21. Wyatt
CHAPTER 21
Wyatt
ALWAYS BE MY FIRST
I wonder what Mom would think if she could see me now.
I’m wearing bright yellow rubber gloves. I’m on my hands and knees, a toothbrush in one hand and a spray bottle of Clorox in the other as I go to town, scrubbing the grout on the bathroom’s tile floor.
I know she’d smile. She’d definitely approve of all the effort I’ve put in this week, preparing for my date with Sally.
Mama, you raised me right. Mostly, anyway.
Go figure, a toothbrush really does the job. It’s a trick Mom taught us when we were doing our chores. Cash and I always got assigned bathroom duty, so I have plenty of practice.
Falling back on my haunches, I survey my work. I’m sweating and I smell like bleach, but dang if the bathroom don’t sparkle and shine. The vanity is spotless, and so is the old claw-foot bathtub that does double duty as a shower. I even cleaned the windows and the walls and organized the vanity drawers to boot.
My heart twists. I really wish Mom were here so I could run my plans by her for the date. She’d have so many ideas .
Mom would love the fact that Sally and I are dating. She always adored Sally. But what would Mom have to say about my fears of letting my guard down?
Take your head out of your ass and realize not every relationship ends in tragedy .
I want to believe that. I’m trying to believe it.
“Ho-ly shit.”
I nearly jump at the sound of the voice by the door. Yanking my earbud out of my ear, I look up and see Mollie standing in the doorway. She’s staring at the shiny tile floor, her mouth a perfect O .
“Ever heard of knocking?” I ask.
“I knocked for ten minutes, Wyatt. But obviously you were too engrossed in scrubbing the floor with a freaking toothbrush to hear me.” She blinks. “Have the bleach fumes gotten to you? Do you have a fever? I fear you are unwell.”
“You’re funny.”
“I know.” She grins. “House looks great. I can tell you’ve been working hard. That’s super cute, you wanting the place to be perfect for sweet Sally.”
I swipe the back of my wrist across my forehead. Any spare moment I’ve had this week, I’ve been prepping for Friday’s date night. Now that it’s Thursday evening, I’m in total panic mode. “You think it’s all right? I feel like I might buy one of those hand-held steamer things for the couch. Just in case?—”
“You want to bone Sally there? So you need it to be fresh and clean so y’all can get it dirty again, only in a different way?”
I let out a bark of laughter. “Well, yeah.”
She leans a shoulder against the doorframe. “I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that the two of you are finally together.”
“I appreciate that.” I push up to my feet and bend backward, stretching my back. “Could you rub off a little on my brother? He still isn’t acting right.”
Mollie rolls her eyes. “I think Cash is being really annoying about this whole thing. I’m sorry. Trust me, I’ve talked to him a lot about it. He’s coming around. I think he’s being an overprotective monster because all these things he’s dreamed about for years are finally happening and he’s scared to lose it all again.”
Swallowing, I nod. “I get that. Just wish he weren’t such a dick about it.”
“Being a dick is kind of his style,” she replies with a smile.
I smile too. “And you like that because you’re always up for a challenge.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Can I ask you a weird question?”
“I love weird questions.”
“What made you decide to be with Cash? Like, what made you want to stick around? Not stick around Hartsville necessarily. But stay with Cash and figure out how to make it work even though y’all have wildly different lives.”
“Well, for starters, he’s great in bed.”
I laugh, the heavy feeling in my chest lifting. “The bleach already has me woozy. Don’t make me barf all over you.”
Her smile softens. “Honestly? I fell in love with Cash because I could be myself around him in a way I couldn’t with anyone else. He was patient with me, believe it or not, and he made me feel safe enough to explore parts of myself and my past I’d kept locked up. And because I opened up, he did too. The rest is…yeah, history.”
“How did you do it? Open up?”
Mollie swallows. “I guess being around Cash—he brought everything to the surface. I couldn’t keep it in anymore. I knew if I wanted to be with him that I had to show him my hand. I think he liked that about me, how I went all in. ”
Makes sense. “Appreciate the poker references.”
