Southern Storm

by Madison, Natasha

  He holds my hand as we walk out of the house. After locking the door behind him, he opens the truck door for me and smiles, grabbing my face. “Relax.” I sink into his touch. “If at any time you feel that you don’t want to be there, all you have to do is tell me, and we’ll leave.”

  “Okay,” I whisper. He leans his head in, and I think he’s going to kiss me on my lips. I don’t move for fear he might back away, and when he comes closer, I hold my breath. I wait for it, but instead of kissing me on the lips, he kisses me right beside my lips. Then he steps away from the door and closes it. I watch him walk around the truck and then get in.

  “Shit,” I say out loud. He looks over at me while he starts the truck. “I don’t have anything to bring.”

  “It’s a barbecue,” he tells me. “You think Charlotte hasn’t been cooking up a storm all day.”

  “I guess you’re right.” I shrug, and he pulls away from his house and I look out, trying not to have a panic attack. The drive goes a lot faster than I thought it would. I thought it wouldbe longer, or at least I hoped it would. We pull into the driveway, and I notice more cars than our usual get-togethers. There are about twenty trucks parked all different ways. We park right behind Jacob’s sheriff truck.

  “How many people did he invite?” Beau says, turning and grabbing the door handle. He opens the door, and I follow him out. The sound of country music fills the air along with the sound of people talking.

  Beau waits for me, grabbing my hand. “Don’t be nervous,” he says, and with my hand in his, we walk around the house toward the backyard. There are a couple of people who I recognize from the bar who also work for Casey.

  “Hey there,” one of them says to me, bending his head and raising his cowboy hat. “How you doing, Savannah?”

  I swear I can hear a growl from beside me. “I’m doing fine. Thank you, Trent.” I nod at him.

  “See,” Beau says when we walk a couple of steps. “He was coming on to you.” I stop walking and look at him.

  “Trent?” I ask, and he just nods. “He’s nineteen.” He’s about to say something when we finally walk into the yard. There are two grills that are going, and people are standing around talking to each other. A couple of people turn to look at us. Some stop talking, and some just ignore us.

  “Savannah.” I hear my name being called and look over to see Billy, Casey and Kallie’s father, coming toward us. “Mayor.” He nods at Beau.

  “Mr. Barnes,” Beau says. “I’m going to be passing a bill that says if you have picked me up when I was drunk and underage, you can call me by my name.”

  I throw my head back and laugh at this and so does Billy. “Good to see you two.” He turns to me. “Would you like some sweet tea?” He hands me one of the glasses from his hand. I don’t want to be rude, so I accept it and take a sip.

  “This is good.” The sweetness of the tea hits my tongue right away, but then there is a burning. “What’s in this?” I ask, looking at the glass in my hand.

  “Just my special recipe,” he says, and I take another shot. “It’s good.”

  He just smiles and walks away. “You go easy on that sweet tea,” Beau says while we walk more into the yard. “I can just imagine what his special ingredient in the tea is.”

  I roll my eyes, and I’m about to say something to him when I hear Ethan yell my name. “Mom.” I look over and see him running over. “Hey, Uncle Beau,” he says when he gets close enough.

  “How you feeling, baby?” I ask, hugging him and kissing his head.

  “I’m not a baby, Mom,” he groans. I want to stick my tongue out at him and tell him tough, but instead, I drink a bit more sweet tea. “Come and see what I made.” He pulls me with him and my hand that was holding Beau’s is now hanging by my side. I stop and look over at him.

  “I’ll come find you,” he tells me with a smile. “It’s going to be fine,” he says softly.

  I follow Ethan through the backyard, and we come to a table that is under a tent. “Gramma,” he says, and I look over at Charlotte, who is preparing something on the plate. “Can I show Mom the pie I made?”

  “Of course you can,” she says, wiping her hands on the white apron around her waist. “So good to see you, dear,” she says, grabbing my arms and kissing my cheek. My heart speeds up, and my hands start to get clammy. “You look pretty,” she says, and my tongue gets heavy while a lump forms in my throat. I take another gulp of the tea instead, and Ethan shows me the apple pie that he made with Charlotte. “He even put an E on it so he would know it was his.”

