Riding Jamie (Montgomery Dreams #1)

Chapter Sixteen

OAKLEY

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s good to see you two back together,” Bo says.

I glance over at him with a grin, watching Jamie navigate his way back to us with a cup of punch in his hands. He’s healing every day, and he’s even stronger than he was a week ago.

“Never thought I’d see the day where you approved of Jamie Walker,” I tease.

“Kid grew on me, unfortunately,” Bo grumbles.

I toss my head back on a laugh. It feels so good to be back home. Jamie and I are together again, I have my family right here, Phoebe and I spent a ridiculous amount of time getting ready for this party and absolutely trashed her room trying on a million different outfits. Neither of us are close with the guy who decided to throw the party, but I’m pretty sure he and Jamie were friendly in high school. Most of the big parties we went to in high school were at this abandoned barn, so it’s a familiar scene.

Things finally feel right again, and my heart is light.

Jamie is wearing a dark green shirt that almost matches the color of my glittery mini dress, and his legs look miles long in his tight jeans. Phoebe’s hair is in perfectly set waves, her makeup flawless and vibrant as always. She ran off to go to the bathroom a little while ago, so I’m sure it’ll be at least half an hour before we see her again. I’ve been inundated with people wanting to say hi now that I’m back in town, too. Bo isn’t wearing anything special, no surprise there, but he actually looks like he’s enjoying himself for once.

It finally feels like I’m where I’m supposed to be.

“Out of lemonade, sorry, baby,” Jamie says, holding out a cup. “They had tea and punch, I figured you’d want the punch.”

I grin fondly, taking the cup of punch from his hand and leaning up to catch his lips in a kiss. He knows better than almost anyone just how huge my sweet tooth is.

I see the bright blue of Phoebe’s dress seconds before she comes crashing into my side like a giggly tornado. There’s a red cup of some strong-smelling alcohol in her hand, and her cheeks are flushed pink.

“Oh, y’all aren’t going to believe who I just saw,” Phoebe says breathlessly, leaning heavily against my arm as she laughs.

My stomach tenses in anxiety for a second. I swear to God, if she says Savannah is here, I’m leaving right the fuck now.

“Spit it out, Pheebs,” Bo says, pulling the red cup from her hand and downing the contents himself.

She frowns at him, but doesn’t outright argue with him. He’s not a ball buster about it, but he doesn’t let either of us drink if he’s around. I’m sure he’s not dumb enough to believe that neither of us have had a drink or two at a party before, but I won’t deny that it makes me feel safer, knowing he’s watching out for us both.

“Your sisters are arguing with some guy out front,” she says.

I glance at Bo in confusion for a second before I realize that Phoebe is looking at both me and Jamie. For fuck’s sake.

Maggie is bad enough on her own, but her and Penny together are an unstoppable force of teenage brattiness. I tug at Jamie’s good arm, already marching toward the open barn doors. The last thing I want to deal with is our little sisters causing trouble, but at least it’s something I’m used to.

I hear Maggie’s voice before we even make it outside, and I roll my eyes at the sass dripping from her tone.

“Magnolia Melody Montgomery!” I shout.

Maggie’s head snaps to the side, and she greets me with the most disinterested sneer I’ve ever seen on a sixteen-year-old, which is saying a lot. Her hair is set in perfect ringlets, tied up in flouncy pigtails, and she’s wearing a skintight black dress I’m pretty sure she stole from my closet.

Little shit.

“Penny, I swear to God,” Jamie says as we close the distance.

Penny at least has the decency to look ashamed, but she’s half hiding behind my sister, ready to follow Maggie’s lead.

The boy in front of them looks a second away from fainting, his face flaming in embarrassment. He’s got enough brains in his head to make a dash for it when Jamie gestures for him to get out of here. Smart kid. The smart ones aren’t usually Maggie’s type.

“You two abusing some poor kid?” I ask, thoroughly unimpressed.

Maggie scoffs at me, crossing her arms over her chest.

“He was hitting on Penny,” she says with a sneer. “I told him to fuck off.”

