AllFreeNovel
Share Us
? he says, unbuckling me. The seatbelt slides across my thighs as Rex reaches for me, moving me onto his lap. Fingers curled around the back of my head, he guides my face toward his. Our lips connect, moving together with the ease of two lifelong lovers.
I’ve suspected before that I have no control over myself where Rex is concerned, and that suspicion has been confirmed today. I can’t stay away from him. One night wasn’t enough. And right now, the intense need to feel him inside of me is taking over any and all rational thought.
I reach for his jeans, working his belt buckle until his hands grab mine.
“Shae,” he breathes, holding my wrists. “Later. I promise.” I pout, jutting my bottom lip out when he lifts my hands to his chest. “Now, are you ready for that surprise?”
“So ready,” I say, buttoning my jeans.
“Good.” He opens the door and somehow maneuvers us both out, holding on to my arm until he’s sure I’m steady.
Fingers wrapped in mine, he leads us through what I assume is a parking lot. I hear a door open followed by a waft of cool air and a gentle voice.
“Welcome. You must be Rex and Shae. Please, follow me.”
I squeeze Rex’s hand as he guides me forward, and I reach out with all my other senses. Upbeat music pulses through the speakers, and the smell of pizza tickles my nose.
“Mmmm. Pizza,” I hum.
We stop. Rex lets go of my hand, and I hear the faint sound of him whispering, along with what I can only describe as paper crinkling, and then he takes my hand again, leading me forward a few more steps.
“Step up, baby.”
I squeeze his hand as I take a high, blind step and then five more before we stop.
“You can take your blindfold off.”
Eager to see where we are, I reach behind my head, untie the cloth, and slip it away from my face.
We’re standing in the middle of a large room. The floor is slick with polish. A strobe light hangs above, twirling in a slow motion, casting a rainbow of colors across Rex’s smiling face.
“Rex, a skating rink? I can’t believe you did this.” I spin around in a slow circle. A table beyond the half wall of the rink catches my attention, and I walk toward it. A bouquet of balloons sits in the middle, and there’s a small, rectangular cake. I lean forward.
Happy Birthday, Shae is written in lavender icing across the white cake, and there are several sugar flowers adorning the masterpiece.
The familiar burn of tears gathers behind my eyes, and I take a deep breath before turning toward Rex. He’s followed me across the rink, and for the first time, I notice the box in his hand. It’s square, wrapped in glittery purple paper, and topped with a giant bow.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I whisper again, no longer able to keep my emotions in check. I press a shaky hand to my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut, and a few tears trickle over my lashes.
“I hope those are happy tears.”
I nod.
The smile he offers is gentle and sweet, a complete contradiction to the dominant man playing my body moments ago. He holds the box out for me. Without a word, I take it, set it on the table, pull the bow off, and tear off the paper as though it’s the first birthday present I’ve unwrapped since my ninth birthday.
Which it actually is.
Rex chuckles as I tear through the paper and peel open the top of the box, finding a pair of purple and white skates.
I gasp, holding them up. I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I am right now.
I’ve only known Rex for a short time, but he’s become so special to me, and I don’t really know how to express that to him. No words can explain the magnitude of what his efforts mean to me. So I decide to show him. I set the skates down and wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my face to his chest. I breathe him in. Soak up every bit of kindness and love he’s given me today and hold on for dear life.
“I don’t know what to say,” I mumble, pressing my lips above his heart.
No guy has ever gone through this much trouble and planning for me, to make me feel so special. What he’s just given me is something I never thought I’d have again: happiness on the day every year when I’m the saddest. There aren’t enough words to thank him for his thoughtfulness, his kindness. No way to express what he means to me. How in such a short time he’s found a way inside the formidable walls of my heart.
I expected him to be a distraction, and maybe he is since I’ve been obsessing about him rather than staying focused on that letter my father wrote and retrieving my memories. But he’s helping me make new memories and experience all the wonderful things I missed during my childhood. That can’t be all bad.
