“That’s kind of sad…a dinner on a tailgate?” I laughed, she didn’t.
“It’s simple, it is beautiful out here, and you put some thought into it. And I mean it, the best date.”
She placed her hand on mine and squeezed sweetly. I lifted it up and kissed her hand. I kept my eyes on her, taking in her smile.
“You have a beautiful smile.”
“Thank you.”
I stood up off the tailgate and held my hand out for her to take. “How about a dance?”
She moved quickly to me, seeming excited.
I brought her in close and begun dancing with her to the music that was playing lightly. I spun her out and then brought her back bringing her close to me.
I held her close and placed a kiss on the side of her neck.
“I have never danced under the stars.”
“Me either, sweetheart. Me either.”
An hour later we were lying in the back of my truck bed holding hands with our bodies close. We had talked about anything that came to mind, easy and hard, her then me. Nothing seemed off-limits and I found myself more at home with this woman than I have ever been with anyone.
She turned to me, lying on her side. “Have you ever met someone that you felt an instant connection with?”
“You,” I said, and then swallowed hard.
She didn't hesitate and didn't ask for permission before placing her lips on mine. She pulled away just a second, and I turned to my side and placed my hand on her cheek before running my thumb along her lips.
Our eyes locked and I felt the radiation coming off both of us. It was electric. I kissed her again and her eyes remained closed. Mine I kept open because I feared to close them. If I closed them, it would end and I wasn't ready for that.
We continued to kiss softly and then stopped. We would talk a little and then kiss again. Nothing more, nothing less.
“I want to show you something,” I finally said, ending our night at the hill. I already knew what her response was going to be, but I wanted to see it with my own eyes. I needed to.
I was falling for her. And she wasn’t going to be someone I would be able to keep myself from.
BREIGH
The feelings I was feeling, on the way to wherever Wyatt was taking me, were like I was in high school but more intense. You know: the excitement, the rush, the want. This man, there wasn't anything I didn't like about him yet. It scared me as much as it excited me. I wanted us to lie in the back of his truck and make out like kids, enjoying every minute, not rushing to the next step, taking each other in. His lips on mine always resulted in goosebumps, chills that rolled through my entire body.
This wasn't a feeling of newness: the excitement people felt when something was new wore off. This was a meeting of souls. One night with him alone and I felt this way. We had spent time together but this was just different. More intense, more one-on-one when there was nothing in between. Just us.
We pulled up to a mobile home, and Wyatt turned off his truck engine. He put his arm up on the bench seat and stared at it and then at me. He was waiting for something but for what I hadn't a clue.
“What? What exactly are you showing me?”
“A home.”
“Okay? I don't get it. Am I supposed to know who lives here or…?”
“What do you think of it?”
“It looks like a home.”
The yard around the double-wide was well-kept, and I could tell there was land all around it with some beautiful trees.
“Anything else?” he asked. He was waiting for something but I hadn't a clue what. I looked at him lost, trying to figure out what he was expecting me to say.
“Not really…am I missing something?”
He smiled.
“Who lives here? This is kind of creepy, us just sitting out here.” She looked around to see if anyone was watching. “I love those cedar shutters by all the windows. They give it so much character.”
He still didn't say anything.
“You can tell whoever lives here takes care of it. It looks like they have some land; they could put a small barn over there for some goats. I love goats!”
He laughed. “No goats!”
“Do you know who lives here?”
He shook his head yes.
“Okay, who? Why are you acting so goofy? We have been sitting here for a while. I don't want someone to come out with a shotgun, telling us to get off their property.”
“Not going to happen, I live here.”
I shrugged my shoulders like I was missing the whole point. “So let me get this straight; you brought me to your house to show it to me, but didn't tell me it was yours? Why?”
He started to talk but then it clicked.
“Wait, are you testing me? Do you think I am shallow and I will think I’m too good for this?” I started to get mad. What did he think I was? Why would he do that when we were having such a fantastic time?
Sensing my frustration he spoke up.
“Come sit by me. Scoot.” He leaned over and unfastened my seat belt, and once I got beside him, he put his arm around my shoulder.
I wondered if I would ever get used to his touch or if it would always excite me.
“I realize this is going to sound extremely immature and juvenile, but I needed to see your reaction. I needed to see, without me saying anything, what you thought of it.”
“But…are you assuming I’m judgmental? I mean, come on, I work for people who have absolutely nothing, and then I work for people who have everything. I just don't get it.”
“First, I don't really know what you do for your job, so that aside, I just needed to know how you are. This was something that really bothers me.
