“Yeah, he is,” I agree. “Bear. Bear,” I taunt until the furry guy looks up from his personal pleasure licking party. “Home, boy, go home.”
Bear jumps to his feet and spins around, giving us a bark before he takes off in the general vicinity of the main farm store.
Jules plunks her hands on her hips. “Sooo, you’re a dog whisperer, huh?”
“More like former playmate,” I explain as I sit back down. “My dad is good friends with the Owens. We’ve all helped a time or two during crop season. I’ve known Bear since he was the size of a Chihuahua.”
“That huge beast was never the size of a Chihuahua. You lie.” She shakes her head as she lowers herself to the ground. She takes a spot across from me so we’re facing each other. Her bare legs cross in front of her as she leans back on her hands and smiles at me. “You’ve spent time farming and dog wrangling since we were last friends. What else do you do for fun, Mr. Rutledge?”
“First, Mr. Rutledge is my dad, and second, if you come closer I’ll show you what I like to do.” I crook my finger at her and waggle my brows.
“Naughty boy? Duly noted.”
If only she knew how naughty I’d like to be with her. I’m forced to adjust my seating position at the mere idea. Reining in my dirty thoughts, I attempt to come up with a real answer. What do I do for fun? Nothing. I go to parties, hook up with girls, and chill. I’m sort of pathetic.
“How about an easier question. Favorite music, movie, or food maybe?” she teases as she draws a pattern in the dirt beside her.
“Okay. Indie rock and alternative, anything with action or sports, and anything with cheese.” I tick each item off on my hand. “You?”
“I like all music. I’ve been into country lately though. As for movies, I guess I’d have to say romantic chick flicks. Or anything with Reese Witherspoon or one of the Jennifers, and for food I’m a sucker for Mexican.”
“The Jennifers?” I ask, unsure of her meaning.
“Aniston, Lawrence, Garner, Lopez. You know, the Jennifers. There are so many of them.”
“Huh. Are they in any sports films?”
“Not that I can think of.”
“Then no, I do not know the Jennifers.”
“Well, I’ll just have to educate you then. I mean really, if you can watch all those Buffy episodes with Carley the least you can do is watch a few chick flicks with me.” She throws a pebble at me.
“Of course I will, and you can watch sports with me.” Turnabout is fair play after all.
“You don’t think cheering for eleven years constitutes enough sports watching?” she asks as she falls to her back, her knees bent to the sky.
“You don’t like it?” I ask curiously. “Football, I mean.”
“Actually, I love it. Always have.” I wish I could see her face from this angle. She sounds happy, as though this is a subject she could discuss for hours. “As a matter of fact, I was thinking about that the other night.”
“Oh yeah? How come?” I ask, shifting so I can see her better.
Her head rolls to the side and she smiles at me. “My little brother, Jase, had a nightmare so he came into my room. For some reason it got me thinking.” Her fingers pinch her bottom lip as she blinks away the emotions hitting her.
“Did you always love it,” she asks. Subject change.
“What do you think?”
She nods. “Of course you did. Was there ever a time you didn’t play ball?”
“Nope, I came out of the womb throwing a football.” Jules’ smile falters. She doesn’t have to say anything, I can read her face. She feels guilty for what she just said. “Hey, don’t look like that. I still throw the ball with my dad, you know. And when I’m with my brothers we play. I’ll always love the game, it’s just for fun now.”
She sits up, stretching her legs out flat in front of her. “Sorry.”
I grab the toe of her sneaker and wiggle her foot back and forth. “Don’t be sorry, Jules. I don’t play football competitively anymore, but it’ll always be a part of my life.”
She taps her shoe against my palm. “There was this one time, with Stuart” she stops. Her eyes search my face as though she’s asking for permission to speak. Truthfully, I want to ask her to never mention his name, but that would make me look like an ass, so I nod, giving her an encouraging smile to continue.
