by t. h. snyder
“We should probably go,” he says, stepping away from me.
“Ugh, do we have to? I was kinda enjoying what we were doing right here.”
“Yeah, so was I and I know better—if we keep this up, we won’t leave this house. I have a night planned out for us, so let’s go.”
He reaches for my hand, helping me hop down off of the countertop.
With a pout on my face, I pull him next to me and step up on my toes to kiss his lips.
“Fine, since you’ve planned out this amazing night we’ll go.”
“That’s my girl; I promise you’ll have fun. At least I hope you will.”
“I’m sure I will, I’ve been waiting for this all day.”
“No pressure,” he responds with a laugh, walking me out of the kitchen, through the living room, and out to the car.
Opening the car door, he gestures for me to get in. I slide myself along the leather seat and cross my hands on my lap while he shuts the door. My eyes follow him as he walks in front of the car. I can’t help but smile when I see the giant grin on his face. He looks so happy and I can’t get over that I’m the one making him feel this way.
The driver’s side door swings open and the car shifts as he slides onto his seat. Closing the door, he turns and looks at me for a few moments before leaning in and capturing my lips with his for a sweet kiss.
“Tonight is the start of everything for us. I know I’ve said this before, but I want to do whatever I can to let you know that I want this. This night is all about you and showing you what I want from you. I can’t change overnight, but I want to start with you. You’re all I can think about, Etty, and I don’t want that to ever fade. I’ve never felt the way I do about you and I’m willing to do anything for my girl.”
My heart begins to race at the words that are coming from his lips. This hard ass womanizer wants to change for me? Who am I to stop him? I want him just as much as he wants me and I’ll be by his side through it all.
He turns from me and starts up the car, the engine roaring to life. Pulling out onto the street, I watch out the window as we begin our journey. I haven’t seen much of this town other than the shop, the hospital, and the local stores. I’m anxious to know where we’re going and what he has planned for us.
After what feels like no time at all, Dault pulls into a parking lot. In front of us is the most remarkable sight I’ve ever seen.
“Wait here,” he says, lifting his hand and gesturing for me to stay put.
I nod my head, watching his every move.
Getting out of the car, he shuts the door and turns toward the back of the car. I hear the trunk open and then shut with a thud.
The passenger’s side door swings open, his hand reaching in for me to grab onto it. I extend my arm for him and allow him to guide me out and onto my feet.
“Where are we?” I ask, looking around at the beautiful scenery.
“To tell you the truth, I honestly don’t know much about this place. It’s a botanical garden and I thought it would be a perfect spot for us to have a picnic.”
“A picnic? At a botanical garden?” I sputter in between breaths. “Dault, this is amazing, I can’t believe you brought me here.”
A feeling of absolute awe rushes through me and I can’t fathom what he’s doing for me. Who knew my guy could be all sorts of romantic…for me.
“This is just the beginning, Etty. I want you to enjoy tonight and relax. It’s just you and me.”
“This new Dault guy is really starting to spoil me; I don’t know what to say.”
Pulling me through the parking lot, we start to walk along a path next to a beautiful stream. The flowers and setting around us are absolutely breathtaking. There are flowers of every kind, the smell of sweetness wafting through the air. I feel like a princess in a Disney movie. No one has ever taken the time to do something like this for me.
I squeeze onto Dault’s hand, his gaze turning toward me.
My emotions get the best of me and a tear falls from my eye.
Dault stops in his tracks, setting the basket down on the ground.
“Etty, what’s wrong?” he asks wiping, the tear from my face.
Shaking my head, I give him a small smile.
“This is amazing, Dault, no one has ever done anything like this with me…for me. I’m just happy…these are happy tears.”
He leans into me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
“I want to make you happy, Etty, nothing else.”
Kissing me gently on my lips, I close my eyes and embrace the moment. In such a short time, my emotions for this man are all over the place. My heart is pounding through my chest and I can’t seem to get enough of him. When he said I’m all he thinks about, I can’t get over the fact that I feel the same way. I’m quickly falling for him and there’s no way in hell I want to stop until my heart lands in his hands.
He pulls away from me, bending down to pick up the basket.
“Come on, there’s still so much to check out here. I’ve never been, but I hear it’s pretty damn amazing.”
“Lead the way,” I reply, interlacing my fingers with his.
For the next few minutes, we walk together through hundreds of flowers. Every color imaginable surrounds us; it’s simply beautiful.
Stopping short of a fountain along the path, Dault sets the basket down and pulls out a blanket. Standing by his side, I watch as he sets up our picnic. He’s planned out everything to be perfect. I’m beginning to think that this may be the most incredible night of my life and there’s still more to come.
Together, we sit and enjoy the sandwiches, fruit, and champagne. No words are said as we lie back on the blanket and take in our moment together. Nothing could be better than this right here.
Dault props himself up on his elbow and leans into me.
“Steady firsts with you, Etty. I want to create so many firsts with you,” he mutters before kissing my lips ever so gently.
“You taste like champagne,” I giggle against his lips.