  “I did it all by myself,” he says so proud. “I’m going to go play.”

  “Not too far,” I say. “I think it might be time to eat soon.” He just turns and runs away.

  “You did a good job,” Charlotte says from beside me. “He’s amazing.”

  “Thank you,” I say, and she turns and walks away. I walk to a seat and sit down, almost as if I’m hiding.

  Billy finds me with my empty glass of sweet tea. “I got you another glass,” he says, taking my empty one.

  “Thank you,” I say, and he walks away. I sit in the chair all by myself and just people watch. I scan the crowd for Beau and find him talking to Casey and Jacob with a beer in his hand. I finish another glass of tea when I hear someone call my name and look over to see that it’s Kallie.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” she says, sitting down on the empty chair beside me. She’s wearing a tank top and jean shorts, and has left her blond hair loose. “It’s a nice night out.”

  “It is,” I say. I go to take another sip of the tea and find it’s empty. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better,” she tells me. “It was harsh. I think it’s the chicken we ate from the rest stop.” Billy comes over and hands us both some sweet tea. “Dad,” Kallie starts. “You are going to have us rolling out of here.”

  “I’m celebrating,” Billy says. “My son finally got his head out of his ass and found himself a gem.”

  I can’t help the laugh that comes out of my mouth. Casey is or was the most eligible bachelor in the town. Well, it was a toss-up between him and Beau. Jacob made it clear to everyone that he was not interested in the least, so no one really bothered with him. “Well, I, for one, am going to miss him bringing in the women.” I smile at Billy. “He was good for business.”

  “I bet he was,” he says, turning and walking over to fill empty glasses of tea.

  “There you guys are.” I hear another female voice and look over at Olivia. “I have been dodging your father and his sweet tea the whole night.”

  I nod at her. “Ms. Tequila.” I giggle, and my cheeks suddenly feel flushed.

  Kallie now laughs from beside me. “She has had a touch too much sweet tea.” I shake my head.

  “Nah, this is only my third.” I gulp some tea. “It’s good. The burning stops after one, so I don’t think there is anything in this one.”

  “Oh, fuck,” Olivia says, and I look at her. She is wearing a pink summer dress with matching wedges. Her hair is loose and curled. “Who is going to tell Beau?”

  “Not me,” Kallie says, and I look at them.

  “What aren’t we telling Beau?” I ask, suddenly confused, then looking for Beau and spotting him with another fucking debutante.

  “How many debutantes can one town have without it being overkill?” I ask and only then realize that I’ve said the words out loud and not just thought them. Kallie and Olivia both laugh now. “Seriously, though, and why are they all single?”

  “They are waiting for the top prize,” Olivia says, and I drink some more tea.

  “He is a top prize,” I say, mumbling to myself, but Kallie and Olivia share a look. My neck starts to get hot. “I don’t mean he’s the top prize,” I stumble.

  “We need to get her some food,” Olivia says, getting up. “And no more sweet tea,” she tells me, and I think I pout. She walks to the barbecue and passes Beau at the same time, and he smiles at her. She must say somet
hing to him as he looks over when she points at me. He nods to the debutante and then walks over to the grill to grab some food and then walks over to me.

  “He’s hot,” I say again in my head, but it comes out, and Kallie just laughs.

  “I would not say anything unless you want him to know everything,” she tells me, getting up. “Also, is it okay if we take Ethan home? I promised him I would try to make chocolate chip pancakes without burning the chocolate.” I nod at her. “I’ll bring him over to you after lunch if that’s okay?”

  “Yes,” I say. She gets up and walks toward Beau, saying something to him and laughing. He just glares at me as he walks to me.

  “How much tea have you had to drink?” he asks me, almost barking.

  “None of your business,” I say, drinking another sip. “Go speak to your debutantes.”

  “What?” He sits down in the chair that Kallie was just in. “I got you a burger.”

  “Thank you,” I say, taking it from him. “What’s got your panties in a twist?”

  “My panties are not in a twist,” he says. Leaning back in the chair, he puts his arm around my chair, holding the beer bottle in his hand.

