How is that my little girl?
The costume makes her look like more than a made-up princess. She’s my princess.
She turns to Sarah, who finishes buttoning her up.
“You look gorgeous,” Sarah says as Cailin twirls around to show off the outfit.
“Will you help me with my hair?” Cailin asks as she attempts to pull her hair off her shoulders and place it on top of her head.
“Sure, we can do that.”
“Will you have your hair up too?” Cailin asks.
I see the hesitation flash across Sarah’s face as her body stiffens. She tries to recover, but when she glances my direction, it makes me wonder even more why she would react that way over a question about hair.
“We’ll let you be the true Cinderella on Halloween. If I wore my hair up too, no one would be able to tell us apart,” she says as she places a crown on her head.
Cailin giggles as she turns to view herself in the mirror. When Sarah stands up straight and heads back to me, I can sense that something’s different with her. An uneasy feeling touches me from the inside.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, bringing back to our same position as before, and whisper into her ear when I pull her into me again, “Everything okay?”
She nods as she inhales a shaky breath. I know it’s a lie, but I let it go for now, hoping she’ll open up to me soon if something is bothering her.
“My gloves!” Cailin yells as she turns around.
Sarah pulls away from me again, all too eager to help Cailin with her costume accessories.
I try to ignore the voices telling me something’s wrong and place my focus back on my daughter, who holds out her hands to me once they are donned in long white gloves. I take them and swing her around before placing one hand out to dance like they do in the movies.
Cailin steps on my feet, and we take a few turns, causing a bit of a spectacle before I place her back on the storeroom floor and tell her to go get changed.
Sarah’s face is covered in a smile, but I can tell it’s not as genuine as it normally is. Whatever just went through her mind is big, and I need to figure out what it was.
19
Sarah
Today is the first day I haven’t seen Adam. Even if we don’t hang out, we see each other when he drops and picks up Cailin every day for school. Now that it’s Saturday, I realize just how nice those opportune meetings are. We haven’t had to plan anything or had those awkward moments of calling each other. It’s been natural since we’re already together.
Now, I’ve spent all day wanting to call him, see what they’re doing, and I’m noticing just how bad I have it for the guy.
I busied myself with home chores, cleaning my kitchen and bathrooms, and then going grocery shopping. I noticed the few glances I got as I walked by, which only made me think of him more.
My sister asked if I could help her with Emma, and I jumped at the chance to hang out with my niece, who I hadn’t seen as much of lately. We went to the park, and I hoped Adam would show up the entire time.
It’s pathetic, I know.
I should have called him, but since we’d been seeing so much of each other and it’d only been a few weeks, I decided I could wait until Monday and go about my life.
I just finished dinner and am curled up on my couch, deciding to read the book I started over a month ago and have neglected since I started hanging out with Adam.
I start to doze off when my phone dings with a text message.
Are you busy?
My tiredness fades quickly as adrenaline takes its place just from seeing his name. Man, I do have it bad.
I laugh at myself as I text back.
I was just reading. What are you doing?
Standing outside your place.
I jump off my couch and run to the window to see his truck parked. I can’t fight the grin plastered on my face as I type back.
Do you want to come up?
Come for a drive with me.
I glance down at my outfit—leggings and an oversize sweatshirt.
Let me change. I’m in my cozies. I’ll be right out.
Don’t change. We’re just going for a drive. You’ll only see me, and I’d love to see what you have on.
I bring my hand to my lips, thinking about his words and checking out my outfit one more time. The leggings show off my legs, and I’m comfortable, which is what he’s making me when we’re together. I smile as I stand up and text back before I grab my shoes.
Be right out.
When I approach his truck, he’s standing by the passenger side, waiting for me. His hand reaches out to grab mine, and he pulls me in for a quick kiss.
“Thanks for coming out,” he says as he helps me into his truck.
When he hops in on his side, I ask, “How was your day?”
He shrugs. “I had to go help put everything in storage and figure out what we needed to keep and what we could get rid of from the tour. Linda is watching Cailin, so since she’s staying the night with her, I thought I’d take advantage and come see you.” He grins in my direction, and my heart flutters. “How about you?”
“Nothing big. Just did some chores and got to see my niece for a little while. Where are we driving to?”
His eyes turn to me, and he shrugs. “No clue. I just didn’t trust myself in your apartment, alone.”
A sharp laugh escapes my mouth, and I cover it, trying to hide my reaction.
He chuckles under his breath. “Just being honest.” His hand reaches out to grab mine as he winks at me before turning his attention back to the road. “You grew up here. Where can we go? Is there a lookout maybe? A place where people go to make out?”
I laugh out loud again. “I thought you didn’t trust yourself to be alone with me?”
“Oh, don’t you worry. There’s no way I’m fucking you for the first time in the back of a truck. A bed, on the other hand …”
The way he said fucking and left his statement hanging there for my imagination to fill in the blanks flames my desire past a bright red stage and straight to blue, the most intense a fire can be.
His thumb rubs mine, sending tingles up my arm. I close my legs to try to ease the ache and love when his lips tilt the slightest amount.
