Page 23 of Beneath the Scars
“I take care of you,” he counters.
“You always have.” I lift my chin, silently asking for a kiss. He doesn’t hesitate to give me what I want. It’s a simple press of our mouths, but the emotion behind it means even more. I’ve never doubted Michael’s love for me. When I was younger, my insecurities made me believe he only thought of me as a best friend or a brother would. Now, I know the truth—he’s loved me the way I’ve loved him from the very beginning.
“Want to take a walk?” I suggest.
He nods, helping me stand from the bleachers. We set out on the walking path, throwing away our empty ice cream cups along the way. He holds my hand as we stroll down the lit pavement. It has me radiating with glee.
“Sooo, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do for fun?” I tease him.
Michael chuckles, shaking his head at me. “It seems I’ve been turned inside out by this spitfire of a woman. She’s gotten me to do a lot of things I didn’t expect to be doing.”
I preen. “She sounds like a wonderful person.”
Michael drops my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulders. “She’s the best thing to ever happen to me. Now, tell me about you. How are things at the clinic?”
“Fantastic. I love it even more than I imagined I would. Uncle Ben told me he wants me to spend the year learning about our patients and working as a vet before he starts teaching me the business side of things. He said he’s not quite ready to retire just yet.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Definitely. I was terrified he’d want to step back right away. I barely feel qualified to work without supervision, let alone run the business as a whole.”
“I can understand that. Dad’s been asking me if I’d be interested in being chief one day. I can’t say it’s not something I’ve thought about. It would be kind of cool to follow in Dad and Cooper’s footsteps, but I’ve got several more years before I’d even think about trying for it.”
“Is it weird neither of us wanted to get out and see the world?”
“Not any weirder than Caro traveling the country for her art.”
“I suppose. My peers in Raleigh looked at me like I was crazy for wanting to work in my hometown clinic.”
Michael scoffs. “Because none of them understand what it’s like to live in a place where everyone is your family. We’re lucky here, Adalaide. Not every small town is as tight-knit as we are. You and I know that we’ll never want for anything because we live here. Not many people have experienced that guarantee.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Will you tell more about the BDSM stuff?”
“What do you want to know?”
“How did you get started?”
He huffs. “Like any teen boy learning about hissexual preferences, I suppose. I watched porn until I found one that didn’t immediately make my stomach churn.”
“I can’t imagine how difficult that might’ve been.”
“Eh. All of it turned me on to a degree, but when I stumbled across the videos of women being restrained, I finally felt as if I could enjoy sex.”
“Is it weird to be talking about this with me?”
“With you? No. I’ve always trusted you, and being in the lifestyle for this long has made talking about my needs a whole lot easier.”
“Good. I hope I can get as good at talking about it as you are.”
Michael leans over to kiss the top of my head. “You will. It just takes practice.”
We make it around to the baseball field where we started, and Michael takes my hand, leading me over to the bleachers. He pushes me back against the wooden light pole, resting his forearm above my head. His other hand lands on the side of my neck while his thumb pushes against my jaw to tip my head back.
“You said something about making out under the bleachers, yeah?”
I grin at Michael. “I believe I did.”
“Well, seeing as how I’m a little too big to fit under there now, this is as close as we’ll get.”
