Page 60 of Be My Reason

A knock on the bedroom door followed by a shriek of, “Girls’ Day!” brings our discussion to an end.

“But I’m not done yet.” Nate kisses my breasts and then trails a line up my jaw to the sensitive place behind my ear. Then he whispers in my ear, “I’ll never be done with you.”

My heart goes all gooey and soft hearing his words and feeling his hot breath brush over my ear. I want nothing more than to stay in bed and worship his body.Let him worship my body. I want to feel him inside me every minute of every day. I’m no longer a complete person without him. When I get up from this bed, part of me will stay with him and I can’t reclaim that bit of me until we are together again. I now understand what it means when people refer to their ‘other half’. He is, in fact, a part of me and I am a part of him. We fit together like a perfect puzzle that we can only solve together.

“Are you okay?” He looks at with me concern as he wipes a tear that has fallen down my cheek.

“I’m more than okay.I love you.” I lean down to kiss him.

When we part, he simply says, “Me too, baby. Me too.”

Chapter Twenty-three

We are in Graham’s SUV, driving over to the River Street Seafood Fest on the other side of Savannah. I am so excited that I can share this little piece of the city with Nate. Although I know he is still worried that he might run into someone from high school. He is very quiet in the car, just staring out the window. I reach over and squeeze his hand and he gives me a small smile before turning away.

I’m looking at the back of his messy-yet-perfect hair as I think aboutwhat Emma said yesterday.

“Lyn, you know I’ve wanted the two of you together for years. But watch it with him. I think he has a huge issue with jealousy. Maybe it stems from his ex-wife cheating on him. He looked like he wanted to tackle Ryan every time the man was simply talking to you. And when Ryan put his arm around you to give you a hug, I thought Nate might have a freaking conniption.”

She went on to remind me that he landed in urgent care after punching a guy who was talking to me at a bar. Well, that’s not exactly how it happened. The guy swung at Nate first. I assured her that Nate is fine and that he is only being territorial about our new relationship. The fact is, I do think he is a bit jealous of Ryan because of our business relationship. I would probably be jealous, too, if Nate had a gorgeous female partner.

I scoot over so that I’m pressed up against Nate and I whisper in his ear, “Thank you so much for coming along.” I kiss his neck and lick his earlobe. “I will definitely show you my appreciation later.”

I see the reflection of his slow smile in the car window. He turns towards me and pulls my face to his, our lips almost touching and he breathes into my mouth, “You better watch it or I might take you in the back of Graham’s SUV.” Then he pulls me into a kiss that has way too much tongue for public decency.

“I heard that.Get a room before you ruin my custom upholstery.” Graham shakes his head laughing.

“We’re here!” Emma squeals while bouncing in her seat.

We exit the car and are bombarded with the sights, sounds and smells of the festival. People are everywhere, laughing, eating, drinking and dancing in the streets that are closed off with barricades. Tent stations are set up for each food vendor and the smell of seafood grilling and frying floats in the air.

An hour into our afternoon, the sky turns dark and many patrons head for their vehicles. We, however, are troopers and are going to try to wait it out. As it starts raining, we all cram together under the small vendor tents. Bodies are mashing together all wet from rain and sweaty from heat. The music is still blaring over the huge speakers and I wonder how long it will be before they shut the whole festival down.

Then I hear it—the song that played on the radio in Nate’s truck so long ago, right after I lost my virginity. Right before he left me. The Nickelback song, ‘Someday’, that had me refusing to listen to their songs for the past ten years.

Nate stiffens behind me.He knows the significance of the song. He told me so after Raleigh. “Brooklyn . . .” he whispers in my ear. Then he grabs my hand, pulling me out into the rain in the middle of the abandoned street. We are getting soaked from head to toe.

I look at him like he is crazy.I try to resist him pulling me. “Nate, what are you doing?” I yell over the sound of the music and the rain.

“I’m dancing with my girlfriend!” he shouts, smiling at me while rivets of rain pour off his head. “I recall another time in the rain with you that didn’t work out so well. So I thought we could make a better memory for you.” He twirls me around him. “Plus, I really like Nickelback,” he says, winking at me.

So while everyone else is huddling together under the tents, Nate and I are dancing in the rain.We dance to the entire song, our bodies pressed together, moving as one, never losing eye contact. We must look like idiots. But I don’t care. Right now, in this minute, it is only Nate and me. I am floored by the unexpected romanticism of this. How he keeps managing to reach into my chest and grab more pieces of my heart simply amazes me. This man, who longs to remain anonymous in this city, has publicly and quite conspicuously danced in front of half the population just to give me a good memory. I think tears are running down my face, but the rain masks them. I am overwhelmed by my love for this man.

The music stops.I think they shut it all down, but I don’t care because Nate is kissing me in the rain. He is kissing me like I wanted him to that night in Raleigh. He is kissing me like it is our first and last kiss all wrapped into one. I’m lost in the sensation of his lips. It is the wettest, hottest, sexiest kiss I’ve ever experienced. I think we tell each other more with this one kiss than we did with our declarations of love the other night.

I jump at the sound of thunder. But as we pull apart, I realize it is not thunder, but applause.Everyone under the tents has eyes on us and they are all clapping and cheering. I look over and see Emma and Graham both shaking their heads at us while joining the applause.

Nate takes a bow.I hit him on the back of his very wet head which makes the crowd stop cheering and start laughing. He grabs my hand and motions for Graham and Emma to follow us and we all make a run for the car.

Back at the apartment,I’m grateful that Graham and Emma went to visit with her parents because we didn’t even make it up the stairs without shedding some clothing. There is a trail of wet shorts, shirts and undergarments leading up the stairs and into our bedroom. Nate picks me up and my legs are wrapped around him as I feel his erection growing larger. We bump into random furniture trying to make our way to the bed when he gives up and sets me down on the dresser.

“I have to taste you.” He stares into me, his blue eyes almost black with desire.“Now.” He spreads my legs apart slowly, his hands burning my skin everywhere he touches me.

“Yes.” It is the only word I’m capable of saying. I’m still reeling from our dance in the rain.Still high from the incredible kiss that we shared in front of hundreds of people. Still shaking from the intensity of my feelings for him.

He lowers to his knees and wraps my legs around his shoulders. I can’t pull my eyes away from him. I watch as he kisses my belly and teases my thighs. I’m burning with desire.I want to push his mouth where my body is begging for it to be. I don’t because I know that the anticipation will only heighten my sensation when he finally touches me there.

His eyes look upto find me watching him. A slow smile spreads across his face. “Watch me make you come, Brooklyn.”

---