“And…?”
“And…that’s it.”
It was a good thing they weren’t having this conversation face to face because Serena was certain she’d end up strangling her cousin. After several awkward, silent moments, she finally caved. “So what do I do? How do I know…how can I be sure that I’m not…”
“Jumping in?”
“Exactly.”
“Only you can answer that.”
“Well damn, Pey. That wasn’t what I wanted to hear.”
“Only you can make that decision, but I will say this…there are no guarantees in anything. Not in relationships, not in life. It seems to me that you were happy with Will. Why would you deliberately choose to be unhappy without him?”
Good question.
****
They talked almost every night and Will tried to tell himself that it was enough – that everything was fine.
But it wasn’t.
The whole damn situation was foreign to him. He was used to being the one with some sort of control. He was used to being the one who was okay with things being casual – no commitments.
It really sucked to be on the receiving end of the blow off.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t as if Serena was really blowing him off. They lived far enough apart that getting together wasn’t as easy to do as he’d like. Stupid logistics. He rolled his eyes as he thought about it. Maybe this was why he’d always dated girls from Sapphire Falls. Then again, that hadn’t made any relationship stick either.
He sighed – almost growled with frustration. It had been more than three weeks since they’d seen each other and just thinking about it was enough to up his frustration level. Again.
“You could save yourself a whole lot of time and energy if you just got in the car and drove to Lincoln,” a voice said from the door on the far side of the bay he was working in. Will looked up from the engine of the ’04 Toyota he was working on and frowned at Peyton Wells.
“Is that right?” he murmured and then waited a beat. “Customers aren’t allowed back here in the garage.”
“Dylan gave me a free pass,” she said saucily and slowly started walking toward him. “Is it always so…dirty back here? I envisioned it being a little bit cleaner.”
He twisted off a spark plug and shook his head. “Working with engines is a dirty job.” Going back to his task, he silently prayed that she’d give up trying to have a conversation and leave.
“You know…” Peyton began, “it seems like all everyone can talk about around here is this new addition to the garage. Personally I’ve never had the need to get any bodywork done on my car, but that’s just me. I suppose it’s going to be an asset to the town.”
“It will.”
“Mmm…maybe.” She stepped up beside him and looked at the engine and then took a step back behind the yellow safety line Dylan had painted on the floor. “It’s not going to matter how successful the place is if you’re hell-bent on scaring the customers off.”
Straightening, Will wiped at the sweat on his forehead and glared at her. “Clearly I’m not scaring anyone off. You’re still here.”
She chuckled and then let out a full, throaty laugh. “But you’re trying,” she said lightly.
It killed him that she was right. Dylan had mentioned how surly he had become, but Will had just blown it off. Clearly that wasn’t working either. Leaning against the car, he faced Peyton. “What’s going on, Peyton?”
Shrugging, she mimicked his pose – arms folded, cocky stance. “I’m just trying to figure out why you’re killing yourself here when you don’t have to.”
He looked at her with confusion. “What do you mean I don’t have to? We’re expanding the business. That doesn’t happen on its own. It takes work. A lot of work!”
She shrugged again. “Seems to me most of what’s going on is structural and has nothing to do with you. Tools and equipment can’t be delivered until the building is done and cleared for moving in. And…knowing Dylan…everything else is planned out meticulously. So I’ll ask you again – why are you killing yourself here when you don’t have to? Serena would love for you to come and see her.”
And that was like a knife to the gut. He wished he believed it to be true – that she missed him as much as he missed her. But their conversations over the last week had been…stilted. Almost a little forced.
“That’s not the impression I got,” he said belligerently.
Now she rolled her eyes. “Oh…my…God!” She sighed dramatically. “The two of you are trying so hard not to put pressure on each other that you’re making yourselves miserable.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Serena knows you’re busy with the shop so she doesn’t want to be a distraction by being here but she also doesn’t want to ask you to come visit and take you away from it.”
“I’d kill for her to be a distraction!” he snapped. “I want her here! I’ve always wanted her here!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…I get that. But at the same time, instead of directly asking her to be here, as in moving here permanently – which we both know is what you really want – you keep dropping hints about people who would hire her so she could work if she were here more. For crying out loud, Will! Shit or get off the pot!”
“Shit or…?” He growled with frustration. “Serena didn’t seem all that interested in moving here or spending any more time here than she already was and then she stopped coming! She hasn’t been here in weeks! I can take a hint, you know.”
“You are so damn stupid,” she murmured with disgust. “I swear…it was kind of comical watching you at all the festivals. You’d get all flustered and worked up every time Serena kissed and ran and then you came up with all these goofy ideas to try and find her. It was sweet. Cute. But seriously, I think it’s just that you’re stupid.”
Will didn’t believe in violence against women, but he was starting to have a change of heart on the subject. He took a step toward Peyton and she held up her hand to stop him.
“Talk to Serena, Will. Stop tiptoeing around and talk to her about how you feel and what you want. This isn’t good for either of you.”
