Haven from the Storm (Storms of Life #1) (13 page)

“You have to be when you grow up under Grandma Violet’s roof. Now let’s get out of here.” We headed toward his truck, stopping so he could tell Joe Bob that my car would be there a little longer. Joe Bob just laughed and shook his head before disappearing underneath a car.

When we reached the truck, Dean led me to the driver’s side. He opened his door and motioned for me to get in. I stopped and looked at him, not knowing what to do. I knew he wanted me to sit in the middle seat of his truck next to him, the seat that gave the world a small peek into the exact status of our relationship. I knew this wasn’t really a point we’d reached in our relationship, but maybe it was a sign of things to come.

“I thought maybe we’d just cut through the angst and pick up where we left off earlier,” he said, showing complete confidence in his decision.

In that moment I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason not to at least try and open myself to him. Of course I’d been hurt by him before, but I didn’t have much left to lose and I could think of a lot of things I had to gain. Dean didn’t rush me; he allowed me time to make my own decision. I didn’t know if my heart or my head would win out, but I knew by not following my heart I could be risking my last chance at a happiness I’d always wanted.

When I offered Lily the middle seat in my truck, I wasn’t sure she’d take it. I’d hoped she would jump in and practically sit on my lap, but I knew that was a long shot. It took her a few minutes to decide while I stood waiting. I swear I could see the gears turning in her head as she thought through every possible pro and con. I’m not sure I actually meant for her final decision to carry so much weight or to be so important. I didn’t realize it could possibly be a turning point for us, but when I saw the look on her face as she weighed her options, I knew that’s exactly what it turned out to be.

She made the right decision. She was sitting so close I could feel the heat coming off her body and I could smell her coconut scent. Without wasting any time, I reached out and put my hand on her leg. I felt her slightly jump at the contact and then she let out a small giggle. She turned to look at me and we both smiled. I was trying my best to keep the hardness in my pants under control, but I could already feel it swelling. The feel of her body touching mine was overloading my defenses. I had to think of something else before my lack of self-control put a stop to this new beginning before it even started.

“Any thoughts on where you want to go? Or can I surprise you?” I asked, trying to distract myself and draw the blood from my southern regions back to my brain.

“Um, I guess you can surprise me. I don’t really get out of the house much, so I don’t have any ideas that don’t include me behind a camera.”

My mind immediately went to the fun things we could do with a camera and I shook my head, trying to knock those ideas loose so I could focus. “Okay, well lucky for you I’ve got it covered,” I finally managed to reply.

I turned around to drive to the grocery store. Lily gave me a questioning look as we pulled into the parking lot, but I just shook my head and told her to sit tight and trust me. I grabbed enough items for a quick dinner, while also purchasing roughly my weight in chocolate for Lily’s sweet tooth. I planned for us to spend a long time together at the only place it may have been safe for us to be alone. It just happened to be the same place that held a special spot in both our hearts.

This time I didn’t park on the dirt road, or in the grouping of trees. I pulled my truck right up to the overgrown trail that led to Sunflower Beach. We gathered the bags from the grocery store and I grabbed an old worn out blanket from behind the seat. Now that we were here I felt like she might think it was a stupid idea, but it was a little too late to turn back now.

“This was a great idea. It’s a perfect day to come here. This is exactly what I would’ve chosen.” A huge smile lit up her face. We laid the blanket in a spot that was close to the water, but still in the sun to help us stay warm.

“I’m glad you feel that way because I was starting to think it was a stupid idea,” I laughed.

“Oh no, it’s perfect. Honestly there is nowhere I’d rather be or anyone I’d rather be with right now.” She ducked her head slightly at her admission.

“I feel the exact same way,” I moved toward her and was surprised when she met me in the middle as she reached for me, too. We stood perfectly still, holding each other. She was probably just enjoying the fresh air while I struggled with my hormones and our closeness.

I pulled back to look at her and we seemed to be thinking the same thing. We both moved our heads forward, slightly tilting in opposite directions until our lips touched. The kiss started slow and timid, but my desires quickly took over. One of my hands moved to the back of her head while the other was on the small of her back and I pulled her so close that I thought our bodies might fuse, but I was determined to remove any distance between us.

She placed her hands on my chest, fisting my shirt as she pulled me even closer. Our hunger increased until our kisses turned almost frantic and we were both breathing heavily. I broke from her lips and moved to kiss from her jaw down to her neck, trying to give us both a chance to steady our breathing. As I swirled my tongue on her neck, she released a pleasurable sigh that almost made me lose control. I heard a small growl come from the back of my throat as I quickly moved back to her lips.

I was lost, lost in Lily.

The past four years had disappeared and been replaced with our need for each other. Her motions matched my own, pushing the kiss further and further. I felt her grip tighten on my chest as her tongue moved swiftly in my mouth, matching me stroke for stroke. She released a strangled moan as she ripped her mouth away from mine. She moved her hand to her lip, lightly pressing on the cut caused by her father.

“I’m so sorry, Lily. I forgot about your lip.” She looked into my eyes and smiled.

“No, don’t be sorry, I’m fine. Just…um, wow! Where’d that come from?” she asked, keeping her body pressed against mine.

“I’m not really sure, but I’m glad it showed up,” I replied, trying to catch my breath. I moved my hands to her face, placing one last kiss on her forehead, then the cut on her lip. “Maybe we should slow down a little. I got a bunch of different things to eat. Are you hungry?”

