Chapter 2
2
Tripp
“ I should cancel,” I blurt out as I sift through the clothes in my closet.
“No, you absolutely should not.”
Spinning around, I look at Jamie, my friend from back home, as he sits on top of my dresser through the screen of my phone. “Everything I own is ugly,” I say. “He’s going to pick me up at the coffee shop and realize what a sore mistake he made asking me out. Why did he ask me out anyway? It makes no sense.”
“Uh, maybe because you’re hot and funny and nice,” Jamie drawls. “Quit overthinking it and just get dressed already. What time is he picking you up?”
“In…” Glancing at the clock on the wall above my desk, I say, “Twenty minutes. Which means I need to leave for the coffee shop in ten. ”
“Exactly. So get your ass dressed.”
I’m not sure why I didn’t just give him my address, but meeting at a neutral ground seemed like the easiest solution. Maybe it’s because part of me worried I’d want to cancel last minute, and if he didn’t have my address, I didn’t have to worry about him showing up.
Groaning dramatically and seriously questioning my life choices, I finally settle on something to wear. My stomach is in knots, and it feels like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. Or stop beating altogether. One of the two.
“Where are you guys going?” Jamie asks. “Do you know, or is it a surprise?”
“The drive-in theater.” My lips tug into a smile as I glance at Jamie. “How cute is that?”
“Do you know anything about the guy?”
“Other than the fact that he comes in the coffee shop every single morning without fail, he’s the hottest guy I think I’ve ever laid eyes on, and a total cowboy in every sense of the word? Not really.” I laugh.
“I’m so proud of you for going out on this date.” Jamie looks at me like a proud mama bear, and I have to fight rolling my eyes.
“Trust me, I want to cancel.”
“It’ll be fun. Don’t overthink it.”
Raising a brow, I ask, “Have you met me?”
Chuckling, he says, “Touché.”
Grabbing the phone off the dresser, I hold it up in front of me. “Okay, I gotta go. He’ll be here soon to get me.”
“Let me know once you’ve made it home, and I expect full details.”
“Deal. ”
Jamie has been my best friend since we were ten. He and his parents moved in right next door to my family, and we instantly became close. He still lives there, but about two months ago, I moved away for college. I wanted to get myself situated in a brand-new town before having to worry about classes in the fall. It’s been hard being away from my family and Jamie, but I also think it’s been good for me. Or at least, it will be.
I’ve always been introverted to a fault. Making friends isn’t easy for me; I’ve always been a bit socially awkward when it comes to actually meeting people. Hence why I’m twenty and this is going to be the first real date I’ve ever been on. I’m trying not to think about that too hard, though, because if I do, I think I may puke.
After I head to the bathroom, run some water and mousse through my hair and swish my mouth with mouthwash, I slip my shoes before I head out the door. The coffee shop isn’t far from my apartment, which is a plus. Don’t have to waste too much gas to get there and back, nor do I have to leave too early in the morning when I already have to be there at the ass crack of dawn. Pulling into the parking lot, my body freezes.
He’s already here? I’m early.
Fuck, snap out of it, Tripp.
My heart is in my throat as I park beside his truck and climb out. As he does the same, all the air left in my lungs seems to evaporate as I take in the tall cowboy standing in front of me. A faded white Marlboro shirt is stretched tight across his broad chest, and he’s wearing a black hat turned backwards, which is different from his usual cowboy hat.
A cocky grin tugs on his full lips. “Ready to go, sweetheart?” he asks, a crooked grin tugged on his lips that makes my stomach flutter. He’s got his hands stuffed into the pockets of his very tight Wranglers as he rocks on the heels of his leather boots.
Swallowing thickly, I nod. “Yeah, let’s go.”
After locking up my car, I climb into his truck, where he opens the passenger side door for me. Okay, gentleman. I’m hit with the overwhelming woodsy scent of him as I slide into the cab. It makes my mouth water.
I’m in so over my head right now.
“Have you been to this drive-in before?” August asks as he slides into the driver’s side and starts the ignition. It’s a manual, and I have to bite back a whimper as I watch him wrap his large, calloused hand around the gear shift and give it a quick shake. Tan arms, probably from the hours he spends in the sun every single day, corded muscles that make my mouth water as I imagine him doing cowboy things. Like… I don’t know. What do cowboys do? Pick up hay and toss it? Ride horseback and chase cows? Not sure, but the visual is hot.
“Uh, no, I haven’t.” I twist my hands together in my lap. “I moved here not that long ago, so I actually haven’t done much exploring yet.”
“Where’d you move from?”
“Southern Oklahoma.”
Pulling onto the main road, he glances over at me briefly. “What made you come here?”
“School,” I explain. “I’m attending Wolf Creek University.”
“Very cool.” My stomach dips watching a smile brighten his whole face. God, he’s such a painfully attractive man. “Well, I’m excited for tonight.”
“Y-you are?”
“’Course, I am. Are you?”
Butterflies float around my chest hearing him say that. “Yeah, I am too.”
“You look nervous.” He flashes me another smirk that steals my breath. “You nervous, sweetheart?”
Every single time he calls me that, my heart stutters. It’s a new thing, something he didn’t start until the day I bathed him in flour and scalded him with his own coffee.