He pulls back laughing, a smile stretching across his face and his dimples staring back at me.
“So do you, I want to taste more. Come here,” he replies, pulling me into him.
Our lips melt into one another’s as he deepens the kiss, his tongue tangling with mine.
My mind becomes dizzy while he licks and sucks on my bottom lip. I can feel my panties become wet with anticipation of what I want so badly…him.
“Dault,” I beg.
Pulling away from me, he grabs my face in his hands and kisses my forehead.
“Not yet, Etty, we still have a whole night ahead of us.”
With a pout on my face, I stick out my bottom lip. He sucks it into his mouth and leaves me with the most passionate kiss, causing my toes to curl.
Chapter 23
Tonight has been coming along just as I planned. Etty seems to be enjoying the botanical garden and I couldn’t be happier to see the look in her eyes as she scans the hundreds of flowers.
Having been here and taken in the sights, I’m ready to take her to our next destination. We still have a few more hours ‘til I can get into our final spot, so I need to kill some more time.
We’ve done the romantic bit, now it’s time to test the fun, competitive side of my girl.
Cleaning up the picnic mess, we walk back through the path and out into the parking lot. The sun is starting to set and a chill runs through the air.
“Babe, you cold?” I ask, opening the door for her.
Shaking her head, she moves into the car and looks up at me with her big green eyes.
I give her a wink, shut the door, and move to the trunk to put away the blanket and basket.
Moving to the driver’s side, I open the door and slide in next to my girl…yes, my girl, ‘cause that’s exactly who she is, mine.
“So where are we off to now?” she asks with a huge smile on her face.
“I’m beginning to think you’re enjoying ou
r night out.”
“Oh, I am, I was just wondering what’s next on the agenda.”
“You’ll see. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Starting up the car, I pull out of the lot and head down the road to stop two of the night.
With the windows down and the breeze flowing through car I can’t help but smile. I may be turning into a corny guy, a pussy whipped man, but I don’t really give a fuck. She makes me happy, makes me smile, and makes me feel like nothing else in the world matters but us. I’ve never felt like this and I don’t want this wave of emotions to go away.
“Okay, we’re here,” I say, looking in her direction.
She looks out the window and scans the building in front of us.
“Dukes?”
“Yep, time to see how good you really are, babe,” I reply with a wink.
She laughs and looks back out at the building.
“How good I am? What are we…entering a drinking contest?”
A deep laugh pulls from my belly and I reach for her hand, bringing it to my lips.
“No, Etty, it’s time to have a little fun and see if you can work your way around the pool table.”
“Shit, I suck at pool,” she says with a frown.
“Perfect, that gives me more reason to press myself up behind you and show you how to work the stick,” I respond, wiggling my eyebrows.
Letting out a laugh, she rolls her eyes at me and smiles.
“You’re such a tease.”
“Yep, now let’s go.”
Hopping out of the car, I rush to her side and open the door. With her hand in mine, we enter the bar. All eyes are on us as we walk through the door and toward the bar. I’ve never walked into this place with a girl; I’m usually caught leaving with one. No more, never again. The only girl I’ll be coming and leaving this place with is right here next to me.
The bartender approaches us, giving me a look of confusion.
“Hey, Dault, who’s the pretty little lady with you tonight?”
With a wicked glare, I pull my arm up and around Etty’s shoulders.
“Hey, man, this is my girl, Etty. Keep your eyes and hands to yourself…got it?”
“Shut the fuck up. What the hell did you do to tame this one?” he asks, looking to Etty.
“Leave her be, I’ll take a Miller Lite. What do you want, babe?”
“I’ll have the same, thanks,” she replies, looking up at me with a gorgeous smirk.
Taking our beers from the bartender, I pull her through the bar and into the back room.
“You said you’re not too good, but how bad are you?”
Pulling the bottle from her lips, she laughs, covering her mouth.
“I’m not that bad, I’m just not good.”
Racking up the balls, I line up the stick to the center of the table and break them with a bang. Two solids fall into the pockets and I look at her with a cocky grin.
“Oh, there’s the ass I know,” she responds, taking the stick from me.
I watch as she leans over the table, her ass high in the air. Moving myself from side to side, I attempt to adjust my growing cock now pressing against the zipper of my pants. It doesn’t take much for her to light my fire, but fuck me, I have to be patient. All thoughts going through my mind are of me tossing her onto the table and licking every last inch of her until she screams for me to stick my dick into her wet pussy.
Shaking my head and blinking rapidly, I try to focus…baseball, ugly, old wrinkly man balls, puppies…fuck!
She catches me in my sex daze and smiles.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“You don’t want to know my thoughts right now. Stop bending over the table like that or you’re going to make this a long, hard night for me.”
“Mmm long and hard,” she says with a giggle.
Moving next to her, I pull her into my arms, my front pushing into her back.
“You feel that, Etty? That’s me long and hard all because of you.”
She turns her body to face mine and looks up at me with the sexiest smirk.
