Just A Kiss (Lyrics and Love Book 4)

by Samantha Lind

  “I’m not saying that you need to show up at her house with a ring in your pocket and profess your undying love to her, but showing up with a bouquet of flowers, a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream with an apology, and a promise to give things a try, might get you back in her good graces,” Lindsay tells me.

  “Okay,” I tell her, still digesting everything. “I’ve got some soul searching to do,” I say honestly.

  “I’d agree with that statement,” Lindsay says.

  “I think I’m going to head home, do some thinking. Thanks for taking care of me last night,” I tell Tucker as I stand from the recliner. I grab the few things that are mine and head for my truck, leaving the two of them on the couch to do whatever happy, in-love people do when left alone.

  I make it home, heading straight for my bathroom to take another quick shower, this time putting on clean clothes now that I’m home. I slip into some sweats and an old, faded T-shirt from my early years at the firehouse. Once dressed, I kick back on my bed and scroll through my Facebook feed. I stopped to look at some pictures my sister posted last night of her and my brother-in-law. They’re on a “babymoon” vacation in California. Seeing my sister so happy puts a smile on my face. Anyone can see how much she loves her husband, just as one can see how much he loves her back. The jealousy hits me out of left field. The reality that I do want that in my life and not the loneliness I often have when I’m home comes over me.

  As much as my house is my sanctuary and a place to just get away from everyone and everything and unplug, it can also be tranquil and lonely.

  I pull up Allison’s profile, clicking on the last album she’s uploaded to. I flip through all the images she’s posted in the last few weeks, stopping at one that is of the two of us. It's from not long ago. The night we sat outside Tucker’s place, around the bonfire, talking and laughing for hours. Lindsay or someone else at the party must have snapped it of us, as we’re not looking at the camera, and I don’t remember it being taken. The way we’re looking at each other reminds me of my sister’s pictures. The mutual attraction and chemistry between the two of us almost jumps off the screen. I royally fucked things up; I only hope I can fix it.

  16

  LEE

  Three weeks later

  I’m not usually one for elaborate, thought-out plans, but I mulled over how I would redeem myself all day. I know I fucked up, so here’s my Hail Mary pass to see if I can recover the biggest fumble of my life.

  I take Lindsay’s suggestions to heart, stopping at the florist and grocery store. I buy the largest bouquet they have available before grabbing a container of ice cream, some toppings to go with it, and a wine bottle for good measure.

  I didn’t want Allison to tell me not to bother coming over, so I conveniently never texted or called her to ask if I could stop by. I figured grand gestures are supposed to be a surprise, so here I am, pulling into her driveway about to put it all on the line.

  I grab my purchases before hopping out of my truck. As I climb the two steps onto her porch, the door opens as Allison fills the doorway.

  “Lee,” she greets me, the hesitation lacing her voice noticeable.

  “These are for you,” I say, handing over the flowers. “I also brought some ice cream and wine,” I say a bit awkwardly as I hold up the plastic bags from the grocery store.

  “Thanks, you didn’t have to bring me anything,” she says, blowing out a breath. She sets the flowers down on a table just inside her door, then takes the bags from me. “Did you come over just to bring me these things, or did you need something?” There's my sassy woman.

  “I-I came to apologize. I know I fucked up a few weeks ago, I said things I regret. I was letting my past dictate my future. In a messed up, roundabout way, I was attempting to protect my heart, only to realize in the process, I was simultaneously breaking yours.” I pause to take a break and to let my words sink in as I wait for any kind of reaction from Allison.

  The smallest of smiles tugs at one corner of her lips, and that is all I need to know that things are going to be okay. I don’t care how much of a front she puts on or how much she makes me work for it; I know I’m going to win her back.

  “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” she asks.

  “What part, exactly?” I ask, allowing my cockiness to come out just a little bit.

  “The part that you admit to fucking up, being wrong. Wait, let me get my phone so I can record you saying it.” She cracks an even larger smile, and I know she’s fucking with me now.

