me.
“When I was in college, I bought a projector to watch games outside at the house we rented. So, since Wynne doesn’t have a theater anymore, I thought we could have our own.”
“No way,” she said and continued watching with rapt attention.
It was perfect and I’d already made sure it would work. I hopped out and released the tailgate so I could plug it all in like I had earlier. There was a power pole beside the truck, and before long, the large limestone wall in front of us had a blue screen shining on it.
I’d also brought every clean sleeping bag I could find, my cooler, and a speaker from the farm shed.
“It’s like a drive-in, Rhett,” she said. Carefully—I know because I watched—she climbed into the back and began spreading out the plush camping gear.
“What are we watching?” she asked.
“Fifty Shades of Grey.”
Sunny’s jaw dropped, then a hand slapped across her mouth. Her blush was worth it.
“Just kidding. Actually, I have a few choices.” I opened the duffel bag I brought. “I grabbed a few movies I had and ordered a few online so we’d have options. I have Blazing Saddles, Tombstone, Anchorman, and the first seasons of The Office and Dexter.”
“You brought The Office?” she said, her voice saturated in laughter. “I love that show. Let’s watch that one.”
She’d made a good choice. After I got the pilot episode playing, I sat back where she was, leaning on a few of the extra sleeping bags she hadn’t unrolled.
“Want a drink?” I asked.
Again, she looked surprised. “What did you bring?”
“Sweet tea and whiskey,” I answered. It had been a long shot, so I also had beer, but I thought she’d like it. Besides, I’d made plenty of sweet tea for her that day for the truck ride.
She bit her bottom lip, releasing it when it turned into a winning smile. Score.
As it got darker in the quarry, we drank and laughed to the stupidity of Michael Scott and his co-workers on the TV show.
She sat a few inches away, and as the night grew longer, that wouldn’t do anymore. I reached out for her leg and gave it a light tug toward me. She sipped her tea and her blue eyes met mine above the red plastic.
I’d only aimed to get her beside me, but then she kept coming and climbed right on my lap. I did not object.
Her small body fit well with mine. She sat her cup on the wheel well and put her hands on my shoulders. She was backlit from the projection off the quarry wall and it was stunning. Thank God I was already sitting down.
“Thank you for this date, Rhett,” she said, scooting closer until her knees lay beside my hips. “I think it’s the best first date—hell, best any date—I’ve ever had.” She licked her lips as I ran my hands up her thighs until I met fabric, which was still pretty high.
I sat up taller and her breath caught when I moved against her.
Soon, her hands were cupping my cheeks and she was kissing me like she meant it.
Best date ever. I had to agree. It was mine, too.
Sunny was easy to be with. She loved to laugh and have a good time. She hadn’t been picky or put the brakes on my surprises, even when the not knowing became frustrating. I admitted to myself, it had taken a lot more arm-twisting to get me to try oysters my first time.
Yet, after all of that, she was thanking me. Over and over, between kisses.
“You’re welcome, Sunshine,” I whispered when she moved her mouth over my neck. My chest was as tight as the grip I had on her hips, and she rocked into me.
I wanted to touch her, wanted to find my way around her body, but that wasn’t going to happen in the back of my truck. Sure, I wasn’t in any hurry to stop what was happening, but I wanted her in my bed for our first time, and I wanted her there all night.
It was a wonderfully agonizing way to wait for just that. Her hands in my hair. Her mouth on my skin. The sexy moans and whimpers she made when I shifted against her when the kisses grew deeper. I couldn’t get enough.
I wasn’t sure how long we’d been there like that, but my needs were growing stronger and she sounded as desperate as I felt. When I broke the kiss, impulsive and spontaneously, a result of the endorphins and adrenaline coursing through me, I said, “Come home with me.”
Her breath left her in a rush, and I waited for her to either accept my invitation or tell me no. She was still swaying in my arms as she sat up to gain a little space.
“I can’t,” she said. However, it didn’t sound like she didn’t want to.
“Yes, you can,” I corrected. “Come home with me.” I kissed the spot on her chest just above the neckline of her dress and her head fell back.
“God, that feels so good,” she panted.
“See? Come home with me.” I bent my knees for her to recline on as I gently persuaded her. My hand moved over the lace of her dress to cup her breast.
Still, there was only so much persuading a man should do. Knowing when no meant no wasn’t something I took lightly.
“I want to,” she admitted in one released breath.
“Then come home with me,” I repeated. She leaned into my touch and I kissed her neck and jaw.
“What about Andy?”
Andy? My mind stopped to think. Who was Andy? My pause caused her to lean up and look into my eyes.
“My dog. Andy. I can’t leave him overnight,” she explained.
Of course. Andy the dog. I’d forgotten, in the heat of the moment, and the sound of another man’s name on her lips almost gave me a heart attack.
