///
Will moved his lips to my neck, and his hot breath on my skin caused my stomach to drop.
God … just being around him makes my body do such crazy things.
Grace had said I was just horny and that Will and I needed to at least move on to a little bit more than kissing. As she'd said, we needed to cop feels here and there. Will was such a gentleman, and he'd never once pushed me into doing anything I didn't want to do.
I could hear Grace's voice in my head.
My God, you're eighteen. Stop piss-assing around about it, Alex. I swear y'all have liked each other since … what? Since you were ten years old?
I was eighteen now, and Will was seventeen. He would turn eighteen in August.
I had to smile though because Grace was all talk. She liked Michael Clark, but she had been too afraid to even talk to him up until this year.
"What are you smiling about, Lex?"
Since we were kids, Will was the only one who called me Lex, and I liked it that way. It was special-something just between the two of us, something only we shared together-and we could do it in front of everyone.
"Us."
He pulled away and looked at me. "Us? What about us?"
I felt my cheeks turning red, and I was almost positive Will could feel the heat coming from them.
"You're blushing, Lex? Why, honey?"
I looked down and away, but he brought his finger up to my chin and forced me to look at him.
"Alex? What about us?"
"I'm tired of hiding. I want to tell our parents that we've been dating. I want to tell my dad I've decided on A&M, and I want … I want … "
His smile was from ear to ear. "You want what, sweetheart?"
Oh God … his voice alone sends me over the edge.
"I want more … " Damn it. I couldn't bring myself to say it.
"More of what?" he said with that stupid smile of his.
When he tilted his head and gave me that dimple, I knew he was teasing me.
I took a deep breath and quickly let it out. "I want to make love."
Will's smile faded, and he took a step back.
Oh no. What if he doesn't feel the same? What if my feelings for him are stronger than his feelings for me? Oh. My. God. What if that's the reason he's never pushed me into anything more?
I instantly felt like a fool. I pushed past him and started to walk away.
"Wait, Lex … please just wait a second." He reached for my arm.
I felt the tears burning my eyes as I looked everywhere but at him. "I'm … I'm sorry. I should have just kept my mouth shut. Obviously, you don't feel the same way, so … "
I inwardly cursed Grace for even planting this in my head, and I hatched a plan to bitch her out the next time I saw her.
Before I knew what was happening, Will was backing me up until I came to a stop against the barn wall.
I looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. With his wavy light brown hair, he looked just like his father. I wanted to run my hands through his hair so badly. He was probably the sweetest guy I knew-besides Luke and Colt, who were both hopelessly romantic.
He ran the backs of his fingers down my face and smiled. My skin almost felt like it was burning where he touched. He bent down like he was going to kiss me, but he stopped just short of my lips. His eyes darted down to my lips and then back up to my eyes.
"Lex, I love you," he whispered.
I sucked in a breath of air and fought like hell to keep the tears from falling. It wasn't the first time he'd ever said it to me, but this time, it felt so … different. A tear fell, and he quickly brushed it away with his lips as he let out a low, soft moan.
"You have no idea how hard it is for me not to make love to you every time I'm with you. I want nothing more than to be with you, but I want it to be right. I want it to be perfect for you. I don't want us to sneak into a barn or do it in a car. You deserve so much more than that, sweetheart. I want to make you feel special the first time we make love."
Wow. Oh … just wow. My breaths were coming out faster. I looked at his lips as I licked mine.
He closed his eyes. "You drive me mad with desire, Alexandra. You have to know that."
Oh dear God … I think I might have an orgasm … right now … right here.
When he opened his eyes, they were filled with something I'd never seen before. The intense feeling of need I had for him grew about a hundred times.
I tried to talk, but only a whisper came out, "Will … "
When his lips touched mine, I let out a moan. I opened my mouth to him so that our tongues could explore each other like they had done a hundred times before. I brought my hands up and ran them through his hair. When he pushed himself into me, I felt his hard-on, and I wanted to wrap my legs around him so badly.
