I did…
“But for clarification, the skills don’t matter as much as the person. She wasn’t you. That’s the most honest answer I can give that explains it. Seeing you in front of me like that, feeling your mouth on me, shit, you could have totally fucked that up and I still would have given you the top spot. Sex is sex, but intimacy with someone who matters will always be the best there is.”
I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Oh, you’re good.”
“I’m honest.” He delivered a few soft kisses before his tongue joined the party. I leaned into his chest and brought my armsup around his neck, taking a little more of him, which Ro didn’t seem to mind.
“You’re full of shit is what you are,” I said after we separated.
“I’m a man who knows better than to put myself in that type of situation, but, I meant what I said.Youare the reason it was the best I’ve ever had.”
“Okay fine, I’ll let you have that. Best Christmas memory.”
He considered the question for a minute. “When I was nineteen. It was the Christmas before I lost my parents. They had a holiday rodeo and that was my first time competing in something big. My mom was a gotdamn wreck trying to pretend like she was okay seeing me in the arena, knowing how dangerous it was. My dad was proud as shit, bragging to everyone about how his son was going to take it all.”
“Did you?”
“Fuck no,” he laughed. “I was young as hell, just figuring out my rhythm, and got thrown off. I only lasted five seconds but that was the first and only time they had ever seen me compete. They kept promising to go but never got the chance.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry, Reece. I love my parents, I miss them like crazy, but I’ve learned how to deal with not having them.” He lifted a hand and tugged at one of my coils, wrapping it around his finger. “Best Christmas memory.”
“Easy, best and worst are the same.”
“Let me get that. This sounds interesting.”
“I was sixteen and had a bad breakup…”
“You said no man had ever broken your heart.”
“They didn’t. He crushed my pride by telling me he needed to focus on football two days before he was focused on Lindee who he took to the winter dance after he had already promised to take me. And he was a boy, a very childish and stupid boy, not a man.” I rolled my eyes and Ro chuckled.
“Okay, so now it makes sense.”
“What makes sense?”
“That thing with you and Lindee the other night at Forty Acres.”
I shrugged. “There was no…thing. She stays away from anyone I’m interested in and she doesn’t have to get these hands.”
“But you weren’t interested in me,” he said with a cocky grin, knowing good and damn well I was more than interested.
“That’s a lie but I’ll let you pretend you didn’t know what type of time I was on.”
“Aight, finish the story.” He smirked
“I was a typical sad teenager who thought the world was ending. I moped around for the rest of Christmas break, and when Melvina brought a cake to my dad for Christmas, I decided it would make me feel better. I ate the whole damn thing, like the whole thing in one day. He was gone visiting another rancher about some cattle and wasn’t coming back until that night. I knew he’d be pissed about me eating his cake because it was his favorite. I decided I would make one because how damn complicated could it be to make a gingerbread pound cake.”
“I’m assuming it’s not that simple.”
“Nope, not at all. Not without the secret recipe. I royally messed it up, then called crying to Melvina who I thought would just bring me another but she didn’t. She pulled up with everything I needed and put me to work. Took me three tries before I got it right but I’m now a master at her famous gingerbread pound cake.”
“That’s funny as shit.”
I frowned. “It really wasn’t. She cursed me out and I was sick as hell from eating a whole cake. Not a good time.”
“I’m surprised you still like it.”