“Thought you might.”
I ponder her words for a long beat, circling my fear that I’m ultimately not good enough for Sally. Not smart enough or courageous enough. “What do you think Sally likes about me?”
Mollie’s smile softens. She straightens, crossing her arms. “I think she adores everything about you, Wyatt. But most of all? I think Sally is a lot like me—we put so much pressure on ourselves to achieve, achieve, achieve. To get things done and get them done right, you know? But you’re like a release valve for her. You care about how she feels and pay attention to what she needs.” Mollie sighs. “My goodness, no wonder she’s obsessed with you.”
“She’s not obsessed.”
“Oh, Wyatt, but she is. I knew it the first time I met y’all that you were destined to be more than friends. The way you looked at her—the way she looks at you…” Mollie shakes her head. “It’s really romantic when you think about it, the two of you being friends forever before you finally took the leap. Most guys wouldn’t be nearly as careful.”
I have a lump in my throat and I don’t know why.
“Thanks,” I grunt.
“Do you know what y’all are thinking?” Mollie asks. “About what you’ll do after the holidays?”
I shake my head. “We don’t. Probably stupid of us to start dating now, but better late than never, right?”
“Not stupid at all. I think there’s a reason you guys didn’t get horizontal until now.”
We’ve actually only done things vertically, but God willing and the creek don’t rise, that’s about to change.
I’ve been on the verge of sexual insanity all week. Used my right hand plenty, but that’s only intensified my hunger for Sally. I wanna go slow tomorrow, but I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to hold back .
“And that reason is?” I ask Mollie.
“It’s gonna force each of you to make a decision about your priorities. And maybe that’s a choice you need to make before you can live the life you want. The universe is telling you something here, Wyatt. Listen.”
Shit, am I really gonna cry?
“That’s…a nice thought. Thanks, Mollie.”
Mollie tilts her head toward the kitchen. “C’mon. I brought over a bunch of really expensive wine and my mother’s china. You break it, I kill you. Or, really, she will. Got it?”
We both look up at the sound of the front door opening.
“Helloooo!” Patsy calls. “Mollie, I saw your ATV out front. I’ve got our supplies!”
Mollie squeals. “Wyatt, I freaking love that you enlisted Patsy to help. It’s seriously so sweet of you.”
I’m blushing. “Thanks.”
“I can’t wait for Sally to, like, burst into tears when she sees everything you put together for her. She’s gonna die!”
“I hope she doesn’t die.”
“You know the French call orgasms little deaths , right?” Mollie loops her arm through mine.
I laugh. “I love you.”
“I love you more. Now let’s get you your girl.”
The next evening, I hold the wheel in a death grip all the way to Sally’s house.
I’m nervous. But it’s more about me not reaching for the Marlboros I have in my glove compartment than anything else.
I’ve never needed stress relief more than I do now, though. I would kill for a cigarette. I haven’t lit up since before I kissed Sally the night of the potluck, but if Sally hates smoking, then I’m done doing it .
Checking my reflection in the rearview mirror one last time, I head to the door even though it’s only four fifty. I delegated most of my tasks at the ranch this afternoon to my brothers so I’d have plenty of time to shower and get ready. Guess I took a little too much time off.
I’m not sorry. Yeah, Duke bothered me a couple of times with phone calls about our pain-in-the-ass farrier. But other than that, things seemed to go just fine.
John B answers the door, because of course he does.
“Evenin’, John.” I hold out my hand. “How’s it going?”
He warily takes my hand and shakes it. I wonder if there’s anything more awkward than shaking hands with the man whose daughter is coming to your house for a sleepover.
He knows what Sally and I are about to do. I know. And, Lord, if it don’t make me feel hot under the collar.
“It’s going all right. Sally’s just getting ready.” He steps aside. “Come in.”
The house is warm. Cozy. Smells good—there’s something in the oven.