And before he could respond, she turned and walked away.
Twelve
ONCE THE DECISION was made, there was no stopping him.
As Will drove through Lincoln, his emotions wavered between anxiousness and excitement. He hadn’t called Serena to tell her he was coming to see her. He was hoping the element of surprise would work in his favor. Then that little devil on his shoulder had him wondering how he’d react if she wasn’t happy to see him, if Peyton had been completely wrong in encouraging him to come here.
He took the exit off the highway and knew he’d be at Serena’s within ten minutes. “Either way,” he murmured, “I’ll deal with it.”
The entire situation was so foreign to him. Ever since he was twelve, he’d never been the one to chase after the girl. Girls always chased after him. And he had to admit, he kind of felt shitty for the way he’d treated some of them looking back on it all. It was pretty damn awful when the person you wanted most in the world didn’t want you.
Then he rolled his eyes at his own thinking. He had to stop immediately going to the negative. So he had to work at this – at their relationship. That wasn’t a bad thing at all. New, yes. Bad, no.
And…the more he thought about…the more he realized that Peyton was right. He’d suggested, hinted and pretty much done everything except come right out and ask Serena to move to Sapphire Falls – to him. And that’s what he wanted more than anything. It didn’t matter that it was fast. It didn’t matter that they each had issues with their jobs. At the end of the day, Will wanted Serena with him - all the time, not just on the weekends.
Pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex, he saw her car and felt a sense of relief. Being that he hadn’t called, there was a chance she wasn’t going to be home when he got there.
Obst
acle one cleared.
He parked and grabbed the ratty duffel bag he used for overnight trips – that he had pretty much thrown clothes blindly into less than ninety minutes ago – and made his way to her door.
“Will?” Serena said excitedly when she opened the door. Then she launched herself into his arms. He barely had time to drop his bag so he could catch her. And before he could even ask if she was happy to see him, she was kissing him – wrapping herself around him.
Obstacle two cleared.
Will kicked his bag through the front door and then followed it in. With the door slammed shut behind him – compliments of Serena’s foot – he felt his world right itself. Turning, he pressed her back to the door and simply enjoyed getting reacquainted with the taste and feel of her.
“I missed you,” he finally said when he raised his head to catch his breath.
“I missed you too,” she replied breathlessly.
Slowly, he lowered her to her feet and rested his forehead against hers. They sighed in unison. “I hope you don’t mind that I showed up unannounced.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Are you kidding? I love that you did that!” Then Serena took a step to the side as she gently grabbed his hand and led them over to the couch. “So are you just here for the night? The weekend? I’m so excited that you’re here but I know it’s only Thursday so do you have to be back to work this weekend?”
He chuckled softly, enjoying the feel of her hand in his. “I’m off until Monday. I can’t say for certain, but I think I had an angry mob chasing after me to make sure I actually left town.”
Serena looked at him curiously so he explained about how much he’d been missing her and how he’d thrown himself into work at the garage and how Dylan and pretty much everyone – including Peyton – had told him to come to Lincoln.
Instead of her looking pleased, she actually looked a little…defeated.
“What?” he asked gently, squeezing her hand. “What did I say?”
“So…it wasn’t really your idea to be here. It seems like you needed to be kicked out of town in order to come here.”
Dammit. “Serena,” he began, “that’s not it. Not really.” He cursed. “I’m not good with this sort of stuff. I…I was really trying to give you space. After that conversation a few weeks ago, I figured you’d see that as a good thing. Then I got wrapped up in everything going on at the shop and I’m trying so damn hard not to screw up that I think I’m overdoing it.”
“Sounds like you’re out of balance,” she teased. “Too much effort on one thing, not enough on the other…”
“I know, I know. And I’m sorry, Serena. I really am. I sort of felt like you were…”
“Pulling away,” she finished for him. “I think I was.”
He stiffened, not really grasping what she was saying.
“No, no, no!” she cried after she got a look at the stunned expression on his face. “That didn’t come out right. I mean…okay, here it is. The first time we met? That first kiss? Remember how I told you how I’d just gotten over a breakup at that time?”
He nodded.
“Well….I tend to make bad decisions in relationships. That’s why Peyton encouraged me to keep coming back to the festivals to see you and kiss you. It was to prove that I don’t have to jump into a relationship. But then…” she shrugged.
“We jumped into a relationship,” he stated.
“Exactly.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes until Will let out a weary sigh. “So where does that leave us?”
****
At first, Serena didn’t know what to say. His statement had a kind of finality to it that she didn’t feel comfortable with. “Leave us?” she repeated quietly.
Will instantly shook his head and chuckled again. “See? Not good with this. Serena, I know that what we have isn’t really a long-distance relationship. I mean, it’s not like we’re on opposite sides of the country. But we’re also just people with busy lives and that’s why I think…”
For some reason, she wasn’t ready to hear what he was thinking. Was afraid to hear it. So she reached out and put her finger over his lips to stop him. “Wait! Just…not yet, okay? You just got here and I want to catch up on just being in the same room as you and…we have all weekend, right? We don’t have to decide everything right now do we?”
