Page 38 of Always Mine

I hear his soft curse from behind me and smirk, knowing he’ll probably punch me when we get to the pond. He says I always make him the pack mule, but honestly, balancing two eight-foot fishing poles is pretty damn difficult. According to him, I’m more agile because I play football. That's probably true, but I’ll never admit it.

A few minutes later, I’m parked and putting our stuff by the pond. It’s hot today, and one of our last days of summer before starting our tenth-grade year. Why does summer go by so fast but school goes by so slowly?

I kick off my sandals and tug off my shirt, about to head into the water when Wyatt finally pulls up.

“Thanks for waiting, asshole. I could have wrecked and died but you’d never know because you left me. It’s my sixteenth birthday for Christ's sake! What if I'd died on my birthday?” He gives his arms a little exaggerated wave and all it does is make me snort. He’s adorable.

I laugh while walking back up the path. “Eh, if you weren’t here in a few more minutes I’d have come for you. I’d have saved the birthday boy,” I tease, ruffling his hair when I get to him.

“That’s reassuring,” he grunts, pushing me off and passing me the tackle box before jumping down. “We really need to pool our money and buy that four-wheeler rack.” Snagging the cooler, he passes me to go to the pond. “Or figure out a better way to bungee strap things to the four-wheeler.”

I follow behind him, mentally calculating how much money I have. I had a lot more but I bought him something special for his birthday. “We’ve been saving. We probably have enough now.”

“I think I have a little over a hundred with the birthday money from my Nana.” He sets the cooler down before turning to face me. “What about you?”

“Not sure. I’d have to count.” Lies, I know how much money I have, but the last time we talked about our savings I had way more. If I tell him what I have, he’ll ask what I bought and we can’t have that.

He eyes me like he doesn’t believe me, then pulls off his shirt and tosses it on the cooler. He’s way too in tune with me. “Well, let me know. I’ll take it as my birthday present.”

My cheeks heat, and I set the tackle box down. Damn it, it’s like he knows. I can’t keep stuff from Wyatt, and I’ve been holding on to his birthday gift for over a week now. It’s killing me to not give it to him, but I was waiting for his actual birthday. Thankfully, that day is today and I can stop tiptoeing around him.

“We swimming or what?” I throw out there, changing the subject. “It’s hot.”

His eyes shift and I can tell he wants to say something, but he doesn’t. Instead, he just nods his head before following me down to the water.

Hours later, we’re relaxing in the shade, my back against the oak tree with Wyatt’s head resting in my lap. His eyes are closed, and I admire the dusting of freckles across his cheeks and nose. I love looking at him. Always have. We’ve been together forever, but the older we get the more I find myself lost in him.

“You’re staring,” he mutters, popping open one eye to look at me. Damn, he always catches me too.

“You’re beautiful,” I tell him, unable to stop myself from running my finger across his plump bottom lip.

He pushes my hand away before sitting up to glare at me. “I hate when you call me that.”

Suck it up, buttercup. You’ll always be beautiful to me. “Why? It’s true.”

“Can’t I be handsome? Or good-looking? Beautiful is too girly for me.”

I roll my eyes and release a long sigh. “Fine, you’re handsome,” I concede, even though my earlier thought still stands.

He leans forward and places a kiss to my cheek before pulling back, giving me a wide smile. “Thank you.”

“You missed my mouth.” I point to my lips for effect. “They’re feeling jealous.”

Now it’s his turn to roll his eyes. “You’ll live.” He goes to stand but I don’t let him, snagging his arm and pulling him back down so he’s sitting on my lap, earning me a slap to the chest. “Damn it, don’t manhandle me. You’re taking advantage of your stupid growth spurt. I mean, I’m the older one, why do you get to be taller and bigger? It’s not fair,” he jokes, lips jutting out in a playful pout.

Ignoring his rant, I press on, not letting him escape my hold. “I want my kiss.”

His hands are pushing against my shoulders as he tries to get up. “You’re a pain in the—”

I press my lips to his, cutting him off. He folds easily, his whole body relaxing against mine like I knew he would, the fight he was clinging to gone in a second.

Pecking his lips a few more times, I pull away slowly, loving when his tongue swipes where my lips were. He drives me crazy, more and more every day. He’s looking at me with half-hooded eyes and spit-slicked lips, making me want to dive back in and kiss him some more, but there’s something I want to do first.

“Want your birthday present?” I ask, a swarm of nerves taking over me. I’ve been equally as excited about this as I have been dreading it. What if he doesn’t like it?

His expression goes from love-drunk to over-the-top excitement in seconds as he slides off my lap. “Yes, please. What is it? Is it here? Do we need to go get it? I’m ready.” He’s bouncing up and down on his haunches like an eager little puppy, making him even more adorable than he already is.

I lean over, pecking his lips one more time because I can’t help myself, before standing and going to my bag. “I have it. I’ve been waiting to give it to you.”

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