He attaches a GPS link that leads to a place I recognize.
INDIGO: Bossy, bossy, bossy
JOE: I mean… I am the boss. FYI, I’ll be patting you down for unicorn death powder upon arrival. You can’t be trusted.
I can’t stop grinning at the idea of a Joe pat-down as I make the short drive to the entrance of the cave hike. I spot his Bronco on the side of the road and park behind it, but he’s nowhere in sight. I guess I’m meeting him in the cave.
I’m grateful to have a minute to freshen up, and this time I came prepared. I dig through my suitcases to find my most worn-in Converses. I tie them on under the comfy sun dress I chose for the long drive. It will have to do. Luckily, it’s a short hike. I drag my messy waves into a high ponytail and put on a layer of peach lip gloss becausehello again, dry air. I also pop in a breath mint, because… dry air?
After all of the driving I’ve done today, it feels good to move my legs. I’m also antsy to see Joe, so I make good time. I spot the entrance to the cave right as the shadows are starting to get long. I want to call out to him, but I make a last minute decision. I slow down and tiptoeforward. I’m steps away from the wind-carved opening. I peek carefully around the corner of the sandstone wall and spot the dusty tip of his shoe.
I bite my lip and try to quiet my breathing so he doesn’t hear me.
Three… two…
“Get your butt in here, Fox.”
I dart around the corner and there he is—hands on his hips, pacing like a caged animal. I run to him. Before I think about what I’m doing I jump up, wrap my legs around his torso, and throw my arms around his neck.
“Oof!” he grunts with a chuckle, and I love the vibration of it under my chest.
His arms tighten around me as he buries his nose in my hair with a long inhale. I snuggle into the crook of his neck, feeling his heat and the hammering of his pulse on my cheek.
“I missed you,” I whisper against him, my lips brushing against the rough stubble of his jaw.
His hands rub circles on my back. “I was going to come get you. I couldn’t take it anymore.” He kisses the top of my head again, then his hand cups my cheek and he pulls away to search my face. His dark eyes roam over me like he’s checking for bruises and making an accounting of what he sees. “I missed you, Indie.”
“I know there’s a lot to say, but…” His eyes dart to my lips and back to my eyes. His jaw flexes. “All I want to do is kiss you,” he says between clenched teeth.
“What’s the hold up?” I sass, burying my hands in his hair and pulling him closer.
His crooked grin makes an appearance, “Just waiting for you to say yes.”
I nod once and his lips are on mine, and it’s like I’m the first drink of water he’s had after days of walking through the desert. He is every extreme. Gentle and rough, cautious and dangerous. Hegroans and holds me up against the rough sandstone wall, nipping at my bottom lip. He kisses a line down my jaw and the soft part of my neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps. I sigh and bury my hands in his hair. He uses the rough wall to hold us together, and his hands move from my back to the tops of my legs, squeezing and pulling me impossibly closer. When he can’t get close enough, he lowers us to the ground, keeping me wrapped around him as he maneuvers.
His hands are on either side of my face, and his kisses slow like he’s memorizing the feel of my lips against his. I love the scratchiness of his jaw, so I kiss him there, feeling it flex under my lips as I move closer to his ear. I nip at his earlobe and he shudders. I do it again, pulling his earlobe between my lips until his shudder turns into a jolt and I know I’ve discovered a ticklish spot. The devil inside me makes me do it again.
His husky voice is low and close to my ear, “Don’t start what you can’t finish.” His hand wraps around my thigh. Before I realize what he’s doing his finger strokes that spot behind my knee that makes my whole body jerk to escape.
He traps me, holding me against his chest with one hand and stroking the back of my knee with the other. I can’t stop the laugh that flies out of my throat, “Stoooooop, Joe!”
His finger pauses and I shove against the wall of his chest, trying to catch my breath. He smooths my ponytail and straightens my rumpled dress. “You came back.” Those three words say a hundred things.
“I never should have left.”
He visibly relaxes at the words, but says, “From what I saw, you did what needed to be done.”
“How much did you see?” I slide off his lap and settle in beside him.
He shakes his head and pulls my legs across him. “Hmm.” His warm hands run the length of my legs and rest on my ankles. “I’vewatched a lot of videos of what happened.” He describes the events and revelations of the launch party. His voice is gentle, “Was anything Miles said true?”
Heat burns up my neck and across my face. “Yeah. My mother had Miles on the payroll from the beginning, which is humiliating, but explains so much.” I think about our relationship and how forced it felt, when in reality it was my mother pushing us around like chess pieces. I have no regrets over how that relationship ended, and Joe tells me he saved the footage to his phone for any time he wants a pick-me-up.
“And what about your mother?”
That question has a long answer. I tell him everything, and it feels good to work through it out loud with someone. He helps me see my relationship with my mother in a way that is manageable. And it doesn’t hurt that he says it in that rumbling voice that makes my toes curl. “For so long you’ve been hers to control. Her child, and her employee. Hopefully with time and clear boundaries she’ll learn to see you as her adult daughter. You can still love her, but you don’t have to turn your life over to her. You don’t owe her anything.” He squeezes my ankles and the pressure feels divine.
“I know. Being here with you, figuring that out? It has changed my life.”