///
The kiss started to become passionate … until I heard someone clear his throat. I snapped my eyes open right as Will pulled back and scrunched up his face.
"Shit," he whispered so that only I could hear.
He took a few steps away from me as he ran his hand through his hair.
Lord, help me.
I wanted this boy, and even though I knew we had just been caught making out in my father's barn, my desire for him was so intense that I wanted to cry. I never took my eyes off of him.
He winked at me before turning to the side. "Dad, Gunner, um … I mean, Mr. Mathews … um … I mean, sir … "
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. Oh … holy … hell. My father just caught me making out in his barn.
I tried to compose myself as I pushed off the wall and turned to face my father and Will's father, Josh. I wanted to giggle over Will struggling on how to address my father, but when I looked into my dad's eyes, I knew that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.
"So … " Josh started to say as he shook his head and smiled at Will. "Damn, boy … you picked the wrong girl to get caught making out with in her daddy's barn."
I quickly glanced over at Will, who looked at my father and then back at his dad. He smiled slightly, but then he looked back at my father and swallowed hard.
Dragging in a deep breath, my father looked at us. "Alex, Will … I think y'all need to head on up to the house and wait for us on the back porch."
Will and I looked at each other, and at the same time, we said, "Yes, sir."
As we walked out of the barn, Will grabbed my hand right in front of my father.
Will looked at me, winked, and whispered, "I think that went well."
I just looked at him with my mouth hanging open. "You must have a death wish."
I didn't say another word to Lex as we walked back up to her house. Grams, Ellie-Alex's mom-and my mother were all sitting on the back porch. Grams and Ellie both looked down at Lex's hand joined with mine. Grams smiled.
My mother said, "Oh Lord, all hell is fixin' to break loose."
Ellie laughed as she shook her head. "By the look on your face, Alex, I'm going to guess your father knows?"
Alex stopped walking and stared at her mother. "What do you mean? Did you know?"
Ellie and my mother both started laughing.
"I have eyes, darling," her mother said.
I glanced over at my mother, who smiled sweetly at me. Last year, I'd told my mother how I felt about Lex, so I knew what was about to happen wouldn't surprise her.
Grams smiled as she looked at Lex. "Alexandra, I wish you had taken my advice and told your daddy."
Lex's face blushed.
Ellie snapped her head over to Grams. "Emma, you knew?"
Grams laughed. "Of course I knew. I walk with the girl every morning. I probably knew it before she did."
Lex giggled. "Grams … "
"Go into the kitchen, Alex and Will."
My skin crawled at the tone of Gunner's voice. I peeked over to my father.
He mouthed, Good luck.
I grinned slightly and dropped Lex's hand. I started to follow her and her father into the house.
Grams grabbed my hand. "William, you stand up for your feelings. Don't let Drew bully you. Do you hear me?"
I nodded my head. Grams always called Gunner by his real name, Drew. Everyone else would call him by his nickname that he'd gotten in high school football.
"But you be respectful of his feelings as well. That's his baby girl."
I smiled. "Yes, ma'am."
I opened the screen door as Lex sat down.
Gunner leaned against the counter. "How long have you been sneaking around behind my back?"
Lex stood up. "Daddy, we weren't purposely hiding it from you. We just didn't know how to tell you. I was scared."
His eyes filled with sadness. "Alex, why in the world would you be scared to tell me?"
I walked up and stood next to her. She reached for my hand, and Gunner stood up straighter. He gave me a look that I'd never seen before, and I wanted to drop Lex's hand, but I knew better.
"I'm going to ask again. How long have you two been dating?"
I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. "Over a year, sir. We, um … it started when I was helping Lex train Banjo."
He closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. When he opened them again, Lex dropped my hand and sat down. All I wanted to do was run and hide behind my own daddy. I didn't think I'd ever seen Gunner so mad in my life.