“We don’t have any music.”
“We don’t need any.” She steps back and holds out her hand to me, palm up in an offering. “Dance with me.”
I place my palm in hers, and she tugs me closer to her body once again, putting her other hand on the meat of my hip and directing my hand to land on her shoulder. Our hats shade us from the sun as we sway, dancing to some tune she’s got going on in her head.
I find comfort in the knowledge she seems just as invested in what’s happening between us. I figured I’d be alone in my heartbreak.
Addison steps back from me, extending her arm and swinging me out, then back into her, wrapping her arms around my waist and planting the most achingly sweet kiss on my cheek. She twirls me back out and spins me around.
I relish the moment and can’t help the giddy giggle that bursts out of me. Addison’s eyes glimmer as a smile pulls at her lips, and she spins me into her once again. This time, when my body presses up against hers, our mouths meet. Her warm lips skim across mine—a barely there brush, but it lights me up inside and makes my heart want to burst.
She pulls back and, like she can’t help it, places a quick kiss on my nose, and sighs. “Thank you for dancing with me, Sunshine.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for spending the day with me, even if it was borin?—”
She cuts me off by placing her fingers over my lips. “Nothing with you is ever boring. It was an honor to watch your process. I didn’t want to be anywhere else, only with you.”
What am I supposed to say to that? I don’t know what to do with all the feelings bubbling up inside me, threatening to break free, so I tip up on my toes and kiss her instead, putting everything I can’t say into it.
I’ve been doing it a lot lately, and I have a feeling I’ll be doing it more frequently.
“Do you want to get back to painting?” she asks when we break apart.
I shake my head. “I’ve done what I needed today. We can head back, take a lazy trail ride.”
“I hope you have a pair of pants to go under your dress. The last thing you need is chafed thighs.” Her voice lowers, and her next words send a shiver down my spine, "Especially since I plan to be between them all night.”
I roll my eyes even as my face heats again. “I do. I just don’t like trying to paint in jeans. The dress gives me more freedom to move around. You forget I literally work on a ranch. I know proper horse riding attire.”
“I know you do, but the panic I felt when I first saw you…” She shakes her head. “I was worried you were neglecting your own safety, and I can’t have that.”
For fuck’s sakes, can this woman not make me swoon for five seconds? “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself, but I appreciateyour worry.”
Addison grumbles something that sounds like “Well, I’ll worry whether you want me to or not.”
She laces our fingers together again and leads me back to the blanket and our things.
She gives the horses an apple while I pack up my supplies, and when I slip my jeans on, she secures everything in place. As I mount Daffodil, I glance back at the field of colorful buds again, knowing that even though I’ll be back, it’ll never feel like it did today.
By the time we get back and untack and groom the horses, it’s close to dinner. Part of me doesn’t want to join the rest of the crew. Since it’s my day off, I’m not obligated to, but I don’t know if Addison wants to or not. I know Iwant to shower and get the paint off my fingers, but she may have other things to do.
“I’m going to go shower before dinner,” I say once we’ve put away all the gear. “I’ll meet you there?”
Addison steps into my space. “What if… I grab a change of clothes and join you? Then we can head to dinner together.”
“I’d like that a lot.”
“Good. Me too. Leave your front door unlocked and be waiting for me in the shower when I get there.” She presses a kiss to my lips before leading me out of the tack room.
We walk together toward the main house, and when she goes inside, I scurry up the path behind it to my place. My heart races like it’s the first time all over again, just like every time we’re together.
While we have sleepovers every weekend, we’ve never had a middle-of-the-day tryst, and we haven’t showered together sincethe night after The Mule. Addison usually gets ready for bed at the main house, then sneaks over once everyone is asleep.
Showering together feels so intimate.
Even if I know that’s ridiculous. We’ve had our heads between each other’s thighs, but washing each other is too much?
Get it together, Juniper.