“No, not really hungry for food right now,” she said, giving me a devilish smile.

I groaned. “You can’t say things like that to me. Trust me, I’d love nothing more than to keep this up for the rest of the afternoon and tonight and tomorrow and probably longer. But I don’t want you to think that’s why I brought you here. I mean, I was kinda hoping there would be some of it happening, but simply being alone with you was the main goal.” I moved to sit on the blanket.

“Hmm, sounds like we have the same goals.” She laid down on the blanket with her knees bent and her arms folded over her eyes blocking them from the sun. She looked so relaxed and that brought me comfort. I laid down with my head next to hers and we stayed this way for a while, just enjoying the silence and merely existing together. I hadn’t felt that calm and secure in...well, I couldn’t remember the last time, but I did know all those times had included Lily, Easton, or Grandma Violet. Finally she rolled over on her side, facing me, so I did the same.

“I was afraid you'd fallen asleep,” I admitted.

“No way I’d sleep right now and risk missing a minute of being here with you,” she said. I moved her long hair over her shoulder. She grasped my hand, moved it to her mouth, and kissed my palm. She laid it on her cheek briefly before lacing our fingers together. I heard a rustle in the trees behind me. I turned to see a bird fly from a tree branch and land close to Lily - it was Lily’s hawk. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the bird flew to a nearby rock.

“I think your friend decided to come for a visit.”

“Yeah, I call him Red. We’re buddies, but I kinda think he's been following me around lately,” she laughed.

“What do you mean?”

“Well it's hard to explain and you'll probably think I've lost it, but I swear I see Red everywhere I go. He always seems to be sitting on a random fence post that I drive by or in a tree when I get to school. I guess it
could
be a different hawk, but it sure looks like him. You see that red colored spot on his head? That's how I keep track of him.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Maybe he's just looking out for you? Trying to make sure you’re safe?” I said.

“Yeah, I've thought that too. I'm not sure if I believe in that sort of thing, but he always seems to be there to help me when something bad happens, like last night.”

“What do you mean? What did he do last night?”

She opened her mouth to speak and then paused, looking away from me. “Well, it was after my father left. I feel asleep outside and he woke me up by making this loud shrieking noise. Then, before I went into the house, he flew right up next to me and I swear he wanted to talk to me.” She laughed sadly and shook her head, refusing to continue.

“It's okay, you can tell me. I don't think anything you've said so far is crazy,” I reassured her, as I took her hand and slowly rubbed my fingers over her soft skin.

“Well he started coming around four years ago, right after the tornado when things got bad with my father. He kinda comes and goes, but he’s always around when things are bad for me. I think I've wanted to believe that Red was somehow Easton watching out for me. Maybe not truly my brother, but...well, I don't really know how to explain it, but somehow, since my brother isn't here, Red is trying to take his place and keep me safe. Well, as best a bird can.”

“You know I don’t think that sounds crazy at all and you're probably right. It would be just like Easton to show up here and try to ruin our time together.” We both laughed.

“So, about this food you brought?” She pointed to the paper grocery sack and we both sat facing each other.

“Well it isn't going to be a gourmet dinner, but I did bring some of your favorites, or at least your favorites from when we were kids.” I started pulling them out of the bag and placing them in front of her. “Apple juice. Red grapes, I know you like the green ones better, but this is all they had. Funyuns, guess I shouldn’t have gotten these when I intended to try and kiss you.” She laughed, but immediately opened the bag and popped one in her mouth, then fed one to me. “Peanut butter, crackers, and a banana. And last, but certainly not least, every kind of chocolate you could ever want.” I dumped all the chocolate onto the blanket between us.

Her eyes lit up before a lone tear rolled down her cheek. I wiped the tear away with my thumb and then lightly stroked her cheek several times. “I can’t believe you remember me eating all of this when we were younger. I remember you guys hating it when I’d make my mini sandwiches out of crackers, peanut butter, and banana.”

I shook my head. “No, Easton hated it. I thought it was cute, but that didn’t mean I wanted to eat them with you.”

She laughed then tilted her head to the side, giving me a questioning look. “I think I’m going to have to reevaluate everything I thought I knew about you when we were kids. Either I didn’t pay very good attention or you were a good actor.” She wagged her finger at me accusingly.

“What can I say? Acting like you were my best friend’s pest sister made your brother happy, but I think deep down he knew how I truly felt. I don’t think Easton would be surprised by any of this.” I leaned in to kiss her. Just as my lips touched her soft mouth, I felt something warm fall onto my shoulder. I looked up to see Red flying above our heads and saw something white on my shoulder out of the corner of my eye.

That damn bird had shit all over my shoulder and down the sleeve of my jacket!

Lily pulled away and started laughing, but quickly placed her hands over her mouth. “You are one hundred percent correct. That bird is Easton. There is absolutely no other explanation,” I said, unzipping my coat and taking it off. I considered burning it when I got home.

Lily tried her best not to laugh, but she couldn’t contain it any longer. “Yup, I think we have our answer. Only Easton would rather crap on you then let you kiss his sister.”

“And of course he had perfect aim. He managed to get it all over me, but completely avoided you,” I pointed out.

“Yup, I noticed that too.” She laughed.

It was a magical sound.