Clover (11 page)

“I have a surprise for both of you.” Her dad smiled like he did after he made an awesome stock pick and cashed in. “R.J., you’ll be driving soon and you’ll need a car when that happens. Clover, you’re moving from college to graduate school and I couldn’t be prouder. I wanted to give you something to show you how much.”

As he was speaking, Clover noticed there was another car in the driveway next to her Corolla. A pretty Nissan roadster that was way too flashy for her dad. He preferred the stately presence of his Navigator.

He handed the keys to her Corolla to R.J. and Clover’s chest flooded with adrenaline. She didn’t hear half of what he said to R.J.. “…expect you to take good care of it.”

R.J. pumped his fist in the air and ran for the car. She could hear him muttering to himself about all the “badass upgrades” he was going to make.

“That leaves you.” Her dad turned his attention to Clover. He smiled the way he had when he saw her in her cap and gown with the salutatorian cords around her neck. She’d been proud of herself at the time, but in retrospect, knowing how hard she’d had to work for her grades at the University of Washington, she really should have made valedictorian in high school. For as much as she’d studied, she hadn’t pushed quite hard enough.

She swallowed and felt tears forming. When her dad acknowledged her hard work, it always made her emotional. “Yes, Daddy?”

He gestured toward the Nissan. “I put down half. That’s my gift to you. I’ll make the payments on it as long as you’re in school. I figured if you get that doctorate, it’ll be paid off before you finish. If not, you can take over then.”

He had made a solid argument in favor of her becoming a tax attorney, but she still wasn’t sure. An MBA was a good middle ground for a financial advisor, where the Master’s of Law in Taxation was a little too specialized for her to apply it anywhere else if she decided against law school.
Even though he was convinced that the MBA program she’d been accepted to would translate into a law degree just as easily, she knew it wasn’t the most logical progression. It could work if she decided to do it, but it certainly wasn’t the path of least resistance.

He held out a key ring. A shiny gold “C” dangled from it, along with the unmistakable Nissan fob. “Go on, you can take it.”

She froze, unable to do more than just stare. Clover knew how much a car like this cost. Even used, it would cost around thirty thousand, and this car didn’t look used. If her dad had gone with any upgrades at all, half was at least twenty grand. She was speechless.

Brandon rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. “We’re very proud of you.”

Her dad picked up her hand and placed the key ring gently in her palm. “Say something.”

“How…” Clover wanted to know how he’d managed it and why he would purchase something so extravagant. He’d taught her to step cautiously. The tears she’d been trying to hold back slipped down her face. “Oh, Daddy.” She threw her arms around him and hugged him until her breathing returned to normal and she felt like she might be able to speak.

“Hey now, you worked hard. Hard work always pays off. You know that. And don’t think I’m just giving it to you. Starting this fall, I’ll be sending you client files to work on. Trust me, you’re going to earn this.”

She hugged him again. She had no doubt that the work he’d send would make her feel overloaded and stretched when stacked on top of her classwork, but she still couldn’t believe how generous he was being. Her dad was well respected in the industry. If she decided against working with him, being able to list his company on her résumé would go a long way toward securing a job when she finished school. “I won’t let you down. I promise.”

“I know, baby. You never do.” He kissed the top of her head. “Now go on. Get out of here. I know you’re dying to give it a test drive.”

Clover laughed and ran for the driver’s side door. She was going to go before he changed his mind. She pulled out of the driveway with the smell of new car all around her. The only thing on her mind was sharing her good fortune with Jake.

Six
Years Ago

Mason’s Drug Store had the longest candy counter in town, even bigger than the Safeway two blocks over. Sure, Safeway carried more bag candy, but Jake had a dollar that his aunt had given him and a craving for something sweet. He couldn’t buy a bag for that price, but he could get a bar. When Clover had agreed to stop at Mason’s after her shift at the pool, he couldn’t believe his luck.

Now, with her tapping her foot beside him while he stared at the long row of candy bars, he knew she was regretting that decision. She always had somewhere else to be, but still took time to pick him up on her way to work every day.

“Why don’t you get a Snickers? You know you like them.” Clover hitched her bag up on her shoulder and barely looked at him as she spoke. She kept scanning the parking lot over the top of her sunglasses.

Jake touched the Snickers, but it didn’t sound quite right. “What are you watching for?”

“What?” Clover pushed her glasses back in place with a startled jerk and looked directly at him.

“You’re staring at the lot. What are you looking for?”

“None of your business.” She snapped her heels together and walked away a few feet.

