Page 8 of Her True Blue
“Thank you.”
He resumes his position, his fingers toying and feathering softly over my knuckles on my lap. “You’re welcome.”
“How about you? Always been a Colorado resident?”
I nod. “Yeah, I was born and raised in Durango and then went to school in Denver.”
“You still have any family back there?”
“Nope. Everyone gone. No reason to go back.”
I try to keep it light, not wanting to share too many details about my chaotic life before and what I’ve been running from ever since.
While, yes, I did go to school in Denver, it was because I was shipped into foster care when I was thirteen after my mama went to jail for drug trafficking. It was there in the system where I met Trever when I was sixteen. He was everything I wasn’t. Fearless. Brave. Bigger than life. And a con artist and criminal.
But I was blinded by his charisma, and I fell hard, having never experienced love before him. I was naïve and incredibly gullible, easily led astray by a kid who by the age of eighteen, was in and out of juvie and on his way to becoming a life-long criminal.
So completely opposite of Cord, who has served his whole life rather than stolen from the people around him.
How would I ever be able to tell him about my past without him looking down on me in shame?
For now, it’s not something I plan on sharing at all. If ever. The less he knows about the old Jordana, the better.
Plus, I worked hard to dig myself out of the hole I was born in and tried to make something out of my life. That’s why I moved to Milltown. To start over.
To begin again under the big Colorado sky, where according to the state’s slogan, the fresh air and fond memories made daily can help me begin again.
Cord
We decidedto adventure down the ridge trail and pathway leading to a small ledge overlooking town. It’s a large flat boulder that seems perfectly designed to accommodate lovers and offers privacy from every direction.
As we lay on our sides, heads propped up on our elbows to face each other, I feel a wave of contentment. Like this is what I’ve been waiting for all this time. The reason I’ve remained single and not settled down yet.
The night grows later and the sky darker, and our conversation continues to captivate me. Or rather, the woman I’m with has captivated me.
Although I know she’s hiding something from me about her past, all I really care about is being with her now, in the present.
We talk about animals, and music, her favorite pastimes, favorite foods, the growing spread in the metro area, the traffic between here and Denver, and the advantages of small-town living. And of course, previous relationships.
Which for me is non-existent.
Jordana looks at me with wide, incredulous eyes. “You mean to tell me you’ve never had a girlfriend?”
My laugh holds a tinge of discomfort and embarrassment. “Well, I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you’re thinking. But no, I’ve never had a girlfriend. Never found anyone who checked off all the boxes, you know? I left at eighteen for the military, returned to train as a police officer and here I am. Just never settled down.”
“I didn’t mean to imply you are a virgin,” she whispers, glancing away before setting her gaze back on me. “I’m just surprised someone hasn’t lockedthisdown.” She gestures like she’s Vanna White and I’m her showcase prize.
I take the opportunity to move in closer, our hips touching, knees bumping together. She’s warm and soft, offering something I can’t quite put my finger on, but wanting to explore the connection behind the zing of electric current emanating through my body every time we touch.
I let my eyes scan over her body and a slow smile emerges over my lips. I lean closer, a hand skimming down her arm, touching smooth, pearl soft skin where the jacket has fallen off her shoulder. Her lips part in a gasp.
My voice is low and thick, but out here where there’s nothing but nature, it seems to echo around us.
“You interested in locking this down, Jordana?”
Her whisper floats between us. “You make me feel protected. I like that.”
My lips find the small expanse of skin at her jawline, forcing her to tilt her head to the side as I plant kisses across the flesh. Goosebumps form, and I can feel and see tiny shivers scattering through her as she trembles slightly.