This was a minor problem and one easily solved. I grinned and kissed her lips that were right in front of mine.
“Out of context this isn’t something I’d ever say, but if you want to stay the night, you can bring Andy.”
She laughed at my attempt at a joke, but it wasn’t like my brain was firing on all cylinders. The hum of her laugh buzzed through my chest.
“You can always stay at my place,” she suggested.
“I plan on it, but not tonight. Come home with me. I want you there.” I didn’t want to be argumentative, since decidedly we’d be spending the night together, but I wanted her in my bed. My house. My space. I didn’t know why, but that’s what I wanted.
“I want you, too,” she confessed and her forehead fell on my shoulder. “Do you think this is stupid?”
Unexpected? Yes.
Stupid? Fuck no.
“What do you mean?” My hands rubbed down her back.
“I don’t want to make this heavy or anything. I’ve had such a good night, but really, what are we doing?”
That was a very good question.
She continued. “We don’t have to figure it all out right now, and it won’t change anything for me.” She looked into my eyes. “I still want to be with you tonight. I just might want m
ore than that.”
I’d avoided thinking into it that much, for fear of overthinking. I’d been afraid if I tried to make what was happening fit into some category, named under some label, I’d only be disappointed. I wasn’t sure what she wanted. I’d resigned myself to not say anything about it until I didn’t have a choice.
That still felt like the right thing to do, given my history of saying too much. I’d already told this girl I loved her three thousand times in our lifetime.
She’d been the only one I’d ever told—and meant it. Or maybe I hadn’t meant it all those years ago, but getting to know her like I was, it rang true.
There was something about her that I instinctively went toward.
“What do you want?” I asked her. That was a safer approach, knowing full well I could give her anything she required. Anything.
“I don’t know yet. I’m still figuring it out,” she said. “But it looks a hell of a lot like you.” Her lips kissed me softer than only minutes before. The honesty in her soft, short-lived kiss reassured me.
This was right. I just needed to hang on.
“Well, just say the word and it’s yours, Sunny.” Her arms wrapped around me and she held on tight. Tight enough for both of us.
“Okay, let’s go get Andy,” she said over my shoulder.
After packing up our tailgate movie theater, we swung by her place. She told me she didn’t need any help and offered to drive herself over, but I insisted they ride with me.
She needed to grab a few things for herself and Andy, and in about five minutes she came out of her garage door with a backpack and a plastic grocery bag, Andy right behind her.
She went to the passenger side door and I leaned over to open it for her.
Andy jumped in like he’d ridden in my truck all his life, and she hopped into the passenger seat. I’d already become accustomed to her sitting by me, but Andy couldn’t shut a door. I’d have to figure out a better way for the next time it happened, like in the morning.
“I have to go into the station tomorrow and do programs for the weekend,” she admitted.
I looked at the clock on the dash and it wasn’t even ten yet. “What time do you have to be up? I can bring you back around five or six.”
“In the morning?” she exclaimed and pulled her door shut with both hands. “I’ll murder you if you try to wake me up that early on a Saturday. I have to be there by nine. It’ll only take me a few hours, and I have things lined up until ten.”
The thought crossed my mind that it was a good thing because I planned on staying up late. “Fair enough.”
It wasn’t supposed to rain that night, so I was fine with leaving the stuff in the back of my truck. Even if she slept in until whatever time, I knew I’d be up with the sun. I could put the stuff away then.
I made it to my place in record time.
When I got out, Andy climbed down on my side, then immediately sniffed around the front yard. Sunny met me in front of the truck and we headed up the steps. I opened the door and held it for her, and she gave me a quick kiss as she passed.
I loved the feeling of her in my cabin. My home. My space with my girl. There was something to that, I believed.
Sunny tugged the blue bag off her shoulders and walked the plastic bag to the kitchen where only the light above the sink was on. Then she pulled out two dishes and a Ziploc of dog food. She filled the water dish from the tap and set the bowl on the floor against the wall. “Is this okay here?”
I leaned against the wide doorway and nodded. It was perfect right there. When Andy heard the sound of food hitting the metal bowl, he scratched at the front door. I let him in while she placed the dish next to the other on the tile beside my refrigerator.
He ran right past me, without a second thought, and tore into the bowl.
Sunny rubbed her hands together, done with her task and then looked kind of lost. There was that hint of nervousness I liked so much.
Maybe it was because I could relate to the feeling. I remembered almost puking every time I talked to her in school. How worried I’d been that I’d say or do something wrong. That’s how she looked and it was endearing. The deep, uneasy breaths—meant to calm yourself, but rarely ever did. The fidgeting. What made it sexy was that I made her feel that way.
God, how had I gotten that lucky?
“Come here,” I said and held my hand out to her. She didn’t hesitate, but her eyes cast down as she placed her delicate hand in mine.