“Ignore her,” R.J. advised. “Bobby Mitchell promised to come see her today and then didn’t show. She’s pissy.”

“Bobby Mitchell?” Jake’s heart fluttered. This was the first he’d ever heard about Clover being interested in a boy. Until now, he’d just assumed she was above it all. It made him feel better to think that even though she clearly wasn’t interested in him, it didn’t matter because she wasn’t interested in any boy. R.J. had just casually lampooned Jake without even knowing it.

“Yeah. Do you know him? Big guy. Plays football. Pretty sure he has a sponge where his brain goes.” R.J. tossed a Payday into the air and caught it, then also grabbed a Reese’s. “Screw it. I can’t decide. Clover, I’m getting both.” He said the last part a little louder so his sister could hear.

“Really? He’s not her type, is he?” How could Clover like a dumb jock? She was the smartest person Jake knew. She was always reading, and according to his Aunt Tammy, she’d already been accepted to the University of Washington. She had one year left of high school. Why would she waste it on someone like that?

“No, he’s not.” Clover handed him a Kit Kat bar. “Get this one. We’re going.”

“Then why did R.J. say he was?” Jake hurried to catch up with Clover. She had the longest legs he’d ever seen on a girl and she moved fast. R.J. was already at the checkout.

“Because he’s an idiot.”

Jake had spent more time than he cared to admit studying the books he saw Clover reading. If the situation ever presented itself, he wanted to be able to talk to her about them. Had he known she was into muscles, he would have spent more time on his body instead.

“I changed my mind.” He ran back and returned the candy bar to the shelf.

“What the heck, Jake?” Clover looked even more annoyed than she did when R.J. mentioned Bobby Mitchell.

“I just don’t want it anymore, that’s all.” He wasn’t about to explain that he put it back on the off chance that she’d actually notice him if his muscles were bigger. He’d start working out with the set of free weights that his aunt kept in the basement as soon as he got back to her place.

“Whatever, let’s go.” Clover shrugged and he might have been imagining it, but she didn’t sound as annoyed. She even reached over and mussed his hair. He didn’t like that so much because she did the same thing to R.J., but at least she’d touched him. That part was nice.

She walked out ahead of them, but Jake waited for R.J. to finish at the check stand. When they finally emerged from the building, Clover was leaning into the open window of a blue Dodge Dakota that was towing a trailer full of Ski-dos. Jake heard her giggle and he stopped dead in his tracks.

R.J. bumped his shoulder on his way past and said, “Bobby Mitchell.”

Jake stared until Bobby wrapped his hand around Clover’s neck and pulled her in for a kiss. He ran all the way to the car, where R.J. was leaning against the trunk eating a Reese’s.

“Oh, shit. She looks pissed.” R.J. gulped down the other cup, stuffed the wrapper in the bag, and wiped his hands on his pants. “Look out.”

Jake turned to see Clover walking, stiff backed, head high, toward the car. She pushed the button on her keychain to unlock it and said, “Get in.” Her voice was tightly controlled, but Jake could hear the underlying anger.

He got into the car as quickly as he could. Clover sat behind the wheel for several moments taking deep breaths and visibly trying to calm down.

“What happened?” he asked as gently as possible. She just glared at him.

“Bobby tried to kiss her. She punched him.” R.J. sounded more interested in the Payday bar he was eating than in his sister’s drama.

“What?” Jake couldn’t believe what R.J. had said. “You hit him?”

“Yes.” Clover started the car and drove all the way home without speaking.

Jake made a note to never, ever kiss Clover Watson without first making very sure that she wanted it.

Present Day

Jake spread alfalfa hay for the small herd of cows his aunt kept. For the most part, she let them roam and eat free range, but she supplemented their diet. Same for the pigs and chickens. He’d never heard of letting pigs roam free, but they thrived in that environment. He had to work a little harder when it was time to track down the manure and add it to the compost pile, but that wasn’t enough to convince his aunt to pen them up.

When he saw a small black sports car headed up the drive, he turned around in the field and headed back toward the house. His aunt hadn’t mentioned that she was expecting a customer to stop by, but that didn’t mean anything. Sometimes people stopped by without calling ahead. She sold her meat, eggs, and milk in bulk to local customers. After the barbecue with Clover’s family, he’d checked the list. Her dad had a side of beef and half a pig down for this fall.

Jake parked the four-wheel ATV and trailer just outside the barn door and walked to the house. Clover was leaning against the car with a smile so big it almost didn’t fit on her face. When she saw Jake, she ran up to him and threw her arms around him. She kissed him once, quick and almost habitually, licked her lips, and kissed him again. This time slower and with a great deal more purpose.