  I take a bite of the burger and moan. “This is so good,” I say, moaning out again when I take another bite.

  “For fuck’s sake.” I hear Beau beside me. He sits forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “Can you stop doing that?”

  “What?” I say with my mouth full. “Eating?”

  “No,” he grumbles. “The moaning. Can you eat without moaning?” He closes his eyes, and I have no idea what the hell he is doing, but I can see his lips moving.

  “Are you praying?” I lean in and ask him.

  “You could say that,” he says and takes a pull of his beer. I turn back, taking another bite of my burger and ignoring the fact that I want to kiss him more than I want my next breath.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Beau

  “This burger is so good,” she moans, and I swear my cock is going to fall off or get suffocated from being restrained. Standing next to the barbecue with Casey and Jacob, I have been watching her the whole time, making sure she was okay and she didn’t feel out of place.

  “I’m going to the bathroom,” she says, getting up and turning to put her paper plate on the chair. “Oh my God,” she says when she moves right and falls literally in my lap. She throws her head back and laughs now. “Holy shit, my head is spinning.” She puts her arm around my shoulder. I look down at her, seeing that her cheeks are flushed and her blue eyes clear. “You’re hot,” she says, giggling, then puts her hand in front of her mouth. “Shh.” She puts her finger against her lips. “Don’t tell anyone.”

  Her ass is right on my cock, and my arms are around her waist. “You aren’t so bad yourself.” I push the hair away from her face. “Always beautiful,” I say without thinking, and her eyes get just a touch darker.

  “I hate the debutantes,” she whispers in my ear, her cheek rubbing against mine. I wait for her to say something else, but instead, she gets up off my lap, and my hands go to her hips. “I’m good,” she says and wobbles just a bit. Kallie comes over to help.

  “Do you want me to take her to the bathroom?” she asks.

  “I have to pee,” Savannah says, trying to whisper, but it comes out in almost a shout. Kallie rolls her lips and just nods. “I’ll be back, Mr. Beau Hunk,” she says, giggling, and Kallie’s eyes open wide.

  They walk away from me, my eyes following her as she walks inside Casey’s house. Casey walks over now. “Where’s your woman?” he asks, and I motion with my head that she’s inside.

  “She really is the one for you?” he asks, and I just take a pull of the beer, the warm beer that suddenly tastes like ass.

  “She’s my best friend.” My stomach burns.

  I look over at Casey. “One of these days, she’s going to stop waiting on you to make a move,” he says. “Then what are you going to do?”

  “She isn’t waiting for me to make a move,” I say. “She doesn’t look at me like that.”

  “Idiot,” he says, and the back door opens with Kallie coming out.

  I get up, walking to her. “Where is she?” I ask.

  “She is sitting inside drinking water with my father,” she says, and I walk inside and see that she is sitting at the island with a bottle of water in her hand.

  “Hey there.” She smiles at me when she turns her head. “I was coming out to find you.”

  “Were you?” I ask, slipping on the stool beside her.

  “I was,” she says softly, our shoulders touching. Billy walks out of the kitchen, leaving the both of us. “It’s a lot less awkward than I thought it would be.”

  “I told you that it would be okay.” I nudge her shoulder with mine, and she gets off the stool. I turn, putting my back to the counter.

  My legs are open, my feet wide, and she walks between them and puts her hands on my shoulders. She’s never done this before. “You are always right,” she says, stepping closer to me. My hands go to her hips. “We should have a bet.” Tease me, yes, touch me, yes, joke with me, yes, but flirt with me, never.

  “Oh, yeah?” I say, my mouth getting dry. “What would you bet?” I ask her.

  “I can’t tell you that.” She giggles. “But you would have won, and I would have lost.” She shrugs her shoulders. “In the end, I would have won anyway.”

  I’m about to ask her what she means and bring her even closer to me. I’m about to do things to her I have only dreamed, but the door opens, and Ethan comes in. “I’m leaving, Mom,” he says, not even batting an eye at our intimate position.

  “What time is it?” she asks, and he shrugs.

  “It’s already after eight,” I say, and her eyes go wide. “We should get going also.”

