Page 36 of Say Something
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I hung a left, my car bumping along the dirt drive that led to Danny’s uncle’s place. Well, it was Danny’s place, now, I supposed. He really needed to even this driveway out if he expected my little car to make this trip ever again.
Getting ahead of yourself?the little voice of reason inside my head asked.
The voice was right. There was no sense in anticipating any return trips. Danny and I might be getting along fine, but we’d resolved nothing. We hadn’t had one conversation about our past, and that was okay. We hadn’t seen each other in years, and we were getting reacquainted. We were both back in Oak River to stay, so we had plenty of time to rehash the past.
I pulled to a stop in front of the barn. Looking at the big red structure, I wondered if Danny was planning on having any animals. His uncle had horses, but that was years ago. I didn’t think anyone in Danny’s family had livestock anymore. I was stalling again.
I opened my car door and stood, stretching my legs. We all closed down The Bar the night before. Thankfully, I didn’t drink the entire bar like I had with my siblings when I’d first gotten back into town, but I was up late, and my body was letting me know it wasn’t thrilled. I stretched each arm across my body as I took in the landscape.
It was so beautiful. So green. I could see why Danny would have wanted to rebuild his life here. So much potential. So much promise. There were so many things that had been lost between us that he could find here,with someone new. The thought was like a stab in the gut, and I almost bent over from the pain.
I’d never considered Danny moving on, but he could have. If not already, then in the future. We were divorced. We were nothing to each other. Maybe friends. Maybe not. I didn’t even know. He said he loved me, but maybe it was a friendship type of love. The kind of love people always have for their first loves. A sentimental kind of love.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my raging thoughts.
“Hey,” he called out. I jumped, the shock of hearing his voice jolting through me. “You okay?” he asked, his boots crunching on the gravel as he approached.
“I’m fine,” I lied, giving my best smile. It was bullshit and he knew it but, bless him, he didn’t say anything else about it.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s grab the four-wheeler and I’ll give you the grand tour.”
“I’ve already been here. You don’t have to give me a tour.”
“Entertain me, will ya?” he asked, that signature crooked smirk present on his handsome face.
How could I say no?
He slid open the heavy barn door, his biceps flexing underneath his tight white t-shirt with the exertion, and then disappeared inside. A minute later, I heard the loud motor of the ATV start up. He drove it out of the barn and pulled up alongside me. He held out his hand and I took it.
Of course, I took it.
I’d always take it.
“Isn’t your uncle going to get mad?” I asked Danny as we snuck into the barn on his uncle’s farm. It smelled of hay and something sour, probably horse pee. His uncle had a couple horses somewhere around here.
“He’s out of town at the rodeo.”
I followed Danny blindly through the dark, my hand gripping his. He’d been here a million times before. I trusted him to lead me through the dark.
He sat atop something and pulled me right up behind him. We were on a four-wheeler. The loud engine made me jump when he started it. I swear it would have woken up the town if we weren’t in the middle of nowhere.
Danny rode out of the barn and across the field, the small vehicle breezing through the night. The ATV’s headlight gave him just enough light to see where he was going, but I knew he knew those fields by heart. He didn’t need directions or a map, he could probably feel his way with some kind of farm boy sonar.
After a few short minutes of my arms wrapped tightly around his waist and the wind whipping my hair behind us, we stopped. Danny climbed off, then helped me. I saw the moon’s reflection on the river and smiled. I knew exactly where we were.
“You took me to the river?”
“Yeah...thought we could cross something off that bucket list of yours.”
I blushed. My bucket list was ridiculous, a silly journal assignment for my composition class. It included things like dancing in the rain and skinny dipping. My blush deepened...he wanted to… “You want to go skinny dipping?”
He smirked at me, then pulled his shirt over his head.
“I don’t know,” I said, looking around nervously. It wasn’t that I thought someone would see us, it was more that I couldn’t see what was in the water...or the field… “What if there’s an animal or something?”
Danny kicked off his shorts and started making his way down the short dock. “I didn’t know you to be a chicken, Jessie,” he taunted.
When he reached the end of the dock, I could barely see him in the moonlight. He looked over his shoulder, still grinning at me as he pushed his boxer briefs down his long, muscular legs. The sight of his white butt made me giggle. He was all tan, except for his butt.
“Are you laughing at me?” he asked.
I nodded, grinning like a fool, forgetting his taunting words and my fear of the unknown; I just wanted to be with him. I started peeling my clothes off, and I watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. The way he looked at me...I felt cherished.Empowered. Like I was the only girl in the world. The most beautiful girl in the world.
I ran down the dock and grabbed his hand. He gave me a quick kiss before we jumped off the end.
I forgot about the imaginary creatures in the river and the monsters in the field. All I thought about was the guy in front of me, holding me like he was never planning on letting go. I melted into him, letting him carry the weight of me...of everything.
