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My girl needs me. The sky is lit up in the last tendrils of pink and red and gold as the sun sets on a warm summer day. The air whipping in the open window is still warm and scented with flowers and other greenery. It’s a beautiful night and I’m about to spend it with the most beautiful girl I know. That’s about all a man like me could ask for.
After about ten minutes, I see a car ahead of me alongside the road and my heart jerks in my chest. A tiny figure is curled up by the door and I feel my soul settle inside me. I’ve been struggling to keep sane for the last week and for the first time, I feel clear-headed and happy. And it’s all because of this woman.
She steps out and stands silently as I pull in behind her. I take a deep breath and try to get myself under control. Although my soul feels settled, my body feels like it’s on fire and ready to rumble.
I step out of the truck and slam the door shut. I have to hold myself back from running up to grab her and hug her. It feels like forever until I’m finally standing in front of her, my eyes running all over her body, needing to make sure that she’s alright.
She flushes and those gorgeous, sea-green eyes flash at me. But she says nothing. Just waiting.
“Hello, G. I’ve missed you this last week. Were you avoiding me?”
Her eyes dart away from me and she shrugs, still not saying a word.
I reach out a hand, unable to resist touching her. My finger glides across the soft, pale golden skin of her arm and she shudders, her eyes closing. Her top teeth sink into her bottom lip and I want nothing more than to reach out and tug her full lip free.
“You don’t have to answer me. I know you were avoiding me. I even know why. But you can’t avoid what’s happening here, spitfire. No matter how much you try, I’m not going away. I’ll always be waiting for you. Even if it takes until the day that I die, I’ll always wait for you. You belong with me. I belong to you. All the rest of the stuff will work itself out.”
Her eyes lift, darkened and full of heat and an answering coil roils up through my body, spreading heat into my limbs until I’m almost jelly at her dainty little feet.
She moves closer and closer and I can barely breathe. Her slender fingers reach out and touch my arm and then slide down to my hand and goosebumps ripple up and down my skin wherever her fingers land.
She moves even closer until her full breasts are pressed against me in her silky blouse and I fight the urge to close my eyes. Fight the need to lean into her and claim her as mine.
Her hands lift again and she places her palms on the middle of my chest, leaning up onto her toes in her gray pumps. Her breath lightly caresses my lips as her mouth gently settles on mine, stealing my breath and my sanity in one fell swoop.
Groaning, I slip my arms around her waist and press her closer, melding her softness to my hardness. She melts into me and moans softly as I slip my tongue along her lips, parting them gently. My tongue surges inside her mouth and twines delicately, slowly with hers.
Everything stills around me and all I can see and smell and taste is her. Sweet and spicy, like peppermint candy canes on Christmas morning. Strong and yet yielding. Delicate and yet so tough that it makes my heart hurt how much I love this woman. How much I want to protect her.
She slips back and her eyes search mine, her dark pupils blown and taking over the green of her eyes. She sighs and leans her head against my chest, surrendering to whatever is going on with us, finally.
“Will you go watch the fireworks with me tonight, Garland?”
I’m almost afraid to move until she finally says, “I’d like that, Marcus.” She called me Marcus. Surely no words have ever been sweeter.
I help her up into the cab of my truck, settling her in the seat and reaching across to buckle in the most precious thing that’s ever sat in the rough, dirty vehicle.
Pride swells up in me. I’m taking care of her. The woman that I love.
I climb in and move the truck, then climb out so that I can attach the little car to my truck and then lift it, making sure that it’s completely secure.
Then I climb back into my truck and take a deep breath before I turn to look at Garland. She smiles and slips her hand over, resting it on the seat and sighing when I slip my hand over hers.
This is my future. This woman right here. And I smile and pull out on the road, happier than I think I’ve ever been in my life.
CHAPTER SEVEN
GARLAND
Ican’t stop smiling, even when we drop my car off at the shop and then Marcus takes me to the park. I can see that the sun has almost completely set and it looks like every single person we know is here to watch the fireworks. He lifts a blanket from the back of his truck and then holds out a hand until I grasp it. We walk around the mass of people that you can barely see in the blackness but I feel like every single one of them are watching us and talking. This town is terrible for gossip. That’s one of the main reasons that I’ve done my best to keep a low profile. But it’s all exposed now. We’re holding hands and walking together, making eyes at each other and there’s nowhere to hide.
Marcus finds a spot and then spreads out the blanket before holding a hand out to help me settle gracefully on the blanket. I can’t believe that this is Marcus. I’d never have dreamed that he was such a gentleman but he is. Every single thing that he’s done since he picked me up has been gentle and gentlemanly.
No revving the engine, no speeding, nothing out of character and yet all out of character. He’s never been this sweet.
We’re sitting there quietly and people talk and laugh around us. Then his hand reaches out and takes mine and he runs his thumb across my hand. Shivering in the warm night air, I take a deep breath. “What is going on here, Marcus?”
“I think this is something special. You’re special. And I think that together we can be special together.”
