Page 27 of Promise Me Never

“Thank you.” She rounds the front of the truck and stops in front of me, placing her palm on my stomach. She rises on her toes and presses a kiss to my lips. “I know we’re not a thing, but this makes me feel special.”

“This is what you should expect.” I open the back door for Charlie to jump down. She scampers off into the flowers to explore. “Wait here for a second.”

I walk back to retract the truck bed cover. A few things have shifted on the drive, so I do a quick rearrangement of the pillows and blankets. When I look back at her, she’s leaning against the hood of the truck watching the final moments of the sunset.

She hasn’t noticed me yet, so I pull my phone and snap a quick photo while she’s not paying attention. I can’t explain the urge or why I indulged it. This isn’t a real date, I’m only showing her what she should expect.

“Come here.” I extend my hand to her, linking our fingers loosely as she takes it.

“Oh my god,” she exclaims as she sees the setup in the truck bed. She hoists herself up onto the tailgate and scoots back into the pillows and blankets. Her eyes meet mine full of wonder. “You are blowing my mind tonight.”

“Just wait.” I give her a wink and go back for the basket of snacks and drinks. I whistle for Charlie, worried about her straying too far from the truck and getting lost in the dark. She comes running with her tongue lolling to one side. I toss a rubber bone into the back seat, and she leaps up after it, settling in on her bed. The night air is already cooling, but I’ve left the windows cracked, too.

I drop the basket in the bed and join her, arranging pillows to get comfortable. I pull out two mason jars filled with strawberry lemonade and hand her one. She lets out an excited gasp when I unwrap the loaf of sourdough and tear a chunk off for her. “Linda’s recipe is the best. She made the lemonade, too.”

She moans as she takes the first bite. “This is so good. It’d be on the menu for my last meal, too.”

“Right?” I set out some cut fruit and cubed cheese.

She looks around at everything and gives her head a slight shake. “You know you didn’t have to go to all this trouble, right? I’m kind of a sure thing.”

“This was no trouble.” I point at the food between us. “Eat. I have more planned for us.”

After we finish snacking and sipping, I move the food to the side and lie down on my back. The sun has set, and the night is dark aside from thousands of stars. I check my watch to see how much longer and realize it’s later than I thought. The night has flown by, and the meteor shower I brought her out to watch should be starting soon.

“Lay down with me.” I open my left arm for her to snuggle up against me. I get a whiff of her scent as she slides her body down beside mine, hints of rose and strawberry that make me want to bury my nose in her neck and drown in her.

“What are we doing?” She’s stiff beside me, lying straight as a board.

I shift myself toward her and place my hand on her lower abdomen. She’ll have to get used to my touch before I even consider sex. I twine a lock of her hair around my fingers on the other hand until I feel her body start to relax.

“A meteor shower is supposed to be visible any time now. That’s why we’re out here.”

“Really?” Her eyes widen as she looks up at the sky.

I don’t know what I enjoy more, her eyes on me or her being distracted so that I can take in her features without feeling like a creep. I already have the faint smattering of freckles on her cheeks and nose memorized. Now I can turn my attention to the shape of her lips, the bottom one is so plump it begs to be bitten.

The dainty chain she chose to wear tonight couldn’t be more perfect; it’s gold with three tiny stars woven in. With each breath she draws, they flash with reflected light from the starry sky above. She shivers when I trace them with my fingertips.

“Is this okay?” I ask quietly.

“Yes.” Her eyes meet mine. “You can touch me anywhere.”

My cock twitches against my leg, bucking at the tight confines of my jeans. It’s just going to have wait until I get home and can fuck my fist. I drag the back of my fingers up the slope of her tits, tracing along the edge of her dress. Goosebumps ripple across her flesh.

“Are you cold?” I ask, fully aware that it’s my touch causing that reaction but wanting to be a gentleman.

“No.”

“Let me know if that changes. We have a ton of blankets.”

“You’re throwing off a lot of heat, to be honest.” Her eyes widen quickly. “Look,” she exclaims pointing up. “I just saw a shooting star.”

Reluctantly, I turn my attention from her to the sky. It’s only supposed to last forty minutes and max out at about one shooting star per minute. Taking in this phenomenon this way is exactly why I could never live in a big city.

“This is incredible,” she says quietly. “You can only see like five stars total in LA.” She turns her body toward me. “Thank you.”

Her lips cover mine, softly moving over them in a shy kiss. I give her control of this moment, following her lead. Her fingers slide under my t-shirt as she deepens the kiss. I cup the column of her neck, reveling in the smooth skin beneath my palm.

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