“Patsy told me you’re gonna cook,” John says after an awkward stretch of silence.
I dip my head. “Yes, sir, I’m going to attempt it. Not much in the way of restaurants around here, but I still wanted the meal to feel special. Pray for me, would you, that I don’t screw it up too badly or burn down my house?”
That gets a chuckle from him. “I think you’ll do just fine.”
We both look up at the creak of floorboards by the top of the stairs. The breath leaves my lungs when I see Sally standing there. She looks fucking gorgeous in jeans and those red cowboy boots she wore that night at The Rattler.
Her lips are pink and full. They glisten. Some kind of lipstick or gloss?
Her dark hair is loose around her shoulders, and her eyes have this subtle sparkle around them that makes me think she’s wearing eyeshadow .
I don’t ever notice the makeup girls are wearing. But I notice everything about Sally. The flush in her cheeks and the self-conscious way she tucks her hair behind her ear, revealing the multiple piercings that dot her lobe.
Placing her hand on the banister, she smiles, her dimple popping. “Hey, Wyatt.”
“He—hey, Sally.” Didn’t realize my mouth was dry. I try clearing my throat. “You look beautiful.”
“I showered for you.” She makes her way down the stairs. “You’re welcome.”
I manage to smile. “How lucky am I?”
I get an intense, not-altogether-unpleasant sense of whiplash. This almost feels like prom night—the pretty girl coming down her parents’ stairs to join her nervous wreck of a date. All I’m missing is a flask of liquor pilfered from my parents’ cabinet, and a corsage for her that color-coordinates with my boutonniere.
Sally and I didn’t go to prom together. I went with random people, girls who had asked me and whose names I can’t remember for the life of me. Sally ended up going stag with her girlfriends.
At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But now I’m glad I didn’t know I was in love with Sally back in high school. Being fully grown adults who appreciate how special our connection is—how rare—is better. Mostly because we don’t have to lie to our parents about where we’re sleeping tonight and who we’re sleeping with.
Also, I know what I’m doing now. I was having sex back then, but I can’t imagine I was very good at it.
Now though? I’m real good at it, and I get to be good to Sally.
“Pretty damn lucky,” John B says.
Sally bites her lip when she descends the last step and looks up at me. “You’re early.”
“Course I’m early.” I slide a look at John. “I couldn’t wait to see you.”
I haven’t seen Sally since Wednesday, when she stopped by the ranch with John B to examine an injured longhorn. Our conversation was brief, but I did get to give her a quick kiss before she left.
We’ve talked on the phone. Texted some too. But nothing compares to being in the same room with her.
The smell of jasmine fills my head as Sally goes up on her toes and wraps me in a hug. “Hi,” she murmurs.
Careful not to pull her too close, I circle her with my arms. “Hi.”
She falls back, hands resting on my biceps. She’s still smiling. “My bag’s right there. Dad, I’ll…see you later?”
I grope blindly for air. Has Sally ever been this lit up? This happy?
John B must notice it, too, because he looks at her for a long beat before he takes a sharp inhale. “Sounds good. Y’all have fun.”
He cuts me one last look, as if to say, Remember your promise.
Then he disappears into the house, and Sally is reaching for the little black bag by the door.
“I got it,” I say, leaning down to grab it before she does.
Sally is still fucking smiling when we’re in my truck and on the way back to my place. “That wasn’t awkward at all.” Her voice drips with sarcasm.
“Not one bit. I don’t know what the rules are for picking up your date when she lives with her parents,” I tease.
She carefully pulls her hair out of the collar of her coat. “I think the only rule is, you get her the hell out of there as fast as you can.”
“Mission accomplished?”
She’s biting her lip again. “Mission accomplished.”
“So…I did a thing.” I switch hands on the wheel so I can put my right one on Sally’s thigh. “Many things, in fact. ”
“Can I be that thing?”
“Of course you’re going to be that thing. But I did other things for us to enjoy before that.”
“Like?”
I smirk. “You’ll see.”