I pressed the button she’d shown me earlier, and her image popped up. There was photo after photo of her smiling at the camera, atme.
“I agree,” I said quietly.
“Agree with what?”
I looked down at her, but her eyes were still on the screen. “You don’t look that great.” She looked up at me in confusion until I continued. “You look… like a tall drink of water on a hot summer day.”
“That’s cheesy,” she said, though her cheeks pinked at the mention.
“Maybe, but it’s true. You’re the most gorgeous person I’ve ever laid my eyes on, and none of these photos could ever do you justice.”
We stood there, just existing in the words I’d laid out between us. I hadn’t realized until now how close we were.
“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. Even so, I could feel the words lassoing around us, pulling us closer.
I wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but soon the camera was forgotten, and my lips were on hers.
It was timid at first, neither of us sure if we were doing the right thing, but it felt like watching the flowers bloom for the first time.
I deepened our kiss, needing to taste her further. She was sweet like the honey she’d had earlier, but there was another flavor that was uniquelyher.
Her arms came around me, and I was sure to move the camera to the side to pull her closer, feeling her warm body against mine. She was much smaller than me, small enough that I was easily able to put my hands beneath her thighs and lift her into my arms.
Her legs came around me easily, like they belonged there, pressing her entire body even closer, and it still didn’t feel like enough. I wanted our clothes gone; I wanted to feel her skin against mine.
Eventually, we had to pull away, and I was breathless, so was she. That moment seemed to bring us back to reality, where she was my auditor and we were so different.
I let her slide down my body, feeling her close one last time before she retreated. I took her camera off my neck and handed it back.
“Hm… Should we head to the next field?” I asked.
She nodded but didn’t say anything as she turned away and headed back to the truck.
Chapter twelve
Sydney
“I’m going to runand grab Chicken if you want to get comfortable,” Brooks said as he dropped me off in front of his house.
I nodded in silence and hightailed it out of the truck as if it were on fire. When I got inside, I kicked off my shoes and fled to the guest room. As soon as the door was closed behind me, I threw myself onto the bed, tossed my head into the pillow, and screamed. Was it potentially dramatic and the most 90s thing I’d ever done? Yes, but I was finally able to express myself in some way after being trapped with Brooks all day.
After our kiss in the field, I realized how truly fucked I was. I kissed the man whose farm I was meant to bring to ruin. How fucked up was that?
Even so, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way his lips tasted on mine. He wassucha good kisser. I was no stranger to being kissed, but it had neverfeltlike that.
Like the bees had stopped buzzing, the breeze had stopped blowing, and the world had stopped spinning. It felt good and free, in a way I’d never felt before.
I had always wanted to feel free, but there was always something holding me back, and it was usually money. It was why I worked so hard to get where I was and still strived for more. However, being here and kissing Brooks gave me the feeling I’d been chasing all this time.
What does it mean?
And what can I do about it?
My head was a mess.
As I was praying for the bed to open up and consume me whole, I heard the door open and the distinct sound of webbed feet slapping the hard floors.
I also listened as Brooks shuffled around. He was doing something in the kitchen, then moved down the hall toward his room. I watched the light shift from under the door as he walked by. It was a bit odd to listen to him clicking around instead of the padding sound human feet made, but I was becoming accustomed to it. It seemed I was becoming accustomed to everything that had to do with Brooks Hoffman.
