7. Kelsey
“Ohhhh…” The stretch is delicious as I work myself over Scott. He’s fills me up so well, I have to bounce my hips to work him in little by little.
I take his sizeable girth with relative ease, but once he’s fully seated inside me, a renewed need to drive him as crazy as he drives me takes hold.
Running a finger along his bearded jaw, I rise up and squeeze my walls around him until he groans. “Shit, Kelsey, you feel so good. A perfect fit.”
“You feel good to me, too,” I murmur, rising to brace myself on his muscled chest. “Now, I just need you to fill me up, baby.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Just how I like it.”
His lips quirk up and his hands skim up my sides to cup my breasts. Then he flicks the tips of my nipples with his thumbs and I whimper.
“You like that?”
“Yesss,” I hiss, dragging myself up and down his length in long, slow strokes until I feel his hands dig into my hips, and together we find the angles and rhythm that work for us. Soon, he’s driving deep into my channel, murmuring praise against the heat of my flushed skin.
“What a good girl you are, honey. You’re taking my cock so well.” He brushes the hair from my brow and twines it around hand before pulling me in for another kiss.
I moan against his lips when he rolls us around and shifts so he can spread my legs wider, hold me down and fuck me right into the mattress. Every thrust is deep, hitting against a part of me I didn’t even know actually existed.
My moans grow louder as my pussy becomes slicker and the sound of our bodies slapping against one another is all I hear over the steady drum of rain.
“I’m going to need you to come for me, sweetheart. Come all over my cock so I know this pussy is mine.”
“I’m so close now,” I gasp. Already, I’m consumed by him—inflamed and engulfed in the slide of his body inside mine. “But I need a little more.”
Then he reaches between my legs and strums my clit while driving madly, deeply into my dripping pussy, and he sends me flying over the edge once more.
Only this time, he follows, shooting his load deep into my womb and letting out a satisfied, animalistic groan.
And when he collapses over me, both of us heaving and sweaty, he wraps me up in his arms and kisses my bare shoulder.
Then, against my skin, he whispers, “I love you, Kelsey.”
I couldn’t give Scott what he wanted to hear at that moment, even if I maybe wanted to. He didn’t push me about it. Just let me snuggle up to him and snooze in his arms until the storm passed.
Eventually we make our way downstairs to raid the picnic he’d made for us.
I wrap up in one of his plaid shirts, ridiculously pleased that I smell of him, and we sit nestled together on sofa, taking turns feeding each other from the spread he’d tossed onto a wooden chopping board in an attempt to be fancy.
Being here with him feels… natural and comforting, so I tell him that I don’t need fancy. I just need someone who shares my love of the town and the dream of a life here. In Wintervale. Someone I can build a life with.
“But your life is all over, isn’t it?” I ask, leaning in to let him feed me a grape. “Nashville and Los Angeles. I can’t remember a time when you’ve been home for an extended time.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. The job comes with some travel requirements, and because of my other commitments, I maintain houses in both Tennessee and California.”
I grunt and shove another cracker and slice of cheddar into my mouth, trying to hide my disappointment.
“But it’s never been my long-term plan to live in those places.”
My head jerks up and I make a muffled noise that sounds like, “Hmph? Mmmf nuh?”
He laughs. Leaning over to steal a kiss from my puckered lips, he hooks an arm around my shoulders and gathers me close.
“No, the plan has always been to settle here, back home. My dad and stepmom have been talking about resettling back here now that they’ve fulfilled their dream of living in Music City for a while. And there’s no way I could make my life in L.A. last a lifetime.” He shudders. “Too crowded. Too loud. Very little privacy.”
I swallow down my mouthful and point at the ground.
“Here? As in, Wintervale.”
“Yeah,” he laughs. “This is home. It’s always been home. Out there, everyone outside of my family knows me as Hunter. It doesn’t feel as if they know me at all. Not the real me. And you know what? None of them even ask, you know? But here, it’s the opposite. Everyone knows me as Scotty, and they come up to have a chat, ask about family, and so on. They don’t take pictures of me eating my lunch and interrupt me to ask for selfies and autographs, or make me feel like an exhibit at a zoo. They just… make me feel like a person.”
“People here make you feel seen.”
He smiles.
“Yeah.”
I tuck my feet under me and snuggle against his body, wrapping my arms around his middle and looking around the living room. “So, are you going to move back in here with your parents?”
