“A European tour must be great. You could visit all the different countries.”
I agree with an easy smile. We continue to ride in silence for a few minutes. Gavin stops suddenly and dismounts.
“Come on.” He holds his hand out to me to help me off June and leads me toward the ledge I hadn’t even noticed.
“Wow,” I gasp as I look out at the view before me. Mountains dip into valleys, and combinations of greens and yellows cover the land. “This view is incredible.”
“That’s Everton there.” Gavin points to a cluster of buildings that look like ants from up here.
“Aren’t we in Everton?” I ask, wondering how far we rode.
Gavin chuckles. “Yes, technically, but that’s the town.”
“That’s really cool. It didn’t even feel like we were climbing.”
“I know. I love coming here and just looking out at the town and the mountains.”
“Thanks for bringing me here.” I look up at Gavin with a smile.
He nods softly. His fingers brush against the back of mine lightly, and I smile as I stare straight ahead. My skin prickles with goosebumps at the soft strokes, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Gavin watching me.
I turn my hand and link our fingers together. My heart leaps in my chest, but instead of releasing me, Gavin tightens his hold.
I turn to look at him, and his other hand goes to my hair.
“I haven’t done this in a really long time, but you draw me in.” His words are a whisper. “Even after I swore I’d never give another woman the opportunity to break my heart.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath hearing him say this. When I reopen them, I stare into his pained ones. Squeezing his hand, I offer a small smile and place my hand over his in my hair.
“I don’t need to know what you went through, but if you ever want to tell me, you will. I don’t take the heart for granted. I know how valuable it is.”
Gavin nods, his chest rising and falling with a heavy breath.
“I like you, Sutton. That scares me. I was with Penny’s mom for a long time, many years. There hasn’t been anyone after her. I haven’t been ready until now.”
I suck my lower lip into my mouth and breathe in the tears that are threatening to fall. He looks so sad in this moment, raw pain etching his face. This is the Gavin I met, but he’s shown me that underneath the pain is another man, probably his true self.
I take a step closer. “I like you, too.” My eyes flicker between his. He gives me a shy smile. Gavin pulls our hands away from my hair, and his lips brush the back of mine.
“How about we ride back and then get ice cream?”
“I like that plan.” I give his hand one more squeeze before taking a step back.
As much as I wanted to kiss him, I know the timing wasn’t right. I’ll let Gavin make the moves, open up to me as he feels comfortable. I have no doubt he will, and when he does, the wait would’ve been worth it.
Gavin
Sutton walks next to me, holding an ice cream cone topped with strawberry and cheesecake ice cream and colored sprinkles. I laugh to myself as I watch her practically skip with the cone. When I suggested we get ice cream at Sundae Bliss, the town ice cream shop, her beaming smile was the only response I needed.
As soon as I saw her sitting at Cup-O-Joe this morning after church, my heartbeat spiked. I wasn’t expecting to ask her out in person, let alone have her tell me she was free today. I’m damn glad she did, though.
I spent the rest of last night, after we got home from the sock hop, replaying my conversation with Abbie. I spoke aloud what I’d been feeling toward Sutton, and it felt like a relief to say it instead of trying to bury it into a nonexistent hole. No matter how hard I tried, the more I saw Sutton, the more the truth was at the surface.
“How’s your ice cream?” I ask her when I see her race to lick the dripping ice cream down the cone.
“So good.” She looks at me with wide eyes, the golden flecks luring me in.
“I’m glad.” I smile, eyeing the colorful sprinkles. Sutton has this way of living. Carefree, joyous, and confident.
She turns around and gets in front of me, walking backward. “How’s yours?”
“It’s good. I’d let you try it, but you made fun of my boring choice.” I lick the chocolate ice cream.
Sutton eyes me, almost falling back. I reach for her waist, holding her steady. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she nods.
Pink brushes her cheeks, and one side of my lips lifts. I run my thumb across her cheek, her eyes flutter closed, and her breath hitches. When Sutton reopens her eyes, she gazes into mine with intensity. I’m tempted to kiss her, but I don’t want an audience when I do.
She reaches for my hand on her cheek and clasps her fingers around it, stretching our arms out as we continue to walk, her facing me. She moves to her own beat as she sways.
“What is your favorite place in Everton?” An easy smile appears on her face again. The heated anticipation washed away like the ice cream melting down her cone.
While she waits for my answer, she eats more of her sweet treat.
“There’s a waterfall off one of the trails I usually ride on. It’s amazing. I love going there and sitting while I watch the water rush down with incredible force.”
“That must be beautiful,” she comments. “Here I thought you were going to say The Mad Batter,” she teases. The wind blows her hair around her face, and her flowery scent hits me. I inhale
