Love on a Dirt Road (The Roughneck Series Book 1) (3 page)

Chapter 4

  When I woke the next morning, Jase was my first thought. And the butterflies in my stomach immediately followed. He really was beautiful. Too beautiful to be single. Surely he had a girlfriend. Some whore in a different town. Something. But I pushed that thought out of my head because honestly, I don't think I could handle not seeing more of him. And the fact that my imagination kept getting the best of me wasn't helping. I wondered what his kisses tasted like or what it would feel like to have his arms wrapped around me.

  This is ridiculous. I thought. I just met the guy last night and he already has me daydreaming. I wasn't ready to date someone. Derek had kind of messed my head up and I worried about trusting someone else with my heart or my body. So I forced myself to push thoughts of Jase out of my mind and rolled out of bed.

  As soon as I opened my bedroom door, the smell of fresh brewed coffee made my mouth water.

  "Does Jase have a girlfriend?" I asked Sam.
So much for not thinking about him.

  "Good morning to you too Sunshine" Sam mumbled from her corner of the couch holding her cup of heaven.

  "Sorry. Morning!" I said as I walked to the coffee pot.

  "But no, I don't think so. I've never seen him with a girl. He's pretty quiet and keeps to himself. Moon would have probably mentioned it."

  "Ok, good." I sighed with relief. "And speaking of Moon, is something going on between y'all?" I sat beside her on the couch so she couldn't avoid my question.

  "What? No." She said way too quickly.

  "You dirty liar!" I said with a giggle. "Oh my God, you're sleeping with Moon!"

  "Ok look, yes I am. I was going to tell you, but there's not much to tell. We're not dating, we're just fucking."

  "Well, alrighty then" I said in shock.

  "I mean, like 6 months ago, we got drunk at his house and it just happened."

  "6 months! I can't believe you didn't tell me"

  "Sorry, but really it's not a big deal. We don't even talk about it. He comes home, we fuck. It's fun. Not to mention, he is hung like a fucking horse."

  "Seriously Sam. TMI."

  "You asked!" She giggled.

  "I didn't ask that"
That was an image I didn't want in my head.

  I heard the ding of a text message coming from my phone in the bedroom. I put my coffee down and tried not to sprint to my room to get it. The butterflies were back.

  It was a number I didn't recognize. It was him.

Jase: Mornin

Me: Good morning yourself

Jase: I hope I didn't wake you

Me: Nope, already up :) I'm a morning person

Jase: Good to know

Jase: I was wondering if you were busy tonight

Me: I'm open
  Shit!

Me: I mean available 
Damn it!

Me: I mean, I don't have any plans. :)
God, I'm an idiot! He's not going to reply!

Jase: :) Ya wanna go have dinner?

Me: Sure

Jase: Good deal.  I'll pick you up at 7

Me: ok

Jase: This is Jase by the way

Me: HAHA :)

  I spent the day going through my closet, then going through Sam's closet, then my closet again. I wanted to look sexy but not slutty. My bedroom looked like a tornado had hit it by the time I picked an outfit. I decided on my favorite jeans, a fitted black shirt with a scarf to match and my boots of course.  Jase didn't say where we were going so I figured it was dressy enough but not too much. I laid out the perfect silver jewelry to bling it out just enough.

  "Should I wear my hair curly or straight?"

  "Curly. And big. It's sexy"

  "Oh my God, I'm nervous"

  "Don't be nervous.  It was pretty obvious last night that y’all are totally into each other. Don't forget to shave your legs, just in case." Sam said with a wink.

  "I'm not sleeping with him." I said.

  "Well, it's better to be safe than sorry. Better take care of all your business while you're at it. She hasn't seen any action in a while, she could probably use a touch up." She said as she pointed to my crotch.

  I launched a throw pillow at her head as I walked to the bathroom.

6:58 pm

  I was putting on my lip gloss and giving myself another look in the mirror when I heard a knock at the door. My stomach did a flip flop and I had to take a minute to even my breathing.  A couple of minutes later I walked out of my room and there he was.

  I hadn't imagined it. He really was perfection. He was wearing a grey long sleeve pearl snap shirt, dark jeans and black boots. It was a different baseball cap tonight. Newer but still worn. He hadn't shaved and I was so thankful.

  "Damn" he said as he looked at me "You look really good"

  "Thanks" I said

  "Ready?" He asked

  "Yep, just let me grab my purse"

  We walked over to the door and he opened it.

  "After you" He said.

  I walked in front of him and headed to his truck. He closed the front door then placed his hand on the small of my back. He followed me to the passenger side of his truck and opened the door. He held out his hand for me to take, which I did and helped me up. That was a first. He walked around the front of the truck, got in and started the ignition.

  As soon as he started the truck, I heard "Walk the Line" on the radio.

  "I love Johnny Cash" I gushed

  "Smart woman" He said. "He's one of my favorites, has been since I was a kid. I can't stand that rap shit." He said bluntly. “I'll take Haggerd or Bocephus any day."

  "A man after my own heart" I admitted.

  "Glad to hear it" He said and looked over at me with a wink.

  Most of the ride was spent in silence, just listening to the man in black's greatest hits. We could have spoken but there was just a comfortable silence. Although I know I saw his lips mouthing the words a few times. I tried to concentrate and hear his voice but it was impossible. I'm pretty sure he knew what I was doing because every few minutes he would look over at me with that crooked smile of his. I knew this because every time he looked my way, I was already staring.

