Rock Candy Kisses(17)

"Come here." I pull Annie in close and land my mouth over hers. Annie  comes at me with a vengeance, her tongue bursting over mine with a  passion she's dying to unleash. Cars drive past us. The balloon ride  company shuts down for the night, and Annie and I linger in that  freezing parking lot with our mouths locked over one another as if it  were our last few moments on earth.

We finally pull apart to a darkened sky. The two of us with matching  goofy grins. We opt out of going to a restaurant and pick up take out  and head to the carriage house where Wyatt is graciously letting me  stay. After I crashed his fuck-fest last night, he gladly tossed the  keys at me to the one bedroom refurbished cottage behind his property.  The Golden Oaks Horse Ranch is a boarding facility he runs on the side.  It once belonged to his father, who, as far as fathers go, isn't nearly  the disaster mine happens to be. Nope. My father won't be gifting me a  horse ranch anytime soon-maybe a pile of shit to step in.

I start a fire and settle us on the couch.

"Are you hungry?" I start taking the Chinese food out of the bag, and Annie shakes her head.

She shows me her phone. But please, eat. I don't want you to starve.

"Nope, I'm fine." I move the bags to the table and scoot in close,  twisting my body just enough for her to read my lips. "Tell me something  about you I don't know."

I saw my mom today. She's pretty adamant I get this high-tech implant.  It would require surgery. It's been heavy on my heart all afternoon, but  you managed to take my mind off it. Thank you for that.

"Will this implant help you hear?"

"I think so," she mouths before typing into her phone. I'm a candidate,  so my mother is pretty rabid about it. It stimulates the inner ear,  making sounds richer than other implants. It's basically a sound  processor and a couple of transducers. It blows doors off old-school  implants.                       
       
           



       

A swell of relief fills me. "Annie, you have to do this." I rub her  shoulder, trying to coax her into the idea. Hell, I'd take her there now  to have this done if I could.

She frowns before typing into her phone. You would get along great with  my mother. She looks to the ceiling a moment. But, seriously, I know it  would be a good thing. I'm just not sure if I'm ready for it. I'm a big  chicken when it comes to hospitals. I feel sick just thinking about it.

"I get it." I pull out my phone. When my brother died-I started to black  out as soon as I hit the ER. I'm not a fan of blood or gore, and,  unfortunately, with Ben I got both.

"I'm so sorry," she says in the faintest whisper. Her fingers move  lightning fast over her phone. What you went through is unimaginable. I  couldn't handle losing either one of my brothers. I feel bad when they  act like jerks around you.

"No. They don't." My chest rumbles with a laugh. "Maybe a little." I  squeeze my finger and thumb together and wince. I'm teasing. I'm glad  they're protective of you. I wouldn't want it any other way.

She lifts a shoulder at the thought. Tell me about your family.

My family. I swallow hard, trying to figure out which angle to take on this.

"My dad is-" I clasp my hand to the back of my neck before reaching for  my phone. He's a character. That's putting it mildly. My mother was  divorced, a single mom when she met him. My older brother, Wyatt, this  is his ranch. He's a great guy. I can't wait for you to meet him. I nod  toward the main house. He's a lady's man. That's why he's opted to let  me stay in the guesthouse. My brother, Benji-we were close. We fought  sometimes. Nothing was ever perfect in our lives, but we had each other.

That about sums up my existence in a nutshell with the exception of Olivia. Just the thought of her makes my stomach sour.

Annie holds out her phone. You mentioned that he passed away this last  summer, that was just a few weeks ago. I can imagine how raw your  emotions must be. Do you want to talk about him? Her eyes glitter as  tears threaten to fall.

Just seeing Annie trying to absorb my pain makes it all a little easier to handle.

"He was a nut." True as God. We loved the same things, fishing, hiking.  He wasn't in the band toward the end. When we were little, he'd tell  everyone I was his sister just to piss me off. A laugh bucks through my  chest. He was my buddy. I can't imagine how I'm going to get through  life without him.

Annie sighs as she writes out a reply. Blake-I want you to know that you  can talk to me about Benji anytime you want. I'm here for you. I don't  want you to ever feel like you can't talk about him.

I nod. "Thank you. I'll take you up on that. I appreciate it."

Annie slips over and sits in my lap. A devilish smile rides over her  lips as she taps into her phone. Tell me about the girls in your life.  Every time I turn around, there's a girl trying to climb you.

"Sort of like this?" I give the bottom of her thigh a light tap. And a  genuine laugh trickles from the both of us. Hers still has the volume  turned down. Girls, huh? I don't kiss and tell.

She takes my phone. Can I ask how many there have been?

I take it back. Why do I get the feeling you're not asking about kisses anymore.

Annie bites down seductively on her lower lip and shakes her head. She  wants answers. I consider it for a moment. I know for a fact I'm  knee-deep in double digits.

"Too many." The need to apologize bubbles to the surface. "I'm sorry."

Why? Her brows knit. She looks genuinely perplexed by this.

"Because I wish I waited." I press my lips tight. "I wish I waited for you."

Her mouth opens, and she glances at the door like she might be using it.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I pull up my phone. It's  just-what happened today, that was something that I've never experienced  before. It was amazing. It felt right. Like I've waited for it my  entire life.

The fire snaps a series of aggressive pops, and the room heats up ten times hotter than before.

Annie doesn't move. Her eyes stay fixed on mine. She blinks at her phone  a moment before writing back. Sometimes there are no words.

I pull her chin up with my finger ever so gently. This time I don't ask,  I simply lower my lips to hers and kiss her, slow and easy, like she  were mine. And I'm hoping to God she is.

Annie matches my pace, my passion, my desire for more, with a momentum  that continues to build between us. She rides her hands up my shirt,  gliding her cool fingers over my chest, and it feels like paradise. A  breath escapes me as I pause a moment to smile right over her mouth. Her  hands glide down, landing over the button on my jeans.                       
       
           



       

"Whoa." I pull back and clasp my hand over hers. "Not sure we should move so fast." Words that have never left my mouth before.

"Why?" she whispers. Her forehead creases, her eyes still glazed over with a fresh layer of lust.

"Because"-I cup her face and brush my thumb over her cheek-"if that's  going to happen for us, I want it to be just right. Perfect." I mouth  the words laboriously slow.

Her lips crimp in frustration as she pulls out her phone. It can be perfect tonight.

A laugh rumbles from me. "I don't think it would be perfect tonight."

She gives an incredulous huff. Did I do something wrong?

"What? No." I tap into my phone. You're doing everything right. That's  why I think we should continue in that trajectory. I swallow hard as I  show it to her. I want to make sure your first time is special.

Her brows dig into her forehead with amusement. Do you always make sure your first time with a girl is special?

She's got me there. "No. But you are special." I slow it down so she  doesn't miss a beat. My hands wrap tight around her tiny waist as I pull  her closer to me. "And I want our first time to be just as memorable as  that kiss."

Her gaze falls to the floor. Are you treating me different because of my hearing?

"No." I hold up my hands in surrender. "I swear to you it's not that."  My hands fumble with my phone again. You're special to me, Annie. I  think what's happening between us is special. You asked about other  girls- I close my eyes a moment. "You're in a class all by yourself. " I  annunciate each word carefully. "I wouldn't even compare you to them."

She shifts her body until she's straddling me on either side with her  knees. Annie sinks down over my lap, and my boxers come to life trying  to salute her.

"Annie," her name hisses out of me slow as death. There's nothing I  would like more than to make love to her right now. That event alone  could turn this entire crap year on its head. "This"-I touch her chest  then mine-"is going to happen. But I want to get it right."