23. Trace
TRACE
T he beauty we pass as we ride out to where the stock tanks are located never fails to render me speechless. I'm guilty of not paying attention to what's around us, and I'm also guilty of taking it for granted. It doesn't change how beautiful the horizon is as we drive into the valley.
“Have you always used the stock tanks for a swimming pool?” she asks, breaking our silence.
“Haven't you?”
“No,” she shakes her head. “Most of what I was allowed to do at home was make sure I had a beauty routine and not get in the way of anyone else. Most kids are encouraged to be seen and not heard? I was expected to be both; neither seen nor heard.”
“Why?” I question, not understanding why someone would want to hide her from the world. Although I may not have wanted to marry her, worse decisions could have been made for me.
She sighs, her lips vibrating. “Because they were worried someone would harm me. I finally begged to go out on a few dates with this guy I met who lived a ranch over. Just so I could have a little bit of experience,” I swallow roughly. “I lost my virginity to him because I wanted it to be my choice. I didn't want to have to give it up on my wedding night to whoever it was I had to marry. I wanted one thing to be a decision, although I'm not sure what a great decision that was because it was awful.”
I scoff, barely holding in a snort. “Luckily for you, you got to meet me.”
“Oh my God,” she rolls her eyes. “I do have to admit you're the best experience I've had, but I wouldn't go that far.”
“You know you want to,” I lean over, bumping elbows with her.
“I might want to, but I also might not give you the satisfaction of being so damn cocky.”
Amused, I put my arm around her, pulling her closer as we drive through the pasture. “If you look over there in that tree,” I point to one of the larger ones in the middle of the field, “Ward and I had a tree house there. You can still barely see it. The summer of his fifth grade year, he fell out and broke his arm. He had to have surgery and his entire summer was spent in a cast. He hated me.”
“Why? Because you pushed him out?”
“No,” I scoff. “Because I jumped out and landed on my feet. He tried to do the same, but took a tumble.”
“Why do I feel like that's a good descriptor of you? Somehow you jump with no safety net and land on your feet.”
“It's not always been like that,” I assure her. “And we're bound to fail, but we'll work at it if we do.”
“How much farther?” she asks, craning her neck to see where we're going next.
“About a mile. You'll be able to see them just over the ridge.”
True to my word, as we crest the top of the hill, down below there are the stock tanks. One sits off to the side, with a canvas over top of it. It's one I've worked to make comfortable for the past few years. Whenever I have free time, I come out here and work on it. The deck around it is almost complete.
“This is nice,” she whistles between her teeth. “I didn't realize it'd have a little fence around it.”
“Used to not have, but I got sick of the cows getting in and making the water dirty. They're fine to do what they want with all of these,” I point to the other tanks, “but I wanted one to relax in, so I've spent a few years making this one exactly how I want it to be.”
“Thank you for sharing it with me,” she smiles.
“You're the only person I've shared it with besides Ward,” I admit, purposely not expounding on what that means.
“Then I'm honored and flattered. Let's go, I'm hot.”
I park the ATV in the shade, just inside the fenced in area, and then motion for her to get out. Because of the deck surrounding the structure, we'll be able to walk without having to worry about stepping on anything.
“I'd suggest leaving your shoes here. Sometimes they get taken off by the wildlife. I had a pair of flip flops carried off by a hawk one time. It's worse trying to ride back with no shoes.”
“Understood.” She slips her shoes off, and then reaches back to grab the basket we brought with us.
I get the towels, and help her out of the ATV before we take the pathway up. “It'll be warm in there, but with the shade it shouldn't be hot. It should be just right.”
She sits down on the edge and dangles her feet in. “You're right, that's like the best warm bath ever.”
Satisfied, I reach down, grasping the edges of my t-shirt and pull it over my head. Her eyes roam my body, appreciation shining bright in the depths. My chest puffs when I see her stick her lower lip in between her teeth. I don't think I counted on how much of a turn on it would be to know my wife finds me hot.
Pulling her legs out of the water, she does this quick move where she basically stands up without struggling. Even though I'm in my early thirties, my bones crack. It's a side-effect of the life we live. I had hoped getting out and doing something different would help me with my quality of life as I got older.
Seeming not to care, she trots over to one of the pool chairs I've set up, and starts removing her clothing. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but a hot as fuck bikini isn't one of the suits that crossed my mind. I sure as fuck didn't think a bikini could ever be this sexy, either. I'm staring at her profile, while she doesn't pay me any mind. She puts any pop-culture profile to shame. Her ass is rounded just so, tits giving her curves other women pay a lot of money for. When she reaches for her wrist, hooking the elastic band she wears there around her fingers, and then moves to put her hair up, I call out.
She turns, her brows coming together in question. “What?”
“Don't put your hair up,” my voice full of gravel as I make the request. “I like it when it's down.”
We're staring at each other in this moment; one that feels as if it means everything. The tension is so thick it's reminiscent of the summer I spent in New Orleans as a pre-teen. I'm sweating like I was back then too, rivulets running down my back, as I wait for how she's going to respond.
“If you like it down, then down is where it'll stay.”
My eyes follow along as she pulls the elastic completely off her wrist and then drops it onto her towel. I swallow roughly, because her doing as I asked? It gets me right in the heart. No one else takes what I like into account on anything else. This more than anything shows how far we're coming.