“A little.” I breathe out a small chuckle, my palms sweating a ridiculous amount.
August reaches over, squeezing my leg just above the knee. The contact sends sparks of heat throughout my entire body. “You don’t gotta be nervous. We’re going to have fun. Promise.”
He’s so confident. It’s one of the first things I noticed about him when I started working at the coffee shop. He exudes it like a second skin. It’s something I envy, and one of the main things I find so attractive about him. Other than his gorgeous, perfect face.
And his muscular arms.
And the way his thighs and his ass look in those tight jeans.
He pulls into the parking lot, pays for the tickets, then drives in and finds a spot, which he backs into, much to my confusion. Turning off the ignition, he pockets the keys before opening his door. “Come on,” he drawls as he climbs out .
“Um, okay.” My pulse is racing so damn fast. I wish it would chill out.
Rounding the back just as he’s pulling down the tailgate, I take in the truck bed before my gaze darts over to August, who’s already watching me with a smile quirking his lips.
“Figured watching the movie back here would be comfier.” Huge blankets cover the length of the of the long bed with an assortment of pillows at the very top. “Also, I laid a mattress topper underneath the bottom blanket so it’s not such a hard surface to sit on.”
I’m smiling as my eyes find his again. “This is awesome.”
“You want popcorn or anything to drink?” he asks as I jump up and get situated.
“Uh, sure.” I shrug. “I mean, if you do.”
A grin splits his face. “I’ll be right back.”
As soon as he’s gone, I let out a breath, forcing myself to relax. My heart is beating a mile a minute. I’m actually here… on a date with August , and in the back of his truck.
Scanning the lot, I notice how many cars are parked here. It’s practically full. I’ve never been to a drive-in theater before. Honestly, I thought they didn’t have them anymore, so this is pretty cool. Another thing I notice is that we aren’t the only ones sitting in the bed of a truck. There are several other people doing the same thing.
About five minutes later, August strolls back up, a large soft drink in one hand and a tub of popcorn in the other. He hands them to me before he hoists himself up into the truck bed. Just in time too, because as soon as he sits down next to me, the opening credits come to a close and the movie starts playing.
I couldn’t even say what the movie is about because being this close in proximity to August makes my head fuzzy. About thirty minutes into it, he scoots a little closer until his leg is pressed up against mine, and he wraps an arm around my shoulder. My heart stalls in my chest and my lungs forget how to work as I breathe in his scent and feel the weight of him wrapped around me.
August leans in, mouth right beside the shell of my ear. “You’re so tense,” he husks.
“I-I’m sorry.” I turn my head, meeting his gaze. “I’m just nervous.”
“What are you nervous about?” He grins as his thumb comes up and brushes along my bottom lip. “I won’t bite. Unless, of course, you want me to.”
A full body shiver rolls through me, and I swallow against the lump in my throat, my mouth suddenly drier than the desert. Sweat drips down the back of my neck. Did the temperature spike out here?
August’s dark brown eyes dip down to my mouth as his tongue pokes out, wetting his lips. As soon as his gaze meets mine again, I know it’s coming. I see it, the lust written on his face. I may be inexperienced—and that’s putting it lightly—but I know it when I see it.
It happens in slow motion. The way August leans in, the way our breath mingles for a single moment before any contact is made. The way I can tell how long and dark his eyelashes are from here. As his lips press down on mine, my body flushes hotter than I thought possible. It’s a soft touch, almost gentle, and in an instant, I’m already addicted. His hot, wet tongue swipes across the seam of my lips, and as I part them for him, he sweeps inside, tasting me. Teasing me. Letting me taste him too. Igniting something within me that I’ve never felt.
Shifting in his hold, my hand finds a fistful of his shirt as he deepens the kiss. His lips are so soft and firm, and his tongue against mine is a sensation unlike any other. In the far back of my mind, I worry that maybe I’m not doing this right. That maybe I won’t be a good kisser since I have no experience. But then August threads his fingers through the hair on the back of my head, tugging on the strands as he crowds my body with his, and all previous thoughts evaporate from my mind.
How could I think about anything at all with him kissing me this way.
All I can think about is the way his body weight feels, the way my body is flushed, yet a chill slithers down my spine. The way his tongue flicks against the roof of my mouth, and the way his teeth nip my bottom lip. The way that everything he’s doing to my mouth right now settles deep in my balls, a throbbing ache forming, begging for more.
I don’t even know how long August and I make out in the bed of his truck, but by the time we pull apart, my lungs are screaming for air and my lips feel bruised and swollen. Face barely a breath away from mine, his hooded, dark eyes watch me as his lip curls into a grin that makes my dick even harder than it already is.
Holy shit. I can’t believe this is happening.
The movie ends much sooner than I would’ve liked because that means it’s time to call it a night, and I’m nowhere near ready for that. I want more kissing—much more kissing—and more than that, I want to feel August’s hands roam all over my body, and mine, his .
Thankfully, it seems he’s on the same wavelength, because as we climb back into the cab of the truck and he starts the ignition, August glances over at me, that same flirty smile he always tosses around, and asks, “Want to head back to the ranch? There’s a creek out by the cabins, and we can have a couple beers and chill.”
My grin is instant, bolts of heat shooting through my veins. “Let’s do it.”