19. Decker
“You seriously don’t go to the gym?”
“Nope.” I hand the woman’s change back to her with a smile.
“Your wife is one lucky lady.” She looks over at Juniper, who’s watching us. “Am I right?” She giggles and Juniper just smiles. She lets her hand linger on mine when she takes the bills before slowly turning around and walking away.
“I should have had you working the tent years ago!” Bernice laughs at the way the woman stares at me. “Could have made a killing.”
“You already make a killing, Bernice. The brewery donates these kegs.”
“True.” She grabs my bicep. “She’s right, though. How do you get this big without pumping iron night and day?”
“You keep me busy lifting these kegs.”
“Oh, Deck, you kill me.” She slaps my arm, running her hands over me one more time. “I need to run back and see how things are going at the bar. I’ll be back later.” Bernice waves and takes off out of the tent. I look up to see Juniper watching Bernice and me with a smile on her face.
“I’m not sure I realized just how much the ladies like to flirt with you.”
“Feeling threatened? Want to mark your territory?” I hoist an empty keg onto my shoulder.
“I don’t recall claiming you as my territory.”
“Hmm, well, you’re my territory, darlin’, and I’ve only got about another day in me before I’m gonna mark you.”
“Is that a threat?”
I toss the empty keg onto the others and walk toward her with determination. “Yes, I told you before that I don’t enjoy games, but I’m letting you get it out of your system before you come crawling back to me.”
“Shift change!” Tyson, one of the mechanics from the garage, pops into the tent with Noah. “Bernice said your four hours are up for today and she sent us to take over for you guys.”
“Great, thanks. See ya!” Juniper waves at the three of us before walking over to a group of her friends and disappearing.
The sun is starting to set, the carnival ride lights starting to glow. I hear a familiar sound behind me and turn around to see Ranger and Dolly walking over with Amethyst.
“There’s my girl!” I grab her from Ranger’s arms, lifting her in the air and spinning her around. She giggles and claps and I do it again.
“I’m about to take her home and put her to bed. Poor girl missed her second nap today, so she’s about to get grumpy,” Dolly says.
“No, you’re not a grumpy girl, you’re not grumpy.” I bounce her in my arms, her dimpled cheeks making her look exactly like her mother. “She’s your little twin, Dolly.”
“She looks like me, but she’s got this one’s energy.” She thumbs toward Ranger, who’s doing a little dance to make his daughter laugh. Dolly stifles a yawn and Ranger leans over to kiss her forehead.
“You sure you don’t want me to come home with you to put her to bed so you can just crash?” Ranger asks.
“No, no, no,” she waves him away, “I want to take a nice long soak in the tub with essential oils and candles without you trying to sneak in behind me.”
“Uh-oh, is daddy trying to make baby number two already?” I say to Amethyst.
“That’s exactly what he’s doing, and he thinks he’s being sly,” Dolly adds.
“You know you love it.” Ranger nuzzles her neck and it makes her giggle. Amethyst yawns this time, her eyes growing heavy.
“Looks like Mom is right: Time to take you home before you get too tired and mess up the entire night.” I hand her back to her mom, giving them both a kiss goodbye.
“Well, how are things?”
Ranger and I lean against the fence around the mechanical bull platform.
“She’s being a brat,” I laugh. “Making me work for it.”
“So are you guys together now? When is it not going to be a secret anymore?”
I shake my head, frustrated. “I’m not sure. She jokes that she doesn’t want to work it out, or that we aren’t actually together, but the second I set her straight, she looks at me like she’s ready to forsake her own name for me.”
“Damn,” Ranger whistles, “you really fucked up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Clearly, she wants to be with you. She’s not the kind of girl that would lead you on. She’s obviously hurting, though. It’s like she wants you to prove to her that you’re serious. Asking a woman to take a risk with her heart when you’ve already fucked her over once is about as easy as trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.”
“Fuck, that doesn’t sound very hopeful. When the hell did you get so in tune and depressing?”
He smacks my back and laughs, stepping behind me to squeeze my shoulders. “Deck, you get in your own damn way sometimes, and I really don’t know why. I know you always resented being a twin, but I know you better than anyone, and there’s no need to make things more difficult than they have to be just to prove yourself.”
“I don’t resent being a twin, Range. I hope you don’t really think that.” I look over at him and he shrugs. “Fuck, I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I—I wasn’t trying to run away from you, or from being a twin, when I went to Texas. I guess I just didn’t feel like I knew what I wanted to do like you and Tyler and Trent.”
“That’s not the issue, Deck. Come on now.”
I look over at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“We both know that two years ago, you fell in love with her. You’ve been running from it ever since.”
“I—fuck. Yeah, when she was 21 and I was 29 . . . it’s fucked up and I had no right, Range. And we both know where my head was two years ago; I would’ve only fucked it up.”
“That’s why you ran.” I don’t answer but I don’t have to.
