Chapter 5 Sunny
SUNNY
Iwas a bundle of nerves all day on Saturday. I knew what tonight meant. What was going to happen. I was ready, and I wanted to give myself to Linc, but still, I was anxious.
Linc was the first boy to kiss me. To touch me.
He was my first everything. He was shy and sweet, and we had sat together on our first day of school years ago.
He shared his crayons with me. Mine were from the dollar store—all my mother could afford—but his were the large, expensive box containing a rainbow of colors.
He let me use the magenta and teal ones, and when I got home that night, he had put them in my box, keeping two of my cheap ones for himself—the orange and yellow, the two worst colors I had.
I fell in love with him right then.
We were the best of friends in grade school.
When his mom died, he became quiet and withdrawn at school and with other people, but with me, he seemed happier.
We grew closer but only remained friends.
I was afraid to push beyond that, happy to at least have him in my life.
I knew his father would never approve of me.
The few times I saw him, his gaze flickered over me as if I were a piece of dirt beneath his expensive shoes.
In town, he was a “big deal,” as my mom called him, but not well-liked.
Feared, was more like it. I knew Linc feared him.
I saw the bruises to prove it, but he refused to tell anyone.
He said it would make matters worse, and he made me promise not to say a thing to anyone. I promised him, because I loved him.
The day he kissed me and changed my life forever was one of my best days. By then, we were confidants, both of us anxious to leave this small town and start life fresh with no baggage. The feel of his mouth on mine, hesitant and gentle, changed everything. He became more.
We became more, and I knew I would follow him to the ends of the earth.
My mother and sisters adored him.
His father loathed me. I was horrified to find out he’d beaten Linc more than once, telling him to stay away from me.
I was aghast at the lengths Linc went to in order to defy him.
I hated sneaking around, keeping my face neutral and friendly if I saw him in town.
At school, people were used to seeing us together, and we both worked hard to make sure they thought of us as friends—nothing more.
I lived in fear of someone finding out and Linc taking more punishment.
I despised his father. He was a horrid, cruel man. Linc was nothing like him. He was protective, sweet, and kind. He tried to look after not only me, but my mom and sisters, which made me love him more.
I pictured our life together once we were able to get away from this town and the influence of his father. Linc assured me more than once, when he was nineteen, it would happen. He said he had money from his mother he could get to at that point, and we had to hold on until then.
I would wait for him for as long as it took.
“Sunny!” Cindy’s voice broke into my thoughts. “The timer’s going off, girl. Get your biscuits out before they burn.”
I shook my head and pulled out the tray of biscuits. They were puffy, golden brown, and smelled delicious. I brushed the tops of them with honey butter, thinking how much Linc would enjoy them. Biscuits with butter and jam were his favorites.
As if he knew, he appeared in the doorway, taking my breath away.
The boy I loved was slowly turning into a man.
He was tall, his shoulders beginning to widen.
All the work he was doing made his chest broader and his muscles tight.
His light-brown hair was golden from his days in the sun, and his blue eyes were bright in his face as he smiled at me.
His teeth were straight and white against the brown of his tan.
He looked sexy, his T-shirt tighter than before and his shorts hanging low on his hips.
I felt my cheeks grow warm as I thought of the way I had gripped his hips as I sucked his dick.
He had loved it.
Cindy laughed behind me. “How is it you always know when the biscuits are ready?”
He sauntered in, his gait relaxed, his eyes lit with mischief. He had both hands behind his back as he approached, his smile getting bigger.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he denied, pulling his hands out in front of him and holding out two small bunches of wild flowers. “I happened to be walking by with flowers for my two favorite girls.”
Cindy scoffed. “Little rake, you are.” She nudged me. “Go on, then. Get your boy a biscuit and jam.” She accepted the flowers from Linc. “Make it two. He looks hungry.”
I chuckled and slipped two onto a plate, slicing them open and adding butter and jam. I handed Linc the plate, taking my bunch of flowers with a smile.
He winked and came closer forward. “I am hungry. For biscuits—” he glanced to make sure Cindy was out of earshot “—and you.” Then he took the plate and kissed me quickly, leaving me longing for more.
The biscuits disappeared in fast mouthfuls. He sighed. “Promise me you’ll make these for me every weekend for the rest of our lives.”
