by Toni Aleo
“We should go.”
“Yeah,” I agree, but before either of us can move, water starts spurting out of the jets of the tub.
She screams, and I stand quickly. “Oh shit,” I mutter, and I pick her up, trying to keep her from getting wet. My pants are drenched and so is the back of my shirt, but as long as she isn’t wet, we’re fine. I want to inspect her, but I don’t want anyone to catch us. I go to move, but my shoes are soaked, making it hard for me to take a step.
And then the curtain opens.
First, we’re met with gasping, and then the laughter roars.
I look out at the congregation and press my lips together. My mom’s jaw is on the ground, and Mawmaw, well, she’s cracking up like the rest of them. My brothers have their phones out, and oh look, so does the rest of the congregation.
Bet they’ll put that in the Facebook group.
Fuckers.
I look down at Delaney, guilt racking me. Her gaze is only on mine, and I swear I see tears in her eyes. I want to kill them all. I try to smile, but her eyes keep me from doing so. It’s obvious she is wishing to be hiding in a hole that is covered by a rock. I don’t know if I’ll be invited into that hole with her either.
“Can you let go of my skirt so I can cover my ass?”
Well, hell.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Delaney
Even though I’m in my thirties, I feel like hiding under a blanket on the couch is a perfectly good way to handle the pure humiliation that is racing through me at this moment. I haven’t cried yet, but maybe it will help. I didn’t cry the last time I was mortified like this. Well, I did after the fact, but when Larry slept with Annalee and everyone knew before I did, I lost it. I thought Larry was the one. I thought I was going to marry him and have his children. Nope, he’d been fucking Annalee behind my back for six whole months. I feel like I should have known, and I think that’s why I was so upset. I had been betrayed, and the whole town knew it.
Which lead to the sympathy. The “Poor, sweet Delaney,” or “She’ll never find a man,” and let’s not forget my favorite, “She’ll be just like Pearl.” It was suffocating. For the first time in my whole life, I wanted to leave Spring Grove. This time, though, not only is my love life on full display since I was caught in Reed’s arms, but the whole church saw my ass. My whole ass. Not just a peek or even one cheek—nope, my whole ass. The way Reed was holding me, it put me on full display, which led to Tommy May putting a picture on Facebook.
Fantastic.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Dammit, this sucks. I can get over my ass being on display; it is what it is. Not the first time in my life I’ve been laughed at. I mean, hell, I was huge. People used to make fun of me every day. I was easy fodder, the token fat girl who ran with a bunch of boys. I didn’t get my first kiss until I was sixteen, and it was in front of the church youth group when we played spin the bottle. I had told my friend Millie that it was my first kiss, and of course, she told everyone. Billy, the giver of my first kiss, said it was awful and all he tasted was stale donuts. It was so awesome.
So really, I shouldn’t be hiding. But with what happened today, I don’t know if I can get over it. Especially the repercussions. While I wasn’t convinced I could be the mayor of this town, I’m pretty sure being caught in the arms of a guy in a baptismal tub with my ass hanging out means I won’t be getting anyone’s vote anytime soon. We are hard-core Baptists here in Spring Grove. You don’t get caught with your ass on display in the middle of a tub where you’re supposed to get right with the Lord. I wasn’t too into the idea of getting it on there with Reed. But then, it’s hard not to hump him every chance I have.
Which brings me the other problem. Reed doesn’t want people to be in our business. At all. He’s said it over and over again, and then he even said, “When people ask, we’ll say we’re dating.” He doesn’t want it on display, I get it. He’s private, always has been. He was just starting to find his footing here. Or at least, I assumed so. He loves it at the clinic—well, minus when ducks come in—and I even saw him smile at Mrs. Rancid at church. I’m not saying he’s moving back home, but I sort of feel like he no longer hated this town as much as he used to. After everything that was put on Facebook and the way people laughed their asses off when they saw us, I’m pretty sure I might not be dating Reed McElroy anymore.
