Page 157 of Always You

She shakes her head.

“No. I just haven’t been back there since—” she whispers, fiddling with her fingers as she stares out of the window. “Well, since that day.”

Her eyes lock with mine, the pain laced there before she gives me a sweet smile. It guts me that I hurt her. That I brought her so much pain. The tension in the cab rises, and I suck in a deep breath, then make a bold move by laying my hand on her neck, hoping she won’t shut me down.

“Neither have I,” I confess, as I rub the back of her neck with my thumb, a comforting feeling settling inside me, grateful she’s letting me touch her.

“You haven’t?” She frowns.

“No. Didn’t feel right to go without you after that day. The creek is our spot. But the quarry… the quarry is special.”

Because you are special.

I let go of her neck, not wanting to push my luck, putting my hand back on the wheel.

“But that’s your family spot.”

“I know.” I shrug. “But my mom ain’t gonna come with me, and I don’t want to share that spot with anyone but family.”

“I’m family?” She frowns, a spark of hope in her voice that bursts my heart into flames.

“You’ve always been more than that, Charls.” Fixing my attention back on the road, we continue the ride in silence as she keeps staring out of the window.

I realized a lot of things in the last few months. One of those things is how important Charlotte has always been to me. Ever since the accident, I’ve felt alone, nothing more than an orphan trying to get through life. My mom didn’t give a shit about anything other than the bottle in her hand, and she made me feel like a burden on a daily basis. I knew I wasn’t worthless, but I felt damn alone trying to survive in a violent household.

Until Charlotte.

She changed my world in so many ways. She gave me the feeling I wasn’t alone. She gave me the feeling I was enough. She made me feel loved. She changed me, taught me to always keep going, and to never give up hope. She taught me life isn’t black and white for anyone, and even though my mom treated her like shit, she always tried to make me look at the good memories that my mom was a part of.

She’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, and from that first day at the creek, I knew I didn’t want a life without her. I’m the luckiest bastard in the world that she gave me even an ounce of her attention, and I know that now. It took me seven years to actually man the fuck up and admit it, but I refuse to live without her.

She’s my family.

Whether she likes it or not.

Fifteen minutes later, I park in front of the path and we both exit the truck. Grabbing my bag, I walk to the tailgate, then follow Charlotte as she slowly starts the walk to the quarry. The dawn is completely set, but the humidity of the trees around us chills my bare arms. The peace in the woods calms my senses, a satisfying smile forming on my lips at the sight in front of me. I stare at the back of her wavy dark blonde hair in silence, admiring her luscious curves. She’s matured over the years, becoming less girl and all woman. I noticed every time I’d see her again, but always tried to push it away because of our‘just friends’agreement, thinking we could never work, both living on different sides of the country. This time I’m only holding back because she still has a boyfriend, but I have every intention of feeling that peachy ass under the palms of my hands before these eight dates are over.

“Stop staring at my ass.” She stops, her hands on her sides, turning her body toward me, then takes a step back to let me pass her.

“I wasn’t staring at your ass,” I lie with a smirk, strolling closer.

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes, and I take another step, crowding her personal space. Her gaze grows big, and I notice her swallow hard before her lips part when our faces are only three inches apart.

“I wasn’t staring.” My breath is fanning her face. “I was thinking about how much I’m gonna enjoy feeling that sweet ass in my palms again.”

“Hunter! What is wrong with you?”

She slaps my chest with a shocked scowl on her face, mixed with an excitement that makes me laugh. She’s failing if she thinks she's selling her indignance.

“Just voicing the inevitable, babe.” I lick my lips, then softly brush past her, leaving her frozen in the same spot.

“Stop flirting with me,” she growls, following in my tracks with big stomps.

“Not gonna happen, Charls.”

“You’re impossible!”

“Yup,” I retort, popping my ‘P’, making it softly echo through the woods, a smile plastered on my face.

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