“Did you take her to the tree house?” For some torturous reason, I need for him to tell me even though I know I already have my answer.
When I watch his eyes widen, that’s all the confirmation I need. Now I’m the one nodding this time.
“You don’t understand. Yes, I took her there, but with you, it was different,” he rushes out.
“How? How was it different, Wes? I thought that was somewhere special that only we shared,” I reply, looking him square in the eyes. It baffles me to think the tree house was our thing.
“It was. I didn’t decorate it with lights for her like I did you. There was no romantic ambiance set when I took her there. I never cared to do anything like that for a girl… woman… whatever, until I met you.”
My thumbs move back and forth, grazing his knuckles as I sit here and try to process this information. I can cut my losses with him now before I jump all in and possibly get my heart broken, or I can take what he’s saying at face value and trust him.
“Say something?” He pleads, his eyes begging me to say anything at all.
“I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m happy about what happened between the two of you, but I can’t blame you either. I didn’t know you then, or what place you were at in your life at that time. I’m not expecting you to tell me every single person that you’ve slept with, but I do expect you to be honest with me.” I scoot closer to him so that our knees touch. “I think that Jackie would be a lot less bitter toward the whole thing if you apologized to her. I can’t make you, but she needs it, and maybe so do you.” I shrug my shoulders. “And I’m sorry I got worked up about the whole tree house thing. I mean, I care, but she planted this doubt in my head, and I don’t know why I let it affect me. I’m sorry.” I drop my eyes in an attempt to avoid his piercing gaze. I feel foolish for letting that wench get into my head.
“What about us?” he asks quietly. The vulnerability in his tone shakes me to the core.
“We’ll work through it. I can tell that not too many people were thrilled by our little public display of affection earlier, but I don’t care. I like what we have, and I’m not going to let anyone or anything affect that.”
He tugs on my hands and pulls me haphazardly into his lap. His arms bind around me, anchoring me to him. I burst out laughing as my body smashes against the cold, thick mud covering his clothes. “Stop! Wes, stop! You’re getting me all muddy!”
Wes pushes back on his heels with me still wrapped in his arms, and starts towards the stairs. My laughter ceases as my legs circle around his waist, and I wrap my arms around his neck. I hold on to him as he looks up at me. His demanding blue eyes suck me in as everything else fades away. There is no Jackie. Her hurtful words no longer matter. It’s just Wes and me, our gazes locked, not saying a word.
I don’t even realize that we’re in the bathroom until I hear the shower turn on. He loosens his hold and slowly slides me down his body. The sound of the shower curtain being pushed back blends with the sound of the water pelting against the tub floor. He reaches out a hand to me as he steps in. For a second, I debate whether this is the right thing to do, but then I think, screw it, you only live once. I don’t care that we’re dressed. I would follow him anywhere. Cautiously, I take his hand, stepping in with him. Never breaking our gaze, I close the soft fabric, enclosing us in the shower. I still see the wariness in his eyes as he looks at me. I know he thinks that, at any moment, I’m going to bolt. But he’s wrong. I meant every word I said earlier.
Instead of waiting for him to close the distance between us, I take the lead. I place a hand on his chest, walking him backwards through the spray of the shower; his back collides with the wall. Our clothes cling to us like a second skin. I can feel my hair stick to the sides of my face. My eyes search his. I watch as the water turns from clear to light brown, mixing with the mud as it cascades down his face, caressing his perfectly shaped cheekbones, nose, lips, and jaw line. I grip his shirt tight in my hands as I lean into him. His strong hands come up to cup my face. My eyes flutter close at the contact.
“I’m so sorry, Kenleigh. You have no idea.” He peppers kisses all over my face. “Look at me, please,” he whispers against my lips.
“I’m not a man who gets scared very often, but I was going crazy out there, thinking that you and I were done. Especially when we just got started.” He leans down and rests his forehead against mine. His eyes close for a moment as he takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes before adding, “I don’t know what it is that we’re doing, but I like it. I feel free, liberated. I’m happy when I’m with you. You make me want to be a better man. I can’t explain my feelings for you, but I know they’re growing stronger and stronger each day, and I do not want that feeling to end.”