Chapter 5
Devan
H oly shit. This is Justin Sheers.
I recognize him, but he obviously doesn’t recognize me.
“Hi, Justin,” I say, unwilling to give away my identity.
With his hands pushed down in the pockets of his jeans, I see the man my brother’s friend has become.
His auburn hair is mussed—not short but not too long.
His chiseled jaw is covered by a day’s or more beard growth showing red even by the light of the moon.
It’s his eyes, though, that I can’t look away from.
When did they become so intense?
The blue shimmers.
I take a step closer, unsure if I’m imagining this encounter. Maybe it’s my subconscious giving me another reason to consider Riverbend. As the thought comes, it goes. Once Justin Sheers knows who I am, he won’t be interested in me.
“Are you all right?” he asks with a sexy grin. “A moment ago, you were smiling, and now you’re not.”
Swallowing, I consider my next words.
He takes a step closer. As I look up, I can smell the scent of bodywash, the aroma of the bonfire, and the beer on his breath. My heart beats faster as butterflies come to life in my stomach. Never have I had this reaction to mere presence. This is crazy.
This is Justin Sheers .
His touch comes to my chin. It’s warm, soft in a gentle way, yet coarse, the hands of a working man. I forget to breathe as he lifts my chin to resume our eye contact.
“You have a beautiful smile.”
His voice is like his touch—deep and soothing while at the same time, abrasive in a way that twists my core and tightens my nipples. I say a quick prayer, thanking God that I’m wearing the oversized sweatshirt.
“Thank you,” I finally manage to say. It was an octave too high, but I made the words go out.
Blinking, he lets go of my chin and taking a step back, shakes his head. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I’m not a creep or some perv.”
My cheeks rise. “I wasn’t thinking you were.”
A sparkle returns to his gaze. “There’s that smile.”
Inhaling, I confess. “It’s been a while since I’ve been back to Riverbend and that” —I lift my chin to the distant sounds of the growing party— “is a bit overwhelming.”
“I get it. I live here day in and day out, and it is overwhelming.”
“I’m sure,” I say, “you know everyone at the party.”
Justin shrugs. “I thought I did.” His smile returns. “I don’t. You haven’t told me your name.”
Closing my eyes, I carry on my internal debate, the one I’ve been having with myself since Justin introduced himself.
I could introduce myself as Echo, but I don’t want to lie to him.
I also don’t want to be truthful. As the argument rages in my head, Justin again reaches for my chin.
When my eyes open, he’s close, very close.
“If you don’t tell me your name, I can’t ask you if I can kiss you.”
I swallow. “You want to kiss me?”
“It’s all I’ve been thinking about since you took off the hood.”
“Why?”
His smile grows and a laugh fills the air.
“I can’t think of anything to say that won’t sound cheesy, and if you knew me, you’d know I’m not a cheesy person.
” Releasing my chin, he steps back and takes off his jacket.
It’s a Carhartt—tan on the outside with lining on the inside.
Justin lays the coat on the soft ground. “Would you like to sit?”
Nodding, I sit to one side of the opened jacket.
The heady scent of a man and the warmth of the fabric make for an intoxicating mixture.
Justin sits beside me. He’s close enough that I feel the heat of his body, yet far enough away that we aren’t touching.
Bending my knees to my chest, I wrap my arms around my legs and look out at the pond. I turn to face Justin, taking in his profile as my stomach does flip-flops. “Have you ever worried that you’d ruin something if you say the wrong thing?” I ask.
He runs his palm over his face. “No. I’m usually the one to say the wrong thing without considering the consequences. It’s a gift I have.”
My cheeks rise as I smile, looking down and back up.
“I’m not the type to slip away from a party.
” I reach out and lay my fingers on his arm.
There’s something electric in the touch.
With his jacket off, the sleeves of his thermal shirt are pushed up and my fingers land on his muscular forearm.
Quickly, I pull my hand away. “I don’t mean to sound like I’m some crazy partier. ”
Justin is staring down at where I touched him.
Could he have felt the jolt I did, or is he upset we touched?
When his gaze meets mine, his lopsided smile grows. “I guess we can assess. You’re not a crazy partier, and I’m not a creep or a perv.”
“Can we?”
“Take my word for it.”
“Are you to be trusted?” I ask with an unfamiliar flirtatiousness to my tone.
He lifts both of his hands as if in surrender. “The utmost trustworthy-est.” He leans closer. “I can even keep the secret of your name.”
“Well,” I say, stretching out the word. “Back to this assessment of not being a creep or perv. Are you willing to answer a few questions?”
“Give it your best shot.”
Turning toward him, I lift one eyebrow. “Have you ever walked around town in only a long raincoat?”
“Oh my God,” he nearly shouts with a laugh. “That would be a hard no.”
I lift both eyebrows. “Hard?”
That earns me a smirk.
“Okay, if we’re doing this,” Justin says, “and if I’m to believe you’re not a crazy partier, you need to answer my questions.”
“Seems fair.”
“Have you ever awakened in an unfamiliar place, meaning you partied a bit too hard?”
“Never.”
“Have you ever made what you later consider to be bad decisions based on the consumption of mind-altering substances?”
“How did you get a second question?” I ask. “I think it’s my turn.”
“Is that a yes?”
Shaking my head, I grin. “It’s definitely a no. Now, have you ever stalked a girl, or guy if that’s your choice, either in person or online?”
“Girl,” he says definitively. “Woman, one of the female persuasion. I admit to a bit of social media stalking but never in person and only to…you know, get a better idea what she likes.”
I scrunch my nose. “Hmm. That seems a little iffy.”
“My intentions were pure.”
