Chapter 35
Parker
We get back to Amity late in the night. Lily is asleep with her head against the window.
Even though she would deny it, her soft snores make my smile.
I don’t want to take her home. I want her in my bed.
This trip has only been a couple days with one hotel stay, but I’m not ready to be apart from her yet. I don’t think I ever will.
Pulling into my driveway, she doesn’t stir even when I turn off the truck.
I just look at her. Blonde hair draped over her face, obscuring her features, but it doesn’t matter.
She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.
I always thought that as we were growing up, and it’s only gotten truer as we’ve gotten older.
I scoot over to her, moving her hair from her face. “Lil.”
“Hm?” she hums, shifting in her seat.
“We’re home.”
She hums again, sleepily lifting her arms. “Carry me.”
I chuckle, shaking my head, but do just that. I hold her against me as I open her door and then scoop her into my arms as I step out of the cab. She nuzzles her face into my neck.
“You smell so good,” she comments.
I huff out a laugh. “Don’t know about that.” Thirteen hours in the car usually doesn’t lead to someone smelling or feeling their best.
Apparently, Lily doesn’t care because she snuggles closer into me and makes a content noise. I fumble with my keys to unlock the door without having to put her down. She lifts her head and opens her eyes for the first time since we got here.
“I thought you meant my home.” Then she yawns.
“I just said home. It could be yours if you wanted.”
She shakes her head. “I’m too tired to even begin to get into that with you right now. I just want a bed.”
I finally get the door open, carrying her inside. “Good thing I have one of those.”
Franki stretches, and I think she wants to attack my leg until she sees Lily and must decide to spare me this time. She does follow us into the bedroom, and hops onto the bed as I lay Lily down on it.
I kick my shoes off, preparing to get into the bed with her, but she grumbles, “I’m hungry.”
“What’re you hungry for?”
She rolls over, and I try not to get distracted at how perfect she looks in my bed. Soft golden hair draped over my pillow, sleepy eyes looking up at me. I love her so fucking much it hurts. Especially when she smiles; it’s so genuine, so bright, so Lily.
“Pancakes.”
“You want pancakes right now?” I look at the time just to confirm it really is the middle of the night. It is.
Her smile dims and she sinks into the bed. “Sorry, you’re right. That’s ridiculous, I can wait until the morning.”
I climb on the bed, and cage her in with my hands resting on either side of her.
“Hell no. it’s not ridiculous, it’s what you want.
You know I’ll give you whatever it is you want, no matter what time it is.
” I lean closer, but remain hovering over her.
“And don’t you ever call yourself or what you want ridiculous. Got it?”
She raises her hand to her forehead in a salute. “Aye aye, Captain.”
I drop a quick peck onto her lips before standing up to go make her pancakes.
“Parker?” she calls.
I turn around, and she’s sitting up, leaning on her elbows. “Yeah?”
“Has anyone told you what a great ass you have?”
I bark out a laugh. “Only you, Lil.”
“Good, I like being your first.” She smiles widely.
“First and only.” I wink, leaving the room before she can tempt me back into the bed with her. Because she easily could, and I know she really is hungry, or she wouldn’t have said anything.
I make sure to throw in some chocolate chips into the pancake mix because those are her favorite. When I return with the two plates and syrup, I expect to find her asleep again, but she’s laying on her side petting Franki who’s purring loud enough for me to hear from across the room.
“Can you tell her to like me?” I request, handing one of the plates to Lily.
“No can do, she’s independent and likes who she likes.” She shrugs before diving into the food. At the first bite she lets out a moan that has me shoveling food into my mouth as a distraction.
“So are you,” I retort. “You didn’t like me for a little bit and that changed.”
“Who says it’s changed?” she challenges.
“You did. It sounded something like this,” I change the pitch of my voice to badly imitate her, “Parker, oh my God.”
She lifts her foot, pushing my knee with it, laughing with me as we eat the pancakes. Once we’re done, I can see how tired she really is. I take the plates and encourage her to lay down. She doesn’t even fight me, and Franki settles right next to her head on the pillow.
When I come back to the room after rinsing the plates, both girls are asleep, and I love to see it.
There’s only one girl missing here to make it the perfect picture.
I hope Tulips and Franki get along because they’re going to be step-siblings at some point.
Or would it just be siblings? I guess I’m not sure how that works with pets.
I climb into bed and worry Franki will attack my face while I sleep. Especially when I scoot closer to Lily’s back, wrapping an arm around her middle to pull her against me. She lets out a soft sigh, and I drift off to the best sleep of my life.
When I wake up, I fully expect to see Lily there. In fact, I look forward to it, which is why as soon as I start to wake, I’m opening my eyes just so I can come face to face with her. What I don’t expect is to literally have her in my face.