Once I can breathe without gasping for air, I say, “I know where we can go.”
I give him directions up the side of a canyon. I’ve actually never been there at night, but I can only imagine the view of the lights below us. I direct him to the country and turn when we hit Mix Canyon Road.
The street is void of any streetlights and crowded in darkness from the large trees that block the moonlight. A few houses come into view when we turn the dark corners as we climb up the hill.
After we make it to the top, I point to where to park, and he turns the engine off, killing the lights at the same time. Up here, the trees are sparse, and the moonlight beams brightly above us.
His hand grips mine, and the electricity in the air gets so thick, I can barely breathe. We’ve never been this alone, and if he’s thinking anything like I am, we’re in trouble.
The sparks are starting to ignite as my body temperature rises. My breath hitches as his eyes bore into mine.
I turn to him, bringing my knee up so I can face him more. “So, tell me something, something I don’t know yet,” I say, trying to break the buzz around us.
The chuckle that escapes his mouth makes my chest tighten. He’s so gorgeous. I haven’t been able to ogle him this way, and I’m not trying to hide that I’m checking him out in every way right now.
“What, like a truth or dare?” He raises his eyebrows in a seductive question.
I playfully slap his arm, and he grabs my hand, holding it there.
“No, more like get to know some secrets about you.”
“Secrets can ruin moods. How about something lighter?”
My own secrets come to mind, and I can’t agree more. “Okay, good point. What’s your guilty plea
sure?”
“Besides daydreaming about what you’d feel like underneath me?” My breathing stops completely, and he smirks, continuing so I can recover. “I’m a sucker for sweets.”
“Sweets, huh? What kind?”
“Chocolate, ice cream, whipped cream.” His eyes blaze into mine, and all I can envision is him licking said whipped cream off my body.
I reposition myself in the seat to ease the sudden ache, and he grips my hand tighter.
“What about you? What’s your favorite thing to do?”
Besides think about you? I try to hide the flush creeping up my face by glancing down.
“What just went through your head?”
I look up to him too quickly. “Nothing. Why?”
He reaches his hand out to touch my cheek. “Your face is telling a different story.”
I lean into him, and he leaves it there, our eyes locked on each other.
“What is it saying?” I whisper.
I watch his chest move up and down as his vision bounces back and forth from my lips back to my eyes. The pause in his answer is building so much electricity in the air that I feel like a match would ignite us to flames.
“How about we check out this view?” he says. He sighs and opens his door before I can say anything.
I take a minute to gather my wits before I step out of the truck. He’s leaning against the front, one foot resting up on the bumper, staring off in the distance.
Lights flicker from the city below us as we sit in silence, taking it all in.
He pulls me close to him, my back to his front, and wraps his arm around my shoulders. The sigh he releases is full of content, and my entire body reacts the same way.
Being in his arms makes me feel so free, so protected, as pure elation floats through me whenever he’s near.
His breath tickles my ear, and I lean further back into him, rubbing my hands down his thighs.
“I’m trying to be a good boy here, Sarah. It’s getting hard though.”
I laugh at his choice of words. “See, you’re just as dirty as I am.”
He kisses my neck, causing chills to run through me. “I can’t get you out of my mind,” he says barely above a whisper.
I lean my head back, slightly turning it, giving him more access to explore my body. My fingers interlace with his as I say, “Feeling’s mutual. I had to stop myself multiple times from calling you today.”
“Why didn’t you?” he asks as he holds me closer against him.
I bite my inner lip, trying not to sigh when I feel him push his cock up against my back. His spicy smell washes over me, and I have to inhale to calm the lust racing through me.
He’s barely touching me, and we’re sitting in the wide open, yet I’ve never been so turned on, so needy for a man’s touch, as I am right now. I try to breathe to bring my focus back to him and not the urgency racing through me.
“I wasn’t sure if you were busy. I didn’t want to bother you,” I say as I lift my arm behind me and run my fingers through his hair.
He flips me around to face him. “You’ll never be a bother to me.”
Our eyes meet, and in the moonlight, his normally crystal blues darken as his gaze drops to my lips and then back to my eyes.
“I don’t know how long I can be good for,” he says, licking his lips.
“I’m sick of being good,” I say without any hesitation.
The growl that escapes his mouth shoots right to my core as he yanks me to him, kissing me with pure abandon, throwing out everything holding us back as we both completely forget where we are.
My want goes directly to need as I rub my hands up his back. He reaches under my sweatshirt, dancing around my skin, leaving a path of heat every place he touches.
He stops himself, placing his forehead to mine.
Why did he stop? Please, for the love of God, don’t stop.
My heart is pounding out of control. I feel like I’ve taken my first hit of drugs, and I’m addicted—addicted so bad that I might not be able to breathe if I don’t get more.
“I’m sorry,” he says after taking a deep breath.
He might be sorry, but I’m not. This is what I want. Every single part of him, and I’ll be damned if he doesn’t fuck me right now, bed or not—a truck will work just fine.
I interlace my fingers with his, pulling him to the passenger side. Our eyes stay locked on one another, his expression stoic.
