Page 78 of Untamed

His eyes are lit up from the inside out. He looks good…damn good.

“Alright, then. Lead the way.”

The whole thing is set up in a horseshoe shape about the track, where they do horse races, derbies, and tractor pulls. One side is where all the animals are, and the other has the rides and fun stuff for kids. And as you walk on the paved road that leads you around the whole thing, you get assaulted by food truck after food truck, serving everything from pizza to chicken on a stick to elephant ears and funnel cakes.

When we were really little, Katherine and Clyde would walk us around, letting us choose whatever we wanted. I would always get chicken fried rice and a funnel cake topped with extra powdered sugar. By the time I had downed all of that and a lemonade, which I’m sure had a cup of sugar per glass, I was bouncing off the damn walls. It’s a good thing we ate first and ran off all the energy.

“Getting the same thing you used to get as a kid, I see.” Hayes smiles at me as he holds my rice and we wait on the funnel cake to come out.

“It’s not the fair unless you almost give yourself diabetes.”

Once it comes out, piping hot and smelling of sweet, delicious dough, I hold on to it for dear life as we climb the concrete stairs between the bleachers. He’s laid a few blankets over the hard metal and even set up a little vase with a few wildflowers and a candle.

This is probably the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.

“So, I know we’re eating, and I know I should probably wait, but I really can’t anymore.”

My mouth is full of chicken and rice, so I just nod in his direction as I feel my stomach fall through my butt.

“I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want to keep finding things to be mad at each other about. I’m an idiot, and I never should’ve reacted the way I did. If I could go back to that moment, River, I would change everything about it. Watching you walk away, crying and holding on to Poppy… It was like watching you walk away ten years ago.”

“I shouldn’t have hid it from you. I’m sorry.” I sigh and look down at my plate, feeling a little ashamed of myself. “I kept wanting to tell you, but I was honestly just so afraid. Afraid of you leaving or afraid that you’d be upset I came home at all…”

“I should’ve listened to you.” He reaches across the little gap between us and takes my hand. His skin is tanned a warm brown from all the hours working in the sun, and I love the way his calluses rub against my knuckles.

“I hate how I reacted, River. I let my ego get in the way, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for asking for space and pushing you away like that. I’m sorry that I was one more person in your life that you felt you couldn’t rely on. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when the fight happened with your mom.”

I raise an eyebrow, wondering how he heard about that one.

“You think Momma could keep that to herself?” He smirks. “She spilled the beans so fast. And it made me hate myself. I should’ve been there for you. You should’ve felt like you could come to me instead of living on your own in that little cabin. I should’ve never asked for space, Riv. I should’ve held you through it instead of pushing you away.”

“You deserved that space, though, Hayes.” I look him in the eyes and squeeze his hand as I try to convey how much I understand him needing that. “Maybe we both needed it. Life needed to give us one more test before letting us be together.” I try to laugh, but it comes out a little pathetic. “If you still want to be together like that…”

He tugs on the hand that he’s holding, almost making me knock over the food in front of us. I stand at the last moment, avoiding disaster, before he pulls me down to his lap. And I sink into him, wrapping my arms around his neck and breathing him in. He holds me tight, his hands rubbing up and down my back as we just hold each other.

“I want you, River. Only you, forever you.” He hugs me tighter and kisses my shoulder and my hair before tugging my face back so he can look at me, his blue eyes searching mine. “And I want everything with you. Anything and everything you want out of this life, I want that, too. I want to come home every day with you sittin’ barefoot on the front porch waiting for me. I want to wake up every morning and see your pretty face. I want late-night swims and Sunday cobblers.

“My best friend,” he continues, pushing my hair out of my face as he looks at me with nothing but adoration. “I love you. I am so fuckin’ in love with you, firefly.”

The tears start falling now, and I can’t stop them. But for the first time in a long time, they’re happy tears. I let them fall and lean forward, grabbing his mouth with mine. I kiss and kiss and kiss him. I’ve missed the way he tastes and how soft his lips are.

“I love you, too,” I whisper against his mouth before I kiss him again. We get lost in each other, completely ignoring our surroundings and the food I was previously so excited for. It’s just me and Hayes, holding on as we find each other all over again.

And I’ve gotta say, teenage River would be fucking stoked right now.

“No more runnin’,” he murmurs against my lips. “From either one of us, yeah?”

“Promise.”

His hands move to my hips, and the kiss turns into something more very quickly. I can feel him growing hard against his jeans as my hips begin to move. God, I’m desperate for him. I’ve missed the way he holds me and the way he knows how to work my body. I crave the closeness to him.

“River,” he groans as his lips travel down my jaw. “Keep working me up like that and I’m gonna fuck you right here on these bleachers for anyone to see.”

“No one around,” I tell him as I run my hands down his strong torso. His abs jump and flex, and then I find the button of his jeans. I kiss his cheek and then whisper in his ear, “Tell me to stop.”

“Fucking never,” he growls as his fingers dig into my ass.

Making quick work of his jeans, I pull his hard cock out of his boxers, stroking it between us. His head falls forward onto my collarbone as he breathes deeply.

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