“You have some explaining to do.”
I stretch out as a smile spreads. “Good morning, Lil.”
“What’s this?” She holds up her scrunchie I’ve kept under my pillow for years in between us.
“Your scrunchie,” I answer simply.
“Why’s it under your pillow?”
“Because it’s where I keep it.”
“Why?”
“So I don’t lose it.”
“And?”
I chuckle. “And what?”
“Why else?” she demands.
“I like having something with me to sleep with every night.”
“Why?”
I roll over, trapping her underneath me, holding her head between my hands, rubbing my thumbs along her cheek, and her jaw. “I think you know why, Lil.”
She swallows roughly. “Tell me.”
I shake my head. “Not yet.” I move to kiss her, but she stops me with her hand over my mouth.
“Why?”
“Are you Jerry Lee? Is that your new favorite word? If that’s the case I have some more fun ones to teach you. How about ‘Parker you have the biggest—‘”
She cuts me off, “You’re ridiculous.”
“So are you, in the best way. I’ll tell you why, I promise. When the time is right.”
“I think the time is pretty right,” she grumbles.
“Come on, let’s get up or I’ll keep you in bed all day, and you need to get back to Tulips.”
I drag myself out of the bed reluctantly, and she follows, standing on her tip toes, throwing her arms around my neck, and I can’t help doing the same around her waist. “If you don’t want to tell me because you’re afraid I’m going to leave again, I’m not.”
“I know you’re not,” I tell her. “But I told you I’m doing everything better this time around.”
“The first time was pretty great.”
“It was perfect, and this time will be even better.” I take her mouth in an intoxicating kiss that we’re both bound to get lost in if I don’t end it. She has things to unpack, a puppy to see and work to prepare for. So do I, unfortunately.
“Fine, but the bar is really high.”
“Trust me I know.”
Officially dating Lily has been everything I ever imagined it would be.
It’s been a couple months since our first kiss, the day that everything changed.
I was worried it would ruin what we had, but it’s only made it better in a lot of ways.
We do the same things we’ve always done just add in more kissing. And touching.
We haven’t had sex, it would be the first time for both of us, and I know we’re both nervous about it. I want her first time to be perfect.
But the thing that’s been the hardest for me is not blurting out that I love her. Because I do, I have for our entire lives, but now I know that love isn’t entirely platonic. She’s my best friend but she’s also my first and only love.
“I want to bake some cookies,” she announces in my truck as we leave school.
“What kind?”
“Chocolate chip of course. I’m not trying to get super fancy.”
“Do you need some supervision?” I tease.
“I started one small fire one time.”
I smirk, remembering the small fire. Luckily, I’ve been volunteering with the local fire station I hope to work at after we graduate and knew not to throw water on a grease fire.
We get back to her house, and in usual Lily fashion she jumps right into the task she’s set her mind to. Her parents are still at work, and Ethan usually stays at an after-school program until their mom or dad pick him up.
Which means we usually have an hour or so alone. Sometimes we use that time to make out or test out the new physical boundaries of this relationship. Sometimes we go out with the horses, or like today we bake cookies.
Lily gets out the ingredients listed on an old, discolored handwritten paper from her grandmother. Her mom has kept a ton of old recipes from her, and I always know that means something is going to be delicious.
Lily’s the boss when it comes to this and I just do what I’m told. As I’m mixing in the chocolate chips into the dough, she presses herself up to me, and I almost drop the bowl.
“You have something right here.” Her hand swipes across my cheek, and I feel the powder of what I assume is flour on my face.
I set the bowl on the counter and press my tongue into my cheek, not looking over to her yet. “You better run.”
“What’re you going to do?” She giggles.
Sliding my hand in some of the flour still on the counter I start to chase her. Lily squeals as she runs away from me. She doesn’t get far before I’m wrapping my arm around her middle, hauling her back against me and wiping my flour covered hand all over her face.
“Stop, ah!” she screams, trying to fight her way out of my arms.
“You started it,” I say through my laughter as she continues her weak attempts to get away from me.
“I surrender.” She becomes dead weight, trying to drop onto the floor, and I ease her down, joining her on the ground.
We laugh and I grab her legs to spin her around to face me, her smile shining with the sun beaming through the kitchen window.
Her light blue eyes are so bright, and I can’t hold back anymore.
I slide closer to her; even covered in flour and in the mess we made in the kitchen I’ve never been surer of what I’m about to say in my life. “I love you, Lil.”
She sucks in a sharp breath before the biggest smile spreads on her lips and she’s throwing herself into my arms. “It’s about time. I love you, Parker.”