Page 24 of Run to Me
I bark out a laugh. “Where is this remote place? And don’t tell me it’s somewhere you’ve been with Rick or Gabe.”
“No. Actually it’s where my mom used to take us for family picnics and walks. You know, before she met her new husband and moved to a whole different state to start a new family.”
As much as I know his mom’s absence has bothered him, he doesn’t talk about it often, but when he does, I listen. It’s one of the things I’ve become good at after trying to run in the opposite direction from how I was raised. All the men I ignored and turned my back on as a child suffered and ended up in worse places than our basement. In worse hands than my dad’s.
“You had a lot of happy memories there together?” I ask, trying to quiet the thoughts in my head.
“Yeah. At least, I thought so at the time. It wasn’t until the last time we went that I really noticed the strain between her and my dad. They didn’t love each other anymore and that’s fine, you know, but I didn’t think it would lead to her no longer loving me.”
Lips turning down, I reach for his hand, not giving a fuck who sees. He needs this. He needs me. Not only as a listening ear but as a means of comfort. The tension in his face lessens, confirming the small move is helping. “I’m sure that’s not the case. Sometimes parents have a shit way of showing they care but that doesn’t mean they don’t.” I was referring to my own mom. Only her.
“Yeah, maybe.” He nibbles at his bottom lip, squeezing my fingers. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a damn Debbie Downer on our first date.”
My eyes widen, my heart making a strange pitter-patter sound. “This is a date?”
A blush runs over his cheeks and he glances down at our joined hands. “I mean, it feels like one.”
My heart smiles and I stroke the inside of his palm with my thumb, tracing an invisible star. “Then it is. And if you really want to go swimming, then we will.”
His eyes brighten. “So you’ll let me take you there?”
“Yeah. Sure. Why not? How far away is it?”
“That’s the thing.” His face contorts. “We can’t walk there. We have to drive. It’s about twenty minutes away.”
A knot lodges in my throat and he winces. I look down and yank my hand back in mortification when I realize my nails were digging into his skin.
“Or we can just forget it altogether. There’s also a swimming pool that . . .”
“We’ll go.” I give him a gentle smile. “I want to go there with you.”
“You sure?” His eyebrows shoot up and he’s wearing a look of uncertainty on his face. “I don’t ever want to make you feel like you have to do anything you don’t want to.”
Not wanting to do all these things with him has never been the problem, and I want to show him they aren’t. “I’m sure, little brother. Will you please share your favorite spot with me?” He doesn’t have to say what the place means to him for me to know. It’s a fond memory he wants to relive with me, and I’d love to recreate with him.
His eyes soften. “Okay. We can grab our bathing suits and towels from the house on the way there.”
“Don’t you still have towels in the car from the lake trip? Ones we never used because you forgot to get them out?”
“Yeah, but we can’t get into the water fully dressed.”
“Who says we have to?” My lips pull into a tight grin and his turn up ever so slightly.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Shooting up from his seat first, he tosses his trash in the bin by the front door, holding it open for me to follow his actions. We stroll down the road, heading for our house, our arms knocking together, and as soon as we’re in front of the garage, he drags me inside and pins me to the nearest wall. Smashing his lips to mine, his hand slides between us, groping my cock.
“Keep doing that and the only place we’ll be going right now is inside and upstairs,” I murmur against his lips.
“We’ll have plenty of chances to do that later. I want to kiss you in places other than this house first.”
Liking the sound of that too, I push him toward the car, glancing around us. “Let’s make that happen then.”
“Lets.” Jingling his keys, he gives me one quick peck on the lips before slipping into the car. I follow suit, focusing on his excitement instead of being in a place I was never allowed in.
“Cars are for picking up our guests and delivering them to their new homes. That’s all. They aren’t for joy rides.” My dad’s words sting my ears and I tug on my seatbelt, more at ease when Nate slides his hand into mine.
“It’s not too late to change your mind.”
