Love Unclaimed (The Red Truck Series)

by Jennifer Benson

  “Come on,” called Travis as he waved his arm at her.

  She and Ruby squealed as they ran over to the truck. Audree stood in front of the truck and just stared at the cherry red paint. She walked around the truck, admiring every inch. She knew trucks as well as her brother. Her father and Clint had insisted she know the ins and outs of an engine. They didn’t want her stuck somewhere without knowing how to fix a flat tire, change a spark plug, or charge a battery. By the time she made her way back around to the front, Clint had lifted the hood so she could look at the engine, knowing that she would want to see it.

  “Oh, Clint. It is … It is just beautiful.” She threw her arms around her brother again. “I just … I don’t even know what to say,” she sighed. “This has to be one of the best gifts, ever.” She looked over at Gavin and smiled, knowing he had the only gift she really wished for.

  “So are we going to stand here and stare at her, or are we going to take her out?” Travis called from the open passenger door.

  “Shotgun!” Ruby shouted and knocked him out of the way, as she scrambled into the passenger seat.

  “Didn’t you see me standing here?”

  “Yeah, I did, but you didn’t call it.” She beamed and stuck her tongue out.

  Audree looked between Clint and Gavin, then at her new/old truck. “Donuts!” She laughed and ran to the driver’s side of the truck. She started the engine and revved it. “Oh, this is just beautiful,” she said as she ran her hand over the dashboard.

  “Let’s go!” Clint called out from his own truck as he pulled up next to her.

  “Hey, Birthday Girls first!” Gavin shouted from his truck near the passenger side. They both revved their engines and waited for Audree to rev hers again. As she laughed, she took off to the open field they used as their playground and drag strip. That spot on the farm was where they all learned to drive and where she knew that Clint and Travis had taken girls to make out with. She was also aware that this is where Travis lost his virginity to Tricia Keller last summer before Tricia moved to New York to live with her mother and sister. They had only been going together a couple of months, but Travis had walked around with a stupid grin on his face for months afterward, so there was no denying he had turned in his V card.

  ***

  They drove around in circles for almost an hour before Audree led everyone toward the lake and parked the truck.

  “That was fucking awesome!” She jumped up and down and threw her arms around Clint again.

  “Nice mouth.” He laughed, swinging her in the air. “I’m glad you like it. It was a bitch to work on and keep secret from you. The fact that you didn’t notice it was gone from the side of the store was a little surprising.”

  “That was my doing,” Travis said proudly as he stepped up behind her. “Remember, I told you he asked Marley if he could store the truck in his garage so it wouldn’t get destroyed any further? Well,” he said, patting the truck, “it didn’t get destroyed, at least not yet.” He smirked, shaking his head. “You keep doing donuts like that, and you will have this thing in the shop sooner rather than later.”

  “There was nothing wrong with her donuts, man.” Gavin came up behind her and put his arm on her shoulder. “She learned from two of the best donut makers there are.” He laughed and high-fived Clint. “Admit it, little brother. You just want to drive the truck.” He laughed at Travis. “Maybe if you ask her nicely, she’ll let you drive it real slow around the field,” he said as he jabbed his brother’s ribs.

  “I already called dibs on being next to drive the truck.” Ruby stuck her tongue out at Travis.

  “Keep sticking your tongue out at me, little girl, and see what happens to it.” Travis pointed at her with a grin of his own.

  “Gross.” Ruby fanned her hand in front of her face and lifted her hair off her neck. “Anyone want to go for a dip in the lake?”

  “No suits.” Audree shrugged her shoulders.

  “Since when do we need suits?” Clint laughed. “We’ve been swimming in this lake in our underwear for years.” He whipped his shirt over his head. “Last one in has to wash the trucks!” he yelled as he charged for the lake.