I don’t know, though. He put me on my feet, muttered an apology, and left. I was kind of hurt he did that. I’m not saying he had to stand there with me, but it would have been nice if we could have stayed together, a united front and all that jazz. Since he left, I did. I came straight home with my tail between my legs to hide from the stares and the disappointed glances. I can still see Mrs. McElroy’s face. She was so embarrassed. So am I, which is why I’m hiding.
Pathetic? Probably.
But in this plaid home I’ve made, no one can see me or laugh at me. And I definitely can’t see the urge to run in Reed’s eyes.
When a quick rap of knuckles sounds on the screen door, I try to see who it is through the blanket, but I can’t. I yank off my fort, looking toward the door, but something red is blocking it. I throw my legs off the couch. “Hello?”
No answer. Weird. I make my way through the living room, and when I reach the door, I can see that the red thing is actually roses. I raise my brows as I push the door open, and Reed pops his head out from behind the huge bouquet. My heart jumps into my throat as our gazes meet. Guilt is swimming in his green depths, and I’m confused by this turn of events.
“Reed?”
“Hey,” he says softly, and when I can see him bring the inside of his cheek in between his teeth, my heart catches in my chest. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah.” I lean back into the door as he comes in, the screen door slamming behind him.
He turns and exhales heavily before handing me the big vase of roses. “These are for you.”
“Wow.” I take them from him. Red roses. Whoa, okay, I know what red roses mean, but I don’t think Reed does. “Thank you. I love them. How’d you get them on a Sunday?”
“I drove to Hamby and hit up the Kroger.”
“When?” I ask since, glancing at the clock, I see church isn’t even out yet.
“When I left.”
“I assumed you went to change.”
He shakes his head. “Nope, my shoes are still soaked.”
He moves his toes, and I can hear the squish from his wet socks.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
A silence settles between us, and it’s painfully awkward. Unable to handle it, I start for the kitchen table. When I reach it, I set the vase on it as a smile pulls at my lips. I admire the silky petals, running my finger along them before my smile takes up my whole face. He went out of his way to get these for me. He didn’t have to, but he did, and it’s incredibly sweet. When I turn, he’s right there, not allowing me to go anywhere. His gaze moves from my mouth to my eyes, and Lord, his eyes are so dark.
He cups my face in his hands, brushing his thumbs along my cheeks as he gazes into my eyes. “I’m really sorry.”
I try to look away, though it’s hard, as I shrug. “It’s no big deal.”
“No, it is. I shouldn’t have tried to seduce you in church—”
“I didn’t put up much of a fight,” I say, meeting his gaze. “I wanted you too.”
“But still, I shouldn’t have done it. And then I was so worried about you getting wet, I didn’t think of trying to cover your ass.”
“It was all a shitshow.”
“It was, but whatever.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I say, but really, what the hell does that mean? “No, it’s not whatever.”
He tilts his head to the side in confusion. “Huh?”
“What does it all mean for us? Are you calling this off?” He blinks. I can tell he’s utterly bewildered. “Were the roses just an apology for showing the church my—”
“Yes, but also to make you smile.
”
I press my lips together, my eyes widening a bit.
“I honestly didn’t think it would affect what we have going. I don’t care what they think.”
“But you’re private and all. You don’t want people in our business.”
He nods. “Yeah, but you know what I was thinking the whole time I was driving to Hamby? I was worried about you. I wasn’t the least bit concerned with what they said about me or anything about that. I was worried that you were embarrassed.”
“Oh.” I look down at his mouth as I chew on the inside of my cheek. “I thought you’d want to call this off.”
“Why in the hell would I want to do that? I like this. A lot. Especially what you do with that mouth.”
I try to hold back my grin, though it has a mind of its own. “I sure do like your mouth too.”
I meet his gaze, and we’re both fighting grins. At the same time, we say, “You sure do have a pretty mouth.”