“So, if I tell you my name, you’ll search my online presence?”
“And if I tell you my last name, you won’t?”
I shake my head. “No, Justin, I won’t. I don’t want to know what you post online. I’d rather get the answers to my questions by asking you, talking to you, you know…that old-fashion stuff.”
The swirl in his blue eyes intensifies, like the sharpening of a camera’s focus, staring directly at me.
“What?” I ask.
“I don’t know. You’re undeniably beautiful. Not a crazy partier and look young. Yet you’re deep.”
“Is that bad?”
“None of it is bad. It’s a combination I’d like to get to know.” He smiles a sexy grin. “In person. Not online.”
His grin fades as the intensity of his stare grows. With each passing second, the pace of my heart rate picks up, my breaths come faster, and there’s a twisting inside me like I’ve never known. His gaze moves to my lips, wordlessly pulling me to him as he leans toward me.
“That kiss?” he questions in a husky timbre.
Words fail me as I nod only seconds before his lips meet mine.
In that time and space, I’m too lost to realize I’m kissing Justin Sheers.
Correction, I’m being kissed by Justin Sheers, kissed like I’ve never been kissed before.
The energy radiates from him to me, a lightning bolt that sends detonations through my circulation.
My skin heats from within. The longer it goes on, the slacker my body becomes.
I meld against him, hungry for his taste.
It’s desire, passionate and possessive with a hint of beer.
I’m not certain when his hand came to the back of my neck, or when our faces turned, and moans escaped my lips.
I don’t even know when I fell back, my head on Justin’s jacket as his tongue joins mine.
In twenty-two years, I never realized that a kiss could be so much.
I’d read stories of fireworks and thought they were only that, fiction.
As my breasts heave beneath Justin’s strong chest, I am convinced, converted, a believer.
My touch moves over his shoulders and to his head, raking my fingers through his hair as the sensation of his beard growth on my face and neck adds to my out-of-body experience.
Palming his scruffy cheeks, I pull back, panting for air.
Our noses were only millimeters away from one another.
“I think I got carried away,” he says.
I’m not sure if it was meant as an apology, but none is necessary.
“I’ve never been kissed like that,” I finally say. “I liked it.”
“Me too.” He sits up and offers me his hand.
I watch the way his fingers envelop mine. Everything about Justin is bigger than life. Sitting up, I readjust the large sweatshirt and look out to the pond. In the time since I slipped away from the party, the moon has risen above the trees, appearing smaller than it had yet no less bright.
“Do you see it?” he asks.
“What?”
“The man in the moon.”
Smiling, I nod. “I do. I didn’t when I was younger, and my brother helped me see him. It’s not really a man but a face.”
“Mystery woman has a brother.”
Looking down, I sigh.
Jesus, Ricky would be furious at me and at Justin.
I start to stand.
Justin reaches for my hand. “I would like your number. No name if you don’t want me to see your silly pictures on Instagram.”
Together we stand as he reaches for his jacket.
“Who said I have silly pictures?”
“When did you graduate?” he asks, looking down at the sweatshirt. “From Purdue. I’ve been out for nearly ten years.” He chuckles. “That sounds like college was prison. It wasn’t.”
Ten years.
Shit.
“This is a friend’s shirt. I went to Ball State.” Go to Ball State . About ready to graduate .
“What did you study?”
I take a step back, too afraid that he’ll be able to connect the dots leading to my identity. “Justin, thank you.” I look up, meeting his gaze. “I’m in a weird place. If things are meant to be, I’d love to see where this could go.”
“I get weird places,” he says, still holding my hand. “I think I’m in one too. I’m not much of a believer in fate. Giving me your number would be a better way of facilitating some unknown destiny.”
A smile curls my lips. “And what would you put as my name in your phone?”
“Best kiss.”
I drop my forehead to his chest, inhaling his scent. When I look up, I’m lost in the way he’s looking at me. “Even with your name, I’d put that in my phone too.”
“Are you ready to head back to the party?”
“I-I…” I reach for my phone and pretend to read a text. “Oh, it looks like my friends got bored. They’re waiting for me just over that hill.” There is a road that if I follow it far enough will lead to town.
“I can’t let you walk by yourself.”
“I’m a big girl, Justin.”
“I’m not arguing. Let me walk you to the top of the hill.”
“Just a minute.” Turning away, I type out a quick message to Marilyn and Jill, telling them where to bring the car. After I hit send, I nod. “Okay.”
Before we start walking, Justin reaches for my hand. For the first steps, we’re silent, taking in the cool breeze while enjoying the warmth of each other’s touch.
“Best Kiss,” he says. “That’s going to be your name until you tell me different. I think I’ll shorten it to BK.”
I giggle. “Okay.”
He takes a deep breath and looks up to the sky. “I’m not…I don’t want you to think…I’d like to see you.” He laughs and stops, reaching for both of my hands. “As you can probably tell, I studied poetic muse at Purdue due to my mastery of language.”
I laugh. “Education. That’s my degree.”
“Agriculture. I’m one of those people who want to do more than use the earth. I want to help it the way it helps us.”
“Wow,” I say genuinely. “That is poetic.”
It’s Justin’s turn to laugh. “Not really.”
In the distance, headlights become visible, going toward my rendezvous point. “I think that’s my ride.”
“BK,” he says with a grin. “I won’t give up.”
“Stalker much?”
“You have no idea.”
I push up on my tiptoes and brush his scruffy cheek with a kiss. “Thank you, Justin, for the best kiss of my life.” I shrug. “All others pale. I’ll hold your one kiss in my heart as the greatest.” With that, I take off, walking before breaking into a jog as I make my way down to the street.