His to Cherish (20 page)

“But I like football,” I blurted, lost in all the things he wanted to do with me. He laughed softly as tears began stream down my face. His thumb glided across my cheek, wiping them away.

“Even better, then.” He leaned forward, brushed his warm lips against my wet skin. “I'm a wreck, and this will always hurt…the hole that Derrick has left…But I have wanted to be with you since I saw you two years ago at Derrick's middle school registration, and this time, I want to do it the right way. Let me court you.”

A snicker fell from my lips and I couldn't help but smile. “Court?”

He nodded once, his dark green eyes swirling with lust and amusement. “You know what I mean. I'm so sorry for hurting you, and I suspect it won't be the last time, but I can promise that in the future I will try my hardest not to take out my anger and pain from losing Derrick on you.”

My breath escaped in small, quick pants. It sounded so perfect. Despite my earlier sincerity that I wouldn't let anyone talk about me the way he had, I was beginning to understand him more. Better, at least.

Plus, he was offering me the chance to know him freely, without any of the restraints that hindered us before.

There really was no choice. “Okay.”

“Okay, then.” His lips brushed against mine once and then twice before he pulled away. Gripping my hand, he tugged me down the stairs.

“Where are we going?”

He looked back, grinning a mouthful of perfect teeth. A happy, teasing smile I hadn't seen yet.

“I'm taking you to your car where I can kiss you without fifty kids staring at us. Then I'm going to let you go home and get ready for our date.”

My feet almost stumbled down the stairs, but he reached out and steadied me. “Tonight?”

“Yup. I'll pick you up at six.”

I brushed down the sides of my salmon-colored dress when my doorbell rang. As I reached to open the door, beginning my first
real
date with Aidan, my heart was beating overtime.

There was an importance to tonight, as if Aidan and I were starting over.

I wanted it to go perfectly.

“Hi,” I said, practically breathing out the word and waving him in. As always, the first glimpse of Aidan stole my breath. “Come on in, I just have to grab my bag and sweater.”

“You are beautiful.”

I stumbled in my camel-colored open-toed sandals and fidgeted with the matching belt wrapped around my waist.

His appreciative gaze swept from my scalp down to my toes, and my body prickled with interest. I bit my bottom lip, grinning brightly.

“You're not so bad yourself,” I said as I took him in; he was wearing dark jeans that looked brand new—not frayed at the bottoms like his regular ones were. Instead of his typical brown work boots, he was wearing shiny black dress shoes. The sleeves of a dress shirt with blue and white stripes were casually rolled up and pushed almost to his elbows. It was perfectly ironed as if it'd never been worn.

A black leather watch caught my attention, and the way his hair was gelled and styled to perfection made me smile. I was understating his appearance. There was no word I knew of that could adequately describe the ferocious sex appeal radiating off him.

“Did you…buy this outfit today?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise.

An endearing pink graced his cheeks. “Are you ready?”

I nodded and flashed him a wink, signaling that I was letting him off the hook from having to answer the question. His avoidance was enough. I grabbed my bag and cardigan, in case I got cold wherever we were going, and when I turned around, I was no longer nervous.

Knowing that Aidan was like me, wanting this night to be special, somehow calmed me.

This was important to him.

After helping me into his truck, where I had to carefully keep myself from flashing him too much as I got situated, he pulled out into the street, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

I leaned over and gently pressed my palm to his thigh. “Why are you nervous?”

His hand dropped from the steering wheel and his fingers covered mine, squeezing gently. I felt that squeeze travel from my heart to where my thighs met.

“I told you I don't date much.”

“And?” I grinned. I couldn't help it. He looked like he wanted to shift with unease on his seat.

“It's just been a long time. Between Derrick and work and wanting to be an example for him, I've always been careful about who I let into my life.”

His lips tightened as if maybe he'd said too much.

I scooted across his large bench seat and rested my head on his shoulder.

His shoulders tightened before relaxing.

“It's just me, Aidan.”

“I know,” he murmured, tilting his head and pressing a gentle kiss on my temple. “That's why this is important.”

My chest constricted, but this time it wasn't from nerves or fear. He had the ability to eradicate all of that inside of me with a simple brush of lips over my skin.

It wasn't long before we pulled into Rube's Steakhouse on the edge of town. It looked like an old, run-down metal barn, but what awaited me inside was heaven.

Pure heaven on a charcoal grill.

I pulled away from Aidan and twisted my neck so I was looking into his eyes. “I love this place.”

