We stand in silence as, through my eyes, I try to apologize to him for the stupidity of other people.
He lets out a sigh and slightly shakes his head. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Once we’re back in the truck, I reach for his hand, and thankfully, he lets me hold it as we make our way back down the hill and to my apartment.
20
Adam
Since last night was ruined, I invited Sarah to my house tonight for dinner to try to forget about how frustrating that cop had been. After we eat, Sarah helps me in the kitchen, and when it’s Cailin’s bedtime, she comes with me to tuck her in and read her a bedtime story.
Having her as part of our routine feels good. Being able to share these precious moments with someone else makes me almost whole again.
As we exit the room, I run my fingers through hers and nod toward the backyard. Fall is definitely in the air, so I set up the firepit before she arrived.
“Hang with me out back? I have stuff to make s’mores.”
“S’mores?” She giggles in question. “And you’re keeping them from Cailin?”
“She’s had plenty. Tonight, it’s just us. Let me grab the stuff.” I head toward the kitchen, getting what’s needed before opening up the sliding glass door.
A breeze comes over us, making Sarah wrap her arms around her body.
“Don’t worry; I got us blankets too.” I kiss her head and show her the way to the firepit.
After placing the items down, I light the papers I have stuffed between logs to get the fire started. “How do you take your marshmallows? Do you like them burned or just lightly toasted?”
She curls her feet up underneath her while unwrapping the blanket. “I’m not picky.”
Once the fire gets going, I take the graham crackers and place pieces of chocolate on top, setting them next to the fire, and then make my way to where she’s sitting.
“The trick to a good s’more is to get the chocolate melted first,” I say as I motion for her to lean forward, so I can sit behind her and have her cuddle against me.
“Are you a s’mores pro or something?” she teases.
“One of the best. Just wait and see.” I wrap my arm around her front, running my fingers down her arm.
“Did you go camping a lot when you were little?”
A hard laugh escapes my lips before I can stop it. “Yeah, that’s a no.”
She turns slightly to look at me. “Why’d you laugh?”
I pause, remembering the horror that was my childhood and questioning if I should go there.
She takes my silence as my answer. “It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it.” She cuddles more into my side.
Hearing her say it’s okay makes me want to talk about it, to finally open up to someone else.
It’s been years since I’ve been down that road, but I also haven’t had a reason to. I don’t share anything of my life with anyone but Linda and Cailin.
Linda was there, so I haven’t had to tell her anything, and they’re things I never want Cailin to hear. Besides Max, the rest of my bandmates only know what they need to know—it was shitty. Period. A lot of my lyrics are built on my past, so either they don’t ask or they don’t care as long as our success continues as it is now.
I notice the chocolate starting to melt, so I lightly pat her arm, motioning for her to get up so I can start to load the marshmallows on our roasting sticks.
After I have the perfect toast coating each side of the sugary goodness, I place them on the semi-melted chocolate, cover it with another square, and hand one to Sarah.
She takes a bite, and the moan escaping her lips makes my dick stir instantly. I try to ignore it while I take my place back, seated behind her.