  “We should,” she says, and I get up, my hands not moving from her hips, she turns in my arms now and I hold one hip tight to make sure she doesn’t stumble. We walk out with Ethan and say goodbye to everyone. Billy hugs her with the promise that he will be coming by the bar when it opens to give her the secret sweet tea recipe.

  She nods at him, smiling. I slip my fingers with hers, and she holds me as we walk to the truck. “That sweet tea was good,” she says, giggling.

  “How much sweet tea did you have?” I ask, opening the door for her.

  “Two,” she says and then laughs, putting her hands to her mouth. “Ten.” She then puts a finger to her lips, telling me to shh. She turns in the seat, and I fasten her seat belt. “I call you Beau Hunk,” she whispers, laughing. “Get it?” I roll my lips. “’Cause your name is Beau, and you’re a hunk.”

  “I get it,” I say. “Watch your hand,” I say, turning and shutting the door, then walking around and getting in. I start the truck, and she turns over to me when I back out of the driveway and put the truck in drive.

  “Those girls need to get off your dick,” she says, and I almost burst out laughing. “Like we get it, you want his dick, but you need to get off it. I mean, I want his dick, but I’m not on it all the time.” She shakes her head, and my mouth hangs open. “It makes them seem desperate.” She looks over at me. “Doesn’t it?”

  “I agree,” I say, and she just looks out the window, not saying another word. We pull up to my house, and she tries to unbuckle her seat belt, but nothing is working, so I lean over and unclip it. “Wait for me,” I say, getting out of the truck and walking around to open her door. She grabs my hands, and we walk up the steps. The sounds of crickets all around. I unlock the door, opening it for her. She steps into the entry, giving me just enough room to walk in. I close the door behind me, and I turn to her. She stands there in the almost dark entryway. “Are you okay?” I ask with my back to the door.

  She steps forward, closing the distance between us until our chests are almost touching. My hands go to her hips automatically. “We really should have bet,” she says in almost a whisper.

  “What would you have bet?” I ask, my he
art speeding up, my fingers gripping her hips just a touch tighter.

  “I would have bet you.” Her hands now come up and she plays with the collar to my linen shirt, she comes in just a touch more. “A kiss,” she says it so soft and low I’m not sure I heard her. She leans her body into me, her chest now crushing mine. “One kiss,” she says. “If you would have won, you would have gotten one kiss.” She looks down now at my neck. “But I would be the one winning.”

  “Savannah.” I say her name almost in a whisper, and I’m not even sure I should do this. But her here with me is more than I can fight. I’ve been dreaming about this for my whole life. “Savannah.” I say her name again, maybe warning her that I’m about to snap.

  “Beau.” She whispers my name, and her face gets so close to mine that all I see is her. Then she licks her lips, and it’s the last straw. I finally take what I’ve dreamed about.

  My hands come up from her hips to her cheeks. “Baby,” I say softly, my lips almost touching hers. I kiss her lightly, and she leans in. Her hands leave the collar of my shirt to roam to my hair.

  “Kiss me,” she says, and here in the dark, I kiss her. My heart speeds up, and my palms get clammy, but my lips touch hers, and it’s all over. My tongue slides with hers, tasting the sweetness of the tea. The kiss isn’t soft; it’s a kiss of passion. Her hands go through my hair and wrap around my neck, pulling me close to her as she falls into me, our mouths fighting with each other.

  “Beau.” She says my name breathlessly, coming back and kissing me again. Turning her head to the side, she slides her tongue with mine again and moans. This is the kiss that I’ve been waiting for, and it’s worth it. It’s everything. My hands go from her cheeks to her hair, and I pull back just a touch to see her. Her eyes open almost as if she’s in a daze.

  “Your kisses …” She runs her fingers through my hair. “Your kisses make everything better.” She brings her lips back to mine again, but this time, it’s not soft. This time, she moans into my mouth and arches her back. Her hands now slip from my hair to my shoulders, and she runs them down my back and puts them on my hips. She turns her head to the other side, deepening the kiss as her hands slip under my shirt and slowly make their way up. She lets go of my lips.