“Yeah?” he asked, uncertainty draining from his eyes. I almost wanted to laugh. “I didn't know if you'd want to go somewhere fancier, but you seemed to like steak…”

I pressed my fingertips over his lips, ignoring the way his hot breath heated my fingers and tickled my palm. “Stop trying so hard.”

Beneath my hand, I felt his sigh and then watched his shoulders relax. His strong fingers wrapped around my wrist and he pulled my hand to his lap. “You're giving me this chance I'm not entirely sure I deserve. I want it to be perfect.”

“It will be. Come on.” I opened my door and hopped down before he could help. “Amaze me with your grilling prowess.”

Inside Rube's, the tabletops were made of thick wood and textured from years of casual dining. I loved this place and the concept of being able to choose your own cut of meat and grill it yourself.

It was casual and fun and the perfect kind of place for me. Much nicer than a restaurant with a white tablecloth and candle in the middle where I had to worry about setting my sleeve on fire when I reached for my wineglass, or flinging a bite of chicken across the floor when my knife scraped against the china.

The fact that Aidan brought me here told me two things: he wanted to be comfortable…and he wanted
me
to be comfortable.

I couldn't help but smile.

He knew me, and that thought brought a slight hop to my step as the hostess seated us after we had chosen our cuts and requested service for our drinks and sides.

Aidan watched me, his own eyes alight with amusement as my gaze wandered to the other customers and the crowds standing at the grills in the back.

“Thank you,” I whispered, even though the chatter of the customers and the hissing of the grills made my words barely audible. “For bringing me here.”

“At the risk of repeating myself, thank you for the chance.”

I grinned and he reached across the table, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. With his other hand, he wound his fingers around our two bottles of beer and led me back to the grill.

We stayed together while he grilled our steak and garlic bread. We chatted politely with other customers as we all huddled around the large circular grills. More than once, he laughed in a way that was uninhibited by sadness and grief. More times than I could count, he had his hand on me. My waist, my hip, my back—it seemed as if every time I moved, Aidan found some way to keep us connected.

We hadn't even eaten our dinner yet and it was already the best date of my life. While we ate, our conversation flowed the same way it always had…easily, smoothly, and we avoided the hard topics until I could no longer stand it.

I was dying to know how he was doing after his week and time with Mandy. Now that I understood more, I wanted to know everything.

“So how was cleaning out Derrick's room?” I asked when we finished our meal.

I couldn't imagine.

I'd never be able to imagine. The thought sank to my stomach like a lead anchor.

“I'm sorry,” I said before he could answer. “I don't…it was probably horrible and a stupid question.”

Aidan nodded. “It
was
horrible. But good, too, I think, in a way. Painful, and yet I sat in his room, laughing about photos he'd taken, memories with his friends, guys' weekends we used to take in the summer.” He looked away and took a slow drink from his beer. Sorrow began to slide the light out of his eyes. “Derrick was a great kid, and fuck if I didn't have a blast raising him. There are so many good things to remember.” He shook his head and paused, swallowing thickly. “Wise beyond his years, smart as a whip…I'm lucky he was mine.”

“Yeah,” I choked out over a lump in my throat. “You know who else is lucky?”

He slid his eyes back to meet mine, and I felt the edges of my lips curl up into a grin.

“Me,” I said when he arched a brow in question. “I'm lucky to be here with you.”

My feet pounded the pavement and I looked into the stands, remembering that it had been just yesterday that Aidan and I had sat there and it had been just last night that he'd taken me to Rube's.

“Where are you?” Camden asked, her voice panting lightly next to mine.

We were doing our weekly long run in preparation for an upcoming 10K race, but the steak last night must have been too much food. I was dragging slowly behind Camden, whom I could usually outpace, or at least match.

My mind simply wasn't on the run. It was stuck back in the kiss Aidan and I had shared last night.

How he'd cupped my cheeks in his large, warm hands and bent down and barely—so quick it was over before I could fully enjoy the moment—brushed his lips over mine.

“Good night,” he murmured into my ear.

“You don't want to come in?” I asked, hopeful and yet nervous.

Aidan stepped back, dropped his hands from my cheeks to my hands, and shook his head. “Not on a first date. I told you I wanted to do it right this time.”

Then he left, leaving me falling in love with him more than I already had been.

“Sorry,” I told Camden, and dragged my eyes off the bleachers. “I was just thinking about Aidan.”

