Page 34 of Carter's #Undoing

He shrugged. “Honestly, I can take it or leave it. Folks assume because you’re smart, you have to go to college.”

“What would you do if you didn’t go to school?” I asked.

He looked up to the night sky as if he were giving it a lot of thought. “I’m not sure, but I want to do something that helps people. A perfect career would be one where I can use my hunting skills to make a lot of money.”

I shook my head. “Said every country boy who grew up hunting deer.”

“I’m serious,” he said. “You know they have all these careers out there for people with mad tracking skills and I’m great at that shit. That’s why every hunter in town wants me on their team during the sports hunt.”

“You are one of the best ones at the hunt, but come on, Carter, what can you do with that skill?”

“Military?” he asked.

“Military!” I gasped. “Um, no. How can we be together if you’re in the military?”

He laughed. “Ever heard of military wives?”

I shook my head. “Try again.”

“It was just a thought since I did so well in ROTC, but yeah, you’re probably right. Not sure I’m meant for that kind of life.”

I observed him, taking note of how much he’d changed over the past few years. Teenager or not, Carter could easily be mistaken for a guy in his twenties. “I take it back,” I told him. “If that’s what you want, I’ll support you. I actually could see you in the military taking down the enemy. You have the face for it.”

He laughed. “What the hell does that mean?”

“You’re such a nice guy, they would never see you coming.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Am I too nice?”

Instead of answering him, I gave him a quick kiss with every intention of changing the subject, but just like Carter, he pulled my mouth back to his and continued to kiss me until I dropped my camera onto the blanket beneath us.

When I felt his hand running up my thigh, I leaned back so that I was lying in the back of the pickup, widening my legs so he could fit in between them. Things between Carter and I had always been cool and friendly one minute, then hot and heavy the next, yet, it was getting even more passionate every time we were together.

Carter was the most patient guy I knew, but I wasn’t ashamed to say that I was tired of doing everything under the sun but having sex. With him looking as sexy as he always did—curly hair messy in that just-got-out-of-bed kind of way, and his once lopsided grin suddenly winning the sexiest smile in our grade—a girl could only take so much.

Breaking the kiss, I stared up at him, hoping that he knew I was serious when I said, “I’m ready.”

Carter’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Surer than I’ve ever been about anything. Did you bring a condom?”

He pulled out his wallet and fumbled to open it. “Yeah, Crayson gave me one just in case.”

“Thank God for that,” I laughed, before pulling him back down for a kiss. I’d heard stories about the first time being awkward and uneventful, especially when both of you were virgins.

Carter and I had talked about this moment plenty of times, and both of us agreed that we would wait until the time felt right for me since he assured me the time always felt right for him.Typical boy.

I don’t know why I expected to him to put on the condom and get right to it, but I hadn’t been prepared for him to slowly remove his clothes and mine, his eyes hooked on me the entire time. I’d been naked in front of Carter before, but this felt different. Even moreintimate.

He kissed my cheek. “You know, when we first started getting serious about each other, I promised myself I would wait until you were ready.”

“You told me that promise,” I replied.

“I know I did.” He kissed my other cheek as his fingers found my clit. My hips bucked off the blanket when he began swirling his thumb. “I knew when we first met that you wouldn’t just be my friend and my confidante,” he said, “but you’d grow to be my lover. My calm.”

He dipped a finger inside of me, twirling it in a way that was driving me crazy with lust. At some point the fireworks had started, which only seemed to quicken my orgasm. I cried into the night sky, but Carter wasn’t done. I felt his lips replace his fingers before I could tell him that I was so aroused I couldn’t lie still. Something told me that’s exactly how he wanted me.

Luckily, he stopped before I had another orgasm and leaned on his forearm as he adjusted himself at my opening. When he looked into my eyes, I almost swooned at the love reflected in them.

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