He rested his hands on her waist and split his attention between not holding her too tight and enjoying the kiss. Clover scared him. He could lose himself to her so easily. All he wanted to do when she was around was find the nearest flat surface to lay her out on. He wanted her naked and beneath him. God help him, he wanted to get inside her so badly. It started with a deep yearning in his chest that worked itself lower until his cock was throbbing so hard he feared he might come from just thinking about it.

When she finally pulled away, he chased after her lips. He didn’t want to be so needy with her, but he just couldn’t hold himself back. He wanted to prolong the contact for just a moment longer. Finally, when he could take no more without going completely insane, he rested his forehead against hers. “Hi.”

She left her eyes closed and kept her face near enough for him to feel her breath on his lips. When she said hello, it was more like a whispered benediction than a greeting.

Jake pulled away and turned her until they were both facing the car she’d driven up in. He put his arm around her shoulder because he couldn’t stand not to touch her and, in this position, he felt as though he could keep her safe and protect her from the rest of the world. She looped her arms around his waist and held him tight. He loved that no matter how city she looked at times, she wasn’t afraid to hug a working farm boy.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Just finished feeding. I don’t think Aunt Tammy has anything else for me right away.”

“Want to go for a ride with me?” She smiled up at him through her lashes in the way that always made his insides turn liquid, except for the rock pit at the base of his stomach.

“A ride?” It wasn’t that he didn’t understand that she drove up in the car. He just didn’t know why. Last he heard, her car was still with the mechanic and Mr. Watson didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would want his baby girl taking her boyfriend joy riding in his new car.

“Daddy bought me a new car,” Clover squealed and kissed him again. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Oh wow.” Jake walked closer and just stared. His parents couldn’t afford to buy him the Hot Wheels version of this car. He didn’t know how to respond. He was excited for her, while also being jealous and feeling like she was totally out of his league. They weren’t pretty emotions, but they were honest. He’d have to spend some time later trying to figure out what they meant. “It’s beautiful.”

“Come with me?”

“Umm…yeah. Let me change.” He hesitated, but he didn’t know why. He’d be a total dick if he couldn’t appreciate this for her.

Clover fell in step beside him, chattering about how excited she was and how she didn’t really expect anything like this. Her dad hadn’t given any indication that he was even thinking about buying her a car, let alone a sweet one like this. She was so happy that he couldn’t help but absorb it. He laced his fingers with hers and let their hands swing loose between them. Without realizing it, he led her all the way into his room. He felt his face flush with heat when she sat down on the bed with a bounce.

“I’m not going to lie, Clover. I’m kinda bummed about it.”

“What? Why?” She looked alarmed. His statement had shocked the excitement out of her, at least for the moment.

“I like driving you to work. Now I don’t need to.” He smiled at her with that lopsided half-smile that always made her grin and kiss him. She didn’t let him down this time. She returned the smile and jumped off the bed and back into his arms.

He stopped the kiss before it could go very far. His bedroom was the exact wrong place for that. It would be so easy for him to forget himself and take advantage of the soft bed and her willingness. God knew his body was ready, but his aunt was somewhere in this house and he wasn’t ready for her to hear all the things he wanted to do to Clover.

Clover, with her deep green eyes and defiant independence that made him want to care for her even more, was making him forget all the reasons sex in his Aunt Tammy’s house was a bad idea. And she wasn’t even really trying. She hadn’t pushed for more since that first encounter when he’d clumsily revealed that he was still a virgin.

God, he’d been an idiot. If he’d been able to think at all, he could have explained that he wasn’t entirely inexperienced, even if he’d never had actual full-on sex. His confession had freaked her out and he didn’t blame her, and now he wasn’t sure how to tell her he was ready for more. He knew, without a doubt, that she wanted more. He just didn’t know that she wanted as much from their relationship as he did. Especially since she’d made it very clear that she wasn’t willing to change her plans for him.

Despite not being completely chaste, he’d waited for a reason. He wanted his first time to matter, to be more than desperate fumbling in the backseat of some car. He may have been willing to let a girl suck him off, and he
loved
feeling a girl come all over his fingers, but that was different. He didn’t need happily ever after from his first time. After all, he wasn’t a prince in a fairy tale. But he did need for it to mean something. He wanted to be in love.

