Total pages in book: 11
Estimated words: 10631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 53(@200wpm)___ 43(@250wpm)___ 35(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 10631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 53(@200wpm)___ 43(@250wpm)___ 35(@300wpm)
“Be safe, Cal.”
“You too, baby.” I kiss her one more time and leave her to get back to work.
I’m sitting on the tailgate of my truck that’s backed up next to the fire, shooting the shit with a few buddies from high school. Well, I’m pretending to listen to them while I watch my girl and her best friend dance around, acting silly on the opposite side of the fire.
I can’t seem to help myself. When Elena’s not around, she’s all I can think about, and when she’s near, my eyes are glued to her. I waited a long damn time for a chance with her, and now that I have her, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I never want to let her go.
It’s been almost two months since the last field party. The night that changed my life.
I’ve been vocal about her being mine, but I’ve yet to tell her that I’m in love with her. As I watch her dancing, shaking her hips with her hands in the air, spilling the contents of her red Solo up in the process, I know it’s time. I love every single facet of the beautiful woman that she is, and I’m ready for anything and everything she’s willing to give me.
“Sorry, fellas,” I tell my buddies. “I need to dance with my girl.”
Hoots and hollers follow me as I jump off the tailgate and march my way around the fire. Stepping up behind her, I place my hands on her hips and pull her back to my front, burying my face in her neck.
“Cal,” she whispers.
“You were too far away,” I tell her honestly. I’m never holding back from her. Never again.
She turns in my arms and smiles up at me. “You’ve been watching me all night.”
“Can you blame me? Did you see your ass in these shorts?”
Her head falls back in laughter, and the sound washes over me. I never want to lose these moments with her. “Dance with me?”
“Déjà vu.” She smirks.
I wrap my arms around her and tug her to my chest. Her hands wrap around my neck on instinct, and we begin to move. The world around us fades away. It’s just the woman I love and me swaying under the night sky.
I shuffle us gradually to the outside of the group, where it’s just the two of us. We’re still close enough to feel the heat from the fire and have the light from the flames, but it’s more secluded.
I stop dancing and lift her into my arms. She giggles but wraps her legs around my waist, locking her ankles behind my back.
“We’re going to draw an audience,” she says, kissing the corner of my mouth.
“I don’t see anyone but you,” I tell her.
Her eyes dance in the firelight, and I know there will never be a more perfect time to tell her. “I love you, Elena Davis. You own every part of me.”
Tears shimmer in her eyes. “I love you too.”
“Are you ready to get out of here?”
“What? We’re not going to sleep it off in your truck?”
“Hell no. I’m not letting you sneak away from me ever again. Besides, if Dex finds me sleeping in my truck in his field again, he’s bound to pop a blood vessel or something.”
“Stop.” She playfully slaps at my chest. “He’s not that bad.”
“Maybe not, but I’m not chancing it. I want you in our bed tonight, so I can show you over and over again how much I love you.”
“Our bed?” she asks.
“It’s our bed. You might not have agreed to move in with me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I see it as our home. I know you love the house. That’s one of the main reasons I bought it.” When I came back to town to interview, I also looked at the local listings. When I saw this place, I knew I had to buy it. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to make her mine, but something in my guy told me that everything was going to work out. All the time away and waiting was going to be worth it when I got the girl.
“What?” she breathes.
“When you’re ready, you can change your address and share my closet, and then, we’ll work on changing your last name.”
“Cal—”
“Elena.”
She shakes her head as a single tear rolls down her cheek. I lean forward and catch it with my lips. “You okay with that?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m okay with that.”
“Maybe the next time I ask you to dance, it will be at our wedding.”
“My answer will always be yes.” She buries her face in my neck, holding me tightly. I return her embrace with everything I have.
I’m holding my future.
I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.