Laughter fills the room—and my heart. He leans in, and it feels like slow motion. His eyes close slowly, and when his lips meet mine, I feel like I’m flying. His kisses are small, tender, as his thumbs stroke along my cheeks soothingly. He breathes me in as he pulls back, his eyes meeting mine once more. “I don’t want to end this until I have to go.”
I run my tongue along my lips. “Exactly.”
“So let’s not worry about everyone else.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s my line.”
He scoffs. “I stole it.”
I lean in, kissing him once more, this time a little hotter and with more gusto. I really love kissing him. I’ve never thought that before, how much I enjoyed kissing a guy, until I kissed Reed. Our lips meet perfectly. His nose fits against mine just right. When he strokes my cheek, I’m two seconds from panting for him. But what I love most is when he pulls back to look at me. His eyes are always dark, so full of undeniable lust. I sometimes fear this is just about sex, but then he grins or laughs softly, and it all seems right.
Real. Oh, so real.
Reed drops his hands from my face and slides them down my arms to my hands, threading his fingers with mine. “Were you under the blanket?”
My face goes deep red as I laugh, nodding pathetically. “I was hiding.”
“You still do that?”
I laugh harder. “I forgot you caught me that one time.”
“Yeah, after that fucker Billy said that shit about you. What a way to waste your first kiss.”
My heart fills with such love. We said we didn’t know who we are now, but I don’t think either of us has really changed. We’re still the kids we were. We just look different and are hopefully a little wiser. Well, maybe not. We did try to get it on in a baptismal tub. “Not like I had anyone else volunteering to be my first.”
His lips curve. “I would have.”
“You would not!”
“I would have if I hadn’t been a brat.” I smile as I lean my forehead into his lips. He kisses it and then whispers, “Want some company in your blanket fort?”
I nod slowly, causing his lips to move along my forehead. “I do.”
We don’t say anything else. We move to the couch, and I cover us with my blanket. With our shoulders touching, I lean my head into his as he leans his head into mine. He threads our fingers together again, his thumb playing with the back of my hand. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. His cologne is strong and sexy. I want to kiss him, but then I find myself laughing as he toes out of his shoes, taking off his wet socks.
“Do you know how uncomfortable that was?”
I giggle. “Why didn’t you take them off earlier?”
“I wanted to get back here with the flowers.”
My face breaks into a smile as I lean into him again once he sits back on the couch, fixing the blanket along our heads. “Careful, McElroy. Being nice like that will make a girl feel things for you.”
He scoffs. “Don’t do that. I’m leaving. You’re staying and mayor-ing this town.”
His words cut me a little. “Doubt anyone will vote for me after today.”
“I will, and I’m pretty sure I can pay someone off to make you win. My money worked when it came to rushing my voter registration in Spring Grove.”
I giggle as I turn to look at him, my chin on his shoulder. He is so beautiful, his dark hair kissing his ears in disarray. When he meets my gaze, I press my nose into his. “You’d do that for me?”
“I sure would,” he answers, kissing my nose. “I’d do practically anything to keep seeing those two pieces of string and lace triangle you try to say are panties.”
Anything but stay.
Remember that, Delaney. Remember.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Reed
My heart has been in my throat since I made my way over to the Abbots’ place. I don’t know why; I’ve been here a billion and one times, but this time is different.
This time, I’m coming to pick Delaney up for a date.
A real date.
I’m not coming over to shoot the shit with Mawmaw or even hang with Holden. I won’t be climbing up the side of the house either, though I wouldn’t mind round two one bit. Nope, this time, we’re going out. Not meeting up at my house or at church or even jumping off a bridge. We’re going on a date. A real date. Why is this so hard to wrap my mind around?
I want to say it’s because I wasn’t expecting this. I had every intention of coming to this town, not leaving my house, and hanging with my dog for eight weeks. What I’ve found myself doing is spending every waking moment with the town’s sweetheart. The girl I knew and I appreciated but never touched. God, I was an idiot. Delaney needs to be touched—and a lot.