I grab Jamie by the wrist to stop him from immediately hunting the boy down and giving him the standard set of big brother threats. I’m sure the guy has been thoroughly warned off by now. Bo comes sloping over to join us, a fresh beer in his hand. He drapes his arm over Maggie’s shoulders, ignoring her attempts to shake him off.

“Language,” Bo warns lazily.

We all know he’s only saying it to annoy her, but Maggie makes a face at him anyway.

Before I can add my own scolding to the conversation, my eyes catch on a head of blond hair set into a style that seems much too familiar.

Shane ?

I blink in surprise, an unpleasant thread of confusion wrapping around my gut as I turn. I arch up onto my tiptoes in an attempt to see over the crowd, but there are too many people milling around to find him again. Why would Shane be here?

“Oakley?” Jamie asks.

He sounds confused as he wraps his arm around my waist, and I realize I was completely ignoring the conversation. I flush, laughing awkwardly, and toss my hair behind my shoulder.

“Sorry,” I say, leaning into his side. “I thought I saw someone.”

I hesitate a bit on the last word, and I hope neither Jamie or Bo notice anything. Neither of them call me out immediately, and I throw one last glance over my shoulder, just to soothe my curiosity. There’s absolutely no reason for Shane to be here, and it’s not like he’s the only blond guy with a shaggy haircut in the whole world.

“Listen, uh, Oakley and I were going to head out. I promised to take her stargazing,” Jamie says, drawing my attention back. “It was good to see y’all. Penny, if you’re not home in half an hour, I’m calling Dad.”

I shoot him a glance, a grin tugging at my lips, but I don’t say anything. He didn’t say anything about going stargazing earlier, but Jamie does have a habit of surprising me.

Bo raises his beer in a lazy salute, his arm still slung over a sullen Maggie’s shoulders. Penny stands to the side of them, looking down at her boots in embarrassment. Maggie’s always been the more outgoing of the two of them, even if Penny gets them into more trouble.

“Drive safe,” he says.

“Always,” Jamie promises, squeezing my waist affectionately.

“We’ll see you guys later, I guess,” I say. “Get the two of them home safe?”

She rolls her eyes at me and scoffs, trying to shrug Bo’s arm off her shoulders.

“I’m not a kid ,” she says with a sneer on her glossy lips.

Bo and I make almost identical sounds of disbelief, and Penny tugs on the sleeve of her shirt and shoots her a look. It’s cute to see, and it reminds me a bit of how Phoebe and I used to be when we were sneaking out to go to parties at their age.

“We’re getting in the car right now,” Bo says, ruffling a hand through Maggie’s hair.

She sneers at him, yanking free of his hold to fix her hair, but she doesn’t argue.

“Have fun, you two,” he adds as Jamie starts to pull me away.

His tone makes my cheeks flush, but I know he’s just being an annoying big brother. He’s a little too good at it, if you ask me.

“So,” I drawl, falling into step at Jamie’s side as he leads me toward the truck, “we’re going stargazing?”

“We are,” he says, grinning down at me. “I’m taking you out to our spot. I haven’t been there in forever.”

There’s a twinge of pain in his voice, and I wrap my arm around his waist as a reminder that I’m here now. We found the little creekside clearing when we were still freshman, and we used to spend hours out there at night, fighting off bugs and telling each other dumb jokes. He probably hasn’t been there since we broke up, and I suddenly want to be nowhere else.

I glance up at the sky, chuckling when I realize the clouds are still hanging low and covering most of the stars.

“It might not be a great night for stargazing,” I say, nodding up. “Kind of cloudy.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out,” he says.

The teasing heat in his voice sends warmth pooling in my gut, and I swallow hard, leaning against him. We pick up our pace, winding through the haphazardly parked cars that litter the wide expanse of open grass. I’m glad that we parked closer to the road, because it makes pulling away and getting on the road a million times easier. Our spot isn’t far from here, and my blood hums under my skin as we get closer and closer.

I scoot across the bench seat in Jamie’s truck to lean against him as he pulls onto the narrow trail that leads to the clearing. We usually just sit in the cab and chat—or make out for hours on end—when we come out here, so it’s a surprise when he parks and reaches for the door.

