I wasn’t sure what came over me, but I dropped to my knees and took him into my mouth. I could taste the mixture of him and me, and it caused me to moan.
“Ohfuck,” he swore, his hands sliding into my hair. “Viv, I don’t think I can…”
His words faded off as I took him deeper. It was the first time I’d ever done this, but I remembered my friend Elsie in high school giving us all a demonstration on how to givea guy a blow job, using her mother’s cucumbers she’d just gotten out of her garden that very day.
“Viv…shit. Viv, what in the hell is happening? Oh fuck, I’m coming again!”
I felt his hot seed hit the back of my throat, and I swallowed quickly as I kept working him. It didn’t taste very good, and that made me wonder if he liked the taste ofme. But I pushed the thought away and kept working him until he took me by my shoulders and pulled me up.
“Shit. That felt…I didn’t think I could… You drive me fucking mad with desire, do you know that?” he asked, smiling at me.
“Maybe you could return the favor.”
He grinned. “I thought you were snacky?”
Taking his hand, I led him toward my bedroom. “It can wait.”
The rest of November and the beginning of December were crazy with school and work. I’d picked up as many extra shifts as possible so I could put money away to buy gifts for Ladd’s family. He’d told me no one would expect a single thing from me, but it wouldn’t feel right not to buy them anything.
The downside to all the working and school was that I hadn’t had time to go shopping for said gifts. I was hoping Ladd wasn’t steering me wrong when he said I could shop in River Falls or the next town over.
“Are you excited to see the ranch?” Ladd asked.
“I’m excited to see it all! The town, the ranch, your childhood stomping grounds.”
He laughed. “River Falls is one of a kind.”
We were five miles out from town, and I was dying to see what it looked like. Ladd talked about his hometown a lot, and I knew it meant the world to him. The drive was insanely beautiful. We had lucked out with clear skies and no snow, but the surrounding mountaintops and some of the fields were covered in snow. It was stunning against the clear blue sky.
“Where do you think you’ll want to open your sporting goods store?”
He looked my way and smiled before focusing back on the road. “I’d like for it to be as close to Main Street as possible, if not on Main Street. There’s a large building at the corner of Main and Mountain View that now houses a department store. According to a friend of mine, whose father works on the city council, their lease is up next year, and they don’t plan on renewing. The current family isn’t interested in taking over the store that their grandparents have run for years. That could be my chance. I’ve got my business plan ready to go, and I can tweak if need be.”
“And your father’s still okay with you wanting to open a store and not work on the ranch?”
He let out a soft sigh. “He’s supportive, and I can’t ask for anything more than that. I’m sure he would love for me to work full time on the ranch, but he also understands I have a dream I want to follow, so he won’t hold me back from that.”
I glanced down at my hands that were folded in my lap. “You’re lucky you have supportive parents.”
Ladd reached for my hand and laced his fingers with mine. “You know, Viv, you can tell me what happened with your parents. I wouldn’t hold any judgment against you or them.”
I closed my eyes. “It’s not that easy, Ladd.”
“Why not? Did they do something bad to you?”
Turning, I stared out the window as the scenery raced by. A river was running adjacent to the road, and I wondered if it was the same river that ran through the River Falls Ranch.
Seeing a change of topic at my disposal, I said, “Does this river run through your family ranch?”
“It does, yes. The river is called River Falls.”
Something felt strange between us, and I knew I needed to address it. I could only push him away so many times when he asked about my parents.
“I want to tell you, Ladd. I really do, and there have been so many times I’ve tried to tell you, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.”
He nodded and quickly looked my way. “You know that nothing that has ever happened to you in your past could make menotlove you.”
I closed my eyes and whispered, “I know. And I love you for that.”
