“I love you too,” I reply as a happy warmth fills my chest. Tension slowly drains out of me as what she said sinks in. “You’re right. Every moment I’ve spent with you has been special to me, dead or alive.”
Callie hums in agreement and presses a kiss to my shoulder over the fabric of my button-up. “So now that the big secret is out, do I get to know where we’re going?”
“Nope.” I grin, slowing down as we approach the turnoff that leads to our date location. “But we’re almost there.”
When I turn onto a narrow dirt road, Callie observes the shadows of trees that conceal what lies beyond. “Do you have some cabin in the woods you’ve failed to mention?”
“You’ll see,” I sing as I navigate the bumpy road, taking unmarked turns that are nearly impossible to see in the dark.
Soon the trees start to thin out, and I drive up a hill covered in wild grass. At the top, I park the truck and shut everything off. Callie looks confused as I hop out of the truck and head over to her side. Opening her door, I hold out a hand to help her down.
Taking my hand, she steps down into the shin-high grass. “Where are we?”
With my heart somewhere in my throat, I pull her into my arms and whisper against her ear, “Look up.”
She gasps, looking up at the spatter of stars in the sky. “Oh, Felix, it’s beautiful.”
Relief washes through me over the sound of wonder in her voice. “This is part of a nature reserve that my dad used to take me to. The lack of light pollution makes it a perfect place to star gaze.” As I tilt my face up to the sky, my mind is filled with the countless memories of the time I spent here looking through my dad’s old telescope. “My dad used to say that looking up at the stars gave him perspective. In an endless universe, we’re all just blips in time on one of many rocks rotating around a countless number of stars. At the time, the idea made me a little sad, like nothing really mattered in life, but now I understand.”
Callie’s gaze falls from the blanket of stars to my face, her expression tender. “What do you understand now?”
Looking into the beauty of her clear gray eyes, I cup her cheek with one hand while the other rests at the base of her spine. “When nothing matters, all that matters is what you do, so live your life to the fullest. I have a second chance now, and I don’t plan to waste a second of it.”
I lean down and kiss her like it’s my only purpose in life, savoring the feeling of her soft lips against mine. She tastes of mint chocolate and pomegranate ChapStick. She’s as sweet asever, and I hope I get to spend a lifetime discovering all of her flavors.
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she rocks onto her toes to deepen the kiss. A purr of pleasure vibrates in her throat when I enthusiastically comply, walking her back against the truck.
My first spark of desire burns into an inferno of need as I feel all of her pressed against me. Barely breaking enough for air, I kiss her thoroughly and recklessly as my hands traverse the sides of her body. She’s warm and curvy in all the best ways. When I slip my hands under the hem of her shirt, she feels like silk under my callused fingers.
Callie moans, a throaty sound that feeds the fire within me. One of her hands fists the back of my shirt while the other slips into my hair, her fingers tangling in the strands, and she pulls me toward her as if even a millimeter of separation would be too much.
Plans and reason leave my head, having no space to thrive around the reality of having Callie in my arms. I’m free to touch her, kiss her, and love her. It’s euphoric, because I know she wants this. She wants me.
Callie pulls back long enough to speak between gasping breaths. “Do you have a blanket or something in the truck?”
“Yeah,” I answer, my mind muddled with more physical interests. “You cold?”
“Cold? No.” She laughs huskily, the sound encouraging my blood to make a mad dash toward my groin. “The door handle is digging into my back, and I thought the grass might be more comfortable.”
“Shit, sorry.” I step back to give her some space. “I got carried away. This wasn’t how I planned it.”
Callie raises a single blonde brow, her voice full of amusement. “You didn’t plan for us to make out on our date?”
“Well, I hoped,” I joke, keeping to myself that I had more than kissing on the brain. “But that was supposed to be after the romantic hot chocolate and star gazing.”
“Romantic hot chocolate, hmm?” She closes the space between us, sliding her hands up my chest and around my neck. “Where’s that hiding?”
I’m so distracted by the feeling of her touch that I forget how words work, instead vaguely motioning to the bed of the truck.
Her smile grows as the night sky reflects in her eyes. “Want to share that hot chocolate and teach me how to star gaze? I’d hate to miss out on the date you planned.”
Nodding like I’m in a trance, I lead her to the back of the truck. Popping the tailgate down, I lift her up to sit on the edge. I climb up next, and as I go through the process of setting up the date I planned, the wheels of my brain slowly start to turn again.
The first thing I pull out of the metal saddle box that’s mounted behind the back of the cab is the thermos with the promised hot chocolate. I pour a generous amount into a travel mug and hand it to Callie. She takes it graciously, making happy hums as she sips the hot liquid and watches me continue to set up.
Next is an air bed that I roll out and begin to inflate, having to adjust it so it’ll fit between the wheel wells. Then comes two thick blankets, one to place on the mattress and the other to snuggle under, and a couple of pillows for comfort.Finally, I pull out a box with a hand telescope. It’s nothing fancy, but it makes it a little easier to see the constellations.
Toeing off my tennis shoes, I sit on the air mattress and place the thermos on the lid of the saddle box. Afterward, I hold my hand out. “Here, I can hold your mug while you take off your shoes.”