“I’m done playing pool, take me home, Dault.”
Shaking my head, I smirk back at her.
“Nope, no can do. I have so much more in store for you.”
Looking at the clock on the wall, it’s a little after eight. If we leave soon, we should get to stop three of the night right after they close up.
“Alright, let’s finish this game and then we’ll move on.”
“Yeah, move it, buddy. It’s your turn.”
Pulling the stick from her hands, I knock in as many balls as I can at a time. Without giving her a chance to play, every last ball on the table has hit a pocket.
“Shit, you’re good.”
“Oh you have no idea, Etty.”
Watching as she pulls the bottle to her lips, I stop her.
“Wait, how much of that did you drink?” I ask, taking the bottle from her lips.
Looking at me like I’m nuts, she replies, “I don’t know, maybe two sips.”
“Okay good, you’re done. Let’s go.”
“Geez, Dault, you go from prince charming to crazy loon in the snap of a finger.”
Letting out a laugh, I reach for her hand.
“I told you this would be a ride that won’t be easy. You wanna bail?”
“No, never, I like the multiple sides of you.”
“Good, on to stop three of the night. Hope you’re up for anything.”
With wide eyes she stares back at me.
“Anything?”
“Yep, I have something I want to do to you…and no it’s not sexual, well, at least not yet.”
I watch as she bites down on her lower lip, sending a signal to my cock.
Fuck me!
Moving her quickly through the bar, I need to get her out of here before I pull her into the restroom and have my way with her.
We each get into the car and I make my way down the highway. I’m not sure if she’ll let me do what I want, but it’s worth a try.
Pulling in along the curb, the guys are already gone and the lights are out.
Perfect timing.
Getting out, I run to her side and open the door.
“I’m confused, why are we at the shop? Did you forget something?”
Shaking my head, I look down to her.
“Do you trust me, Etty?”
“Well, that’s a loaded question, Dault.”
An uneasy feeling pulls in my stomach; that was not the answer I was looking for. Trust is a big thing and maybe I should have worded my question differently.
How could I think she’d trust me so soon? I’ve done nothing but treat her like shit for the past few weeks leading up to this.
This was a mistake.
I snap out of my depressive daze with the touch of her hand on my face. She pulls my head toward her and I see the look of regret in her eyes.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that we’re just moving into this relationship. I’m not one to jump on the trust bandwagon as quickly as others.”
“I know and I shouldn’t have said it like that.”
“It okay, we’re taking this day by day. Trust will be built through time, and I just need time.”
Nodding my head, I reach for her hand and pull it into mine.
“Slow and steady wins the race, right?”
With a smile on her face, she nods her head back to me.
“Exactly, so tell me why we’re here.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, I’m second guessing whether I should still go through with this.
“Etty, you’re one of the strongest, most courageous women I’ve ever met. You remind me so much of someone it’s crazy. I brought you here to tattoo you.”
“What?” she asks, her eyes wide and bright against the light of the street lamp.
“I know its nuts, but I want this to be a first for us. It would mean a lot to me if you’d let me ink your skin.
I have the perfect image in my mind and everything. I drew it up yesterday and wanted to tell you, I just didn’t know when or how we would do it.”
“Dault, this is insane…in a good way. I’d love for you to give me a tat. I wanna see it.”
With a wide grin on my face, I pull her toward Cursed Magic. Unlocking the door, we walk in and switch on the lights. Together, we walk through the waiting area, down the hall, and into my room.
I tucked the paper in my top drawer for safekeeping.
Holding it out for her to see, she gasps.
“Oh my god, Dault, it’s beautiful.”
Sitting on my stool, I feel a sense of pride warp through me. It didn’t take me much time to draw it up, it was set into my mind. I created an infinity sign with birds surrounding the words strength and courage; it’s perfect for her.
“You like it?” I ask, anticipation filling my soul.
“Like? I love it! When are we doing it?”
“Right now, if you want.”
Acting like a little girl on Christmas morning, she starts clapping her hands, a huge smile all over her face.
“Yes, please. It’s so perfect, Dault, thank you so much.”
She falls onto my lap and wraps her arms around my neck.
“I’m glad you like it, babe. Let me get some stuff set up and we’ll get started. Do you know where you want it?”
Nodding her head, she grabs the bottom of her shirt and pulls it up over her head. Reaching behind her back, she points to the spot between her shoulder blades. It’s exactly where I would have chosen to set it.
Chapter 24
With a mirror in my hand I stare at the reflection of Dault’s masterpiece. It looks incredible; I can’t believe he drew this for me.
I’ve gotten so many tattoos in my life and I have to say this one is my absolute favorite. He took his time, using the gentlest strokes of the ink gun to mark me. This was a moment for us, a stepping stone for great things to come. I may have my guard up for more than one reason, but I know that in time the brick wall I have surrounding my heart will break and fall apart for him.
“It’s looks great, Etty. I think it’s one of the best I’ve ever done; so simple yet so intricate.”
“I love it so much,” I reply, looking back into the mirror.