Page 38 of Pictures in Blue
She sighs and I look over. Her face is tilted toward the sun, eyes closed and lips parted. Squinting, she turns to me. “I’m good at reading people, but when it comes to guys I like or want to date, I am the worst judge of character.”
“Meaning?”
“I’ve had relationships in the past and literally all of them have sucked.” A chuckle escapes my lips before I can stop it and she props herself up on her elbow. “I mean it. Every single guy I’ve dated has been trash.”
Copying her movements, I roll to my side and rest my head in my hand, my elbow sinking into the grass. “Did you ever stop to think that it’s not your lack of judgment skills, but that those men were manipulative? They made you think they were good guys, when in reality, to their core, they suck. And it’s not your fault they suck.”
She stares at me for a few seconds before returning her back to the grass and closing her eyes again. “Thank you,” she says quietly and then shifts herself closer to me, the sides of our bodies in contact again, closer this time.
“Anytime, Princess,” I flinch waiting for her to yell at me, berate me, anything to break the tension.
She doesn’t disappoint with a small swat on my shoulder. “Don’tcall me Princess.”
I wake with a jolt and it takes a second to realize where I am. We must have fallen asleep, because the sun is setting and the air is cooling off. Luckily, I can still hear the horses wandering around behind me. As the rest of my senses settle in, I realize Avery’s leg is stretched over me, her thigh resting…well, resting right where she can feel exactly what my body is thinking at the moment and part of me wishes I could wake her the way I wanted to. Her breasts are pushed up against my arm and the awareness of them there does nothing to help my mind go to other places. The hand on my chest shifts and her breathing hitches before she removes it and starts to realize where she is.
Her eyes meet mine and we are both transfixed by the other.
“We fell asleep,” I whisper, still not moving. And neither does she. She must feel me against her leg, but she either doesn’t or she doesn’t care, because she still doesn’t move.
“I’m sorry,” is all she says.
Shifting my head closer, I place my thumb on the side of her jaw and trace a line down to her chin until it is between my thumb and forefinger. “For what?” I’m still whispering. Afraid to break the spell that is being cast on us.
“I don’t know,” she says, and shifts her leg against me. I let out a groan.
“Unless you want this afternoon to get a little more interesting, I suggest not doing that again.”
“Doing what?” she asks in an innocent tone. “This?” She shifts her leg again and I can’t help but press myself into her. Her hand moves across my chest and down until she reaches the hem of my shirt. Lifting it slightly, her fingers graze my skin and I inhale sharply at her touch. I continue to press myself into her leg, moving closer and closer to her center. I want to kiss her. I can pull her to me and in a second she would be straddling me, her whole body on top of mine. Moving my head closer to hers, I plan to do just that when one of the horses neighs suddenly, breaking the moment.
Avery jumps and scrambles to her feet looking around for what spooked them. I copy her movements, but see nothing around that could have made them scared. I sigh and head to the other side where they are nervously pacing.
“We better get them back before they run off scared at something else,” I say, grabbing their reins and walking back to her. She hasn’t moved since she stood and I wonder if she’s going to say anything about what just happened. Or what didn’t happen.
“Good idea,” is all she says and we ride the rest of the way back in silence, the tension way heavier than this morning.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
HUDSON
The next night of sleep isn’t any better than the last and my body is exhausted. After our ride yesterday and our moment in the field, my brain is more muddled than before. And the walk to the inn this morning didn’t help clear my head.
Usually a hike would help, but I have a feeling being in close proximity to Avery isn’t going to help. My heart is racing at the idea of seeing her again.
I hear her light footsteps bounding down the stairs and when she comes around the corner, I am awestruck. She is in the middle of tying her hair up in a turquoise ribbon and the sight of her takes my breath straight from my lungs.
I don’t think she expected me to be here on time because she stops short at the sight of me. We stare at each other caught in a contest neither one of us wants to lose. I hold up the bag filled with lemon bars and gesture to the cups of coffee on the check-in desk.
“I thought we would need fuel for our hike,” I say as a greeting, holding up a coffee and the bag.
“Oh,” is all she says before grabbing her coffee. She takes a sip and reaches her hand in the bag for one of the lemon bars. I copy her action and take one for myself, biting into the tart flavor.
“So,” I say, breaking the silence after I scarf down my lemon bar. “Which trail were you wanting to take?”
“Oh, uhhh, I’m not sure?” She hesitates. “Sky said a shorter trail might be better with the rain and the new shoes, but I don’t mind doing a longer one.”
“It’s going to be muddy. That okay?”
She rolls her eyes. “I couldn’t care less about getting a little dirty.” Realizing what she said, she quickly looks away and takes another sip of her coffee. Is she flirting? Even unintentional flirting is flirting. It counts. Why does that make my chest flutter?
