Page 10 of Tan Lines & Trouble
I’ve always been a three-date kind of girl, but I swear on all that’s holy, I’d have let him have his way with me on the side of the road back there, had he tried to—so yeah, totally scrambled.
I’m lost in my own lusty daydreams when the passenger door opens, scaring the life out of me. “Jesus Dane!” I shout, clutching my hands to my chest.
He grins. “C’mon, Dots.”
I allow him to help me down from his truck. He tucks my hand into his and leads me around to the tailgate. The sight laid out before me absolutely blows my mind.
SadGirl plays from a small Bluetooth speaker and the bed of his truck is loaded down with plush blankets and pillows. He has a cooler sitting on the tailgate and twinkling lights strung across the back window. This isn’t a date—it’s a proverbial paradise smack-dab in the middle of actual paradise.
“Dane,” I whisper his name as he palms my hips and helps me up into the bed of the truck.
“You like it?” he asks, looking unsure.
“I love it.”
His trademark cocky grin appears. “Good.” He settles in next to me. “You hungry?”
“Starved.”
He retrieves the cooler and pulls out an assortment of goodies: crackers, summer sausage, various cheeses, olives, fruit, and two bottles of water.
We talk as we eat, reminiscing about our childhoods and all the shit we got into as kids. Story after story, I’m reminded both of how easy things are with him and how much it hurt when he left.
Though, since we cleared the air, it stings less. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not excusing his bullshit behavior—he was a total jackass, but I have no plans of holding it against him.
“You remember when we played hide and seek with Danny and Nicky?” he asks as he cleans up the remnants of out dinner.
I nod, trying to hold back my laughter.
“Took them two hours to find us.”
A giggle breaks free. “That’s because we went to your room and watched TV.”
We spend more time in the past before I finally gather the courage to ask what I really want to know. “Why are you back here Dane?”
He stiffens next to me and I worry I’ve somehow popped the magical, romantic bubble ensconcing us. After a long pause he says, “It’s my dad.”
“What about him?”
“Shit.” Dane heaves out a sigh. I start to tell him not to worry about it when the words just spill out of him. “He’s sick Dots.”
“Sick?” I ask, my voice quavering.
“He had a massive heart attack. Three arteries were blocked and they had to do a triple bypass.”
My eyes water. David Foster is one of the best men I’ve ever met—kind and always quick with a smile.
Noticing my tears, Dane wraps his arms around me and quickly adds, “He’s okay Dots. At home and in cardiac rehab.”
A weight lifts from my chest. “Oh, thank God. W-would it be okay if I went to see him?”
“I’d have to ask. You know how he is—stubborn as a mule. He’s determined to keep the whole thing a secret. But something tells me he’d make an exception for you.”
I smile at his words before twisting to press my lips to his. While this kiss is far less frenzied than our first, it affects me all the same. With every flick of Dane’s tongue, my arousal swells within me like a great wave. He expertly licks and nips and pecks and nibbles my lips. He has me so turned on, I’m positive even the slightest touch would send me crashing to shore.
Much to my libido’s dismay, Dane pulls back once things get too hot and heavy. “Fuck Dots, you get me so hot.”
“Then why are you stopping?” I ask.
