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Ike kisses me softly. His lips feel like feathers against my skin. I don’t know how anyone so big and intimidating can be so gentle.
“Your yesterday was a lot different, wasn’t it?” Ike asks, and I nod. “You were expected to marry that loser. You planned to survive in the woods like my peepaw. You believed I didn’t care about you, and our time together was a lie. You were living in a dark place yesterday.”
Feeling like a child overwhelmed after a day of running wild, I’m expecting to be punished.
“Today was wild, too,” Ike continues. “You marched over to me and staked your claim in front of your family and mine. I could have broken your heart.”
“You never would.”
“I hurt your heart by not finding you.”
Nodding, I feel tears burning my eyes. As Ike wraps his arms around me again, I soak in his warm, chocolatey scent and let the world drop away.
“Tomorrow, I’ll prove myself to you. I need you to know I’m worthy, so what we have is special. We deserve a courtship, even if we already know our destination.”
His heat infects me enough for my fingers to dare touch his divine face. “I don’t like Hot Pockets.”
“I’ll get you something else, baby.”
“Do you call me ‘baby’ because you don’t like my name?”
“No, I call you that because that’s what my pa calls my ma. Oana’s a real pretty name.”
“Not really. Your cousin said it sounded like an orgasm,” I mumble, flushing red at the thought.
“He’s a good-natured perv,” Ike says, sighing at the feel of my fingers tracing his lips. “I’ll call you whatever you want.”
“I like when you say ‘baby.’ It’s like the songs I love.”
“If you ever want me to call you something else, you just let me know. I don’t care what your name is. I just want you.”
“Do you like your name?”
Ike grins. “No. My aunts teased me all the time about kicking the baby,” he says before noticing my frown. “It’s from a TV show.”
“Can I watch it?”
“Sure. We’ll order something better to eat. Then, we’ll listen to music. Later, I’ll also put on the show. Or maybe we’ll choose something else to do. There’s always time later.”
Despite Ike’s plans for the future, I worry we can’t really have one. My family will still be searching for me when the sun rises tomorrow. Their pride won’t allow them to let me choose my own future.
Years ago, one of my older brothers wanted more than what the church offered. He ran off to another town, got a job, and was living a free life.
Between hounding from our family and meddling by the church, he eventually broke under the strain and returned home.
A cousin learned from my brother’s mistake and ran all the way to Oregon. If the church had more resources, they’d have tried to force him back.
I don’t have an entire country to distance me from Trinity Church and my family. What will keep them from hounding me every day? If they apply too much pressure, will I need to submit just to protect Ike and his family?
Ike’s hot, wet kisses temporarily steal my fears. I’m immediately overheated by his touch. Everything about Ike is intoxicating.
Before I tear off our clothes, the song on his phone changes. The guitars lure me to my feet, and I move to the music.
Watching me, Ike wears a warm smile. He doesn’t wish I would sit down and behave. He enjoys it when I get wild. In the woods, he smiled in the same way when I danced to “Cherry Bomb.”
Ike Mooney won my heart that night. He broke it later when he never returned. I began to doubt everything we shared. The defeated part of me felt like submitting to my family’s plans was the only real option and being a hermit was another fruitless dream. Only the memory of that night with Ike kept me from giving up completely.
Now, as he watches me with first pride and then obvious lust, I dive headfirst back into my lovestruck dreams.