“I thought if I just left, she’d get over me and I wouldn’t be around to hurt her. I knew I wasn’t ready for marriage or anything like that, and she was too young to be throwing her life away on that. But I knew if I stuck around, I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from her.”
“And somewhere along the way, you got over her and fell in love with Camilla?”
“Yeah, at least that’s what I told myself. But when Camilla came back and I looked at her—trying to convince myself that I could love her again—I couldn’t. When I was with her in Texas, I put Juniper out of my mind. I convinced myself she didn’t exist. It was the only way I could try to live my life without her.”
“Did you love Camilla?”
“I did. I really did. She’s a wonderful woman and had she said yes that night, I know I would have continued to love her till the day I died. But I feel guilty.”
“Guilty for loving her?”
I shake my head. “Guilty that I’m glad she said no. The day after that was the day I drove home and surprised everyone.”
“I knew there was a reason beyond you wanting to see family.”
“That trip home was the first time I kissed Juniper.” Ranger’s eyes bug out. “Yeah, I wasn’t thinking straight, but when Camilla rejected me, it felt like it brought me back down to earth in some weird way, like suddenly everything was clear.”
“I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, but you saw the way I fucked around for years and almost lost my chance at happiness with Dolly. Talk about getting in your own fucking way. The one thing I can say is, you can’t worry about what our family or anyone else will say. If she’s the one for you, they’ll be supportive. And I think you know damn well our family would welcome Juney with open arms. She’s practically already family.”
“After the way Dad reacted in the truck with the text?” I can barely get the sentence out—we’re both laughing so hard recalling that day. By the time we finally regain our composure, we have tears in our eyes.
“Do me a favor,” Ranger says around another fit of laughter, “please tell Juney that story someday.”
Ranger and I shoot the shit for a bit longer, walking over to join our dad and Uncle Drake as they walk around and shake hands with everyone. It’s wild to see Uncle Drake smiling and laughing with people from town after the stories we heard growing up about him before he met Aunt Celeste.
“Come here, Son.” My dad motions for me to follow him as he steps away from the crowd. “I want to have a quick talk about something.” I follow him over to the corner of the fairgrounds. “Do you love her?”
My head snaps up and he gives me a knowing look—that one he used to give us as kids that said, Don’t bother lying; I already know the truth.
“Yeah, I do.”
“And you’re serious? This isn’t one of your flings?”
I want to roll my eyes, but I know I’ve earned this reputation. “No, I’m done with that shit, Dad. I meant it when I said I left it in my twenties. Juniper is it; she’s the one.”
A look passes over my dad’s face—one that tells me he had no idea just how serious I am about her. “Does she know that?”
I shake my head. “Tried telling her the other night, but it ended in more of an argument, and I didn’t want her to think I was saying it to get her to talk to me.”
“Son, you know that I lost my first wife, Milly’s mom, before you were born.” He looks at me, and whenever he brings up his first wife, I know it’s a serious conversation. He doesn’t mention her often, but when he does, it’s to drive home a serious point. “If there’s one regret I have about my relationship with her before I lost her to cancer, it was not telling her enough how much I loved her. I know it sounds cliché, but Son, life is too short. Just because you’re young doesn’t mean tomorrow is guaranteed.”
“You want me to tell her? Thought you weren’t too keen on the idea of the two of us together?”
“It was never about that, Deck. It was about the fact that her father and I have a respect for each other that I never want to break. He and I have been friends since we were boys, and while I know she’s had a crush on you for a long time, I thought you respected her and her father enough not to take advantage of that.”
“I’m in love with her, so I’m not taking advantage of anything.”
“I know, and that’s my point. I’m sorry I assumed you were. While I know you two thought you were sneaky these last two years, her father and I have had a lot of conversations about you.”
“You what?”
“Oh, come on. He and I both knew it was only a matter of time before you two fell in love and admitted it, or you fucked around and turned it into a mess. Obviously, we’ve always hoped for the first situation, which is why I’m telling you this.”
I want to laugh and yell at the same time, because I could spend my entire life trying to outrun the care and love my family has for me, and I’d never succeed. I was a fool for ever thinking I could, and I was a fool for taking this for granted.
“So all that to say, you think I need to man up and tell her I love her before it’s too late . . . and apparently her dad is happy for us?” I ask.
“We both are. It’s a blessing to see your kid grow up and marry your best friend’s kid.”
“Marry? Damn, Dad, I just admitted out loud that I’m in love with her.”
“That kind of shit only happens in those Hallmark movies your mother loves. Just saying.”
I give him a sideways glance. “I’ve caught you staying up late to finish one after Mom’s gone to bed on more than one occasion, so cut the shit on that.” We both laugh and he swears me to secrecy. “I appreciate the talk, Dad, and the honesty; I needed to hear it.”
