Page 82 of Feverburn

“He’s with Bear,” he answered with a raised eyebrow.“I didn’t want to lie to Harley about where I was going, so asking him was out of the question.”

I sucked in a deep sigh, fighting a grimace. “Yeah, Kaylee thinks I’m visiting my mom.”

“It will be nice to get out of town. It’s good for us, out of the bubble.”

“Right. The bubble.”

A pit formed in my stomach, but it disappeared once we entered the outskirts of Boston. I wasn’tlyingto Kaylee in Boston. I was just a girl with her boyfriend. The brief anonymity was something I craved.

Before the concert, we drove around so I could show him my old haunts, like my apartment and the tattoo shop I apprenticed. Then, the one I owned. It meant a lot that he asked to see them, to understand my story.

Four songs into Greta’s set list, I danced with Carson to “You’re the One I Want”on the mezzanine-level balcony overlooking the stage. I was shocked he would dance with me in public, but he did. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he clasped his low on my back, swaying in bliss as the lights flashed and the beat thumped. He was more carefree away from Pine Bluff, which I didn’t know how to contend with.

Afterward, we got sushi because he knew it was my favorite. Before the trip, he had found a restaurant nearby and everything. We held up the first bite of the roll with our chopsticks and bumped them together in an impromptu toast. Something about it felt lighthearted and endearing. Tonight, we were simply a couple on a date, not hiding or worrying.

Overall, Carson was fun to date. He was polite and was a complete gentleman with things like opening the doors and picking up the tab, outright refusing when I tried. He asked thoughtful questions, and his way of telling stories was so sarcastic it kept me hanging on every word.

His life experience was fascinating, with all these wacky stories of growing up with asextherapist as a mom and all the Greek shenanigans from his dad’s side of the family. I liked his stories about camping and fishing the most. Tonight, he told me about how Bear wiped out water skiing and almost cut his earlobe off with one of the skis. Rhett and Carson held him down and sewed it back on with a fishing line so they wouldn’t have to stop day drinking to head into town. A jagged scar runs through his earlobe, almost like a lightning bolt. Like Harry Potter, they call him The Boy Who Skied instead of The Boy Who Lived.

My cheeks hurt from laughter by the end of the meal, and even our server mentioned how flushed I looked. I blamed it on the plum wine but knew it was from Carson. Towering over me, he rested his hand on the nape of my neck while we walked out of the sushi place, kissing my still-flushed cheek.

“Are you sleepy now, my love?”he asked.

“Yes, I am in a post-sushi stupor. That was so good!”I said, all but waddling from my feet hurting in my heels.

The next hour was a blur of returning to our hotel room and showering together in sleepy silence. We got into bed,lyingdown facing each other under the sheets. Behind him, city lights flashed on the white curtains that floated over the air conditioner.

His eyes scanned my face while he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.“Baby, Iloveyou.”

I smiled,“Iloveyou, too.”

“I want to build a life with you,”he said, sweetly brushing knuckles along my jaw.

“And I want a life with you, too.”I scooted closer to him, draping my arm over his side.“Did you plan on saying that?”

“Just couldn’t fight it anymore. I wanted you to know.”

“I’m glad you did.”He took us seriously, aside from keeping it asecretat my request. Yet, hearing it out loud assured me more.“What do you picture, you know, our life together?”I had a hunch of what he wanted, and I knew he’d show me in time. That’s what Carson did; he was a man of action, not false promises. But I was glad he was broaching the topic before me.

“I want to keep youhappyandprotected. I want to keep looking out for you and wake up beside you every morning. When the time is right, I’dlovefor you to come live with me at the cabin.”I nodded in approval, urging him to continue.“I plan on making you mine in every way possible.”He picked up my left hand and gently kissed the rune tattoo on my ring finger.“Do you believe in that?”

I kissed his ring finger in return.“Yes, I do.”We were both smiling at each other like giddy fools.“Go on.”

His huge hand drifted to my slightly stuffed stomach. I fought another smile, already knowing.“Do you want babies?”

His gravelly voice sayingbabiessounded a little too fucking good.

“I do. I never had a big family, so it’s something I’ve always wanted. Do you?”

He nodded as his hand brushed low on my tummy, distracting me with how much I adored his possessiveness.“I know you’ll be a great mom. You’re so patient and loving. And I don’t want to freak you out, but I want to see you swell with our baby. You’ll be so pretty pregnant. I just know it.”I couldn’t stop smiling.“When the time is right,”he amended.

I never pictured kids with Stefan or Tyler. I knew they’d be shitty fathers. But Carson, oh, he was a different story. About once a day, I thought about him on a dock, teaching a child how to fish.“I know you’d be a good dad. You’re patient and loyal. But in the meantime, let’s begratefulfor birth control.”

We both chuckled.“It’s true. I don’t want to freak you out, but the other day, when we were in doggy, I could feel your IUD strings, and they poked me. That’s why I flipped you over.”

I slapped his chest.“No! Are you serious?”

“Yeah, but I had only one thing on my mind.”

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