I snuggled as close to Hutch as I could as realization began to set in about my future. I knew Hutch had his insecurities about us being apart, but now I was starting to wonder if my leaving was a good thing. Would he be okay? Would he continue to simply go back to living in that shell he had been under before being with me?
Or would he be able to handle the distance that we both knew was coming.
***
“Hutch.”
“Mmm.”
“I think you’re drunk.”
He snorted as he swayed with me to the music in the sand. Yep, he was drunk because I don’t think he would be dancing with me otherwise. “Not drunk, Jills, just enjoying having you in my arms,” Hutch admitted as we moved together.
Totally drunk. “Liar,” I teased, but I liked it too. I liked how Hutch kept me as close to him as possible like he was afraid I would disappear if he let me go.
After we had cooked up burgers and hotdogs with Pat and Jo, we had made small talk for a bit until Pat suggested we turn on some music. I had no idea that they both had a thing for country music or that my sister enjoyed it as much as she did for that matter, because before I knew, they had me listening to all sorts of musicians I had never heard of before.
“You and tequila,” Hutch murmured as the song played.
God, this man was really doing everything to win me over tonight. “Are you singing to me?” I glanced up at to find Hutch watching me with fire in his eyes. Jesus, he had better be careful with that look.
“You and tequila make me crazy,” he whispered before he brought his mouth down to mine. I tasted the booze on his lips, the desire on his tongue, and the way Hutch’s hands gripped my hips told me everything he couldn’t without words. He was gentle when he had to, but I knew beneath all that, there was a wild man trying to get out, and when he was ready, he would show me just how much he wanted me. “Take me home, baby, I’m drunk.” He giggled softly as he stumbled over the sand.
Yep, I knew that already. “Okay, let me just get your things together,” I told him. “Be careful and don’t hurt yourself.” I moved to gather the bag that Hutch had brought which was sitting on the ground. It had a sweatshirt inside, which I was now wearing, a few bottles of beer, and a package of our favorite peanut butter cookies that we hadn’t even touched.
Jo looked up from where she was sitting with Pat. “You two taking off?” She flashed a quick smile.
“Hutch is, um, a little intoxicated.” I hooked my thumb behind me. “I’ve never seen him like this before.” I turned to watch Hutch look up at the moon and then spin around before landing on his ass. “At least he’s a fun drunk.”
“He usually doesn’t drink this much, but tonight I think he wanted to loosen up a bit. I told you before, Jill, you’ve helped him so much,” Jo reminded me.
“Jills!” Hutch called out my nickname. “Baby, where are you?” He laughed loudly as he tried to stand up.
I glanced at Pat. “You mind helping me? I don’t know if I can get him back up onto his feet.” I might need his help getting him home at this rate.
Pat was on his feet. “Of course.” He walked over to where Hutch was sitting. “Let’s go.” He bent over and helped Hutch back up. “You going to be trouble here, big guy, or are you going to be good for the little lady?”
Hutch grinned. “I’m going to be good, right, bean?” Where was he coming up with this stuff tonight? Right, the booze had gone straight to his brain. “Jillian will make sure I get home safe and sound.” Hutch hiccupped at the last part, which caused him to break out in a fit of giggles.
Pat’s brows dipped as he glanced at me skeptically. “Are you sure you got this?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, but as Hutch moved to put his arm around my shoulders, reminding me that he outweighed me by more than a hundred pounds, I wondered if maybe I was in way over my head. “Let’s get you home.” I gritted my teeth, hoping my knees didn’t buckle. We made it about halfway before Hutch had to stop and inspect some lilies that were blooming in someone’s yard.
He smiled at me as he leaned over. “These...are pretty.” He reached down and yanked them up by the root.
Jesus, we’re going to get arrested tonight. “Hutch, honey, you can’t go doing that,” I whispered loudly. “This is someone else’s yard,” I reminded him.
Hutch grinned at me. “For you.” He thrusted out his hand like a five-year-old. His eyes glittered with happiness. “You know how much you mean to me, right, Jills?” I wanted to ask him the same thing. How he had flipped my world upside down and made me question everything I ever knew, but I didn’t know how.
“Thank you.” I gripped the flowers with one hand before I took his arm to wrap it around my shoulders. “Let’s get going before we get into serious trouble.”
Luckily, we made it back to Hutch’s apartment without any other issues. He grinned at me as he toed off his shoes, threw his shirt onto the couch, and tossed his shorts onto the floor. I made a mental note to never let Hutch have another drop of alcohol again because he was acting like an unsupervised toddler right now.
“Come to bed with me, bean.” He wiggled his index finger at me as he began to walk backward.
“My mouth misses your pussy.” Hutch stuck his tongue out and wagged it like a dog.
My brows shot up. “Wow, you are really fucking drunk.” I grabbed a mug from the cabinet, filled it with water, and placed the flowers he had illegally picked for me inside. “You’re going to pass out the minute your head hits the pillow,” I insisted.