“Speaking of your mother, I’m heading back to the house to make sure she’s actually resting that knee. Last night I caught her on the back deck repotting some flowers because her meds made her jittery.” He rolls his eyes. “I tell ya, loving a woman is work, but there’s nothing like it in this world.” He grabs both of my shoulders, squeezing them with his hands, which are still as strong as mine. “Treat her well.”
I say goodbye to my family and make my way back through the remaining crowds that have stayed behind. By now, the families with kids have gone home for the night, replaced by teenagers and couples. I check the beer booth, mechanical bull lines, and crowds gathered around the food trucks, but I can’t find her.
I do one last lap, pulling out my phone to text her, when I hear her laugh. I look out across the parking lot and see her, noting that the dark-purple streaks in her hair make her stand out from the group she’s talking to. I make my way toward them, her back still turned to me.
“See you guys tomorrow. I’m sooo tired. I wish I could stay out, but I’m beat.” She waves to her friends and makes the walk toward her car in the far back corner by my truck. I pick up my pace, closing the distance between us. She turns on her heel, the sound of the gravel crunching beneath my boots alerting her to my presence.
“You again.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder and continues walking to her car.
“Yeah, we need to finish that talk from the other night.”
“I told you—” She starts to turn, but I grab her around the waist and toss her over my shoulder. “Hey!” she yelps. “Put me down, you ass!” She tries to pinch me, but I pull her down and put her on her feet by my truck.
“Shut the fuck up and listen to me.” I plant my hands on either side of her. “I’m in love with you, Juniper. There’s no ‘like,’ no ‘into you,’ no hooking up or booty calls. It’s love—the real fucking thing.” I lift my hands and cup her face. “You can stay angry with me, but it’s not going to stop me from loving you or telling you I’m in love with you. So do what you want—hate me, tease me, fuck me—but you’re mine and only mine, you understand me?”
“You are such a?—”
I wrap my hand around her jaw. “Do. You. Understand. Me?”
“Yes.” The answer is quick. The energy between us shifts rapidly when she sees I’m done with her attitude.
“Good. I’m not going to waste another second of my life holding back from you. Tomorrow, you and I are going to talk about this a lot further, okay? But tonight,” my lips graze hers, “right now,” this time I bite the very edge of her bottom lip, “I’m going to kiss you so thoroughly that you fall asleep tonight with the taste of me on your tongue.”
She doesn’t resist at all. Her lips part, welcoming my tongue inside. The urgency between us results in sloppy kisses and moaned names as she wraps her legs around my waist.
“On second thought,” I reach around her and open the door to my cab, tossing her back onto the seat, “I want the taste of you on my tongue all night.”
Her hands are tugging at the waistband of her shorts as she rushes to push them down her thighs. I don’t bother removing them fully when they reach her ankles. I toss her legs over my shoulders, pushing her thighs as far apart as I can in this position. Her scent hits me, my cock jumping to attention as my mouth pools with saliva.
I dance my tongue gently up her slit, a whisper of a touch. “Whose pussy is this?” I ask her, her hands reaching down to try to push my mouth against her again. “I’m only going to ask one more time.” I spread her apart and spit on her slit, sliding two of my fingers deep inside her. “Whose fucking pussy is this?”
“Yours!” she groans as I fuck her with my fingers—punishingly deep.
“That’s right, this pussy belongs to me, and I’m about to fuck you so good with my tongue, you’ll never forget it.”
My tongue toys with her clit, my fingers pumping her faster, until she’s practically dripping down my hand. I can still hear people laughing and talking, some even walking toward the parking lot, but it’s not going to stop me. I suck on her, savoring the juice that drips down my fingers.
“I can’t hold back!” Her cry sounds like a plea, her words coming out staccato as her thighs tremble and her eyes roll back in her head. I suck her clit, pressing my fingers deep and angled inside her until a gush of liquid sprays into my mouth and beard. When she falls back onto the seat, her moans coming out in soft pants, I pull my fingers from her and lick them.
“Now that’s what I want when I tell you I want to taste you in my beard the next day.”
“I—I’ve never done that.” She looks down her body, my shirt and beard soaked with her release. “Did you make me squirt?”
“Yes. Been wanting to do that to you for so long.” I pull my shirt off, reaching down between us to clean her up as best I can before helping her pull her panties and shorts back on.
“I didn’t know I could do that.” She blushes.
“I didn’t either.” I push her tangled hair from her face. “But now we know you can.” I lean in and kiss her softly. “Did it feel good?”
“Yeah, so good I’m not sure I can drive myself home.”
I run my thumb over her bottom lip and she leans down to nip at it. “I’m not sure I can let you go home after that.” She leans further down, wrapping her lips around the tip of my tongue and sucking. “Mmm.” I adjust my cock and wince. “Yeah, I’m going to need to spend the next several hours with you bouncing on my cock.” I swing her legs around and push her further into the cab before climbing in beside her and firing up my truck.
“First a hostage. Now I’m being kidnapped?” she teases, running her hand up my inner thigh.
“Exactly. So take a fucking hint, baby. You’re never getting away now.”