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“I’ll see you Friday, okay,” he states, rather than asking.
I nod, taking him into a hug. My chin rests on his chest, and I gaze up into his eyes. “We can make it four days,” I say, more for myself.
“Right.” He sounds utterly unconvinced.
Andrew tilts his head down to my lips, kissing me soft and slow. With each second that passes, the kiss grows more desperate, and I ache for more. I crave more. I want to feel him inside me, his lips all over my body again, but I tell myself that I need to stop. I can wait. Friday is only four days from now. I can make it.
16
ANDREW
I’m pretty sure that this has been the longest week of my entire existence. Sure, Josie and I texted pretty much non-stop, talked on the phone every night, and I had my work to keep me busy, but it’s like there has been this literal hole in my life now that I know she’s out there.
An old country song plays on the old stereo in the corner while I work in the shop. Travis is curled up in his bed in the corner, chewing on a bone. I’m sanding down my current project when the door flings open aggressively, two of my three brother’s striding in. Thomas is in full uniform, his Ivy Ridge badge over his left collarbone. His gun is holstered on his right hip, and his German Shepherd K9, Arson, darts through the shop, tackling Travis. They wrestle, growling and chomping at each other as they play.
Beau follows behind Thomas, hands shoved into the pockets of his dress pants. In his light blue dress shirt, he looks the part of a small town realtor.
“Hey,” I call, straightening my back, dropping the sander to the counter beside me. “What are you guys doing here? Don’t you have jobs?” I tease, gesturing to their clothes.
Beau chuckles, running a hand through his long chestnut brown hair. He has the same curls that I do, only he chooses to keep it long, long enough to hit his shoulders. He frequently puts it in a bun, or styles it so it looks professional. His shirt covers the majority of his tattoos, though you can see a few of the designs peeking from the sleeve at his wrist.
Thomas is the one that speaks up. His thumbs are hooked on his bulletproof vest in the middle of his chest, our last name stitched into the fabric. “Nah, we both had some free time, and I caught Beau speeding, so I told him I wouldn’t give him a ticket if he came with me to berate you.” Thomas has always had a bit of a wild side.
“Dude, I was not speeding,” Beau grunts, shoving his shoulder into Thomas. “Maybe I should report you to the chief for pulling over unsuspecting citizens for no reason.”
“I had reason,” Thomas states. “I wanted you to come with me to Andrew’s.”
“Whatever,” Beau grumbles. He’s been in a mood lately, and it makes me wonder if he’s finally feeling the effects of fifteen plus years of blue balls, thanks to the one and only Marley Bell. “So, what can you tell us about your new girl?”
Wiping my palms down the front of my work shirt, I ignore them for a moment, side stepping the wrestling dogs to take a pull of ice water from the stainless steel bottle I have on the opposite side of the counter.
“I don’t know that there’s much to tell yet,” I say. I can already tell that my poker face isn’t strong, because Beau scoffs.
“Yeah, right.”
“Seriously, man. I don’t need to know everything, just some minor details, y’know?” Thomas inserts.
Lifting up the bottom of my shirt to wipe some of the dirt and sweat from my brow, I give in. “Fine, she’s gorgeous. Red hair, blue-gray eyes, sweet as can be. She moved here from Brooks Hill, lives about five minutes away from me. She’s a florist, while also working at the other diner in town. She has an older sister who lives in Missouri with her husband, and her parents still live up in Brooks Hill. Happy?”
Thomas smiles, the little gap between his teeth making an appearance. “Very pleased, thank you. When do we get to meet her?” he asks.
“When I feel like it,” I curtly respond. “It’s still new you guys.”
“Tell me why you look like you’re about ready to propose then?” Thomas asks. He stalks over to the couch, pulling the dogs apart. Flopping down onto it, he throws his arms behind his head.
“I’m not ready to propose,” I scoff.
“You know, Tommy might have a point,” Beau ponders. He follows Thomas, sitting on the opposite side of the couch. “In the time that I’ve known you,” he coughs dramatically, “which has been your entire life, I can’t say I’ve ever seen you like this over a girl. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re already planning your life together.”
I don’t say a word, because to be honest, he has a point. I’m not trying to propose anytime soon, but something feels different about this. I’ve never yearned to spend so much time with a person before. It feels right.
“Ooooh, Beau, I think you got him,” Thomas chuckles. “Seriously, dude. You like her?”
I nod. “Yeah. We only went out once, and it was incredible. She… she spent the night.”
Thomas tries to hide it, but his jaw drops. “You slept with her on the first date? You never do that.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but we didn’t sleep together. We did other things, but we didn’t have sex. We fell asleep on the couch talking.”