“No. I bought some land a while back, on the edge of town and have been having a house built out there. Took a long time because there were all these delays and supply issues. I wanted it to be more natural, you know? Locally sourced stone, timber, all that.”
My heart gallops in my chest. “Is it a ranch style house?”
“Yeah, it is.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and lets his fingers linger on my cheek.
“The one made of hand-hewn oak and slate, with massive floor to ceiling windows?”
“You know it?”
“Know it?” I practically shriek. “I’ve been wondering who owned it. It’s beautiful , a literal dream house.”
“You want to see it?”
“What, now ?”
“Storm’s blown over,” he says, looking out into the backyard.
He doesn’t need to say it twice. I leap to my feet and take the stairs two at a time, hollering back, “Yes, I’ll be right down. Just let me get my pants!”
Within twenty minutes, I’m still wrapped up in his shirt, but have my mostly-dry leggings back on as we pull up to the gleaming new home.
“It’s nearly finished. The flooring’s in, but things are pretty dusty in there. It’s still a construction site. Jasper’s been coordinating a lot of the build from L.A., which is another reason why he accompanied me on this trip. It’s not yet in a livable state, but you get an idea.”
He guides me through the house, turning on the lights and walking me through his vision. Multiple rooms, space for entertaining, rooms for guests, a massive patio to take in the view of the landscape, and even an entire wing planned to be a dedicated private recording studio so he wouldn’t have to make as many trips out-of-state if it they weren’t needed.
Every inch of the place reminds me of a few lines out of one of his songs, and I can’t help but feel a little stunned by the similarities between us.
“This is so much bigger than I imagined,” I breathe, spinning around in the cavernous space of the kitchen. I tilt my head to look up through the skylight. “You’ve really thought of everything.”
He flips on a light, and the bare bulb gently swings to and fro, bathing everything in a soft white glow.
“And if it wasn’t enough space, I’ve got more land to expand, if it was ever required.”
“Alright. You win,” I laugh.
“Win what? You? Your affections?”
“You were right and I was wrong. Maybe those matchmakers might know a thing or two about matching people up because it seems like you and I do want a lot of the same things in life. Those big picture goals and values match up better than I would’ve imagined.”
“Damn, where’s my phone? I should’ve recorded that!”
I roll my eyes and rise up on my toes to give him a quick kiss.
“That’s probably the only time I’ll ever hear you say those words, huh?”
“Well, I’d say it’ll be a rare repeat occurrence, but you know what they say about broken clocks.”
“That they’re right twice a day?”
“Uh huh.”
He nuzzles the curve of my neck and wraps his arms around my waist. I melt against his body, loving the solidity and scent of him. My hands drift to his belt and I give it a tug.
“Earlier, I said I wanted a taste of you. I didn’t get the chance to follow through on that.”
“This is a construction site,” he says, eyes falling to half mast even as I can feel another part of him rising and hardening against me. “It’s dangerous.”
“Well, I can live a little dang—” I break off as I catch the gleam of metal emerging from the darkened hallway behind Scott.
In a moment, with my brain trying to make sense of what I’m seeing, my life flashes before my eyes. Not the life I lived, but one that could’ve been—
One that features me and Scott getting married under a floral arch with the mountain in the background.
One of us making this house into a home filled with cozy furnishings, roaring fires, and the pitter patter of little feet.
One filled with music, and joy, and laughter…
If only it’s not ripped from us in the next moment.
With terror bubbling up inside me, I don’t blink. I don’t think. I just grab hold of him and spin us both so that I’m between the shooter and Scott, screaming, “Don’t! Don’t shoot!”
I stand ready to protect my love, ready to bleed even as Scott grabs hold of me around the middle and tries to push me aside, but I’m rooted in place, braced for whatever’s coming, except what’s coming isn’t a bullet.
It’s my brother, Travis, emerging from the shadows with one arm in a sling, a handgun in the other, and a busted up face.
“ Fuck! Fuck, Travis. You scared the shit out of me!” My hand flies to my cover my thumping heart and I expel a breath. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Could ask you the same,” he says, flicking a glance over to Scott. “But I think I heard more than enough to guess. There are some things a brother never needs to hear, you know?”
I point at his weapon. “Put that thing down. You’re not going to shoot your oldest friend.”
“I might,” Travis shrugs and waves the gun between me and Scott. “Make some room for Jesus.”
