Page 46 of Belong With Me

It was wonderfully simple.

It was beautiful.

It was so perfectly him and for that reason alone I loved it.

“Wow,” I breathed.

“Yeah.” His tone was a mix of surprise and pride. “You like it then?”

I spun slowly on the spot, so I could take in the whole scene.

When I finally looked at him, he was smiling at me. I couldn’t help but smile back as my heart somersaulted in my chest. “I do.” He did all of this for me, because he wanted to. At that moment, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

The crackling of the fire and the chirp of the crickets singing were the only sounds around us as we finished with our picnic. “Savannah sure does look after you boys, doesn’t she?”

“Hey,” he exclaimed, “I made those sandwiches.”

I giggled. “They were delicious sandwiches indeed.” I smiled at him, enjoying the easy banter between us.

He jumped over the edge of the truck bed, landing with a muffled thump on the grass. Reaching back over, he grabbed the basket and empty bottle of wine and set it inside the cab of the truck.

I watched him as he stalked around the edge of the car and over to the fire, to place another large piece of wood onto the flames. After poking it for a few moments, he decided he was happy and made his way back to where I was still seated, nestled between the pillows and blankets he had brought for us on this date.

After hopping back up onto the bed, with more grace than I could ever hope for, he settled in beside me.

We sat beside each other in companionable silence for who knew how long. I reveled in how comfortable it was. How there was no need to fill the silence with conversation. That we were surrounded with the sounds of nature and not the hustle and bustle of the city.

But then, Ryder caught my attention, pointing at the sky. “Hey, you see those three stars there?”

Looking up toward where he was indicating. I saw them. “Yeah?”

“That’s Orion’s belt.”

“Those three really bright ones?” My gaze skimmed the sky. I’d never seen so many stars clearly. Not when back home you still had the lights of the surrounding houses, the glow of the cars that kept passing, and the streetlamps that never turned off.

“Yeah, that’s them.” His hand moved, pointing to another. “This one is the North Star.” His fingers circled a bunch of other stars. “And you see these?” He rolled, laying us down and curling an arm around my waist.

“Yeah, they’re beautiful” I told him, and they were.

“They’re no nowhere near as gorgeous as you, darlin’.”

I felt my cheeks warm as I blushed and even though we were under the cover of darkness, I snuggled further into the blanket. He wrapped the other arm around my waist and pulled me flush against his body. Lifting up, I rested my head against his chest, my ear in perfect position to hear the steady thump of his heartbeat. Just then, a light flashed over our heads, and I gasped excitedly. “I think I just saw a shooting star!”

He softly chuckled at my excitement. “Better make a wish then.”

I thought hard, finally settling on wishing for always remembering this moment when I was back in Louisiana. When there was nothing but the immaculate white walls of the plantation house and the ignorance of two parents who didn’t even spend time with each other, let alone me anymore. It’s then that I realized something. That I wanted to have this forever.

With my wish now out in the universe, I raised my head from his chest to look at him. “What did you wish for?” I asked.

“Nothing I don’t already have in my arms.”

“Oh, Ryder,” I whispered his name on an exhale. “That’s such a sweet thing to say.”

His hands slipped lower, brushing over my stomach. I squirmed against him. “If you don’t stop that, I can’t promise you won’t be screaming my name loud enough to wake the neighbors.”

“The neighbors are miles away.” I giggled, squirming again.

“Then I guess I’m just going to have to apologize to them tomorrow.” It was then that he moved, and I suddenly found myself pressed into the pillows as he rose above me. His hand moved again, and I could feel the roughness of his calloused hands as he rubbed them over the smooth denim of my jeans. “Nice buckle,” he commented, working it until it fell open.

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