19. Chapter 19
Kylie
He's kissing me. Oh my god, Erik is kissing me.
My heart flutters faster than a hummingbird's wings, and for a moment I freeze. His hand wanders into my hair, but I know he’s gauging my reaction.
When he’s on the verge of pulling back, I take a deep breath and let go of my doubts and my anxiety.
I let my stomach do flips, and the butterflies inside it dance and melt into his touch.
Relax, Kylie. Enjoy it.
And for once, I have no objections to the voice in my head.
I let my hands wander up his arms, keeping them at the side of his throat, fingertips playing with the hair in the back of his neck. He tastes like chocolate and sugar and so, so right.
This is crazy.
I moved to Wayward Hollow for a new start. Not one moment did I think I’d find someone who feels so right here.
Dating wasn't even on my radar after Zach, but I can't resist him. Not that I’ve tried very hard.
Erik is the kind of guy I dreamed of during lonely nights. A steady presence. Someone who's there. Someone who sees me and makes me feel seen. Who makes my heart pound, just by looking at me.
He's almost too good to be true.
No, fuck this. Too good to be true? I'm a catch. He's a catch.
We can catch each other.
A happy hum escapes the back of his throat as he draws back and ends the kiss.
"Wow," I whisper, staring at his collarbone. My face feels as hot as the damn churros when I first bit into them.
"Wow indeed," he whispers and tilts my chin up until I meet his eyes. "Was it okay?"
"Okay?" My jaw drops and I softly shake my head. Fireworks are exploding in the sky, the scent of gunpowder overshadowing the autumn fair scents, their lights casting pink, yellow and blue over his face. "Erik, this was a lot better than okay."
"Good," he mumbles, a shy grin tugging at his lips as he twirls a strand of my hair around his finger. "I got worried for a second there."
"The only thing I worry about..." I hook my finger into the collar of his shirt and pull him closer until I can stretch and whisper into his ear, "is when we're going to do that again."
His low chuckle feathers over my ear and the side of my neck. "I wouldn't call it a worry. Not even a concern."
"How about—”
“Kylie? Erik? Are you coming?"
For a moment, I expect him to jump back, like a teenager caught watching something they weren't supposed to. However, he isn't deterred. As if he has all the time in the world, he draws back and glances to our left, where the voice called us from.
"Give us a minute, Lauren," he shouts back unapologetically, my hair still around his finger.
"Take all the time in the world, you lovebirds! I'll save a spot for you by the bonfire." She scurries off and he turns back to me. He's blushing. Fuck, how cute.
"Come on." I reach for his hand and lace my fingers with his. He grabs our empty cups, I grab my teddy bear and we make our way to the others with the speed of a sloth after a weed-brownie dessert. We didn’t even get to watch the fireworks, but I don’t care.
Damn. I can't stop grinning. Erik kissed me. We kissed. And he got me churros and totally let me win a teddy bear. It was the perfect first date, the perfect first kiss with the perfect man.
There's a little voice in my head that screams at me. ‘It's too soon’ and ‘Hopping from one guy to the next, aren't you?’ But I ignore it.
Zach and I are done. We have been over for the better part of four years. The divorce only made it official in the eyes of the law.
I can date without a guilty conscience. And I will, because I might be starting to fall for the town's incredibly hot officer.
Who am I kidding? I’ve fallen. Dove off a cliff without a parachute.
As promised, Lauren saves a spot for us right by their little group. The autumn fair is over, and all the tourists have left for the day. The only people remaining live in Wayward Hollow, gathering to celebrate another successful fair.
There’s a huge bonfire, several simple benches around it and they’re packed. Seriously, all of Wayward Hollow, every single person I met as we set up the decor, is here and then some.
Lauren is sitting in Caleb's lap, still wearing his jacket. She’s chatting with Nic while her boyfriend holds two marshmallows over the fire.
They’re sharing a bench with Nic, who has her legs over Henry's lap, her cheeks fire-red from the fire.
Henry's arm is on her knees and both of them hold their own marshmallows over the fire, though Henry is having a conversation Bobby, who sits a few feet away from them.
Kieran sits on the bench next to them, alone. From the corner of my eyes, I catch him cast a wistful look towards the couples.
“Grab us a seat,” Erik mumbles and gets us our own marshmallows, along with some crackers, chocolate and long sticks to toast the marshmallows over the fire with.
“Hey Kieran! How are the dogs?”