  I crowd into her space. Cupping her cheek with one of my hands and tilting her face up to mine. “Please tell me I’ve still got a chance. That you’ll forgive me for before. I’m here to beg if I have to. I want you, and only you. For as long as you’ll have me.”

  “You’re sure about that? What if I want you forever?”

  “Then forever better take its time coming,” I tell her before crashing my lips to hers.

  I pick her up, my hands cradling her ass. God, it feels good to have her back in my arms. I know I fucked up, but that’s in the past. She’s here in my arms. I’ll grovel every day for the rest of my life if I have to, in order to make it up to her.

  Pinning Allison to the wall, I remove my hands from her ass and rip open the buttons on her blouse. The buttons go flying; I’m not being careful, and I don’t care. It feels like it’s been way too long since I’ve had this woman beneath me. Her sweet pussy squeezing around my cock. “God damn, you’re so fucking beautiful,” I tell her, taking in the swell of her breasts. Thank the Lord in heaven for whoever invented the front-closure bra. I snap it open with one flick and find her already hardened nipples.

  “Lee,” she moans my name as I greedily suck one into my mouth. I sink my teeth onto it, biting to leave a mark—my mark—on her skin. She’s mine. I’m hers—forever, by the sounds of it.

  “I hope you don’t have any special connection to this thong,” I growl against her skin as my hand makes it up and under her skirt. I wrap my fingers around the fabric and rip it clear off her body.

  “Nope,” she gasps. I bring my mouth to hers, greedily sucking at her tongue as I fumble with my jeans. I finally free the button and lower my zipper far enough to push them and my boxers down my hips enough to release my cock. I align my tip with her entrance. I break our kiss, pulling back far enough to look Allison in the eyes.

  “Tell me if I need to stop and relocate us to get a condom.” I can’t believe I was almost going to sink inside her without wrapping shit up.

  “I’m on birth control and clean,” she says.

  “I’m clean, and I’ve never not used one,” I tell her honestly.

  “I trust you, Lee,” she says, and my heart skips a beat at her words. “Now, fuck me.”

  “I don’t have to be told twice,” I growl before taking her lips with my own once again. I line my cock up with her entrance and plunge in until I’m balls deep. The feeling of being inside her with nothing separating the two of us has my balls pulling up tight and ready to blow. I start running stats through my mind, thinking of the worst calls I’ve responded to, anything I can think of to keep my orgasm from ending things too early.

  “Harder,” Allison moans. I do my best to shift her against the wall. I slip my arms under her legs, my hands going to her ass to help raise and lower her on my cock.

  The room is filling with the sloppy sounds of our bodies connecting. Our mutual moans and cries of pleasure as we both make our way towards that cusp and then topple over the edge of no return. I hold her ass in my palms, slamming my cock in as deep as I can get it as my orgasm barrels out of me. My knees go weak as stars start spinning behind my eyelids. I stumble around, finding the couch to fall back onto, keeping Allison in my lap, my cock still buried inside her tightness.

  “Now that was some make-up sex.” She chuckles as we both catch our breath.

  “That was just the beginning.” I wink at her, pushing her messed up hair from her face.

 
“I’m okay with that.” She smiles at me. A real smile. One that fills her face. Lights up her eyes.

  I might have once been okay with just a night, just a quick fuck, just a kiss… but she’s taught me that what I really wanted was so much more.

  EPILOGUE

  LEE

  18 months later

  I check my phone for what feels like the millionth time today. I’ve done it so many times, I’m sure Allison must think that I’m cheating on her or something shady is going down. Unbeknownst to her, the complete opposite is happening. I’m waiting on Reese Blackwood, a local celebrity and my girl's best friend's cousin, to get back to me if she can help me with my proposal later this weekend. Reese is in town for a large country festival that is taking place this weekend, along with a shit ton of other performers.

