Page 54 of All Autumn
Under a beautiful mountain sunrise Connor showed me how it felt to be cherished by a lover. Although I didn’t trust my choices in men, I’d lucked out with Connor, both as a friend and as my first itch scratcher. Even as that thought entered my head, I inwardly cringed at putting him in the latter category. Where it had once sounded amusing, it now felt vulgar and not fair to Connor.
Still pressed against me, he toyed with my hair. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get enough of you, beautiful.”
“Not sure I want you to.” I almost bit off my tongue after saying that because it just wasn’t true. I wouldn’t allow it to be.
30
~ Connor ~
“Cute.” I eyed the red bandanna tied around Beau’s neck. We were at my garage door, ready to head to the festival grounds. After the earlier time on my deck, Autumn had withdrawn into herself. I wondered the same thing every man did when a woman avoided his eyes.What the hell did I do wrong?
“Everything okay?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?” She knelt in front of Beau, leaning away as she studied her dog. “I should have gotten him some sunglasses. That would have been the perfect finishing touch.”
I squatted next to her and Beau, looking the dog in his eyes. “Do not let her start dressing you, Beauregard. You do and I’ll have to take away your man card.”
Beau barked twice.
“Did he just agree with me?” I asked.
Beau barked twice again.
Autumn smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She’d been quiet ever since we’d come back inside, and she was starting to worry me. Was she regretting being with me?
Last night and again this morning on my deck had been amazing. If not for this ridiculous parade, I’d pick her up right now and carry her straight back to bed, where I’d prove to her that we were good together. After the hours we’d spent exploring each other numerous times, I should be sated and satisfied. I wasn’t. I wanted her more than ever.
Without thinking better of it, I kissed her. I was in serious trouble.
“Okay, no sunglasses,” she said after I let go of her mouth.
I stood, and she followed me up. “After that kiss, that’s all you’ve got to say?”
She wrinkled her nose. “What, you need to hear what a great kisser you are?”
“Yes, please.” I winked.
“Yes, Connor, you’re a great kisser. You can kiss me whenever you want to, and I’ll try not to swoon.”
“If you do, I promise I’ll always catch you.” We both kind of froze at that one word.Always. As if I’d just said the equivalent offorever.
“Good to know.” She squatted again, fussing over Beau’s neckwear. Clear avoidance going on there. “I guess we should head out.”
She’d as good as dismissed me, and I didn’t know what to make of the disappointment I felt. It wasn’t like either one of us were looking for a forever. I sure wasn’t. Yet I had the urge to kiss a different response out of her. Exactly what I wanted from her, I hadn’t a clue.
We rode to the Blue Ridge Festival Grounds where the parade was staging. I had no idea what to expect, maybe the few convertibles Autumn had told me we were to ride in, along with our local high school band. I should have known, considering it was Mary and her cohorts organizing this, that I was underestimating them.
Along with the convertibles and our high school’s band, were the members of our local Elks Club and, behind them, a rowdy group of five- or six-year-olds wearing masks that looked eerily like Beau—where the devil had Mary come up with those?—and a float with Blue Ridge Valley’s Pets for Life letters on the side. The float held around twenty cages filled with dogs, all barking or yelping. I couldn’t see what was lined up past them.
The Pets for Life—our local no-kill shelter—float wasn’t new. It was in every parade we had, and many of the dogs would find families before the day was over. Three clowns ambled around the grounds, some of the younger kids screaming in fear at the sight of them. Then there was Senator Blanton standing off to the side with a young man dressed in a suit, a leather satchel strapped over his shoulder. His aide?
“There you are,” Mary said, rushing up to us.
I blinked, wondering if my eyes were deceiving me. Nope, they definitely saw what I thought they saw. Mary’s hair was dyed black—the first time I’d ever seen her with close to a normal color—and perched on her head was a headband with furry black ears sticking up. And where in the world had she found a black, adult one-piece? I leaned back, peering behind her. Yep, that was a tail. The kicker was the black-furred boots with little red-painted toenails.
“Um, that’s an . . . interesting costume, Mary.”
Beau barked twice.
