Cherishing You (18 page)

Giving me a hug, she says, “I’m good, Ethan, thanks for asking. So where is the girl of the hour? I figured she would be out here by now. I haven’t seen her in ages.”

“Oh, she’s getting some food ready for an ‘unplanned’ cookout, so she should be out here soon, then she’ll find out you’re all here. She still doesn’t know anything about this. I’m pretty stoked to see her face when she figures it out.”

“That’s pretty awesome that you guys have been able to keep it secret.”

“Yeah, it is. I actually wasn’t planning to be this involved, but life has a way of making things happen the way it should, I guess.”

“That’s right, Steve told me you guys were together at the track today. Congratulations, it’s about time.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it. I think I see the gator moving so I’m going to go help. I’ll catch up with you guys later.” I run up to Ron, who’s on the gator.

“Hey, I saw the girls coming down the steps, so I’m going after them to bring them around. I’ll come in on the other side of the barn so when she sees everyone it’ll be all at once. Try to get everyone ready, okay?”

“Will do, Ron.”

He takes off on the gator to pick them up, and I motion for everyone to come over to the far side of the pond.

We’re all in position when we hear the gator coming up the side hill. I’m in the front, and I don’t know why but my heart is hammering out of my chest. I guess I’m just excited for her.

As soon as the gator crests the hill, I can see her eyes going from person to person, the surprise evident on her face. She finally lands on me and gives me her big, beautiful smile, melting my heart like butter. The gator stops and they all pile off so she can give them both a hug. Then she runs to me and jumps in my arms with a squeal. I love this girl with all my heart.

“I can’t believe you kept this a secret from me,” she says, then lands a big kiss on my lips.

I could kiss her all day, but we have a crowd laughing and cheering us on. I finally pull my lips from hers and whisper in her ear, “You are so fucking hot, and I want to keep you here for the rest of my days.” She gives me her signature giggle and a quick kiss on my cheek.

I put her down on her feet as her parents walk up to us. “We’re so glad you like your surprise, honey,” Bev says, and gives her another quick hug.

“When did you guys put this all together? What’s it for?”

“Well, we wanted to celebrate your graduations,” Ron says.

“What do you mean
graduations?
As in, more than one?”

“Yes, sweetie,” he explains. “We had actually planned a party for you when you graduated high school, but that didn’t work out, which is okay. Since you graduated college and were here for a visit, we wanted to celebrate it. Ethan knew we were planning it, and now that you two have made up and are finally a couple, it just makes it all better. Plus, he made for a good distraction the past couple of days.”

“Oh, he definitely created a good distraction.”

I wrap my arms around her and pull her tight against my chest. She tugs her hair over her left shoulder, and I make myself behave and not touch her soft skin. “I think I may have been the one distracted.” I place a soft kiss on her head instead of her neck, knowing if I go there I may not be able to stop.

“That’s easily done, young man. If it had been anyone else, I’d be concerned, but with you . . . well, it’s about time you figured it out,” Bev says, laughing.

“Thank you both. I really appreciate your support.” I truly am glad to have them both in my corner. To be honest, I’m not sure where I would’ve ended up if it hadn’t been for them and my mom.

“So, Andi, it wouldn’t be a graduation without any kind of gift, now would it? We know you wouldn’t want anyone to get you anything, but I’ve actually had this for quite a while—since your first graduation, to be exact.” I pull out the necklace from my back pocket and hand it to her. She looks down at the small box and back up at me.

“You didn’t have to do this, Ethan,” she says, with a small shake of her head. She opens the lid and smiles that beautiful smile of hers. I feel my heart skip a beat.

“Look at the back, Andi.” I had it engraved with,
You have my heart, Andi. Always have, always will.

She flips it over and lets out a small gasp. “I love it, thank you so much!” She jumps into my arms and kisses me hard and quick.

“I’m glad you like it, baby.” I give her another squeeze then stand her back on her feet.

Her parents laugh before Bev says, “Well, let’s see it already.” Andi takes it out and shows her mom and dad, who tell me what a good job I did with big smiles on their faces.

“I also got you this.” I hand her an envelope. “I wanted to make it easy for you to come home more often. It’s a gift card for you to buy plane tickets and fly home, you know, like, for the weekend.”

“That’s so thoughtful of you, Ethan,” Bev says.

“Yes, it really sweet. Thank you so much!” She gives me a soft peck on the cheek.

Before I can respond, Steve slaps me on the back and says, “Hey, guys! Congratulations, Andi, on your graduation. And I hear you landed a great job in Texas. That’s fantastic!”

“Thank you, Steve. Hello, Darlene.” She gives them both a quick hug. “I’m glad you both were able to come. It’s been a long time, Darlene. I’m glad to see you.”

“We’re glad to see you again. Hopefully, you can come back more often and visit us. Steve said you guys came by the track today. I hope you enjoyed it. We all have a lot of great memories there,” Darlene says.

“Yes, we’ve had some great times there.”

I think I see her blush a little around her neck; she must be thinking about the
new
memory we made earlier today. Watching her come undone because of me is enough to make me hard, and I have to be careful and make that go away quick before anyone notices.
Down boy.
She must know what I’m thinking too, because I feel her press her sweet little ass against me, which just so happens to be right against my hard cock. Damn, that tight ass of hers makes my shit jump to attention. I feel her give a quiet gasp.