  We pulled into the parking lot of Roady's Steakhouse.

  "Hold on" he said as he jumped out of the truck. He was walking over to my side to open my door. Chivalry. This was something I could get used to.

  He opened my door and held out his hand for me to step down. He was standing close so when I got out my body slid down his.

  As soon as my feet his the ground, his mouth was on mine. At first it was gentle and slow, then he put his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me tighter to him. My hands found his chest and I couldn't help but dig my nails into him. A soft deep groan came from his throat and he deepened our kiss. His tongue was caressing mine and then he bit my bottom lip. Just enough to send electricity all the way down between my legs.

  "Ahem" Someone was clearing their throat and we immediately became still. I kept my eyes closed and put my face is Jase's chest.

  "Excuse us" I heard a man as he walked by.

  "Pardon us" Said Jase.

  "Wow, they were kissing a lot daddy." I heard the voice of a little boy. He sounded around 5 years old. But I wasn't going to look.

  "Come on Taylor" Said the man.

  "Oh my God." I said when I knew they were out of sight.

  "I wasn't planning on doing that yet" said Jase "I was going to at least feed you first" He whispered with a wink.

  He put both of his hands around the back of my neck, just enough so he had ahold of my hair.

  "But you're just so fucking beautiful I couldn't wait anymore"

  Then he gave me a quick peck on the lips and grabbed me by the hand.

  "Let's go eat" He said and we walked towards the restaurant.

  Once we were seated at our table, the waitress came over.

  "What can I get y'all to drink?"

  "Sweet tea for me please" I said.

  "I'll have the same" Jase said.

  Our waitress stared at Jase for just a little too long for my liking, but he didn't seem to notice. He hadn't taken his eyes off me. Was I really getting jealous of a 40 something year old woman who liked what she saw? Truth is, I couldn’t blame her. Jase was delicious.

  "She was getting her eyes full" I said without realizing it.
Shit!

  "Was she now?" He laughed. "I didn't notice. I can't seem to quit looking at you."

  "I know the feeling" I said. Then bit my lip to keep my mouth shut. Otherwise, I would end up telling him how beautiful he was.

  "Mmm" He said as he shook his head and looked down at his menu.

  God, he was sexy.

  The waitress brought our drinks back and we ordered our food.

  "So, do you think you're going to stay in Bailey?" He asked.

  "Yeah, I am." I said without hesitation. "It's time to start over, even though this is where I grew up, everything is different this time." I started getting nervous knowing where the conversation was headed and started twisting my napkin.

  Jase put his hand over mine "I'm sorry about your parents. Moon told me, I hope that's ok"

  "No, it's fine. Thank you. It's been hard, I mean obviously"

  "I get it"

  "You do?" I asked, convinced there's no way he did.

  "My mom passed away when I was 12"

  "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know" I said, in shock. My heart broke for him in that moment. I physically got sick to my stomach. I wanted to walk over to him and put my arms around him. The pain of losing my parents was devastating as an 18 year old. How could a 12 year old even begin to deal with it?

  "It's not really something I talk about"

  "What about your dad?" I asked.

  His eyes glazed over and he stayed silent for a few seconds.

  "He's not in the picture"

  "Oh." I whispered. "Ok"

  We didn't speak for a minute.

  "Anyway, can we change the subject?" He asked politely "Save the heavy stuff for another time"

  "Absolutely" I agreed.

  We both exhaled at the same time, and then laughed.

  The rest of our dinner was wonderful. The conversation was easy, there was no uncomfortable silence. We just clicked.

  When we got to the truck after leaving the restaurant, Jase didn't lead me to the passenger side. I got a little sad for a minute. I liked the whole gentleman thing he had going. But as I started to walk to my side of the truck he grabbed me by the hand.

  "Get in on this side" He whispered in my ear "I want you next to me"

  "Ok" I said. My voice was a little shaky and my heart was going crazy again.

  I hopped into the truck and scooted to the middle. Once Jase got in, he squeezed my knee before he started the truck.

  On the way home, he kept his hand on my thigh and I put my hand over his. It just felt right. He made me comfortable. My mind would probably convince me later that I wasn't ready for this. But right now, I didn't care. I just wanted him close to me.

Once we pulled into the driveway, he turned off the ignition but didn't open the door. He turned towards me and put his hand on the back of my neck.

  "I'm trying to take things slow with you. I don't want to scare you away. But you do something to me. I've always been in charge of everything I do. But with you, I can't seem to control myself."

  I opened my mouth to answer, but I didn't know what to say.

  He leaned in and kissed me gently. His tongue swept across my lips and explored the inside of my mouth. He tasted delicious. I wanted more. So I deepened the kiss. I put my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me.           Jase put both hands on my hips and pulled me onto his lap. I was straddling him now. His put both of his hands on my ass and squeezed. He moved his mouth to my earlobe and brushed his lips across my neck. I felt the pressure building between my thighs and had to squeeze my legs around him to get some relief. I just wanted him closer. I could feel the bulge in his jeans rub against me and I knew he felt the same way.

"Oh God." I let out a little whimper.

  "Damn" He whispered in my ear. "We need to stop"

  "Um, ok" I said. I was embarrassed.

  "Trust me baby, I don't want to. But taking you in my truck isn't how our first time is going to be."

  His words reassured me that I wasn't alone. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

  "Maybe, the second or third time we can try it in the truck" He said with a grin.