My heart stuttered at his words.
Our lives. I was going to get to spend my entire life with this boy.
“Yes.”
“Out of the kitchen now, you!” Cindy shooed him away. “We have lunch and dinner to get done.”
I laughed as she handed him another biscuit. “Be gone with you.”
He left, throwing me a wink and a kiss.
She smiled. “He’s got it bad for you, girl. I remember love like that. Young, passionate, and all-encompassing.” She chortled. “Then real life sets in. Enjoy it while you can.”
I couldn’t respond. I was too busy basking in it.
In him.
Ididn’t go in for dinner. Instead, I ate in the kitchen and finished my tasks.
I couldn’t go into the dining room. It was too loud, with too many people.
I was sure anyone looking at me would know what was going to happen later.
I couldn’t sit next to Linc and act casual.
Every time I saw him today, I felt his stare. His intense gaze locked on me.
So, like a coward, I hid.
When I was done, I slipped out the back and went to my cabin, which was deserted.
I had looked forward to sharing it with girls my age but found them standoffish.
I was the new girl in their midst—and not welcome.
I kept to myself, preferring to spend time with Linc or visit Emily and Hayley.
My roommates never bothered to ask where I was, and we chose to respect one another’s boundaries.
I grabbed a fast shower, the cool water welcome on the heat of my skin. I shaved and shampooed, the whole time my stomach in knots.
Linc had told me he was a virgin as well. He’d promised he’d waited for me the same way I had waited for him and we’d discover it all together.
But what if I was awful at it?
What if it hurt as much as I had heard girls whisper in school? I had seen the size of his cock, and considering how small I was compared to him, I had no idea how I would fit that inside me.
I was still fretting when a soft knock on the cabin door made me look up. Linc was framed in the doorway, leaning on his shoulder, regarding me with a gentle expression.
“Hey.”
“May I come in?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Of course,” I babbled.
He stepped in. “I missed you at dinner.”
“Oh, well, ah, I had stuff. You know…I had to get ready, for, ah, later. Yeah, later.”
Wordlessly, he held out his hand. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat and walked to him, placing my hand in his.
He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Later is whatever we want it to be, Sunny. No pressure. I just want you and me alone.” He dropped another kiss to my skin. “I’ll wait for you. I’ll always wait for you.”
My nerves dissipated with his quiet declaration. I had to laugh at myself. It was Linc. My Linc. He would never do anything to hurt me.
I glanced up, lifting my shoulder. “Sorry, I’m being silly.”
He shook his head. “No. You’re being you.” He smiled. “And I adore everything about you. Silly or not.”
Our gazes held and I relaxed, all my worries gone. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “How about a walk? We can sit by the fire with everyone if you want after?”
“The walk sounds nice.” I picked up the bag I carried with me. It was full this time. “Maybe we could drop this off first?”
With a tender look, he took it from my hand. “Yeah, Sunny. We can do that.”
We walked along the shore, hearing the campers around the fire in the distance. The water swirled around our feet. Linc had his hand wrapped around mine, protective and warm. We sat on the rocks, watching the sun begin its descent in the distance, casting burnished rays on the water.
Linc lifted a strand of my hair. “Sunsets remind me of your hair. The muted reds and gold.”
I laughed quietly. “Being romantic, Linc?”
He chuckled. “Trying.”
“Shut your eyes.”
He did as I asked, and I fastened the thick, black, woven leather cuff I had seen in a secondhand shop while waiting for him to get one of the orders we were picking up. I had polished the silver clasp and cleaned the leather. I thought he would like how it looked.
“Okay,” I whispered.
He opened his eyes, looking at his wrist. He turned and admired the clasp. “I fucking love it. I’ll always wear it.”
I grinned in delight at his reaction, cuss word and all.
He winked, then slipped a small box into my hand. “My turn.”
I opened the box, a delicate necklace cushioned on black velvet making me gasp.
“It’s not much,” he whispered. “But I bought it with my own money, not his. Someday, I’ll buy you something better. It says what I can’t, though.” He huffed out a long breath of air. “My heart is yours, Sunny.”
I traced the two hearts woven together, the silver catching the last of the light.
I looked up at him, tears glimmering in my eyes. “I don’t need something better, Linc. This is perfect.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I turned, lifting my hair. “Put it on me?”