“Like how?”
“Well, say you’re a young lad who wants to see his lady love.”
“Lad and lady love?” I asked interrupting him. “Have you been reading my historical romances?”
“Yes, but that’s not what I was thinking about right now.”
“You’re reading my romance books? When?”
“When you’re having your book club meetings with the girls or whatever,” Elijah said with a shrug. “I’m curious about the kind of men you like, so I pay attention to the title of one that makes you squirm and fan yourself. Then I read it when you’re not around. I’ve discovered that none of them have a damn thing on me, so I’m neither jealous nor disapproving. Can I get back to my story now?”
I nodded my head, knowing I looked ridiculous with my mouth gaping open.
“Since you don’t like my fancy, old-fashioned references, I’ll try to bring my story up to the twenty-first century,” Elijah said, looking at me briefly before turning his eyes back to the road. “When a horny teenaged boy wanted to see the teenaged girl of his wet dreams, he had to find inventive ways to sneak over to her house in the middle of the night since she most likely lived several miles away.”
“And her daddy most likely kept a loaded shotgun behind his bedroom door for intruders and horny boys baying at the moon outside his daughter’s window.”
“You’ve read this book then?” Elijah asked.
“And saw the movie.”
Elijah threw his head back and laughed. I was so happy to see no signs of tension in his expression or body language. It seemed like he’d resigned himself to accepting whatever came out of the day rather than trying to predict. “Freckles, if we weren’t pressed for time, I’d take you to my favorite secluded spot overlooking the Oak Run River.”
“Maybe next time,” I said, reaching over and squeezing his thigh. “Tell me how the horny kids met up.”
“Easy,” Elijah said. “They stole their daddies’ tractors and met in the middle of a field somewhere.”
“Is that what you did to spend time with Brandy?”
“Me? No. Our families were great friends, so I never needed an excuse to go over there or have her over. Our families went on vacations together and everything.”
“Oh.” His love for her went back further than I had imagined. I didn’t know why it bothered me so much, but it did. Maybe it was because she got parts of him I could never experience. I’d never be his first for anything. Not his first love, his first wife, and certainly not the woman who’d bear his children. Fuck! I suddenly felt on the verge of tears again which hadn’t happened since I heard the great news about Anthony.
“Jack was the one who stole the tractor to meet his girlfriend.” Elijah quieted suddenly, and I could tell what he was thinking. “Hell, maybe he was meeting Brandy, and I just didn’t know it. Maybe he got a kick out of me playing lookout while he snuck off to fuck my girlfriend.” I could feel Elijah pulling further inside himself while sick ideas played over and over in his brain.
“Elijah,” I said gently. “Does that really matter now? Hasn’t the damage already been done? Even if they had fooled around in high school, what they did as adults was way worse. Stupid kids do stupid things, but adults should know better.”
“I’m so sorry, Freckles.” Elijah pulled his truck over to the side of the road and reached for me. I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid across the bench until I was right beside him. “I used to think not having a center console in this old beast was a terrible thing until the time you rode me to a delicious orgasm behind the strip mall after hours.”
“We’re a little out in the open, so I’ll just stay in the middle seat if that’s all right with you?”
“Fine, but on the way home, I might be dragging you off to the river after all.” Elijah placed his warm palm on my thigh. I pressed my legs together trying to calm the shiver of longing vibrating through my core. “I made my peace with losing Brandy a very long time ago. Our marriage never would’ve survived for more reasons than her unfaithfulness. What I resent more than anything was losing my brother and my father, two people I loved dearly. Jack and I weren’t just brothers, we were best friends, just like Milo and you. That’s the betrayal I can’t get past, along with my dad siding with them. I really hope you believe me and know I’m with the woman I want, and my pain and humiliation are not an indication of wishing I could have someone else.”
“I know,” I said, twisting in my seat to cup his face. “There’s no faking the love and adoration I see in your eyes. Trust me, baby; I know a thing or two about faking it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not with you,” I said, rushing to clarify. “I’ve told you that you were the first man to give me an orgasm, and I’ve never had to fake anything with you. I guess that response just popped out after my conversation with my mom today.”
“Do I want to know why you and your mom were discussing faking it in the first place?”
“It’s nothing bad,” I assured him. “In fact, it’s quite hilarious.” I recounted the story word for word while we were parked by the side of the road. When I was done, Elijah was howling with laughter.
“I love that woman, Freckles.” He wiped the tears from his eyes. “I especially love the subtle way she worked in that your dad is good in bed.”
“Oh God! I didn’t pick it up until you mentioned it. Eww, Elijah!” I slid back to my original seat and buckled my seatbelt. “Let’s get on with the show, so I can think about something else right away.”
It turned out, Elijah had pulled over half a mile from his parents’ house which was a lovely, two-story farmhouse like the ones I’d been admiring for the past hour. “It’s so beautiful,” I said in awe.