“We’re sitting outside?”

“I brought blankets and pillows,” he says with a proud smile. “I wanted to get some fresh air and have time alone with you.”

His smile is sweet and a little shy, and I can never say no to him when he looks at me like that. I steal a kiss from him before following him out of the truck.

True to his word, there’s a pile of blankets and pillows folded neatly in the bed of the truck. He pulls the tailgate down and clambers up with a wince. His leg has been bothering him less the past few days, but I still cringe at the reminder of how seriously he was injured. I climb up after him, helping settle the pile of blankets into a cozy little nest for the two of us to curl up in.

It’s one of the most romantic dates we’ve ever been on, even though the stars aren’t out, and I snuggle into his side. I pull the corner of one of the spare blankets over my bare legs, wanting to fight off the chill for as long as I can, but Jamie immediately slides it out of the way, replacing the cotton with his palm.

“Jamie, it’s cold ,” I scold him with a giggle. “I thought we were supposed to be stargazing.”

He grins at me, incorrigible as ever, and ignores my attempts to pull the blankets back up over the two of us. The air isn’t that cold, and the warmth of Jamie’s hand on my thighs combined with the excitement of it all is making my blood sing in my veins.

“I’ll keep you warm, baby,” he says, a wicked smile on his lips. “And I’ll have you seeing stars one way or another.”

The heat in his voice makes me shiver, and I shift slightly atop the blankets as his hand slides up higher. His fingers tease their way beneath the hem of my dress, the rough slide of his calluses just as perfect as I remember.

Even with all the blankets Jamie laid out for us to stargaze , the bed of his truck isn’t the most comfortable. It’s easy to forget about as he kneels between my legs, though.

His mouth is demanding on mine when he steals my lips in a kiss, and I moan when his tongue tangles with mine. He wastes no time pushing my dress up around my waist, his fingers tugging at the hem of my panties as soon as he gets hold of the fabric. I arch up into his touch helpfully, looping an arm around his good shoulder for stability as he strips them down my legs. The cool air is a shock against my bare cunt, but Jamie doesn’t let me suffer for long.

His fingers map their way up the inside of my thigh toward my clit with no hesitation. My breath comes out on a stuttered moan at the first touch, and I feel him grin against my mouth.

“Lay back for me, princess,” he says as he pulls back from the kiss.

I can barely think straight as he rubs maddeningly slow over my clit, my legs jolting with every shift of his thumb. He rearranges me like a doll, and I offer no resistance. Sluggish, lazy pleasure is warming me from the inside out, and I let him spread my legs and hook them over his shoulders happily.

I gasp at the feeling of his mouth on the inside of my knee, watching raptly as he traces a slow line up my thigh with lips and teeth and tongue.

“Jamie.”

My voice is weak and warbling, soft in the quiet of the night air. I don’t know what I even want to say, but I think he understands anyway. I raise a hand to his head, scratching my nails over his scalp as I twine my fingers through his hair, and he eagerly pushes into the touch.

“Let me take care of you,” he whispers.

His breath is warm against the crease of my thigh, and there’s a wealth of thought in that statement, but all I can do is nod. He’s all I’ve ever wanted.

I want to be taken care of, but only if it’s by him.

“ Please .”

He doesn’t make me wait, replacing the chill of the November air with the warmth of his mouth. It immediately drives every thought out of my head.

This is how it’s always been with Jamie—overwhelming and perfect and so intense it leaves me shaking. I fall into the bliss of his touch, letting him bring me up and over the edge over and over until I can hardly breathe. I muffle my noises into the pillows, my cheeks flaming in both embarrassment and arousal.

By the time Jamie takes mercy on me, my vision is blurry and my chest is rising in frantic, gasping breaths. He’s hard in his jeans, but he doesn’t make any move to take his own pleasure, and I’m too overstimulated to form words as he pulls my dress back down.

“Look at that, the stars are out,” Jamie says, tugging one of the blankets up to cover us.

I glance up at the sky, a laugh bubbling up from my lips.

“You’re ridiculous,” I say, giggling.

How did I ever think I could want a life without this man by my side?