"That was forever ago. How did you even remember that? Are you on drugs?"
"There are certain things I'll never forget. In my lifetime, so far, most of those memories include you."
I stared down at him in shock, and my heart continued to pound inside my chest. I felt like it was trying to escape my body.
His eyes softened to caramel. "Be my wife, Cassie Phillips."
I stood up and paced in front of him. "Jesus H Christ," I muttered to myself.
He grabbed my hips and stopped my momentum. "Marry me, honey. Spend the rest of your life making outrageous, wild, insane kinds of trouble with me."
I smacked him in the dick so hard that he fell onto his side and held his balls.
"Ow! Holy fucking shit!"
I snatched the box out of his hand and stared down at the ring while he lay fetal and struggled to catch his breath. "This isn't really going as planned," he wheezed.
I took in the gorgeous ring, and my heart grew three sizes.
This was my ring. The ring.
God, he was such an idiot. A perfect idiot. My idiot. But a fucking idiot for sure.
And for some reason, I didn't ask any of the questions a sane human being would ask in that moment. What this meant for us or if he was sure or if he thought it was fucking crazy that it had all started as a prank.
Love had taken over. And I was finding, when it came to that stupid four-letter word, all rational thought fled the building. Love made you senseless-me, more so-and it made you follow your heart even if your brain was shouting, What in the fuck is happening right now?
We had never once exchanged the sentiment, but as I stared into the eyes of this man, who looked like he might want to strangle me or possibly needed to ice his balls, I knew it didn't matter. My heart had taken control and was driving this crazy train of spontaneity.
Eventually, Thatch got himself to standing and made his way over to the bench and sat down.
I stomped my way over to him and held the box in front of his face. He covered his crotch and stared up at me with confusion.
"Yes." I shook the box in his face.
His brows rose to his forehead. "Yes?"
"Yes, you crazy asshole," I said and held out my left hand. "Put that gorgeous fucking ring on my finger before I slap you in the dick again."
Thatch sat there for a few moments just gazing back me, his eyes searching mine.
And then, the motherfucker grinned.
He took the box from my persistent hand and slid the ring down my finger. His lips kissed it softly once it was in place. "Come here," he said as he stood and lifted me into his arms. "Kiss the hell out of me with that perfect, crazy mouth of yours."
He didn't have to ask twice.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and crushed my lips to his.
I'd come to his parents' as his fiancée, but I'd be leaving as a woman planning to get married. There wasn't normally a difference, but the change for me was staggering.
Cassie was wrapped around me like second skin as we sat together beneath the old tree in my parents' backyard. Crickets chirped and fireflies glowed in the distance.
I didn't want to be anywhere but here, with my soon-to-be wife, breathing her air, smelling her sweet skin, and just holding on to her, savoring this quiet sliver of time where nothing else mattered but us.
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to have kids in the future after the number of times she'd slapped me in the dick, but no doubt, I didn't want to be anywhere else but here, with her-my fucking lunatic of a woman.
Twice, she'd said yes. And the second time she wasn't high off of an adrenaline rush and taunted by a challenge. When she had said yes-well, yes, you crazy asshole-I'd seen her wild, untamed heart inside the depths of her blue eyes, and I'd known instantly she wasn't saying yes because she didn't want to fold. She'd said yes because she wanted this as much as I did.
Same fucking page.
Yeah, I know. Same unspoken page.
No offense, but fuck you guys.
We'll talk about it when we're good and ready.
"Come on, Thatcher. Take me somewhere good," Cassie whispered in my ear. My lips curved into a grin at the feel of her mouth skimming lightly across the skin.
"Somewhere good, huh? What'd you have in mind?"
"Nope. No way. That's not the way this works. You just have to surprise me."
I spanned the whole of her knee with my hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Okay, honey. I think I can manage that."
Up and off the bench, I did the same for her, lifting her to standing with ease.
Her breath caught, and my cock jerked awake. "I swear, I never get used to your size."
I waggled my eyebrows. "I've heard it's the kind of thing that takes a while to acclimate to."
Mischief sparkled in her eyes, right next to the moonlight. "Put your boner away, Thatcher."
I smiled and pulled her farther into my arms. My mouth met the skin of her neck, and I inhaled as I spoke. "Not a goddamn chance."
"At least wait until we're not in your parents' backyard," she said through a laugh.
"We better move fast, then, huh?" I teased, pulling away from the allure of her skin and leading her down and toward the garage at a jog.
"Slow down, you giant!"
I just laughed and pulled her harder, making her legs move at twice the speed.
"What is it with you? Always making me run and shit," she grumbled, and I shot her a cocky wink.
"Uh oh," she huffed with a smile. "Not the wink too. I'm gonna be in fucking trouble tonight, aren't I?"
"God, I hope so." Grabbing her hips, I lifted her up, and over my shoulder she went. I ran across the lawn, and she squealed the whole way. I'd had dreams about this-this girl, my Nova, this kind of evening-even if I'd never known it.
The door to the garage slammed behind me, and I put her on her feet so I could get the car ready to go.
She flipped on the light switch for me as I pulled the cover off the Nova and pulled the chain to manually raise the larger garage door.
I folded the cover and tossed it on the tool bench, dumping the keys out of the jar that hung on the cork wall before rounding the car and pulling open the driver's side door.
"What do you say? You ready to go for a ride?"
Cassie's eyes flared at the innuendo, and I didn't think I'd ever get used to a woman who didn't shy away from being challenged. She loved it, fed off it. Every reactive muscle in her body begged me for more.
"I am." She raised an eyebrow, and my smile deepened as though the two were physically connected. "Are you?"
"Always, honey." I winked and she shook her head. Half the time I did it anymore, it was just to see her reaction. I couldn't get enough of it. "Jump in," I offered as I folded into the seat.
"Where are we going?" she asked as she climbed in beside me.
I shook my head and laughed as I reached out to tuck a hair behind her tiny ear. "Nope. No way," I spouted back. "I have to surprise you."
Her eyes turned heated, but I knew her well enough by now.
"What if I … " she started, leaning over and rubbing a hand slowly up the inside of my thigh.
"Good try," I replied, and she scoffed. "Save it for later."
I put the key in the ignition and gave it a turn until the big block under the hood roared to life. The car shook violently, and lucky for me, it wasn't the only thing.
"Goddamn," I told Cassie's tits. "I'm never driving you in anything other than this car ever again."
Her head flew back in an arc of hilarity, and the line of her throat opened up like she was taking a shot. I wanted to drink from her in that moment, the sweet glow of her skin the only thing brightening the dim cab of my car.
Her laughs echoed and the engine rumbled, and with my ring on her finger, I had an honest moment of wondering if there'd ever been a better instant in my thirty-five years of life.
"Eyes to the windshield and drive," she demanded with a wave of her hand. But the fact that she thrust it straight out from her chest at tit level didn't go unnoticed. She secretly wanted me to have what I was after, even if she wouldn't admit it.
I shoved in the clutch, pushed the shifter into first gear, and revved up the idle as we coasted out of the garage.
Cassie settled into her seat with ease, reaching forward to toggle the radio just as a streak of moonlight forced its way through the large front window.
Soft rock filled the silence, Bob Seger's "Night Moves" deepening the already curved line of my lips.
Cassie looked from the road to me several times before sliding her way across the bench style seat and settling her entire body into the crook of my arm.
I didn't waste time pulling her closer and keeping her there as I drove down the gravel line of my parents' driveway and out onto the mostly deserted road.
I'd made this drive before. In this car, with a girl in exactly this position, but I'd never felt this at ease. Like no matter where the night led, it would be somewhere good.