I go for a quick distraction before we’re busted. “So, back to your original question. We’ve been planning this ever since you told Ron and Bev you were going to come home for a few days.”

“Well, I’m definitely surprised, and I’m so excited to see everyone. I’ve missed you all so much.”

“We’re going to get the food finished. You guys go mingle with everyone, and have fun while you’re at it. You both deserve it,” Bev says, shooing us away.

“Thank you so much for everything, Mom.” Andi gives her a tight squeeze.

“You’re welcome, baby girl. Now, go have fun.”

Andi turns back to me and grabs my hand. “Okay, guys, you heard her. Let’s go!”

We take off towards the pond and are stopped by several of the old gang. We all used to hang out a lot in the summer here at the pond as teenagers. Ron and Bev never seemed to mind as long as we were being responsible—well, at least somewhat responsible.

I stand back and just watch as Andi catches up with everyone. She is so beautiful; I can’t believe I finally got the nerve up enough to tell her how I’ve felt for her all these years. And to think she felt the same just confirms it for me—we’re meant to be together. I think—no, I
know
—she’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.

Except she’s leaving tomorrow, back to Texas and her great new life. I’m not jealous of her accomplishments at all, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of Texas. I don’t want to spend any more time away from her. What am I going to do about it though? I don’t know if I can walk away from everything here. Who would help Ron at the shop? He’s getting too old to take care of it all by himself; that’s why he hired me in the first place. I don’t know what to do.

All I know is I’m not asking her to stay; she has to make the best decision for herself. If I ask her to then she’ll always wonder what could’ve been.

Nope, not happening—no regrets!

I give Andi a big smile when I catch her looking at me while talking to some of her old girlfriends. I
will
ask her to marry me though, after we get our short-term future figured out. Once I know how we’re going to move forward, I’ll make her my wife—and very soon, if I have anything to say about it.

“Everyone, grab yourselves a plate and dig in!” Ron yells from the grill. He just finished cooking burgers, hot dogs, and who knows what else, and it all smells amazing. My stomach growls; I didn’t realize I was even hungry, but I guess I worked up an appetite. I reach Andi’s side quickly, lacing her hand in mine before I bring it up to my lips. She smiles up at me and, of course, I can’t resist stealing a quick kiss. This earns me a giggle, but then my stomach protests with another growl and she laughs.

“Come on, big boy, let’s get you something to eat.” She tugs me forward. I don’t know if she realizes I would go anywhere with her.

We grab some food and sit down with everyone, laughing and cutting up with each other. I look over at Ron and Bev, who are sporting the biggest smiles on their faces. I only hope Andi and I are as happy with each other as they are after all the years they’ve been together. Something tells me we will be.

After everyone eats till we can barely stand, we pair off in teams and play volleyball, which is another long-time tradition of our gang. After a few games, everyone decides we need a break, so I grab a cold water bottle from the cooler and stretch out on the grass, Andi sitting down beside me. I really am enjoying hanging out with everyone, but I’d love to have her all to myself. I know I’m being selfish, but I can’t help it; she’s leaving in the next twenty-four hours, and I don’t want to miss a second of it.

Everyone decides they’re hot and wants to jump in the pond for a quick swim, so we all strip down to our underclothes. I have to force myself to look only at Andi’s face, because if I see her body I’ll have to drag her out of here and make sweet love to her until we can’t take anymore.

Instead of looking down at her, I pull her face to mine, laying a hard kiss on her before taking her hand in mine. “Are you ready?” I ask, looking in her eyes.

“Always with you, Ethan.” She gives me another kiss.

“One, two, three!” we call out as we take off down the dock and jump in together, just like we have many times before. One of my favorite memories I will always cherish with her. Except this time, when we come up for air, we’re wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing with all the passion we’ve stored up for many years.

After swimming for a while, Mom and Dad appear to be waiting for us, so Ethan and I get out and dry off. I look up to see Dad standing there, a set of keys dangling from his index finger, and the biggest grin on his face.

“What’s up, Dad?”

“Oh, nothing much, I thought you just might want to take a peek in the barn. You know, see what might be resting in there.”

Now it all makes sense, Mom sneaking around the barn and all.

“Well, let’s go check out the barn, then!” Ethan grabs the gator and the four of us ride to the barn. Dad opens the doors wide open, and I’m completely shocked. Inside is an old Mustang convertible, and it’s gorgeous!

Dad throws me the keys and says, “Congratulations, Andi! We’re so proud of you, and we wanted to give this to you so when you’re here for the races, you’ll have something of your own to run. That is, if you think you can handle it.”

Everyone laughs at that, including me. Truth is, I don’t know if I could or not. I’ve never considered actually driving down the track myself. One thing’s for sure—I’m going to test it out.

I go to Dad and give him the biggest hug ever. I can only imagine the amount of work and money he’s put into this thing. “I can’t thank you guys enough. This is incredible. I don’t even know what to say. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, Andi. Your dad did most of the work, although I did help some. And Ethan helped too.”

“He did a lot, actually,” Dad says.

“Ah, it’s no big deal. Who wouldn’t want to help out on an old beaut like this?”