say, a little
out of breath.
“I agree,” he says,
smiling.
“I've never felt
anything like that before.” I blow out a puff of air. All of my insides are
still bundled up tight.
“Neither have I.” He
seems to be struggling to regain his composure. Well, that makes two of us.
I don't really want to
let go of him, but I feel like I should. I go to move out of his arms, but he
reins me back in. So I hold onto him a little tighter, resting my head on his
chest. The view is amazing and the company is even better. I think I could
stand like this forever, even if we were just looking at a dumpster. I breathe
happily.
A few more minutes go
by, and then he loosens his hold on me. I do the same. As we start to separate,
he grabs my hand and interlocks our fingers. Then, not surprisingly, he kisses
it, leans down, and gives me another kiss on the lips.
As he pulls away, I
lick my lips to savor the minty flavor he's left on them and then bite my bottom
lip. He lifts his free hand to my face and with his thumb, gently loosens my
lip from my teeth. I lean into his hand and close my eyes to memorize the
feeling. He leans in again and nips my bottom lip, then kisses it. “You are so
beautiful,” he murmurs so quietly that no one else can hear.
Oh, wait. I didn't
think about other people being around. Did someone witness our encounter? I'm
sure a look of panic just flew across my face, but now a calm one replaces it.
I don't care about anyone else seeing. Plus, I only know one other person in
town besides Drew.
I quickly realize the
panicked look on my face was just after he said I was beautiful. Oops. I look
up into his dreamy blues. There’s a look of concern on his face. “Did I say
something wrong?” He noticed . Damn it .
“Uh. No. Sorry. Thank
you. Just after you complimented me, I realized we are in public and people
could have seen our...that kiss. Then I realized that I didn't care.” I smile
up at him and he returns it. I hug him and take in his manly scent. Body
wash...maybe deodorant? And sweat? Masculine. Yummm. I feel a clench deep, deep
down. Bec! Get a hold of yourself. You cannot take him out here in the open.
Although ... Oh, jeez. I shake myself out of my reverie. Can't go
there right now.
I slowly break away
from him, but before I get too far, I lift myself up on my tiptoes and plant a
kiss on his neck. “Thank you, Drew,” I whisper. “Really. Thank you.” I lower
myself back down. His close proximity really messes with my head. I thought it
was bad before. Now it's really distracting. We gaze at each other for a
moment and then I speak. “Maybe we should get back to the hike?” I offer. We
both grin.
“Yes. Let's do that.
Not for much longer, though. I want to take you down to the beach and then we
can go to lunch.”
A rumble in my stomach
alerts me that I am, indeed, hungry. “Well, now that you mentioned food, I'm
hungry. Can you grab a granola bar out of my pack, please? It should tide me
over until lunch.”
He chuckles. “I can do that.
Did you bring any extras?” It’s my turn to chuckle. Men never think to pack
such things.
“Of course I did. Help
yourself. Everything but the kitchen sink, remember?” Smiling, he grabs the
granola bars and my water from the side pocket.
We set back out on our
walk…not holding hands this time, but eating our snacks instead. It already feels
so comfortable with him, like we've known each other a while. This feels good,
feels right. This is how it should be, right?
After a little more
walking, we’ve somehow ended up winding back around to the parking lot. There
must have been a turn I missed somewhere. Oh, well. As soon as the Hummer is
within range, he pulls out his keys and starts it with his remote. It is a
welcome sight at this point. I just want to sit for a bit. Too bad he couldn't
roll down the windows from his keychain. It would've cooled the truck faster.
At least it's not nearly as bad as Florida heat.
Drew opens the doors
Learning to Kill: Stories