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I was ready for more, for a real relationship, one like I’d never had. And I believed Jurnee was the one to do that with. Thinking about the future beyond the military wasn’t something I had done until recently. Kids, they’d never crossed my mind either. But after visiting Jurnee at work, seeing her with Embry, flashes of her pregnant with a child kept creeping into my head.
Mychild.
She wanted Embry, and that was amazing. The love she had for her and all the kids there was evident and beautiful. She had such a big heart, one large enough for many.Would she share it with me?It might have been too soon and maybe I was moving too fast, but everything in me said go for it. This was everything I’d secretly wanted and it was finally within my grasp.
Taking a trip down memory lane and thinking about everything had me running behind and I was going to be late if I didn’t get my ass in gear. Hopping in the shower, I sped through my routine and got ready to go. Before long I was out the door and on my way to Jurnee’s house.
As I jumped in the Jeep, I contemplated putting the top down, but I wasn’t sure how Jurnee would react to her hair flying all over after spending all that time getting ready like girls usually do. It looked like it was going to be a nice evening, but girls, you know how they can be. So I’d left it up, turned the key to start the ignition, and plugged in my phone so I could start the playlist on Spotify. Cranking up the radio as the opening riff of The Eagles,Hotel California, drifted through the speakers, I was off.
Tapping my fingers on the wheel to the beat of the music, I thought about the date I had planned and hoped Jurnee had a good time.
Chapter Eleven
Jurnee
The sound of the doorbell,then a couple raps at the front door alerted me to the fact that I’d run out of time. I frantically looked around my room. A room with dresses, pants, skirts, and more strewn haphazardly, looking as though a tornado had just spun out of control picking up every article of clothing I had and tossed it in all directions. This was a mess I didn’t have time for as I scurried into the bathroom to finish up.
Alley was home and she would grab the door. She was happy that I was going, even if she was a little crabby these days because of her deadline and book releasing soon. Why I don’t know, she killed it every time and each one was just as awesome as the next. Summer and I were lucky enough to read them before anyone else got the chance to. It was a perk of your bestie being a killer romance author.
Summer, man was I glad she had been working. I could only imagine what she would have said if she was out there with Braxton right then. That girl was silly and loved to tease me.
Finally finished, I quickly grabbed my white cardigan off the pile of clothes and headed out of my room. Walking down the hall I could hear Alley and Braxton talking, but as I approached they stopped. Not sure if that was a good thing or not, but I wasn’t going to ask about their conversation. If I needed to know, Alley would tell me. I trusted her, always had, and always would.
As I got closer, Braxton was just staring at me. I was feeling a little self-conscious wondering if I looked okay. I mean I hadn’t known what we were doing, but when I’d asked, Braxton said to just dress casually. So even though I had rummaged through all my clothes, I ended up throwing on a pair of jeans, a flowy red shirt with white flowers on it, and white strappy shoes. I had tried dressing up my jeans a little, but now I was wondering if what I had on was wrong.
Alley snapped her fingers in front of Braxton’s face and told her brother to pull himself out of it. Shaking his head side to side, he chuckled and was stalking toward me, kinda like a panther on the prowl.Sinful, sexy, and seductive.
Butterflies, hundreds of them had taken flight in my belly. Flutters of nerves stole my oxygen and I was holding all my air in. As Braxton approached, he seemed to sense what was going on. Touching my arm slightly, he whispered, “Just breathe.” His hand lingered for a minute and then he dropped it to his side. I immediately missed the contact.
Releasing the breath I’d been holding, I studied him. Something in his gaze told me that all the worry I had about what I was wearing and being nervous was nonsense. His eyes spoke volumes, telling me that he appreciated how I looked. They seemed to say something else that could be even more important, but I wasn’t sure what it was right then. Maybe by the end of the date, that message would become clear.
“Are you ready to go?” His voice was a little rough, and once again the fluttering started. Only this time it had dropped south and landed in another region making me all too aware of this man’s effect on me.
Alley cleared her throat and gave a little whistle, clearly letting us know she was still there. Braxton and my eyes finally unlocked and I looked over at her. She was laughing. Maybe not out loud, but clear as day, I could tell she was cracking up inside. I held back from commenting and turned back to Braxton. “Yes, I’m ready.”
Laying his hand on my back possessively, he guided me to the door. My skin lit on fire where he was touching me and I almost forgot to say anything to Alley. I turned at the last minute and said a quick goodbye. This time she laughed out loud and gave a funny little wave. The last thing I’d heard as the door was closing was her saying, “Have fun, just not too much fun. And don’t forget to be back by curfew.” I thought Summer would have been bad, but I should have known Alley would have been a shit load of trouble too.
Heading down the sidewalk, Braxton still had his hand on me, and it felt so good. I almost didn’t want to get in the car, knowing he would have to remove it. Reaching the passenger side of his Jeep, he pressed the key fob to unlock the door with his free hand, then dropped his other from my body, using it to pull the door open. The loss of physical connection pulled a sigh from my lips.What in the world is this man doing to me?I wanted to scream,“Put it back!”
Trying to drown out my crazy thoughts, I jumped in the Jeep and Braxton closed my door. As I put on my seatbelt, I watched him round the front of the vehicle, and I couldn’t help but think what a lucky girl I was. And how I’d like to lick the man like my favorite lollipop.
Oops... well, so much for diminishing the crazy talk.
Braxton climbed in the driver’s side and shoved the key into the ignition and paused. Turning his head he looked over at me and said, “In case I forget to tell you later, thanks for saying yes to tonight.”
Wow, this guy is something else. “You’re welcome, thanks for asking me,” I replied. “Think we can put the top down since it’s so nice out?” There was a small breeze blowing the sweet smell of spring through the air and the sun was still shining. It was early enough that it wasn’t dark yet. The sun warming on our faces would have felt amazing. The company sitting right beside me was the icing on the cake. What more could a girl ask for?
I was almost sure this was going to be the best date of my life.
“You bet we can put it down. I wasn’t sure if you would want to, so I left it up earlier.”
“Yeah, I would love it.”
Pulling his hand from his keys, he put the top down and then looked over at me once again. “Anything you want to listen to while we drive or would it be okay if we just talked?”
Shit on a stick. I loved talking to Braxton and had been doing it for days, but that was on the phone. Now being so close to this sexy, gorgeous man, his masculine scent that was a dark woodsy smell, mixed with a hint of spice that was currently turning my brain to mush and his amazing eyes looking my way, made me nervous. I knew we were on a date and that conversation would need to take place, but truth be told, I had to pee. Not really possible in the front seat of his Jeep, so I didn’t say that, thank goodness, but rather said, “Talking is good.”
“So you went into the center for a while today, how did that go?”