“Man, he acts like the self-appointed God of football sometimes, doesn’t he?” She rolls her eyes and I bite my tongue.
“Sometimes, the girls and I would hang around after cheer practice and wait for the team to finish. Sometimes some of the guys and their girlfriends would stick around for a scrimmage, just screwing around, you know? Well, Stuart would never let me play. So one day I got angry because he had the nerve to tell me to go sit on the bleachers where I belong and look pretty for him.” She shakes her head at the memory.
“He was teasing me, but boy did it pissed me off. So you know what I did? I totally ran into the path of a ball he threw, intercepted it, and kept running.”
She giggles as though she’s reliving the moment. “Oh. My. Gosh. It was the best moment ever. I grabbed the ball and took off all the way across the field with a pack of wild guys chasing me. The other girls cheered, and of course Tanya and Katie joined me, shouting at the boys the entire time. They could have cared less about playing, but they loved getting one over on the guys.”
God, I love the sound of her laugh. The way it bursts out of her mouth as though she’s been holding it back until she can’t stop it any longer. It’s musical and magical.
“Did he let you play after that?”
Jules shrugs. “He almost broke up with me that night. He was pissed. I suppose I should’ve examined our relationship a little deeper after that.”
I bite my tongue again. This may become a dangerous habit. Stuart is out of the picture now, so there’s no need for me to speak against his character. No matter how much I would love to.
“I wish I could have seen it.” I can picture the seething look on Stuart’s face as Jules stuck it to him.
She smiles, tipping her head back to the sun. “It was glorious.”
“Just so you know, I’d let you play ball with me anytime. In fact, my brothers and I will force you to play, and Mindy will absolutely love having another girl in the game. Plus, adding you will even up our teams to three-on-three.”
“So what you’re saying is it’s a good thing I came into your life. You know, to even up the teams,” Jules laughs, making a silly face.
“What I’m saying is that I can’t wait for you to get to know my brothers and future sister-in-law. And of all the reasons I’m glad you came into my life, that doesn’t even make the top ten.”
“There’s a top ten?”
“Yep, I’ll tell you eventually, if you sit there and keep looking so pretty for me.” I grimace as her foot kicks me in the side before our laughter fills the air.
We sit quietly for a while, enjoying the warm sun and peace. Eventually I lay back on the ground and Jules inches into my side and rolls over, blocking the sun from my view as she leans over my face.
“What prompted you to bribe Wes and Karen to put us together at her party?” she asks. Her face is like the eclipse, completely in shadow from the way the sun is beaming directly behind her as I look up.
“You.”
“Me? What did I do?” I push her back lightly and roll onto my hip so we are laying side by side, the sun no longer blinding me.
“You were standing with Katie and Tanya by the food table and I remember getting this feeling like you three were staring at me. So eventually I made my way behind you, being all cool like I was just getting something to eat, and I kinda overheard you three.”
Jules bites her thumb nail. “Oh gosh, what were we saying?”
“You said something like ’12 is so cute.’ Apparently I wasn’t too bright back then because, after listening to you three for a little longer, I had to ask Jeff what you meant.”
Jules collapses to the ground in a symphony of laughter. “12! It was your football number. You couldn’t figure that out on your own?” She gasps at the look on my face and laughs some more. “We used to use code words for the guys we liked so people couldn’t guess who we were talking about.”
“Well obviously I had no idea the complexities of the teen girl’s mind back then,” I point out, laughing with her. “What I do recall was you complaining how you were too shy to talk to me. So I did what any smart boy would do and the moment Karen brought up playing games I made my move.”
“You bribed them because you knew I thought you were cute? Would you have done it if you hadn’t overheard us?”
“Hell no! You remember how it was don’t you? Always waiting for all the signs before you could let the member of the opposite sex know you liked them? I wouldn’t have had the guts.”
“But wasn’t the point of the game to make random people have to be alone in the closet?”