Slowly she pulled her finger away, let it trace his soft lips. He didn’t look pleased that she’d cut him off, but he wasn’t arguing with her about it either. A simple curt nod was his only response.
She jumped off the couch. “It’s only a little after seven and I haven’t had dinner yet. What do you say we go out and get something to eat?”
His look was so serious, so intense that she figured he was going to argue, but he didn’t. “Sounds good,” he said, rising to his feet. “How about that Mexican place we went to the last time?”
“Ooh…my favorite! Let me just grab a jacket and we’ll go.” Walking out of the room, Serena was thankful for a moment alone. Maybe she should have let him finish his thought, but she’d missed him so much and if he was on the fence about whether or not he wanted to stay with her, she wanted a chance to weigh the odds in her favor first.
A childish tactic, but there it was.
Sweater in hand, she walked back out to the living room and immediately went over to Will and kissed him. “Ready.” Hand in hand they went out to Will’s truck – she knew he preferred driving – and were on their way.
The drive to the restaurant was short and they filled the time by simply talking about their day and even though it’s what they normally did on the phone each night, she loved it so much more when they were in person – talking face to face.
The place was crowded for a Thursday night but it didn’t take long to get a table and being that they were both somewhat creatures of habit, they ordered quickly too. Once all of the distractions were taken away, she reached across the table for his hand and held it. “I can’t believe you’re here for the entire weekend. What should we do?”
He gave her a sexy grin that she felt all the way down to her toes.
Yeah. She could totally get on board with that.
“You have to work tomorrow though, right?” he asked.
With a shrug she said, “I think I’ll call in sick.”
Will’s eyes went a little wide. “Really? The last time you did that your boss freaked out and was a complete jackass to you for weeks. Are you sure you want to risk it?”
“You’re here for the weekend and I’ll deal with my boss. Don’t worry about it.” She considered him for a moment, admiring his handsome face – the strong jaw, the dark blue eyes and a grin that always got her pulse racing. “I think I have the perfect plan for us tomorrow.”
His grin got a little bit bigger and a whole lot naughtier. “Me too.”
That had her giggling. “Oh stop…” Then she paused. Maybe he was on to something. Maybe tomorrow they could spend the day being lazy and simply stay in bed and make up for lost time. “Okay, let me rephrase that, I have the perfect plan for us for Saturday.”
Their waitress walked over and asked if they needed anything and Will looked at Serena and winked.
“Um…yeah. Change of plans. Can we get that order to go?”
Serena looked away and could feel herself blushing from head to toe. The waitress agreed and told them she’d be right back with the check. As soon as she was gone, she looked at Will. “Oh my goodness…”
“Why are we pretending that we want to be here when we’ve never tried having nachos while naked in bed?”
“You make a good point,” she said, doing her best to keep a straight face.
“I do what I can.”
By the time the waitress returned with their check and their take out bag, Serena’s entire body was humming with anticipation. Will quickly paid the bill and then climbed from the booth as he took Serena by the hand and all but dragged her out of the restaurant while they both l
aughed with glee.
She loved this.
The silliness. The laughter. The fun.
She loved him.
Will helped her into the truck and then quickly ran around to the driver’s side and climbed in. They made the drive in half the time and rather than admonish him for speeding, she was silently thankful for it.
Once back inside her apartment, Will put the food on the nearest surface and pulled her in for a kiss that bordered on frantic.
“What…about…dinner?” she asked between kisses.
“It will reheat just fine.”
“Good plan.” Then she pulled him toward the bedroom and loved how they clumsily pulled off their clothes, bumping into furniture and each other as they went.
By the time they made it to the bed, she was already breathless.
Will stretched out on top of her, his hands and lips seemed to be everywhere. It was sensory overload and it was damn near glorious. She sighed his name and raked her hands through his hair as they moved together.
It was all heat and need and wild and Serena was pretty sure that she blacked out from the pleasure.
And much later, after they had calmed and their skin cooled, Will served her reheated nachos in bed.
Naked.
And she loved every minute of it.
Thirteen
IT WAS LATE Sunday night and Will was contemplating how smart it had been to opt to stay at Serena’s for the night rather than drive back to Sapphire Falls. It meant getting up before dawn so he could drive home and be at the shop by seven.
But as Serena rolled toward him and kissed his chest, he stopped worrying about it.
The weekend had been amazing. They spent most of Friday in bed and it was incredibly sexy and decadent not to have to worry about anything except where they wanted to make love next. By the time the sun went down that night, they were both exhausted but in the best kind of way.
On Saturday she surprised him by taking him to the Museum of American Speed which boasted the world’s largest collection of exotic racing engines and vintage speed equipment. For a car enthusiast like him, it was freaking awesome. And by the end of the day, he realized that Serena wasn’t just placating him, she was actually enjoying herself and asking all kinds of questions.
Sapphire Falls: Going To Be Yours (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 8