  “Such a cheater,” Audree blurted out. She ripped off her tank top and slipped off her sneakers before even thinking about that fact that she was standing in front of Gavin and Travis. She quickly looked up at them both. “Do you mind?” she asked as she was about to shimmy out of her denim shorts. She waited until they both turned around, looked over at Ruby who had a huge smile on her face, and waited until they both took a few steps back. “Glad to see you guys are still such gentlemen,” she grabbed Ruby’s hand and, laughing, as they ran toward the water.

  “And such suckers,” Ruby called over her shoulder.

  “Damn it, Audree!” Travis realized she had played them while she and Ruby got a head start to the lake.

  “Looks like you will be washing cars tomorrow, bro,” Gavin said, shoving his shorts down, having already taking off his shirt and his shoes while Audree was removing her shorts. He had known what she was doing and had waited for just the right moment to watch her run away and leave his brother to be last to the lake.

  “Hell, no!” Travis said, struggling out of his shorts and shoes as Gavin gave his chest a push and knocked him down. “You all suck!” he yelled at his brother’s retreating back.

  “Careful, ladies, Travis is going to charge.” Gavin laughed, grabbing both Audree and Ruby around the waist and pulling them to the lake as Travis came into sight. The three fell face first into the water just as Travis’ feet hit the edge of the lake.

  “Aww, sorry, Trav, you were the last one in.” Gavin swam over to his pouting brother and dunked his head under the water.

  “Such an asshole.” Travis brushed the hair out of his eyes as he resurfaced.

  “Don’t worry, Trav. I’ll wash my own truck tomorrow,” Audree said, jumping on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “Good, ‘cause I have a date tomorrow night.” He pulled her over his back and flipped her into the water.

  “You are a dead man.” She popped up from behind him and dunked him under water.

  “Don’t kill my brother, Audree.” Gavin pulled her back from Travis when he popped back up again. “We all know you could take him down.” He realized, at about the same time she did, that one hand was wrapped around her waist and the other was cupping her right breast. “Shit,” he moaned in her ear as his palm brushed against the raised nipple under her bra. She slid her legs down his calves and wrapped her feet behind them pulling him closer. “Don’t,” he whispered and released her and swam away from her.

  “Damn it,” she grumbled. She made her way to water’s edge and started back toward the truck.

  Gavin appeared from the back of her truck now wearing his shorts and sneakers. “You know this,” he said, pointing his finger between the two of them, “we can’t happen. You know that, right?” He slipped his shirt over his head and handed her the shirt she had taken off and tossed on the front seat of the truck.

  “Actually, no. No, I don’t know that we can’t happen.” She stepped closer to him, not bothering to put the shirt on. “There is something between us, and you know it as well as I do.” She pressed her body against his. “You cannot tell me that you don’t feel it.” She brushed her bra-covered breasts against his chest, knowing he could feel her nipples poking through the thin material of his shirt and her bra. “You can deny it all you want, but you feel it,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers.

  “Audree,” he said against her lips.

  “Shut up and kiss me on my birthday, Gavin.” She ran her tongue over his lips until he finally opened them to her and devoured her mouth with his. He put his hand in her now wet hair; holding her head as she moved her hands under his shirt and over the hard ridges of his stomach. She smiled against his mouth when he moaned.

  “I want you, Gavin,” she whispered
when he pulled away from her, leaning his forehead to hers. “I have wanted you to kiss me like that forever,” she said, out of breath. “Don’t tell me no.” She covered his mouth with her fingers before he could protest. “I know you cannot stay and I know you don’t want a girlfriend, but I want you.” She took a step back from him. “Meet me back here at 11:30. I want you to make love to me under the stars on my birthday,” she said as she smiled before running back to the lake, calling Ruby’s name.

  Is she crazy? Am I crazy for actually thinking about doing this? I cannot meet her out there. As far as I know, she is still a virgin and she wants me to make love to her? Yeah, okay. I’m going to go have sex with my best friend’s little sister, a girl I have been trying to stay away from for the past two years just so this shit wouldn’t happen. And not only did I let her kiss me, I kissed her back and I copped a feel in the water. If I am completely honest with myself, if no one else had been in that lake with us, we would have already done it. I would have carried her out of that lake to the bed of her truck and fucked her right then and there.

