Page 55 of Tastes Like Watermelon Moonshine
He licks his lips, and I watch his chest move as he takes a deep breath. “Raegan… I’m in love with you. I think I loved you the moment I met you… I knew for sure that I loved you when we kissed under the mistletoe at Christmas… but I’m so certain now. I’m in love. With you. I really love you.”
Then choose me. Pick me. Love me. Not baseball.
I reach a hand up and cup his cheek, my thumb stroking back and forth. The stubble of his beard sending a wave of awareness through me. “I love you too, Austin.”
I rise up so that my lips can meld with his. My hand slides down to his chest where I cling to the fabric of his shirt. I can feel the pounding of his heart. It beats in unison with mine. A song only we know. A song that I have to memorize since he won’t be here after today. I want it seared into my brain so I can pull it up anytime that I’m missing him.
His mouth dips and teases, tasting and taking. At the touch of his tongue to my upper lip, I open my mouth to him. Our breath swirls together like a cloud of watermelon vapor. Tentatively, I use my tongue and touch his lip, like he did to me. His tongue meets mine and our kiss is like an intricate dance that I’m learning the steps to. Intimate and elegant.
Warning bells go off in my brain. We haven’t gone too far, not yet. We still have time to stop. We can do this right. We can avoid stirring up love until the time is right. Can’t we? I pull my lips from his but leave my forehead resting against his. I just need a few breaths, I won’t cross the line.
But… My mind is a haze. The line… The stupid line.
His lips touch the tip of my nose, my cheekbone, then the corner of my mouth before they’re back on my lips. Giving and taking, seeking something more. We go back to the dancing tongues, and it’s more than I could ever imagine. No wonder my parents kiss all the time.
Heat pools in my stomach, then spreads, like a butterfly. It flits to my cheeks, then my fingertips, then all the way to my toes.
Austin pulls me closer, onto his lap. I grip his shirt in my fists as his hands explore my back. Up and down, kneading and caressing.
His lips leave mine and I chase them, wanting more. I want him. Our chests heave in unison and his breath is ragged as he leans in and places his lips just below my ear. My head tilts to the side, I no longer have control, my body knows what it wants. And it wants his touch.
I suck in a breath and a delightful shiver races down my spine. This is heaven. My heart explodes in my chest. I want this feeling forever. The feeling of him wanting me. The feeling of me meaning more to him than baseball.
Right now, he wants me more than he wants baseball.
I slide a hand up his chest and into his hair. It’s long enough that I can twist it around my fingers just a bit. My other hand tugs on the cotton of his shirt before coming into contact with warm silken skin.
Austin’s lips take a lazy path back to my mouth. Caressing the corner of my mouth, before crashing back onto my lips. Hepauses, both of our mouths open, allowing our breaths to mingle again as we try to catch our breath. “Rae…”
His hands on my back pull me closer still, like he can’t touch enough of me.
He presses a kiss to my pulse as it races at the base of my neck and I draw in a raspy breath. The boundary lines in my mind blur as he strokes a finger down my cheek and slowly across my collar bone. I want those lines gone. My heart squeezes, trying to send me a message, but I ignore it. I want to cross the line.He wants me more than baseball.
Austin’s breath is ragged across my face. “You feel so good.” His lips find the skin of my neck before he shifts us to lay in the bed of the truck.
“We should stop, Austin.” My voice is low and throaty, and I can think of nothing other than a few more kisses. Maybe… Maybe if I give this to him, he’ll stay. He’ll pick me.
“One more kiss, Rae?”
I chase his lips in response, telling myself that thisshouldbe the last one.
“I’ll always have one more kiss for you.”
But, I’ve made up my mind. Right now, he wants me more than baseball, and I will embrace that for as long as it lasts.
Chapter 25
Austin - The Present
Myphonethunksonthe table as I flip it from end to end. Josh’s hand comes down on my wrist. It’s a gentle touch. I probably haven’t been listening. I lift my head from where I stare at my phone. I blink and shake my head. Josh’s eyes are filled with questions.
Josh, Jared, and I are sitting in a coffee shop, as usual, having our little Bible study. Occasionally other teammates join us, but not today; Thanksgiving is only two days away, and most are off with their families.
“Y’all right there?” Josh arches one eyebrow.
“I guess.” I shake my head. “I hate confrontation. But how else am I supposed to get the answers Ineed?” I want closure, or something. I’m willing to still be with her, but she’ll have to gain back my trust. And I probably have to gain back her trust as well. I've considered going back to Atlanta, and even toyed with the thought of a trip to Clear Creek. But I haven’t brought myself toleave Frisco for anything other than away games. Even though I know that I really need to confront Raegan.
Josh’s mouth twitches back and forth, as if he’s trying to figure out what to say. I know he’s got his own share of complications in life. He told me a little while back about how he and his wife want children, but so far every pregnancy has ended in miscarriage. I feel like a fake, a fraud; because I possibly have a child out there that I had no clue about until a few weeks ago.