“They’re grand. Exhausted from playing though, so they’re napping in my car with two open windows.
” He nods towards the street, where his car is right in sight.
“Don’t need them to run around the fire.
Or catch fire.” He waves towards the fire.
Something is off. His usual, joyful demeanor is dimmed. Maybe he’s also exhausted.
“Good choice.” I take a seat next to him and watch Erik. He navigates the crowd with ease. Occasionally someone stops him and they exchange a few words, before he continues on his s’mores mission.
Our eyes meet on his way back and I can’t help it. My lips curve up, because we’re officially dating and I scoot close to Kieran to make space for him.
“Here you go.” He hands me a marshmallow, and, to my surprise, another one to Kieran.
“Thanks, man.” Kieran’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. How odd.
"Bobby, I think you ought to tell the story," Henry suddenly declares, making all heads around the fire turn to him.
"Story? What story?" Lauren's eyes shine with curiosity.
"How the autumn fair came to be," Henry clarifies and takes his marshmallow off the fire. Nic squeals because hers caught on fire and quickly blows it out.
"All right." Bobby's voice booms over the main square, catching everyone's attention. He turns to us. "You lot don't know it yet?"
Nic, Lauren, Kieran and I shoot each other confused looks.
"I don't think I've heard it," Lauren declares, and Nic shakes her head.
"Same. But I'm always up for a good story." Kieran leans forward. Suddenly, his eyes jumping between Erik and me. "Wait, you two..." He narrows his eyes. "Oh, come on."
He hits the bench with his palm, lips pursing into a pout. "You two? God." He lets himself fall back, lands with his back on the ground, legs still on the bench and dramatically reaches towards the sky. "Why, universe? Why? Why am I the only single one here?"
"Don't be such a drama queen." Lauren flicks a crumb of a cookie his way. "You haven’t downloaded dating apps, I don’t think you’ve ever driven out of Wayward Hollow, how exactly do you want to meet someone?"
"Don't come at me with logic," he grumbles and crosses his arms over his chest. Which is a hilarious image, considering his legs are still on the bench.
"Shh," I scold them playfully and put my finger on my lips. "I want to listen to the story."
"Is it a good one?" Kieran fights his way back onto the bench.
"It is. And even if you don’t think so, you will pretend, because it’s about Wayward Hollow’s history.
" Bobby nudges Kieran's foot with his cane as he rounds the fire and takes a seat on the bench behind us.
We all turn around so we sit facing him, the fire behind us.
"So, shut up and let me tell you the story of old O'Brien. "
Kieran steals the s'more Caleb puts together as he hands it to Lauren and earns two murderous glares.
"Hey!" she whisper-shouts at him. Caleb has to hold her back with his arm around her shoulder, I’m convinced otherwise Kieran would end up in the bonfire.
He immediately takes a bite and shoots her a cheeky grin. It quickly turns into a pained grimace once he realizes how hot the marshmallow still is.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." He sucks in air.
Bobby starts with the story, ignoring their antics.
"Old O'Brien was the town elder as I grew up.
A gruff guy, face marked by life. He never talked much, didn't ever share much about his life.
But there were rumors." The bonfire turns quiet.
Every single person listens to him, even though I assume they must have heard this story countless times before.
Instead of waiting for a s’more, I grab one of the biscuits and nibble on it, giving in and leaning my head against Erik’s shoulder again, grinning as his arm snakes around my back and his hand comes to a rest on my hip.
"Rumor has it, he moved here with his wife, Elizabeth.
Nicholas O'Brien was the son of a wealthy Scottish nobleman, Elizabeth, the daughter of a local baker. He used to sneak away from his father’s castle as a child and when he wandered into town, spent time with Elizabeth and her family, until inevitable, they returned him home. Once a young lad, they fell in love.
"However, O'Brien's father was keen on strengthening their family's status and demanded Nicholas marry his friend’s daughter. When he refused and stated his intention to marry Elizabeth, his father tried to drive them apart. First, he offered Elizabeth money to stay away from his son. But she refused and made clear she wouldn’t break up with him.
He tried to bribe her father with money to send her away, but he refused. "
Erik hands me a toasted marshmallow, already on a cracker. I didn’t even realize he was holding one over the fire! It's a little burnt, but it smells so good. Then he hands me a chocolate and one more biscuit to complete the s’more.
“Thank you,” I mouth at him and take a bite. Oh man. It’s been forever since I last had one.