  Make love to her; that is what she said. She wants me to make love to her under the stars on her birthday. Not that I haven’t dreamed of doing just that with her a thousand times; but this is Audree. This is Clint’s sister. This is the girl who we beat guys up for even daring to look at her. What the fuck? I can’t. I can’t do this. I also can’t leave her out there waiting all night long. I did that the last time; I saw her, kissed her, and left her. It was a shitty thing to do, but she was sixteen. What the hell makes her think she is ready to have sex with me now? Oh God, I want to go! I really want to do this. She said she knows I can’t stay. I have to go back to work. I have to go back to school. I have to get out from my father’s control. What the fuck did he say to her when he saw her in town? He knows she comes into not only the land from her parents today, but the parcel from Mom, too.

  I’ll just go and tell her we cannot do this. I’ll follow her back to her house; she will be pissed and hate me, but we cannot do this. That will be a good thing. She’ll hate me and never want to see me again and then I can go back to work and school and bury my head in that ‘til graduation, then I can move to the East Coast and never come back.

  Shit, look at this. Look at what she has going on here. She has been planning this for a long, long time. She didn’t even know she was getting the truck as a gift, yet it fits right into her setup. She’s has a fire, lanterns, and blankets. Ugh, how am I going to talk her out of this? Shit! How am I going to talk myself out of this? I have been waiting for her to turn eighteen so I didn’t feel so gross about having all the dirty thoughts and dreams of being inside her, of having her underneath me, on top of me. Stop! Shit, not helping!

  “Audree,” he said, walking up to her as she was bent over stoking the fire with a stick. “Audree, I …” She isn’t wearing anything, but my football jersey, shit! Guess there will be two virginities lost tonight. Crazy I know; a twenty-year-old guy, away at school surrounded by willing and able girls, who is still a virgin. Not that I’m a complete innocent. I’ve pretty much done it all, but seal the deal. Done my share of giving and taking, but not the finishing. This is the one I’ve been waiting for and she is finally eighteen.

  ***

  “So that is where my jersey went,” he said, stepping toward her. “Your brother and I got into a huge fight over that missing jersey. He even broke up with his girlfriend at the time because of it.”

  “Why?” She stepped back and leaned against the bed of the truck.

  “Your brother fucked up a huge play in our last game and chucked his jersey. He was pissed that I made the play; his girlfriend was a bitch and, as the head cheerleader, she was tormented by association for his fuckup.” He laughed at the memory. “I figured one of them was screwing with me and hid it or set it on fire.” He laughed nervously, looking down at her bare feet and all the way up her tan naked legs to the hem of his blue football jersey. It was huge on her, but it still looked fantastic.

  “I’m sorry.” She grinned sheepishly at him. “I took it out of your closet a while ago and have been sleeping in it ever since.” She smiled when he groaned. “I hope you don’t mind, but you aren’t getting it back.” She took a step closer and looked up at him through her long lashes.

  “Does Clint or your parents know you sleep in my jersey?” He clenched his fists at his sides, forcing himself not to reach out and touch her.

  “No, but do you really want to stand here talking about a jersey that you really are never getting back?” She placed her hand on his arm and felt him shiver. “Can I ask you something, Gavin?” She tried to sound confident, but her voice trembled, and she hoped he couldn’t hear it.

  “Sure, ask me anything,” he said, taking a deep breath.

  “Did you wait for me to turn eighteen?” She smiled at him again and lifted the hem of his t-shirt, tracing her fingers gently over the muscles of his stomach.

  “I… I…,” he sighed as she ran her warm hands over his abs.

  “I know my brother is a complete man whore, but not once since you left for college have you brought a girl home or has Travis or Clint mentioned you being with a girl. I know Clint has and I know Travis has, but not you. Were there any?” She kissed his collarbone.

  “Are you asking me if I’ve been with… if I’ve had…?”