“Again?”

I grinned. “Shut up.”

“You love him.” She stated it as matter-of-factly as Camden stated everything else in life. But she hadn't been shocked when I'd called her early this morning, packed the bags I had used when I'd stayed with her, and brought everything back to my own house.

It was time I stopped hiding.

Time to stop being so worried. Giving Aidan a second chance meant giving myself one as well.

“I do.” I smiled, biting my bottom lip again, and I couldn't help how my mind wandered to Aidan once more.

“Ugh. You're doing it again.” She scolded me, but her voice was light with teasing. When I looked over, Camden rolled her eyes. Her left foot kicked out to the side and she playfully hit me in the butt, almost making me trip on the rubber track.

Then she took off and I sprinted to chase her. I was barely on her heels as she veered off the track at the open gate and we finished the half-mile run back to my house at full speed.

Gasping for breath, my fingers laced behind my head so I could calm my breathing, I walked in a large circle around my front yard, trying to cool down.

Camden collapsed onto the grass, arms and legs splayed as if she were trying to make snow angels in May.

“You're going to get a cramp,” I said, smiling down at her. It wasn't often Camden let loose, and even though it was just a run, it was nice to see her not so uptight and without her auburn hair fixed in a tight bun at the base of her neck.

“I'm going to die before the cramps hit.”

I walked over and tapped her playfully in the ribs, returning the favor from earlier. “Get up. I've got cupcakes.”

“Oh!” She scrambled to her feet and rushed to my front door. I stood back, laughing at her speed. We shared a love for Kate's Kakes. “Double fudge?”

“It's like you know me,” I replied, reaching my kitchen where Camden had already dug through my cupboards and found my stash of chocolaty goodness.

“Suzanne called me last night,” she said around a mouthful of decadent fudge.

“Did she tell you that she's pregnant?”

Camden's mouth dropped open. “How'd you know?”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, we've known each other forever, and not only has Suzanne been hinting for the last year that she wants a baby, she didn't have a drop of the margaritas the other night.”

She frowned, staring at her cupcake as if it'd suddenly sprouted wings. “She was afraid to tell you.”

“I know, but it's not necessary, and you guys hiding your good news from me like that, knowing I'll never get to make that announcement, doesn't make me feel better. Don't hide the good shit from me.”

I pointed a finger at her, scolding her, and Camden looked away. “Got it?”

“Got it.” She nodded and took another huge bite.

Around a mouthful of my own cupcake, I asked, “Should we take her out to celebrate tonight?”

“Fireside?”

“Of course,” I said, unwrapping the paper from my second cupcake. Thank goodness I loved to run.

Camden flashed me a wide grin and reached for her own second helping.

I adored my friends.

Being with them at Fireside—country music filtering through the speakers, the sound of pool balls being smacked around the pool table, and the atmosphere at our table filled with lighthearted laughter—made me love them even more.

After I had called Suzanne earlier in the day and we'd talked about her pregnancy and my date with Aidan, she jumped at the chance to go out and celebrate her news with the rest of us. And after assuring her that I was completely thrilled for her and Jackson—because I
was
—there was nothing left to do except giggle like schoolgirls when I described my date.

And that kiss. I still felt it on my lips, even though it was just a “barely there” kind of kiss. I couldn't forget the way Aidan's lips felt and tasted, or how his hands held me in a way that made me want to melt right into him.

The only person unable to join us tonight was Blue. She was busy working some high-society engagement party for the governor's daughter.

We were on margarita pitcher number two, taking it easy and drinking more slowly—in part because Suzanne wasn't helping—when David walked up. He stood between Camden and me and slid a fresh bowl of chips and salsa into the center of our table. As he pulled back, his hand landed on the back of my chair and he gave me one of his easygoing smiles.

Paige and Suzanne sighed. Based on the dazzled look in Trina's eyes, she might have as well.

I wrinkled my nose at their buffoonish behavior and looked at David. “What's up?”

“Thank you for helping Aidan.”

I thought back to our date and bit my lip, unsure how exactly I'd helped him. “I'm not sure I know what you mean.”

“Trust me, he hasn't stopped talking about you all day. Whatever you did last night, it helped.”

He wiggled his eyebrows, teasing me, and my cheeks flooded with heat. “You guys must gossip worse than girls,” I admonished him.

David stood up and looked around the table, his eyes stopping momentarily on Camden. “I've heard you ladies…there's no way we're worse than you.”