Page 29 of Moving to Love
She looked up at him, her brows furrowed. “Really? Mind filling me in?”
Jeremiah laughed. God, he was handsome. His smile lit the whole sky. He had beautiful, straight teeth, and his eyes sparkled when he laughed.
“The old guy couldn’t talk to you enough. My mom noticed it, too. I saw her smiling, and at one point, she looked at me and winked. Not that I blame him, I’m pretty hung up on you too.”
She hugged him and pulled back to look up into his eyes. “Just remember, if you leave me, I have options.”
A smile spread across her face, and he leaned down and pecked her lips. He held her head in his hands and kissed her—long, slow, deep. She thought her toes were curling up in her boots. Crazy sensations zinged through her body, landing in her core. Her stomach flipped at this new affection and how demonstrative he was.
Jeremiah put his forehead on Joci’s. “It’s going to be painful riding with a raging hard-on. Look what you did to me!”
He ground himself against her a little so she could feel his hardness.
“That’s not fair. You’re making me wet,” she whispered.
Jeremiah hugged her tight. “If I have to suffer, so do you. But, when we get home…don’t expect any sleep tonight.”
She moaned as her nipples pebbled into hard peaks, and her core throbbed just thinking about how he felt last night. It was dream-worthy.
“Seriously, you two need to get a room.” Joci turned to see Sandi and Jon. Joci hadn’t had a minute to talk to Sandi this morning.
“That’s what I was just telling, Joci. How are you two?”
Jeremiah and Jon shook hands, and Joci hugged Sandi and then Jon. Joci and Jeremiah gave them the number of riders and bikers. They talked a little, and the whistle sounded that it was time to get ready to roll.
Sandi leaned in to hug Joci again. “Did you have a great time last night?”
Joci giggled. “God, yes. I can’t wait to talk to you.”
Sandi hugged her again. “I love you. I’m so happy for you. Let’s talk at the next stop.”
They parted, and Jeremiah jumped on his bike, kicked the kickstand up, and nodded to Joci to climb on. Once she was seated, she leaned forward and hugged him.
* * *
* * *
* * *
“It’s been a great day today. Thank you. I’m beginning to love riding on the back.” Jeremiah leaned his head back on Joci’s shoulder and looked back at her.
“It has been a great day.” Joci tightened her arms around him. “And, for the record, you can ride on back anytime you want. I love having you back there.”
She squeezed a little harder and kissed his neck. She wanted it to work out; she really did, but she was just so afraid to let herself believe it was going to last. The smorgasbord comment LuAnn made sure didn’t make her feel any better.
The bikes started up, and they were on the road again. This next leg was only about 32 miles. Hills and curves created a mesmerizing ride. Some of the road was canopied by trees, which sent a chill down her arms as the sun was hidden from them. Then the canopy would open, and the sun felt warmer than before. Joci was amazed at all the locals along the way waiting by the roads or at the end of their driveways to watch all the bikes ride past. Most of them waved American flags and cheered as the bikes rode by. Many of them had little canopies and coolers, and whole driveways full of cars. They invited people over to watch the bikes and make it a party. Some people made signs thanking the veterans, and some of them had signs stating where they had served.
People were taking pictures, waving, and yelling Thank you. At one point, Joci teared up; she was so overwhelmed by the show of support for the veterans.
She leaned forward and hugged Jeremiah. “Does that make you feel good about serving, Jeremiah?”
He nodded, unable to speak. A couple of farmers had huge tractors with large cherry-picker baskets on them, and they parked them next to the road facing each other and strung a big banner between them over the road that said, ‘Thank You, Veterans.’ Some people went all out for this. Now she understood why they mailed the fliers out to each home along the route.
The weather was just perfect. They didn’t have to wear jackets or sweaters. The sun was shining, the roar of the bikes, Jeremiah in front of her, rubbing her leg and pushing his back into her so he could feel her. Life was made of fantastic moments like this. Joci would remember this for the rest of her life.
She hadn’t been able to make this ride last year, but Gunnar had told her about it. It was why she agreed to help out with it this year. Gunnar talked about it all year. He was so excited about it; Joci wanted to see it for herself. She was very glad she had. First of all, she met Jeremiah. Second of all, this was amazing.
All too soon, they were pulling into the next stop. It was a resort just out of Mansfield, a small town out in the country. The resort had plenty of parking, and bars had been set up outside for people to buy drinks. Jeremiah and Joci were walking to one of the bars when Sandi and Jon caught up with them. They walked together to get drinks.