  “I was kind of hoping that one of us would know what we were doing, but…”

  “We cannot do this, Audree.” He pushed her hands away from his stomach and took a step back from her. “I only came out here to tell you… Clint is…”

  “Please don’t use Clint being my brother as an excuse. He never has to know about this, but this is my birthday wish.” She closed the space he had put between them. “I know you will not stay with me. I know you are going to go back to school; I know you will probably disappear after you graduate college, but I want you to be my first. I have always wanted you to be my first everything. You were my first real crush, my first real kiss, and now I want you to be my first lover.”

  “How can you be alright with that?” He realized he hadn’t answered her question about other girls. He was scared shitless of doing what he really wanted to do to her and more scared of not staying with her. He had wanted her so badly, for so long. He had struggled to stay away from her. He had stayed away when he visited his mother, and he had known coming back for her birthday was risky, but there was no way he could miss it. He had secretly hoped for this, but now that he was standing before her, he was scared.

  “Because, for now, that is all you can give me. I don’t want to go to college a virgin and do this with someone who isn’t you, who would be my second choice. I want you to be my first.” She took his hand in hers and placed it on her heart. “I know you want me as much as I want you. You are not taking advantage of your best friend’s naive little sister; you are simply giving her what she wants for her birthday.” She moved his hand to the hem of the jersey that hung just above her knees.

  “Audree…”

  “Stop talking, Gavin.” She leaned in and placed kisses up the length of his neck.

  “You aren’t making this easy for me.”

  “Like you made it easy for me when you kissed me two years ago then left me standing in my kitchen turned on and wanting you?”

  “Audree, please don’t say things like that. This really can’t…”

  “This will happen, unless you are going to leave me standing here wanting, again.”

  “I’m trying to do the right thing here. I’m trying to…”

  “What, Gavin? Tell me you don’t want me?” She pressed her body against his, running her tongue up the center of his neck, over his Adam’s apple, feeling it move against her tongue with his hard swallow.

  “God, Audree, please. We really need to stop before…”

  “Before what, Gavin? This is what I want. Don’t make me beg,” she whispered into his ear and bit his lobe, smiling when he groaned again.
>
  “Of course, I don’t want you to beg, Audree, but…” she closed his hands over the hem of the jersey, then lifted his hands slowly, forcing him to raise it up to reveal her hips. “I can’t believe I’m really thinking about doing this.” He pressed his forehead to hers as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her body to his. “You deserve so much better than just one night.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “You deserve someone who will treat you like the beautiful woman you are and who will be here with you afterwards.”

  “I deserve to be with someone I lo…” Had she really almost told him that she loved him? She tried to recover quickly, but his body stiffened, so he was sure she knew that he had heard her. “I want to be with you. I have always wanted to be with you. I know you will treat me like…”

  “Like I am honored to be with you,” he said as he pressed his lips to hers.

  “I have waited so long for this.” She inhaled a deep breath when he lifted the jersey over her body, revealing that she was, indeed, naked underneath his jersey. She laughed when he blew out a breath and watched his eyes roam over her body.

  “Oh, Audree, you are so beautiful.” He slipped his hand to the back of her head, drawing her closer and taking her mouth before she could say anything. She moaned into his mouth and he felt himself get harder, not thinking that was possible. If this was going to happen, then it was going to have to last; he didn’t want embarrass himself or let her down, and that meant he needed to slow down.

  “Gavin.” She ran her hands up the muscles of his arms.

  “Audree, you have to stop rubbing against me or this is going to be over before it even begins,” he said as he released her hair that he had fisted in his hand. “I need this to be perfect for you.”

  “It will be as long as it is with you,” she sighed, slipping her hands under his shirt and lifting it over his head.

  “You give me way too much credit,” he said, shaking his head. “I definitely don’t deserve the pedestal that you have placed me on.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I don’t even have a condom with me. I figured if I didn’t bring any, then we couldn’t go through with this.” He laughed as she took his hand and led him to the bed of the truck.