Page 35

“Hey,” she says softly.

I pause a few feet away. I’m on my way to the barn to meet up with some of the wranglers. We’re heading out to ride the fenceline and do some repairs. I’m fresh off rolling out of bed, getting in the shower early and jerking off again. A hint of guilt blossoms in my chest. She’s so sweet, so unassuming. Is it wrong to want her so badly?

“Hey,” I say.

“So what do you think of Maxwell Ranch now that you’ve been here a while?” she asks.

“I think it’s a real nice place. Got a good manager.”

Her face flushes, and she lifts her coffee to take a sip, covering her expression for a moment.

“Manager with benefits,” she says under her breath.

“Scuse me?”

“I’m just saying.” She tosses her hair, looking right at me. Is she flirting? “I might be a good manager to you because you got a little something on the side.”

I smile, squinting out over the hills. “Yeah, probably shouldn’t have, but I don’t regret it.”

When I look back, her eyes are bright and clear. Beautiful; so pretty, they’re a kick to the chest. I could lie beside her in the early morning and get lost in those. They’re the kind that would find their way into every single song I write.

I want to ask if she’ll do it again. I want to take back what we decided.

How am I supposed to make it all summer in this state?

“What’re you getting at?” I ask, voice dropping.

She shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Cause I don’t think us fucking around is a great idea.”

She considers it, chewing at her lower lip. “Yeah, my dad would definitely throw you out on your ass. Serena wouldn’t. She’d love the drama.”

My chest has a big knot in it, and, down below, I’m wide awake. Carefully, I take the coffee mug from her and set it on the porch railing.

“Care to step around the side with me?” I ask, jerking my thumb.

She doesn’t answer, but she lets me take her hand and lead the way. The west side of the house has no windows and a high wall of hedges, vines crawling up one corner. Nobody can see this side, not unless they’re riding through the pastures, and the wranglers aren’t out that far this early. I should walk away right now. Instead, I pick her up and press her against the brick wall. My fingers dig into her bare thighs. She’s still in her sleep shorts and little lace tank top.

I kiss her, long, deep. She tastes like something I need, like what I’ve been craving late at night.

Her body unfurls. Her nails dig into my shoulder, and one hand scrapes up, weaving in my hair. A little moan sounds in her throat. I wonder if her hand wanders at night too. Does she think about what we did and feel just as restless? When she kisses me back like this, I like to think she tosses and turns too.

We both get carried away. Her hands twist in the front of my shirt. My palm goes from the hard curve of her hipbone to the soft dip of her belly beneath her navel, up to her right breast that sits perfectly in it.

Goddamn, she is perfect.

The world goes hazy. I forget, or I don’t care, that we could be caught. I kiss her until I sense resistance and step back right away. She’s panting, face pink and lower lip a little swollen.

“We have to stop,” she says, eyes flashing.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

She brushes back her hair, tucking her clothes back into place. “I’m not sorry, but I don’t want my family to know. I don’t want them in my business.”

“I get it. I’m not sorry, not like that, but I get it.”

We both stand silent in the far off whir of the air conditioning. The sounds of summer are loud. They remind me once again that I’m only here until summer ends. I only have a few months, and yet they feel like forever. And somehow, now that I’ve laid eyes on Sabrina, they’re not long enough.