Page 49 of Untruly With You

Sutton steps closer, his fingers brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch sends a shiver through my entire body. “Wells is watching us,” he says, nodding toward the bar as his lips tilt into a half-smile. “Still think we need to ramp things up?”

You’re in too deep, I tell myself. But then Sutton steps closer, and I’m drawing in before I realize it. The music seems to muffle, replaced by the sound of my pulse thrumming unevenly in my ears. My chin tilts up, almost involuntarily, and I brush my lips against his.

Slowly, my hands gravitate to Sutton’s hair, grabbing fistfuls of his perfect curls, and I hold him closer to me. Ineedhim closer to me. Sutton, apparently, is thinking something along the same lines. He holds my face between his hands. They’re big enough that his thumbs graze along my jawline while his other fingers press against my neck.

My mind usually feels as though it’s constantly racing, bouncing between one thought and the next before I can get oriented. Now, it’s on overdrive.

It’s all for show.

He’s your best friend.

It’s not real.

His lips part, his breath warm against me, and my thoughts become far more focused.

Sutton. Sutton. Sutton.

We’ve kissed a few times since arriving in Montana. But this kiss is different. More urgent, morereal. A warm buzzing washes over me, settling deep in my stomach.

When we finally break apart, we're both breathless, our foreheads resting against each other. My heart is pounding,and I almost convince myself I can see the desire in Sutton’s eyes, probably mirroring my own.

Sutton stoops down again, this time bringing his mouth to the side of my jaw. His voice is a mere whisper as he speaks, his lips tickling against my ear. “I think that should do it.” He rests his head against mine for a moment before adding, “I like your hat.”

The warmth climbs back up my body, spreading across my cheeks. I’m not usually someone to get overly embarrassed, but something about sharing a kiss likethatwhile wearing a hat likethisdoes the trick.

I laugh off my blushing and gesture to mySave a Horse, Ride a Cowboyshirt. “It completes the look. You like?”

Sutton’s eyes narrow, and he smirks to one side, a single dimple flashing. “I might like it more if I was still a cowboy.”

Wow.Maybe it’s the booze, but I can tell Sutton is feeling as dangerous as me tonight. It takes every ounce of willpower in me to turn back to the mechanical bull.

Suddenly, I’m incredibly grateful Cassidy asked me to come to her bachelorette party.

Somewhere in the immeasurable time between the start and end of…whatever that was—kissfeels too plain a word—Cassidy got bucked off. Unsurprising, seeing as how she can barely walk in a straight line tonight. Frankie is on the bull now. Her curvy, athletic build seems like it was made for this. She grips onto the bull tightly, giggling with her head back. Even in the dimmed colored lights, Frankie’s eyes shine. Her long blonde curls spring around her head, an uncanny resemblance to Taylor Swift’sFearlesscover. As always, Frankie is full of life. As always, it’s contagious. Apparently, a ride on a mechanical bull was just what she needed to get her mind off hearing way too intimate details about her brothers.

Frankie stays on for such a long stretch, she eventually jumps off willingly. “It’s someone else’s turn!” she yells tothe operator, flashing a bright smile. Leave it to Frankie to be selfless even when it comes to mechanical bulls. Immediately, she beelines for Sutton and me. Something about the way Frankie smiles at me makes me feel like I have another best friend.

“You need to try that, Laine!” she insists, a laugh lingering in her voice.

I shrug and return her expression. “Say no more.” I catch Wells’ eye from across the bar. He’s still studying us, one eyebrow raised. Maybe the kiss between Sutton and me didn’t look as convincing as it felt. Wells is suspicious, and whether that’s suspicious about the validity of our relationship or suspicious that Sutton might still have feelings for Cassidy, I need to fix it. I grab Sutton’s hand, and he tightens his fingers around mine immediately. “I’ll only ride if Sutton joins me.”

The bull operator must know what we’re about to ask, because he’s already shaking his head as we approach. “No, sorry. One at a time.”

“But it’s my first time on one. And this guy is a real-deal cowboy,” I say, using my free hand to squeeze Sutton’s bicep.

The operator and I go back and forth for a few minutes until I eventually crack him with, “I’ll Venmo you twenty dollars.”

Sutton and I climb into the foam-padded pen, my heart racing, not just from the prospect of riding the mechanical bull, but from the charged atmosphere between Sutton and me. The neon lights cast vibrant hues across our faces, and the pulsating music seems to synchronize with my heartbeat.

He lifts me onto the bull with ease, his hands grasping tight to my hips as he does so. Then he climbs on behind me. Grabbing my hands, Sutton places them on the rope handle in front of me. One of his stays on mine, and the other holds around my waist. My stomach flips.

The bull moves slowly at first, and my skin crawls as it sweeps across Sutton’s body. Before long, however, I can’t overthink that much. The bull swings harder and faster, thrusting us around, forward, and back and stopping here and there just to throw us forward even harder. For a moment, we aren’t Sutton and Laine. We’re just crashing limbs and pressing skin. Because Sutton is so close to me, I can’t see his face, but I can feel his laugh rumbling against my back.

The world outside the pen blurs into vibrant colors and distorted hollering, and it feels like time stretches for us until the bull lurches to the side so harshly we’re thrown off, landing in a tangled heap, breathless and laughing.

“You okay?” Sutton asks after we catch our breath. He helps me stand and pulls me into a hug, squeezing his arms around me.

“That was amazing,” I exhale. My hat flew off at some point, and Sutton brushes loose tendrils of hair from my face.

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