Page 33 of Bourbon & Bonfires

“Turnip? Why would anyone want to be called Turnip?”

“Why wouldn’t they? The turnip is highly underrated, if you ask me.”

“You eat a lot of turnips, Landon?”

“Nah but I don’t know many people who do. See, underrated.”

I shake my head and laugh as I look out the window. I’m not certain why I bother, it’s far too dark to see anything, but regardless, I know it’s beautiful out. Clear and crisp with a sky full of stars. I’m pulled from my thoughts when Landon parks his truck but leaves it running.

“I’m going to get the fire going really quick, just hang tight.”

Before I can respond, he hops out of the truck and makes his way toward a large pit with various Adirondack chairs surrounding it as well as a few wooden stumps. This must be the bonfire area he mentioned. In only a few minutes, the flames of a fire begin sprouting out in all directions. Turning the radio down, I crack the window a little and can hear the crackle of the flames and smell the smoke.

I’m so enthralled with the flames I don’t hear Landon open my door, and I’m startled. “Oh shit! You scared the living daylights out of me.”

“Sorry. Fire’s going so it’ll be warm near there. I don’t know if you want to grab your coat too. I have a few blankets for us as well.”

“I’ll leave it here and get it if I need it.”

“Well then, let’s get this party started,” he says, offering me his hand. As I hop out of the truck, I see in Landon’s other hand a grocery bag and two metal pokers. I must look confused because when he sets the bag down and pulls out a box of marshmallows he smiles and says, “S’mores. Best dessert for a fire any day of the week.”

“I’ve never had one.”

“Addison Sinclair! If I knew your middle name, I’d use it now. You cannot be serious. Not having a s’more is tragedy; one I’m about to correct.”

Giggling, I sit in a red chair and wait patiently as my date runs back to his truck and turns off the ignition before returning to my side as he begins my education on how to roast the perfect marshmallow. I wish things were different, that I wasn’t so much older than Landon. I wish I didn’t have trust issues. And, I really wish I didn’t want to reach over and kiss him until he begs me to stop.

“Turnip, you want another?” I was joking when told her I planned to call her Turnip, but she didn’t seem to care when I teased her with it earlier. It was the same time her fourth marshmallow caught on fire, and she handed me her stick in defeat.

“If you make me one more, I will not only need to be tested for diabetes, I’ll be ready for a nap.”

“Jameson has a cabin just over there,” I say, gesturing to the far distance where a small cabin sits. “We could stay the night if you want.”

A small smile skirts her face, and I decide to let that comment linger between us. Maybe her willingness to let me call her a silly nickname is a sign she’s moving beyond the age difference she’s brought up multiple times tonight. I know she was trying to prove a point with some of her pop culture references, but she forgets I have two older siblings, and while I may have been young, they were the ones babysitting me.

Although I didn’t plan on our date including the third degree from my family or dinner with anyone but the two of us, this night has been pretty great. Addison is opening up more and laughing a lot. That’s what I wanted more than anything, for her to have a good time. I see how she sacrifices for Mason, and from what he’s mentioned a time or two, she’s doing it alone because her loser ex isn’t around. How anyone could choose to not have Addison and Mason in their life is beyond me. I’d love to meet this Dan idiot and tell him what a mistake he made. But the reality is, there’s a chance he’ll figure it out one day and then what will happen? Will they leave?

“You’re pretty quiet over there,” Addison says.

“Just enjoying the quiet. I love it out here. We see a lot of stars in town, but out here it’s almost like we’re seeing them up close.”

“Thank you for bringing me here. I’ve had a really good time. I didn’t realize how much I needed a night to just hang out and decompress.”

I turn my head to take her in before responding. She’s curled up in the chair, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The light from the fire has cast a fiery glow around her and I wonder if I’ll ever stop thinking she’s the most beautiful woman in the world. The playlist is set to random, so I don’t know what songs are playing next, but when the opening chords of the perfect song begins to play, I step in front of her chair.

“Dance with me.”

To my surprise, Addison takes my offered hand and rises with the blanket still around her shoulders. I slide my hands around her waist, resting them when my thumbs touch at the small of her back. The movement pulls her close to me, and her hands, still clutching the blanket, rest on my biceps. The lyrics of the song don’t escape me as words about a “take back home girl” repeat, and I realize this song is everything I feel right now. Tonight with Addison, she is that girl. That woman. The woman you take home.

We continue to dance and like a magnet, we slowly draw closer to one another. Her hands move from my biceps to the back of my shoulders and her gaze shifts so she’s no longer looking off into the distance but peering up at me through her lashes. Unblinking, she slows her sway, and I lift one hand from her back, slowly until I’m cupping her cheek.

The fire crackles behind us, but it isn’t the heat of the flames making my mouth dry, it’s the fact that right now, in this moment, I need to kiss Addison. I need to show her how much I care for her and how the years between us mean nothing, the baggage we both bring to the table is just that, baggage and part of the past.

I could ask for permission. I could hesitate and give her an out. I don’t want an out, and I sure as hell don’t want to give her one. In one fell swoop, I pull her to me, her body flush with mine, and I capture her lips with mine. The small gasp she makes when our bodies connect is enough for me dip my tongue in her mouth. Without hesitation, Addison reciprocates. The moment her tongue touches mine, my skin is on fire. It’s as if the fire’s embers jump on us and nothing can stop the burn. The ache from needing more.

We kiss and kiss, her hands dropping the blanket and tugging on my hair, pulling me closer. Fuck, I wish there was somewhere to lie down. To lay her below me, to kiss more than her perfect mouth. My dick is hard, and I know she can feel it when I bend my knees a little to get closer to her. When a small moan is released from deep in her throat, I pull my mouth from her lips and move them to her neck. Nipping and kissing down and up her neck until I make my way to her mouth. We go on like this for what seems as much like forever, as not enough.

Slowly, I pull away from her, ending our kiss but keeping her in my arms. When I open my eyes, hers are still closed, but it isn’t the loss of her beautiful browns looking at me that has my attention, it’s how swollen and red her lips are. As her eyes flutter open, I smile gently and brush a piece of hair from her face.

---