Page 65 of Under My Skin

“You look really good too. I love when you show off your arms.”

“Do you?” I ask with a smile.

“Oh yeah. All those years of catching a football really paid off. It’s your third best feature.”

“Huh. So, what are my first two?” I’m genuinely intrigued by what she’s going to say.

“The first is your face. It’s a real work of art, as you know. It just keeps getting better with age. The second is a certain X-rated appendage that I’ve only just recently become familiar with.” She says all this with a straight face. The only thing giving her away is the slight blush spreading across her cheeks.

I burst out laughing, causing her to laugh too. I swoop in and grab her hand before dragging her to my truck. I lift her into the passenger seat and buckle her in, unable to resist placing a chaste kiss on her lips. “You’re too fucking good for me, Lizzie Montgomery. And I have to say that I forgot to buy you flowers. The girls just told me so.”

“They did? Aw.”

“Yeah. Apparently, you candump my assif I don’t. My sister seems to have taught them a few things.”

She smiles. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of doing that…yet.”

“Yet, hm? I really need to step up my game.” I kiss her again before rounding the truck and getting us on the road.

On the drive to town, we make small talk and listen to the radio. When we get to Crest Steakhouse, I make sure to help her out of my truck and hold her hand the entire walk inside. She doesn’t say anything, but her smirk tells me she’s thinking about Brian and that night.

I’m very happy he was such an idiot.

We get a great table by the window, and overall, our dinner is fine. The food is delicious and the service is great, but I could tell that Lizzie has felt the eyes of every person in the restaurant on her all night.

From the moment we walked in, all we’ve gotten are stares. The people of Brantley Falls are being nosy, and they know it. It’s clear they are trying to figure out what’s going on between Lizzie and me.

So yeah, it’s been a little awkward and overwhelming to say the least. Not exactly what I was hoping our first date would be like.

What’s worse is watching Lizzie withdraw into herself a little bit more with every minute. As we’re walking through the parking lot to leave, I begin to worry that she might just want to go home and call it a night. Once I help her climb in and walk to my side of the car, I’m thinking of ways to turn this around and make our first date memorable in some way.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah. I just feel bad.”

“Why?”

“It’s just—everyone was staring. And I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, but I did. It’s like you being here with me is somehow scandalous, and you know how Brantley Falls is. I’m sure this is going to feed the rumor mill for weeks.” She looks down at her hands, wringing them together. “Sorry.”

“What the fuck, Lizzie? Why are you sorry? And why would we be scandalous?”

“Because I’m a lot younger than you.” She takes a deep breath before continuing, and I’m bracing myself now. “And…I’m not your usual type, Cameron. I’m not a model. I’m a small-town girl. Every woman in there was probably wondering what you see in me.”

“Lizzie, baby…I hope you know I don’t give a shit about them. But okay, let’s do this. Did you also happen to notice that every man’s eyes were on you?” There’s a bite to my tone, but I want her to see herself the way I do.

“No one was looking at me, Cameron. Trust me,” Lizzie says this like it’s a foregone conclusion, and it makes me realize that she doesn’t understand the true power that she holds.

I laugh, and that makes her turn to me. We stare at each other for a few beats before I finally speak.

“Oh, baby, you are so wrong.” I take her hand in mine and drop my voice. “Every man watched your hair swing down your back. The way your tits rise and fall with every breath you take. They watched you smile every time we talked about the girls and your pottery classes. They couldn’t take their eyes off you when you licked your fork with every bite of dinner. They watched your flawless ass in that dress when you excused yourself to use the restroom.” I lean in close to her ear and slide my hand up her thigh. “And every single man couldn’t look away when my hand was resting on that ass.”

I wrap my lips around her earlobe and kiss down her neck while squeezing her thigh. A small gasp escapes her lips, and I pull back before this gets out of hand.

“But you know what my favorite part was?” She shakes her head, eyes wide. “That you were here withme. That I’m lucky to call youmine. So, let the whole town stare and talk. I don’t give a fuck.” I kiss her lips chastely this time. “And you know what else, baby? You’re my only type.”

She bites her lip, and I can see the desire in her eyes mirroring mine. I need to get to the lookout quickly. If I don’t get my hands on her soon, I’m going to combust.

“Now, the night’s not over yet. We have one more stop before we can call it a night.”

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