  “Can you put that thing down?” Allison asks, scrunching her nose at me.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. Just waiting on a text,” I assure her. “When is Lindsay going to be here?” I ask, trying to get her focus off of me and my phone.

  “She texted about ten minutes ago that they were just leaving to pick Paisley up and then would be headed this way.”

  “So they should be here soon, then, I’d guess.”

  “Yep, and I can’t wait to see how excited Paisley is when she gets to the concert.”

  “I can’t believe she’s finally old enough to go to a concert,” I muse. My best friend has been a single dad for six years now and has done a hell of a job co-parenting with Paisley’s mom. She was a surprise to both of them, but they turned that surprise into the best gift two people could get.

  “Uncle Lee, Uncle Lee!” the little angel calls out as soon as the front door opens.

  “There's the princess!” I hold my arms out for her to run and jump into.

  “Look at my new boots Daddy and Lindsay got me,” she says, pointing to the pink cowgirl boots she’s got on.

  “Wow! Those are pretty cool! Lots of sparkles.”

  “They were my favorite ones,” she tells me as she wiggles to be let down.

  “I can only imagine why.” I chuckle at her excitement. “Are you excited for today?” I ask her just as I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.

  “Yes! I get to see Reese sing! Do you think she’ll let me sing with her?” she asks me.

  “Maybe if you ask really, really, really nicely.”

  “Okay.” She accepts my answer.

  Lindsay has Allison occupied, so I slip my phone from my pocket, checking the screen for my notifications.

  Reese: Everything is a go! When you guys arrive, just come to the backstage gate, and you’re all on the list to get through. I’ll introduce you to my tour manager, who will take care of the rest. Hillary and the guys are really excited to be in on everything, as well.

  Lee: Thank you so much! We should be headed that way shortly.

  I slide my phone in my pocket, a little weight lifted off my shoulders, knowing that my plan is in the works. By the end of tonight, I’ll hopefully have a fiancée and not just a girlfriend.

  “You ready, man?” Tucker asks, the girls still occupied.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be. You’ve got the ring box, right?” I question him.

  “It’s safe with me,” he says, tapping his pocket. Allison would never suspect a box to be in Tucker's pocket, but in mine, it would stick out like a sore thumb.

  “Reese just texted that she’s got me covered for tonight,” I tell him. Lindsay was the one that suggested this idea to me a month or so out when I started talking to her about helping me plan something, as well as picking out the ring. I would never have thought to reach out to her cousin to see if I could propose on stage at a country concert, but she was all for it. Thought that Allison would love it. “Lady A is willing to help out, as well.”

  “That’s awesome, man. I’m happy for you. You couldn't have picked a better woman.”

  “Thanks, man. I don’t think I would have won her back if it wasn’t for your wife, so I’ve got her and you to thank for making me pull my head out of my ass and see everything that was good right in front of me.”

  “Are you two ready to go, or are you going to sit around gabbing like we do?” Lindsay asks, smiling over at us.

  “We’re just waiting on you, ladies,” Tucker drawls at his wife. She walks over to where he’s standing and pulls him into a kiss. They keep it somewhat pg13, seeing as his daughter is in the room.

  “Okay, love birds, let's get out of here,” Allison says, coming to stand at my side. I slide my hand into hers, linking our fingers and squeezing them quickly three times in what's become our thing. A quick three squeezes are our way of telling one another I love you. It took me a little while to realize that is what I was feeling for Allison, and even longer to admit that I didn’t need to be afraid of that feeling. When I finally embraced it, life got a whole lot better for me.

  We pile into Tucker’s truck, mainly because it has Paisley’s booster seat installed in it. The drive over to the fairgrounds isn’t far, just on the outskirts of town.

  “Do you know if Jackson and Holly are coming out today?” Allison asks.

  “I believe so; Jackson was talking about it before we got off shift yesterday. He said Holly was pretty excited about it.”

