“So I’m the first guy you’ve ever brought home?” He runs a hand through his blond hair and lets out a sigh. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
“Don’t worry. They’re going to love you, trust me.” Of that, I have no doubt. I’ve only talked to him twice now, and I can tell Sam has that unnamable quality that draws people in. On top of that, he’s shy and sweet and wants desperately to please people. My mom and Sophia are going to love him.
Dad will like him too. Though I’m not sure how well he’ll show it.
My throat tightens again, and I try to concentrate on all the mile markers flying by outside Sam’s window. Dad and Iused to be so close. Until the night I called Colt to come get me from a party, and he got hit by a drunk driver doing eighty in a forty zone. I know Dad blames me. I blame myself. I shouldn’t have snuck out and gone to that thing.
I take a breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm my nerves. The tension between me and Dad is one of the big reasons why I don’t visit more often. I can barely live with my own blame; feeling Dad’s on top of it is suffocating.
“Are you okay?” Sam asks softly.
“Mmhmm.” It sounds like a lie.
Sam must think so too because he says, “Do you mind if we stop for a few minutes? I want some coffee.”
“Yeah, sure.” I take the next exit with a sign for a coffee shop and pull into the lot. We’re about halfway to Huntsville already. I check my phone as we get out of the car to find several messages from Mom, all telling me to be safe and text her when I can. She always worries when she knows one of us is on the road. I’m sure Sophia got it too, and she only lives thirty minutes from them.
I pull the door open and step back to let Sam through first. As the door falls shut behind us, I can’t help lowering my gaze to watch the way his jeans hug his tight ass as he walks. And I’m pretty sure he’s completely unaware of how cute he is.
When we get up to the counter, I pay for our coffees, even though Sam’s reaching for the wallet in his back pocket.
“I can pay for my own stuff,” Sam says, defensiveness creeping into his voice.
“When I’m dating a guy, I pay for his stuff. Period.” It’s not something I’m willing to budge on. I have the money to take care of whoever I’m seeing, so I’m going to. It’s not like I expect anything in return. Though maybe that’s what Sam thinks.
When we move out of the way to let the next person in line up to the counter, I say, “It’s not coming out of the price wediscussed yesterday. I just like doing nice things for the guys I date, all right?”
He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t glare at me either, so that’s progress. Instead, he looks around the coffee shop, staring at the Christmas tree in the corner before moving onto the holly wreath on the window and the mistletoe above the door.
“Maybe we should kiss,” he says, turning back to me. A blush rises in his cheeks, but he keeps going. “I just . . . I know I’m going to be really uncomfortable if I kiss you for the first time in front of your family. It’s, um, it’s been a while for me.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” As if I need any kind of reason to get my mouth on his.
I reach out and put a hand on his hip so I can draw him close, but I don’t kiss him immediately. I wait, letting him take a breath. He’s not afraid, but I can feel the nervousness rolling off him. He mentioned something about high school back in the car. Is that how long it’s been since he’s kissed someone too?
When he lifts his gaze to meet mine, I lower my head, intending the kiss to be something chaste and quick. But the second his lips are on mine, it ignites a burning heat in my chest that I can’t push away.
His lips are soft under mine, pliant and yielding instantly. That tough exterior he keeps up to protect himself seems to melt away. He’s so trusting. Vulnerable. When I open my mouth to tease his tongue with my own, he lets out a soft moan that I swear I could live off for days.
When he pulls away, I feel the loss in my chest. Like a stab of pain I’m not sure how to treat.
“They called your name,” Sam says. His eyes are wide, his cheeks flushed.
I glance up to find our coffees sitting at the end of the counter in the pick-up zone. When I grab the to-go cups, my fingers feel numb around them.
I don’t even remember what I ordered. Or where the fuck I parked the car outside. The only thing I know for certain is that I need to get my mouth back on Sam as soon as possible.
Six
Sam
I hope Dalton couldn’t tell how little experience I had with that kiss. It’s been almost an hour since we left the coffee shop, and he hasn’t brought it up. I haven’t either. I can’t believe I moaned like that. Did it embarrass him? I can’t let myself do that in front of his family.
When he pulls into a long, circular driveway, I do my best not to stare up at the huge house. It’s decorated for Christmas, with wreaths in every window, icicle lights hanging from the roof.
Dalton had mentioned he came from money, but he made it sound like they were in the well-to-do category. Not the own-a-mansion category.
“You grew up here?”
