Page 43 of Wasted

We loaded into my old truck, and we did what we had done a hundred times in it: drove the dark back dirt roads of Bridgewater with nothing for miles except open pastures and livestock.

"Isn't this where this truck broke down that one night?" She leaned forward, staring out the front window.

"What?" I scowled. "This truck is a beast. It's never broken down."

She laughed. "Yes, it did." Her gaze shifted to me. "How could you not remember? It broke down in the middle of the night on your way to drop me off at home, and we didn't have any signal to call for help, so we had to wait it out, and it turned out it was just overheated."

I laughed. "Oh yeah." The corner of my lip twitched as my gaze met hers. "Truth?" Her eyes narrowed. "We didn't break down. I just wasn't ready to take you home yet."

"Are you freaking serious?" Her grin widened.

I nodded, laughing. "I knew the exact spot to stop where we'd have no service."

"I had no idea." She chuckled. "I really thought we broke down."

My song came on the radio, and Taylor leaned forward, turning it up. "This is my favorite song of yours."

She listened to my music.

Everything about that made me smile.

I slammed on the brakes.

"What the..."

"This is the spot," I said, shoving the truck in park before jumping out, running around, and opening her door. "This is where we 'broke down.'"

"Okay." She narrowed her eyes. "What are we doing now?"

"Trust me."

I helped her out of the truck and brought her around, stopping in front of the bright headlights just in time for the chorus of the song.

Grabbing her hand and lifting it, I spun her. "I just wanna spin you round and round," Sliding my arm around her waist, I pulled her body to mine and swayed my hips with hers to the beat, "this dirt road all night long, underneath the full moonlight." Our bodies moved together, and it suddenly felt like everything was right. We were right together. Our bodies fit perfectly together.

"This isn't the song you wrote for me."

I stopped dropping my arms. She was wrong. This was the first song I'd ever written about her, but she wouldn't have known that. Every song I ever wrote was for her. "I never should have written Heartless."

"Yes, you should have. I deserved it, and it was a number one hit."

"No, you didn't, and I owe you an apology."

She huffed out a laugh. "Don't be ridiculous," she shoved out of my arms as she turned away from me. "What do you have to apologize for? You didn't do anything wrong." Her gaze dropped to the ground.

My large hand wrapped around her arm before pulling her back to me. "I let you down." My hands cupped her face, sliding back, my fingers tangled in her hair and around the back of her neck. Her eyes lifted, meeting mine. "I knew something wasn't right, but I didn't question it, and I should have. I should have known better. I should have known you better."

She shook her head, the tears in her eyes flickering in the headlights.

I dropped my head, my mouth lingering over hers. "I should have stayed and fought for you, but instead, I went to a bar and got drunk. I'm sorry I didn't fight for you, but that will never happen again." Her eyes closed, and a tear streamed down her cheek. "I'm fighting for us this time."

She lifted her chin, brushing her lips against mine, and I claimed her mouth, smashing my lips to hers. Everything inside of me exploded as she melted into me. At that moment, it felt like the past faded, and it didn't matter anymore. It felt like we were meant to be.

Breaking from the kiss, I dropped my forehead to hers as our labored breathing filled the space between us. "I still love you, Taylor. Even as mad as I was, I never stopped loving you, and I wanted to. I wanted to hate you, and I think sometimes I convinced myself that I did, but I didn't." I lifted my head, my gaze meeting hers. "You are my soulmate."

"I never stopped loving you either," she choked out.

"Then let's do this for real. Let's try to forget about Caleb and our bad choices, focus on us, and see if we have a future together."

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