I open the door and slide into the seat, gripping his shirt and pulling him into me. I go straight for his lips, making sure he knows exactly what I want and not holding back one bit.
His hands wrap around my head, holding me steady as he explores my mouth. Every swipe of his tongue fuels my desire, and every exhale I feel against my skin makes me want to have him inside of me.
I wrap my legs around his waist, yanking him in, grinding into him, loving the friction it’s inducing. His labored breaths only fuel me more. He might want to go slow, but I want this man so bad right now, and I need to show him, so he has no doubts.
I reach under his shirt, running my hands up his bare back, feeling his soft skin and lines of other tattoos I haven’t seen. I move his shirt up higher and remove it completely, taking in the man of my dreams, who is staring back at me with so much lust in his eyes that I almost come undone completely.
I lift my own shirt, doing a slow striptease for him, keeping my eyes glued to his. When he licks his lips, my chest tightens in anticipation for this man—this gorgeous man that I want to give my entire body to. I want him to show me exactly what he’s feeling, thinking, dying to do to me.
He crashes into me, pushing me further into the truck and down to the seat. After climbing on top of me, his fingers make their way up my body, exploring my curves, feeling my breasts. When he pulls my bra down and wraps his lips around my nipple, my lower back instantly lifts off the seat, pushing harder against him.
He moves to my mouth when bright lights break our trance, pulling our attention to the police car parking behind his truck. He grabs his shirt, slipping it over his head and placing his feet on the dirt road.
I take a deep breath while I put my sweatshirt on, making sure my outfit is lying flat and doesn’t look like I was just being mauled.
Adam stands up straight and steps toward the officer, who I see exiting his car from the back window. “Can we help you, Officer?” Adam asks.
“Stay right there,” he demands, shining his flashlight on Adam.
“Are we doing anything wrong?” Adam says, standing still.
“A thug like you? I can only imagine. You know your kind isn’t welcome in our town,” the officer spits out.
“My kind?” Adam says in disbelief.
I exit the truck, but Adam reaches out his hand, keeping me behind him, protecting me.
“I don’t know who you have behind you there, but she’s not welcome either. Now, pack up whatever drinks or drugs you guys have and get out of here.”
“Excuse me? Are we on private property or something?”
“As I already stated, your kind isn’t welcome here. Go back to the city or wherever you came from. We don’t allow riffraff like you here.”
Adam tenses, and I feel his hand turn to a fist against me. “How am I riffraff? We’ve done nothing wrong here. You can’t just come and harass us like this.”
The cop steps closer. “I’ve asked you nicely to leave. If you’d rather me force you to leave, we can make that happen.”
“Force me?” Adam stands taller, not backing down.
The cop reaches out to grab Adam, but he yanks out of his grasp.
“Don’t you dare touch me,” he growls.
The guy gets in Adam’s face, and I jump in between the two of them.
“Stop. Just stop. There’s no reason for this to escalate like this. Officer, it’s okay. We weren’t doing anything.”
“Sarah?” the officer asks in disbelief.
I turn to get a closer look and recognize
who he is instantly. “Yes, Officer Kelly. It’s me. Now, can I ask what’s going on here?”
He glares over my shoulder at Adam. “I should ask you the same thing. What are you doing out here with this trash?”
“Trash?” Adam asks in shock.
I place my hand on Adam’s chest, trying to calm him down. “Officer Kelly, I’d like to introduce you to Adam Jacobson, the owner of the Pleasants Valley property and my friend.”
I watch as his jaw twitches. I left out who he is, knowing when I mentioned the Pleasants Valley property, all would click into place.
His eyes flick from me to Adam and back to me. “Does your father know you’re out here?”
My chest tightens, but I try not to back down. If I do, I know he’ll go straight to my father, filling him in on my evening before I even wake up tomorrow.
“No, I haven’t lived with him in years, and I’m not in the habit of telling him of my every move. I was showing Adam around his new town. His daughter is in my class, and we were just looking out at the view.”
His eyes narrow as he takes me in. He purses his lips and shakes his head. “Well, we don’t allow people to come out here. We’ve had some problems with drinking and leaving a mess, and the homeowners have been complaining. So, why don’t you guys pack up and head back down the hill?”
Relief floods through me, glad that the situation is ending there. “We will.”
I reach behind me, grasping Adam’s hand, making sure he’s calming down as well and praying he doesn’t say anything to ignite another fire. He has every right to with the way he was just verbally attacked, but I hope he knows that some fights aren’t worth it.
He grips my hand tighter, letting me know he’s okay, and when Officer Kelly leaves to get back in his car, I turn and meet Adam’s eyes. The fury is evident as his jaw is still clenched shut, his vision glued to the police car.
I place my hand on his cheek, trying to bring him back to me. “Don’t let him bother you. You heard him; there’ve been problems with teenagers. That’s all that was.”
He tilts his head, giving me an exasperated expression. I have no doubt that he’s not buying my excuse for the way he was just treated. I at least hope he’s not too offended by it.
Our Song Page 13