When she was in front of me, I tipped her chin up. “Hey, are you okay?”
I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable. I didn’t want her to feel unsure or have second thoughts, cheapening what I felt. I didn’t want any kind of smudge on the night.
“I’m fine,” she said, but fine was hardly convincing. She bit her lip, and I pulled it out with my thumb.
“Fine isn’t what I want to hear,” I explained.
“I’m happy,” she said sincerely. “That’s all. Will you kiss me?”
Of course I would, but I knew when we got started there wasn’t a lot of room for discussion. I wanted to be certain there wasn’t something on her mind that we needed to get ironed out first.
“Are you sure?”
She blinked once, then twice. I saw the need I felt reflecting in her eyes. “Kiss me, Rhett.”
There she was saying my name again, making me abandon all rational thought to do her bidding.
I picked her up level with my lips and her feet dangled down in front of my legs as I kissed her.
“There,” I said with my last ounce of self-control to make sure I wasn’t missing something. It should be noted I deserved no medals of valor. I was already walking to my bedroom with her in my arms and sort of proud of my ability to multitask.
“There is one thing,” she said, and I yielded at my door and pulled my mouth away from her neck.
“What?” I asked, looking directly at her.
“Well, I didn’t want to say anything, but we have to figure out how Andy can sit by the window in your truck. He likes the window seat and doesn’t mind if it’s always wet.” She smiled at me with the same carefree look from earlier, and whatever errant thoughts I’d had were discarded.
Andy liked the window seat? I was on to her.
It was dark in my room. As a man, the first thing that went through my mind was to turn on a light so I could see everything that was happening. But, on the basis of wanting a good chance of it happening again, I let that idea go. There was a wash of moonlight on the side of the bed I usually slept on, so I’d make do with what I had.
We kicked off our shoes, like you would at the first sight of a beach before running to the ocean. My jeans fell after I adjusted myself to allow for it.
I stood there in my briefs and waited for my eyes to adjust. I couldn’t tell if she was naked or not, so I reached for her hip with my hand.
Underwear. I didn’t have a preference one way or the other. Had she been naked, I would have kicked off my skivvies, but I was going to enjoy taking hers off. Maybe with my teeth.
Again, I reminded myself to dial it back. My hands would do.
Then, for the first time I thought about our ages, and I hoped I had enough experience to please her.
I wasn’t too worried about it, mostly because there was this noise she made when I kissed her this one certain way. It always happened when my tongue found hers each time after being away from one another. She’d whimper. It was that one little thing that reminded me that maybe I could please her. Please the hell right out of her and take pride in doing it.
Age aside. There was no one more qualified to study her, in any capacity, than me.
Glad for not having drunk as much as I could have, I still had a fairly clear head on my shoulders. I just needed to use it. I’d go in eyes wide open and I wouldn’t stop until I proved that I could do everything she needed.
I just hoped what she did back to me didn’t cause too much interruption in my plan. Like a pre
mature interruption.
Slow and steady, Rhett.
She grabbed my hand and stepped in the direction of my bed, the moonlight clinging to her arm and leg she propped up there. The sight of her nearly naked side, her golden hair tumbling over her shoulder as she leaned into the silver wash of light on my mattress, was almost heavenly.
Motivation to stick to my slow and steady plan was knocked down considerably. I’d say to the point where I just didn’t want to fuck it up.
She lay down and pulled me to her. In the moonlight, I saw her bite her lip ever so quickly before she said, “And there’s another thing, too.”
I sat and leaned over to her, my mouth eager to claim hers in a purposeful way this time, no holding back.
“Name it,” I said.
“I want to be your girlfriend.”
Now wasn’t that something?
“Are you sure you don’t want to wait until tomorrow to decide something like that?”
She chuckled sweetly and argued, “I don’t want to wait. I want it right now.”
Sounded like I had an impatient little girlfriend.
“All right then. You’re all mine.”
It was one of those moments that hits right that second. No time needed to absorb it. It broke through all other thought.
“Finally,” I quietly stated. A relieved breath left my chest. My lips found her shoulder. She even tasted like mine.
“And you can be mine, too,” she added as her hand met my erection through my briefs between us. Her palm stroked, and my dick ached for more.
I pulled her hand away and laced her fingers with mine, then shoved them under the pillow as I rolled on top of her. Two slim legs parted around me, and I pressed into her center, our remaining clothes quickly becoming inconvenient.
Face to face, not kissing, just looking at each other knowing something big was happening, but not sure what the hell it was.
I told her plainly, and with a very sure voice: “I’ve always been yours. It’s about time you caught up.” Her mouth went slack and I took advantage, pulling her bottom lip between mine and sucking it as I pulled away to add, “I don’t want to talk anymore, Sunshine. I want you so fucking bad.”
