“Your ass is so gorgeous, I might have to rim it one of these days,” he teased.
“I love being rimmed, and I’m sure you would be fantastic at it,” I said, tugging him under the shower.
He squealed at the initial icy blast, then melted against me as the water heated.
“Oh my God, this has the best water pressureever.”
We made out under the shower—because apparently, we hadn’t made out enough—then rinsed off. I grabbed the fluffy towels I had set aside for drying off from the pool and we stood there toweling off, comfortable enough to take awkward positions, getting to all our crevices and creases. After that, I slid open the glass wall, letting us into the chilly house. Rowdy shivered, then raced to the bed, diving under the covers asquickly as he could. I laughed and joined him, bringing him in close, rubbing his back and ass to warm him up.
“I could get used to this,” he said, reaching up to kiss my chin.
“Me too, sweetheart.”
Me too, my love.
I wokeup the next morning as the sun filled the room. Rowdy had gone, and on his pillow was a note written on the back of an old envelope.
I had to get up early for the animals, but I’m pretty sure you changed my life last night. I’ll be out on the land all day, but I hope to see you soon. XOXO, R.
I pressed my lips to the words. His wasn’t the only life that was changed last night.
27
ROWDY
Woody didn’t likeit when I texted and rode, but he, Emery, and Stevie had gone out to the livestock show and rodeo, and I was holding down the fort. Besides, Huck could practically make these rounds by himself.
Kess:
Kess: I hated waking up alone, but then my sexy boyfriend left me this sweet note.
Me: It was a good thing I got out of there early. Between the pool water and going to sleep with my hair wet, I was a hot mess.
Kess: Even with bed head you’re still sexy.
I knew he was just saying that, but it felt nice. I was close to the summit of the property, and it was a gorgeous day outside, so I took a landscape picture, then a selfie, and sent them to him.
Kess: Gorgeous. And the landscape ain’t half bad, either.
Me: Keep talking to me like that and it’ll go to my head.
Kess: I was aiming a little lower.
Kess:
My cheeks heated with the memory of last night. It wasn’t just the act; it was the way he put all of himself into what he was doing. He’d wanted me to be satisfied. He’d wanted me to come so hard that I nearly blacked out. He’d wanted and participated in everything we’d done, like there was nowhere else in the world he’d wanted to be except right there with me.
I realized, in this moment, that I was comparing Kess to the men who came before. And that was unfair, both because Kess wasn’t those men and because there simply was no comparison.
I hadn’t been lying last night when I’d said that I wanted him to fuck me. If we had done it in the kitchen, I wouldn’t have felt bad at all. But then, when he said that he wanted me in his bed so that he could take his time with me, I definitely wanted that way more than being fucked up against the counter.
I slept like the dead last night and woke with a smile on my face. It sucked having to disentangle myself from his warm arms, but I left his room feeling good. Feeling like what we had done was special, and that he viewed me as special.
I thought I loved him before, but that was barely more than a crush. Stevie once said, quoting some social media influencer, no doubt, that a crush was just a lack of information. After last night, I knew that to be true. In getting to know Kess, and inbeing truthful enough to finally let him see the real me, my love had only deepened.
I cursed myself for the two years I could’ve been with him, but I’d needed that time to mature, to accept my sexuality as it was, and to get to the right spot in life.
I took one last look at the horizon and understood how Woody could write such beautiful words about it. I had to get on with the rest of my day, but Kess had been right. I would talk to Woody about adding lyrics to the music I was writing.