“Sure, and if I’d been paired with you I totally would have had no problem going in, but—do you remember Carrie Ann and Jeff when they had to kiss during spin the bottle that time?”
“Yes,” Jules cries, slapping her hand over her mouth. “I felt so bad for them.”
“Everyone egged them on and made jokes, and poor Carrie Ann cried, and Jeff got into a fight with Bryce. So much drama over a kiss.” I shake my head at the memories.
Jules grins. “How about now?”
“How about now what?”
Out of the blue, she jumps up and clasps her hands behind her back. “Truth or Dare?” she asks waggling her brows.
This could be interesting. I sit, craning my neck to look at her face. “Dare. Always.”
She grins. “Still the rebel, huh, Spike?” She retreats into a nearby row of cornstalks. “I dare you to kiss me.”
“Really? Do I have too?” I fake whine.
“Mmmhmmm,” she nods. “But first you have to catch me.”
She dashes off into the stalks without a second thought, and I laugh as I jump up to chase the little cheerleader who once defied a team of football players because she wanted to prove a point to her boyfriend. When I catch her, five minutes later because Damn! she’s fast, I happily fulfill my dare and kiss her among the dying fields of a Texas corn farm.
It’s getting late. We’re back to sitting on the ground face-to-face chatting when I realize I’ve lost her attention. She seems to be fascinated by a group of black birds hopping around from stalk to stalk near us. I stop talking and simply stare at her. It’s been at least thirty minutes since I last touched her, too long, and I want her to know it.
Narrowing my eyes, I study the places I’d love to touch my lips to right now. Her soft lips; her smooth jaw line; her long, slender neck. I boldly flick my gaze lower, taking in her tight tank stretched across her chest. I catch the way her chest lifts and falls, and I know she’s spotted me, but I play with her. Slowly and deliberately, I move my hungry eyes back the way they came, wetting my lips just as my eyes meet hers, making sure she knows how much I want her.
Jules scoots across the ground slowly, and maybe it would be sexy if it weren’t awkward, until we’re face-to-face and hip-to-hip. The sexy part is the way her eyes hold mine the entire time she slides her ass through the dirt. When she halts next to me, I turn into Caveman West again.
Grabbing her knees, I spin her around to face the same direction as me. I hope I didn’t give her bare thighs gravel burn. I wrap one arm around her back and I push her to the ground, shifting her to lay in the crook of my arm and chest while I hover over her flushed face.
I kiss her temple first, sucking in a deep whiff of her strawberry hair. It’s going to become an addiction of mine. Once I’ve had my hit, I move my lips over her face, kissing her forehead, the tip of her nose, her closed eyelids. Jules laughs as I take my time plying her with little kisses everywhere but her lips.
“Do you need help finding your way?” she asks as I near her lips then move back to her other temple.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, I look down at this beautiful girl who picked me and I tell her as humbly as I possibly can, “I found it. I’ll just keep following you.”
A low moan is her reply as she gives in to my lips when they land on hers, her fingers weaving into my hair and holding me to her.
I don’t return Jules home until after the street lights have come on and the sun has gone down. After I drop her off, I worry all the way back to my house about her getting in trouble for being out all day without calling, but I can’t regret the day. I can’t recall a time when I’ve had such a perfect date. Being with Jules is better than I could have ever imagined and I can’t believe it happened. I’m so amped about our time together that I call her as soon as I walk into my house.
“Hey,” Jules’ sweet voice answers. Before I can speak I hear her mother’s voice through the line.
“Jules? Tell him no more motorcycles.”
There are mumbles and silence before Jules returns to the line. “Hey, sorry about that.”
“No more motorcycle, huh?” I laugh, not surprised.
“Oh, you heard that?”
“I didn’t get you in trouble, did I?”
“Nah. She’s cool, but apparently your bike isn’t.”
“I can live with that, although I like feeling you pressed up against me,” I hint suggestively. The memory of her stomach, chest, and thighs against me stirs my blood.
