I blink, then let my lips split in a grin. Rowe’s giant figure blocks out the sun as he steps up to the fence and drapes the saddle blanket over the top post. He takes my cheek into his hand and cranes my head back, kissing me in that same rough, possessive way that I can’t get enough of. I run a hand up the back of his damp work shirt and sigh, relaxed.
“I prefer this to staring,” I murmur.
His chuckle is low and rough as he retreats. “Yeah, you do.”
“Don’t act like you’re not obsessed with me.”
“Is that what you are? Obsessed with me?” he taunts, wrapping my braid around his knuckles.
I let him tilt my head to the side, unable to hide the pleasure I get from being manhandled by him. “Maybe. Or I could just want to keep you around for your huge dick.”
“Right. Make sure to tell that to your brother when he asks why my hands are all over you tonight.”
“I was already planning on it.”
He gives my exposed throat a few lingering kisses before backing up and releasing my braid. I lean further into the fence,drawn toward him in a way I couldn’t begin to try and make sense of. The distance is minuscule, but it still feels too far.
“You’re a brat, Tilly. Gonna turn my head grey far too early.”
“I expect that change will take some time. Years, maybe,” I say carefully, keeping the real question I want to ask trapped inside.
Do you plan on sticking around long enough for it to happen?
His eyes tighten at the corners as he sweeps them over my face. “I assume so. Keep playing these coy games with me and it’ll happen quicker.”
“I’m not playing games.”
With a disbelieving chuff, he grabs the blanket. “Go get your ass in the truck, then. I’ve gotta shower before we go, unless you want to share a tent with me like this.”
“Not a fat chance. You smell like a bucket of manure.”
“You flatter me,” he grunts.
“Isn’t that one of the reasons you love me so much?”
It comes out so easily, so innocently, that I almost miss it. I’m halfway turned away from the fence when it finally sinks in. My cheeks flame with heat as I clear my throat and let the words die on their own. I don’t look at him, and when the gate creaks open, he joins me without a word, an answer not coming anytime soon.
I want to reach for his hand as we walk across the road, but I chicken out. A familiar sense of heat finds it a beat later. Thick, strong fingers curl through mine as Rowe holds my hand, soothing every doubt springing to life in my head.
He may not have spoken, but I got the answer I needed for now.
35
ROWE
May 13th
Hi, Rowe,
Hey, Rowe,
Rowe,
Long time no write. I didn’t mean to take so long to reply, but I guess I was too nervous to send this to you. It’s been two months I think since your letter came in, and trust me, I’ve written a thousand replies back to you already. They always end up floating in the lake.
My trip was good. I spent three weeks there. My savings are gone, but I think it was worth watching my money disappear. I love it there, Rowe. Honestly.
I met a few people while I was over there. Not too many, and fuck knows I wasn’t really looking for friends.They’re nice enough and helped show me around the town. Mahone Bay is where I went, and it was everything I thought it would be. You’d have hated all the tourists there, even if you’d have been one, too. There are two photos with this letter. Both are just random, but maybe you’ll get a kick out of them. I had one of the girls I met take the first one during my first beach trip. The second I took myself, so don’t mind the terrible selfie angle.