  “Oh, yay! I haven’t seen her in a while. I’m excited we’ll get to hang out together,” Allison says. Jackson is one of the newest guys on our shift. He moved back to town when a spot opened up in the department and met Holly on his first day on shift when he joined Tucker and me at Holly’s school for a program we did for her class. They were pretty smitten from that first meeting.

  “When do we get to see Reese?” Paisley pipes up.

  “We can go see her as soon as we get there,” Lindsay tells her. “She texted me that she was ready for her Paisley girl.”

  “Mommy, do you think she’ll let me help her sing?” Paisley asks Lindsay. It sometimes catches me off guard when Paisley calls Lindsay mom, but she started doing that on her own after Tucker and her married.

  We finally pull into the parking lot, finding a spot about halfway back. Not bad for how many people will eventually be at this festival. They have some areas dedicated to people with RV’s and campers who stay out here all weekend long, and other areas for those of us that drive in or just come for some of the events.

  Once Paisley is out of the truck, she slips her hands into one of Tucker’s and mine. We’ve walked with her like this more times than I can count in her life. She loves to swing between us as we walk across the dirt lot.

  We make our way to the backstage gate, and sure enough, our names are all on the list. We’re handed badges that will allow us to come and go as we please while here today.

  “Hey, guys!” Reese greets as she opens the door to her tour bus and lets us in. It’s a little tight with all of us, plus her husband Austin and her daughter, but we make it work.

  “Reese!” Paisley calls out as she launches herself at Reese, wrapping her arms around her body.

  “Paisley, girl! You’ve gotten so big!” she tells her as she picks her up.

  “I’m six now,” Paisley tells her, holding up her fingers. She finally asks her burning question that she’s asked all of us multiple times in the past few weeks. “Can I sing with you?”

  “You want to sing with me?” Reese asks her.

  “Yes! I’ve been practicing!” she excitedly tells her.

  “Well then, I think we’ll have to make that happen if your daddy is okay with it,” she says, turning her attention to Tucker for approval.

  “We told her that it had to be okay with you and your crew.”

  “It is absolutely okay with me,” she tells him.

  “How about you come with me to soundcheck in about twenty minutes. We can get you your own microphone and everything.”

  The look of shock on Paisley’s face is everything. This little girl's day has just been made.

  “Y’all can come to soundcheck if you�
��d like. I’ll introduce you to the other bands here, if they’re around. I think Lady A will be there, maybe Thompson Square, as well.”

  “That is so cool!” Allison squeals. “I freaking love Lady A.”

  “Hillary and the guys are so nice; you’ll love them!” Reese tells her. I couldn’t have planned this better if I tried. Everything just seems to be falling into place today, and from what I can tell, Allison has no clue I’m about to pop the question.

  “Before I close out my time with y’all tonight, I’ve got a very special guest to bring on stage. As y’all know, this is my hometown, and I’ve got a lot of family around. One exceptional little girl is attending her very first concert and wanted nothing more than to help me sing a song tonight. So please, get on your feet and give my little cousin, Paisley, a round of applause.”

  We all cheer as loud as we possibly can from our center stage seats. She walks out all proud-like, her sparkly boots flashing with the spotlights hitting them. If she’s nervous, you can’t tell one bit with the confidence that she struts with. She helps Reese belt out one of her early hits, and the crowd sings along. Lindsay is filming the entire thing, which I’m sure Paisley will want to watch a million times over in the coming weeks.

  Reese finishes her set, and the stage crews start their quick tear down and set up for Lady A’s set, the last one for tonight.

  “Hey, Reese is asking if all of us can come backstage for a bit,” Lindsay says, holding up her phone as if to show off the text she just received. Really, this is all just part of the plan.

  It's go time!

  Allison

  Something is going on. What that is, I have no freaking idea, but something is going on. Not only has Lee been acting weird, but so has Lindsay. I’ve been trying to figure out what it could be, but nothing is adding up today. I don’t know if I’m just paranoid or what, but I just have a feeling something is up.