“We’ll just have to find other opportunities for me to wrap my arms around you,” she replies.
“Again, I can live with that.”
“Mmm hmm, I bet you can. So what’s up? Didn’t you drop me off like, um, twenty minutes ago?” I can hear the smile in her voice.
“Too soon?” I ask innocently, and she chuckles.
“Not at all.”
“Good. I’d hate to know you were getting sick of me already. I just wanted to let you know I talked to Carter. He put your bike in the shop since you left it there.”
“Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about it! Thank you for checking with him.”
“Of course.”
“Hey, I don’t think I told you I had an amazing day with you.”
“Did you let me kiss you? Or did I imagine that?” I ask. I’m still half-convinced today was a dream.
She giggles. “I believe I did.”
“So you know what that means then, right?” I ask. “You’re my girl, Jules. I told you if you weren’t his, you’d be mine. I’m jumping on this train.”
“Ha! The Jules Blacklin Express?”
Not my best line. “Well it sounded better in my head. I just meant that I let you pass me by once and it took me five years to get another chance. I’m not missing you this time. Can you deal with that?” I ask seriously.
“I can more than deal with that. I endorse it and will happily buy you a round trip ticket.”
“You’re cute, but I don’t need one.”
“No?”
“Nope, I’m not getting off this time.”
Jules bursts out laughing and I’ll be damned if I don’t feel the heat burning my face. Jules Blacklin is making me sound like an amateur tonight.
“Dirty girl,” I laugh.
“Blame Tanya.”
“Shocker.”
Tanya had a great dirty mind and she was always a blast to hang out with for that very reason. The guys loved how they could talk smack around her and how she would dish it out in return. She didn’t get offended or act prissy. I’m realizing Jules has a similar mind frame and I’m liking it.
Muffled voices reach me through the line before Jules speaks again. “Hey, West, my parents want me downstairs. Can I call you later?”
“Anytime, Buffy.”
“Okay, I’ll call you soon.”
“Jules?” Her name rushes from my lips before she can hang up. “I meant what I said. I’m in this, as long as you’re interested in being in it with me.” I need her to kn
ow this, to trust my intentions.
She’s doesn’t respond right away and I pull the cell from my cheek, checking to be sure the call didn’t drop. I see we’re still connected when she replies.
“I was in it the moment you finally spoke to me. The moment you called me Buffy,” she admits in a voice so heartbreakingly soft that I want to run to her house and kiss her for hours all over again.
Instead I release a long breath and bite back words describing feelings I shouldn’t be having about her. Not yet. Not this soon. “Call me as soon as you can,” I tell her instead, my head winning out over the demands of my heart this time.
Heart: 4 ~ Head: 2.
I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.
Twenty-Three
I should have called first. I’m standing on Jules’ front porch speaking to her little brother, Jase, through the side glass window because I didn’t want to take the time to call first. Idiot.
“I promise I’m a friend of your sister’s,” I tell Jase through the glass. His wide eyes scan me before his head turns and he shouts behind him.
“He says he’s a friend.” His muffled shout reaches me through the door.
I tap on the glass to get his attention. “Tell her it’s West.”
“It’s West!” he shouts behind his back again. Then he turns back to the glass and puts his face up close, his breath fogging it as he speaks to me. “She just got out of the shower, hold on.”
Damn, I wonder if she needs help toweling off? Shoving my hands in my pockets, I glance around, feeling stupid for running over here without permission first. I missed her. She didn’t call me back last night.
When I woke this morning, the nagging thought taking residence in my brain was what if she’d changed her mind, and I had to see her. I wonder if this insecurity will ever go away? My waiting for her to walk away. I hate it.
A flash of movement takes shape behind Jase and he disappears from the glass for a moment before the door opens. I smile, a little embarrassed at myself for showing up like this, as I look at Jules’ dripping hair and hastily pulled on tee shirt and yoga pants.
West Page 19