So far, that hadn’t happened for him, but Clover was confusing the hell out of him. For the first time, he didn’t trust his own judgment on the matter. Was he chasing built up emotions that were more a product of his own creation than anything else? Clover was the girl he’d wanted forever. He’d fallen helplessly in love with her when he was still too young to know what love really was. But they’d been kids and what does a kid know about true love? Now that she was showing him some attention, had that childhood crush flared to life with a vengeance or were his feelings genuine?

Either way, all he knew for sure was that she was constantly on his mind. He felt a deep ache in his chest when she wasn’t around, and it grew even larger when she was. He wanted everything from her, but she was so focused, so determined to create a life that didn’t seem to hold any place for him. Yet the way she looked at him, the way she was looking at him in that moment, made him believe that if he told her he loved her, she would return the sentiment. Maybe she, like him, was just looking for the right time to say the words.

She patted his chest, then ruffled her hands through his hair. “What are you thinking about?”

“You.” He didn’t know how to articulate everything beyond that one simple word. Then he realized he could expand a little. “Us.”

Her face softened and she looped her arms around his neck. She played with the hair at the base of his skull and her fingers were so gentle, her touch so soft, he couldn’t help but close his eyes and groan. She wanted to go for a drive and he needed to remember that. To stay here with her was very, very dangerous. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her.

Clover’s lips tasted fresh, like a minty version of summer. Then, without him having to ask, she opened her mouth and he slipped his tongue inside. God, she was so open and warm and willing. Her body pressed closer and there was no way she didn’t feel his erection straining against his pants. She whimpered into his mouth and tried to get even closer.

“Clover.” He pulled away with a groan, but she drew him back in.

“Please, just…let me kiss you.” She pressed her tongue into his mouth this time and the feeling of her inside of him like that, with her tongue probing inside his mouth and gliding against his, made his brain go fuzzy and he gave up all pretense of resisting. Whatever she wanted, he was willing to do. Hopefully, his aunt was on the other side of the house.

He wrapped his arms around Clover and held her as close as possible. He wanted everything with her, to feel every last thing she was willing to give and to touch every part of her body, inside and out. He wanted to know her most intimate secrets, and then help her create new ones.

He didn’t notice that her hands had moved to his pants until they were undone and she stroked her fingers over the tip of his cock as she tried to free it from his underwear. Desire bolted through him like nothing he’d ever known before and he jerked his body away out of shock. He wanted her so badly that all he could think about was being inside her. He was the closest he’d ever been to losing control and that scared him.

He stood staring at her, his chest heaving and his thoughts clouded and confused. His body ached to let her finish whatever she’d been trying to start and he curled into himself, hunching over to protect his sensitive parts from scrutiny. As soon as he could move his hands without shaking, he tucked himself back into his pants and worked to close the front of his jeans. He couldn’t get his fingers to work properly. All he wanted was to take his cock out and stroke it, to let her touch it, suck it, ride it, until they were both sated.

She gaped at him, her eyes wide and scared. She reached for him, then drew back. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He took a deep breath, then another. He still couldn’t figure out how to work the zipper and it
hurt to think about restraining himself so tightly.

“I could…” She took a tentative step toward him, her gaze locked on his, searching for an answer to something. He couldn’t think clearly enough to know what that was.

“What?”

“Just…tell me if…” She left the sentence unfinished as her hands touched his. She glided her fingers over his, her touch soft like satin.

He held his breath and watched, transfixed, as she pulled his hands away from his zipper, then stretched the fabric of his jeans open wide.

“Is this okay?” She still hadn’t touched him yet, but he knew that’s where she was going. All he could do was jerk his head up and down in a sloppy, uncertain nod. He didn’t know if it was okay or not, but he couldn’t bear the thought of her stopping again.

She very carefully pulled the fabric of his shorts down until his cock sprang free. It strained upward, hard and dripping with pre-cum. She didn’t touch him at all. She simply stood close enough for him to feel the occasional brush of her clothes against his cock as he shuddered with excitement.

He gripped her shoulders, his fingers digging in hard enough that he knew he should let go, but he needed to hold on to something. He was ready to beg her, but he had no idea if he would ask her to stop or to finish whatever it was she had started. He managed a strangled “please.”

“Are you sure?” She brushed the backs of her fingers against his stomach and he tensed and spasmed involuntarily. He was careful, though, not to pull away from her.

He nodded again, still unable to say the word yes. His world was reduced to the throb of his cock and the sliver of green that still showed around her dark pupils. As much as he wanted her, she wanted him just as badly. She smiled softly, then dropped gracefully to her knees.