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How can things possibly change so drastically overnight?
Because now you know what it would be like to wake up with him every day.
If this is how all our mornings would start, I’m desperate to keep this going as long as I’m still in town. I shove a forkful of food in my mouth, swallowing it thickly, and my skin prickles under Dawson’s stare. When I look over at him, he’s got his eyes solely focused on my mouth with a fire burning in his eyes. Instead of eating more, I push the plate away from me and clear my throat. “I’m going to head home.”
When I come to a stand, Dawson’s hand falls on my arm and I flinch at the heat it exudes. “Hang out with me today?”
I tap my foot frantically on the floor, running through the different excuses I could give him and come up with nothing. If I told him no right now, he’d know exactly why I was saying it. “What do you want to do?” Maybe if it’s something I’m not comfortable doing, he would be okay with me not tagging along. It would make it an easy enough excuse.
He smiles. “I was thinking we could go on a hike There’s a new trail since the last time you were here that I think you would love.”
Of course he chooses hiking as the option, knowing how much I used to love trekking over the different hills. I blow out a rough breath and nod, brushing my hair out of my eyes. “Uh, yeah, but I’ve got to get home and change into different clothes.” If I drive home, I could claim I fell asleep. An easy way to ditch him.
He nods, swallowing the last of his food and walking the plate over to the sink. “I’ll take you.”
“No,” I say too quickly. “Uh, I can drive myself. I drove here last night anyway.”
“Your car will still be here when we get back, Sav.” He arches a brow in silent question, probably wondering what else I’ll try to come up with to not go with him, and I don’t have anything to say. He’s always been determined when his mind is set on something, so basically, there’s no point in fighting him on this.
“Yeah, fine,” I mutter while slowly sitting back down with my eyes dipped toward the plate of food in front of me. “Guess some food in my stomach would be best then, huh?”
“I’m going to get in the shower and change. Fill up in the meantime.”
It’s like something changes inside of me once he’s out of view, and I dig into the breakfast eagerly, like I’ve never eaten a damn thing in my life before. Once my stomach is full, I take a moment to walk around the living room and survey the vibe he has going on. I’ve made it a point not to look at the coffee table again, hating the way it makes me feel that he still managed to get it.
There were plenty of things Dawson and I talked about when planning for our future, right down to how many kids we would have after we got married – two girls and a boy. Obviously we can’t choose what gender we have, but that’s what we had hoped for. I scoff to myself.
Looks like those plans turned out exactly as you wanted, Savanna. Not.
The sound of Dawson’s heavy footsteps echo as he makes his way downstairs, eyeing me curiously before heading into the kitchen. I place my hand over my stomach in embarrassment for how quickly I ate my breakfast. He’s got a big smile on his face when he comes into the living room and nudges his head toward the front door.
“You ready?”
I’d love nothing more than to tell him no. I’m in no way ready to do anything with him that isn’t what we agreed on. The last time we did anything aside from the usual, he ended up getting all emotional with me and I’m not ready for that again. Instead of shaking my head like I desperately want to, I give him a small smile and nod.
He extends his hand out, waiting for me to take it, and I do while holding my breath. Just as always, there’s a bolt of lightning that pushes through my veins as my palm connects with his and I blow out a shaky breath. His eyes are on me, not blinking, and I wonder if I had imagined the energy.
“Well, come on then,” he says with a chuckle, pulling me gently towards the front door.
I’m not sure what this day is going to hold for me, but I might as well suck it up and deal with it. Maybe it will give me a better idea of the kind of man Dawson has turned into. I let him lead me outside and over to his truck which shines brightly under the morning sun, and he takes a minute to help me inside.
I turn my head toward the window when he gets inside, not trusting myself to look at him in his element. I’ve already had an eyeful inside; I don’t need any more right now. The engine purrs to life and he immediately backs out of the drive, heading toward my parents’ house with ease, and I keep my hands folded nervously in my lap as I watch the trees blur past us.
Bethany is sitting on the porch when Dawson pulls up to the house. She raises her brows in surprise but makes the right choice by angling her gaze back to the small device in her hand. The last thing I need is my niece making a comment about me being with Dawson. I’m probably about to get enough of it from my brother if he’s home right now.
The inside of the house is eerily silent as I make my way down the hall toward my room, thanking God that I managed to make it through the house without anyone catching me. As soon as I push my creaky door open though, another one opens a couple doors down and Easton steps out with a towel wrapped around his waist.
He stops in the middle of the hall, his gaze burning a hole into me as he takes in my appearance, then he smirks without saying a word and slips into his own room. I groan loudly while sorting through all the clothes I brought with me, choosing a pair of black leggings in place of the baggy sweatpants I have on.
Easton and I come out of our rooms at the same time and he chuckles while throwing an arm over my shoulder. “Looks like you had a nice night, sis.”
“Let’s not talk about it, yeah?” I refuse to get into a conversation about my sex life – I’ll stick with him staying mostly in the dark. “And maybe not bring it up again?”
He scoffs. “Not a chance, little sis. What are you doing today?” There’s a gleam in his eyes, already knowing exactly what the answer to that question will be. I find a random hair tie sitting in a bowl on the kitchen counter and twist my hair into a bun, a frown on my face.
“Don’t worry about it.” He follows me to the front door, his gaze falling on Dawson’s truck parked out front, and he smirks. “Don’t you have to be at work or something?” I grind out, making my way down the porch and over to the truck.
Easton follows beside me the entire way, lifting his hand in the air to greet Dawson, and says, “That’s where I’m going now.”
