AllFreeNovel
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Well, it’s notjustthat.
He’s taking me on a picnic. He set this all up… when? This morning? While I was getting ready? He was making me coffee and ironing. Then I remember the way he played with his phone while I was prepping with Janelle. The slight smile that curled up at the edges of his lips. I thought he was just looking at Reddit or something. But he wasn’t. He was planning this. He was planning a date. For me.
Parker follows my dopey, longing gaze and giggles. “I knew it,” she says, her eyebrow cocked mischievously. “I freaking knew it. Lukas owes me five bucks.”
Pressing my lips together, I laugh and rub my forehead with my fingertips. This is why I didn’t tell any of them about the hospital and the deposition. Ten seconds after I told any of them, they’d all know everything. At least Mateo and I dating each other isn’t going to cause any stress on Lilah’s pregnancy. If she hasn’t figured it out already, I’m sure Parker can fill her in.
Mateo nods at Parker as he approaches and then winks at me before opening the back door of the car and carefully placing the basket on the back seat. He sets a paper bag next to it and shuts the door.
“You two have fun. I’ll see you later!” Parker says before skipping back across the street.
Mateo climbs into the driver’s side and twists so he can look at me. “All good?” he asks, his eyes searching mine. I’m not sure if he’s asking if I’m okay that Parker’s onto us, or if he’s aware of the general annoyance I’m feeling after a morning spent with my mouthy lawyer, but either way, I’m fantastic.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pull him over so I can kiss him. His lips slant over mine, full and soft, and the way he kisses me back… my head spins and my heart races inside my chest. I get as close as I can without climbing over the shifter.
Mateo’s thumb strokes my cheek, and I sigh against his lips. I could do this all day and never tire of the way he feels. But then my stomach rumbles like an asshole, breaking the mood. He pulls back, smiling ruefully.
“Food first,” he says, trailing his hand down my neck. His fingertips brush over my collarbone and shiver.
We drive north for half an hour and despite how hungry I am, I love every single second of it. Mateo rests his forearm on the back of my seat, driving with his left hand. He plays with the hair falling over my shoulder, the pads of his fingertips brushing my skin through my dress. His touches are sweet, almost innocent except now and then, his finger traces the neckline of my dress, sliding underneath just a fraction of an inch. Every time he does it, I get a little thrill, my heart pounding just a little harder.
I want him to pin me to the wall like he did last night. These sweet touches are just a teasing reminder of how far he’ll go in the other direction.
Mateo pulls into a parking lot for North Sonoma Mountain.
“Oh, I haven’t been here since… junior year? That big camping trip?”
Mateo watches me with a small smile before glancing out at the park, the hills rolling into the distance. “I was a senior, but that’s the last time I was here too.”
“That night was kind of a blur,” I laugh but the sound dies in my throat. It was just a couple nights after Lukas and Mateo graduated; the last time I hung out with the two of them for years and years.
Lukas left for his engineering internship right after the camp out, and then, just two days later, Mateo sprung the news on us that he was enlisting. He was gone in less than forty-eight hours and I was suddenly very alone.
“You’re lucky I keep flats in the car,” I say, forcing a smile and shaking off my high school melodramatics as I reach behind the driver’s seat to grab my comfy emergency shoes. They won’t look as good as my Valentinos, but I’m a hell of a lot less likely to break my neck so… fair trade, I guess.
“Lucky nothing,” he scoffs. “I saw those back there before I planned any of this.”
He gets out as I undo the ankle strap, setting my heels in the back seat. Mateo has my door open by the time I’m slipping the second flat on my foot. The picnic basket in his hand, a red plaid blanket rolled up and tied with a big black ribbon pinned between his ribs and bicep.
He holds out a hand for me, and I take it, letting him pull me up. “Come on,” he says, leading me toward the path. The soft, fall sunlight warms my shoulders and, as we walk, the breeze blows the hem of my dress around my knees. I never considered myself a “nature girl.” I enjoy being outside, sure, but I’m not the first to lace up a pair of hiking boots and overnight it in the woods. My one and only camping adventure was more of an excuse to drink in the woods than an opportunity to commune with nature.
But this… I feel deeply at peace out here with Mateo. He intertwines his fingers with mine and for the first time in my life, I really see the appeal in holding someone’s hand. Every little flex of the muscles in his fingers is a reminder of how good I feel when I’m with him.
We follow a winding trail for a while, and then he drags me up a grassy hillside toward a little stand of trees. One of my feet slips halfway out of my shoe as the hill gets steeper and I grab his arm for balance. He steadies me, wrapping an arm around my back.
“Shit,” he mutters. “I’m sorry.”
“Hang on, let me just fix my shoooo- OH! What are you doing?” Without missing a beat, Mateo scoops me up and places me over his shoulder. “Oh my God, put me down! I can walk!” I laugh.
“You’re not walking up here barefoot,” he says as he slips my shoes off my feet. He clasps an arm around the back of my thighs and turns his face, giving my hip a little bite. “Besides, I like the view.”
“I’m heavy! You’re going to hurt your knee.”
Mateo chuckles and I can feel the sound rolling through his chest under me. “You’re cute, you know that?” He marches up the hill without so much as taking a deep breath. “You weigh half of what my Navy buddies did, and no one is shooting at us. I’m fine.”
We get to the top, and he lowers my feet to the ground carefully. He slips my shoes back on and then rises to his full height at my side. I give him a little smack on the chest, but he pulls me close, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips before he kisses me. His big hand splays over my lower back as his tongue slides against mine. He kisses me languidly, taking his time to make sure he’s well and truly forgiven.
When he lets me go, easing back slowly, I’m sure I have a dopey look on my face. The man really knows how to kiss, and I’m officially weak for him. He knows it too, because he holds my forearms as he steps back, exaggeratedly making sure I can stand straight.