And that could become a problem…
Thankfully, the church incident has died down a bit. I paid Tommy to take the picture down, and no one has really given Del much shit for it. I’m happy about that, but I still hate that it happened. We discussed having a huge block party to get more votes for her, but I’m unsure if we’ll do it. She’s still pretty embarrassed. Hopefully after tonight, she won’t be.
My heart pounds in my chest as I head up the walkway after parking my truck in the yard. In my hand is a fistful of daisies I picked from my mom’s front garden. She wasn’t too happy with me, but she stopped screaming at me when I told her they were for Delaney. She loves Delaney, just like everyone else. I happen to like her a lot too. Which is why I made sure to plan this date just right. I’m sure she thinks we’re going to dinner and a movie, but I have bigger plans. It’s easy to say I’m excited too. I can’t wait to see what she thinks, and I definitely can’t wait to be on the receiving end of the excitement I hope it brings.
When I rap my knuckles on the door, Mawmaw’s voice carries to me outside. “Come on in.”
I do as I’m told, making sure the screen door doesn’t slam as I come in. Mawmaw is sitting in the recliner with a beer in her hand as she sets me with a look. She looks mighty upset, but before I can bring that up, I ask, “You heading out to the fair?”
“In a bit. I’m madder than a rattlesnake that’s been stepped on, so I’m gonna calm down.”
“What happened?”
“That damn granddaughter of mine. Pain in my ass. She calls, we scream at each other, and then she needs to talk to Delaney. I know it’s so Cataway can bitch about me. Which is why Delaney is running late.”
I come to her, kissing her cheek. “I thought Cataway couldn’t talk on the phone?”
“She couldn’t, but now she can, I guess. I don’t know.”
I eye the old lady. “You piss her off?”
“Damn right. Told her I better not watch that show and see her whoring around!”
I fight back a grin. Sounds like something she’d say.
“Hey, Delaney Kate, your lover boy is here.”
I chuckle. Lover boy. Please. But when Delaney comes down the stairs in a red getup, my mouth goes dry. She has on shorts, I think, that are attached to a tank. Her lusci
ous thighs are on display along with those amazing breasts peeking out the sides. Hell, she can call me her lover boy any time of the day, and I’d come running. Her hair is down and in big curls, framing her beautiful face. Her lips are as red as the outfit, and she has stunning white pearls around her neck.
She looks beautiful.
“Lord, you’re wearing that damn onesie again?”
“It’s a romper!” Delaney yells at Mawmaw as she comes down, and Jesus Christ, she’s wearing fuck-me-hard white heels. Her eyes meet mine, and a slow grin moves across her lips. “Hey, you.”
My heart is coming out of my chest. “Hey.” I go to her, leaning to her to kiss her glossed-up red lips. Damn, she tastes good.
I pull away to hand her the flowers, and she grins up at me. “Thank you.”
I run my hand up the back of her thigh as her dark eyes burn into mine, making me hot everywhere. “So, get this shit—”
“You need me to come upstairs?”
She rolls her eyes as she presses her hand into my chest. “No, listen.”
I look at her through my lashes, and she eats it up. Her eyes dance with lust, and hell, I want to take her right up those stairs. Mawmaw won’t mind. She’ll talk about it all day tomorrow, but she won’t interrupt. Delaney presses her hands harder into my chest, and I say, “What was that? You need help lifting something?”
She laughs some more, and now Mawmaw is laughing along with her. I must look desperate, and I am. For her. “Anyway, Cataway called.”
I move my hand up and down her silky thigh. “Yeah, Mawmaw said something about it.”
“She won.”
My jaw drops. “No shit.”
“Yup, I’m not allowed to tell anyone, but I gotta tell you.”
“Well, obviously.”
I cup her ass beneath the red fabric as my eyes burn for her. She purses her lips, which I assume means she wants a kiss, so I kiss her. She pulls back and gives me a serious look.