I plant my hands on my hips and glare at him. “No. This is ridiculous. You can’t tell me what to do, Travis. I’m a grown woman.”
“What the fuck, Scotty?” he asks, head tipping to one side.
Scott quirks a brow. “You know when I told you mi casa es su casa , I kinda meant when it was finished.”
“Sorry. I needed a safe place to crash while this heals up.” Travis waves the gun to indicate his face and I glare at the two of them like they’ve lost their minds. “Job went sideways,” he says by way of explanation. “Needed to lay low.”
“That’s why you’ve been MIA?” I raise a brow. “You missed mom’s birthday.”
“I know. Sorry, I was a little busy.”
“How long have you been home? And why on earth are you lurking in the shadows, jumping out at people with a gun in your hand?”
“I see getting laid didn’t help curb any of that attitude of hers.” Travis nods in my direction and I splutter.
“ What ? I do not have an attitude. And unless you want another black eye to match the purple one you already got, I suggest you explain.”
Travis doesn’t explain. Instead, he seems to have some kind of silent powwow with Scott over my head, and I it dawns on me Scott’s not in the least bit surprised to see my brother pop up out of the dark.
I turn to him. “Did you know he was back?”
“No,” they answer simultaneously.
“But this isn’t the first time he’s popped up in one of my houses unannounced and in a… state.” Scott meets Travis’s gaze. “We talked about this, though. You gotta stop doing this, man. You’re gonna give me a heart attack one day.”
“Okay, but this moment here is not about me. We can talk about me later.” Travis says, laying the gun on the countertop. “Right now, I want to know why you jumped in front of this guy to save him from a perceived threat.”
“Yeah, why’d you do that for?” Scott asks.
My brother glances between us. “I mean, you always gave me an earful about how Scotty drives you bonkers. So, do you actually like this guy enough to take a bullet for him? Cause if you do, you like him a helluva lot more than I do.”
Scott snickers and I rub my face in frustration.
“I see why you two are such good friends, you know. The pair of you are so infuriating.”
“It’s the same old story though,” Scott says, linking his fingers with mine. “Boy loves girl. Girl doesn’t notice. Years pass. Boy still eventually wears her down with his unending love.”
“‘Wear Her Down With Love’, title of your next song.” Travis slaps Scott on the back.
“That’s a terrible title,” he grumbles.
Travis turns to me. “Does that about sum it up?”
“No,” I bark. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know, okay? All I know right now is that you scared the shit out of me and I thought I might lose him. He’s…” I take a deep breath and look over at him. A hard lump forms in my throat and I have fight to clear it before I go on. “He’s my perfect match, okay? Mountain Match said so.”
“Well, shit.” Travis says, grinning like a loon. “If Mountain Match says so…”
“Ugh, no, that’s not what I mean.” I groan. “I’m saying, he and I? We’re made of the same stuff. Our souls match. We long for the same things, and we each have our own relationships quirks. For me, it’s been about control and needing to orchestrate everything because I couldn’t control anyone or anything else. I just wanted things to be perfect, but didn’t want to risk laying my heart on the line.”
Pulling Scott in closer, I wrap my arm around his middle and look over at Travis.
“Scott uses humor to deflect and to protect, and to seek attention. But when we both lowered our guards, and got honest and vulnerable, we found that the things we want out of life and from a partner align. So, I guess what I’m saying is—” I break off, turning to look at Scott as the images that filled my head before I knew it was Travis with a gun return once again. This time, as visions of a future that could be possible. “I’m saying I love you, Scott.”
“I love you, too, Kelsey.”
Then he bends down, slants his mouth over mine and I kiss him with every ounce of love that’s unlocked inside me. When I pull away, his eyes are wet with fresh tears and he’s swiping at those crinkle-corners I adore.
“Now I’m the one with dust in my eyes,” he says, laughing.
“Well, shit, that was beautiful, guys. Honestly, I’m touched.” Travis applauds from the shadows. “Everyone’s going to be to hear it’s finally happened.”
“What do you mean, everyone?” I ask.
“Everyone as in, everyone ,” he says. “We all watched this guy mope around for you for years . Somehow, you just didn’t notice that he was always making these comments and running off to scribble these terrible poems that somehow turned into million dollar songs… I mean, God. What a melodramatic sap.”
“Alright, alright,” Scott cuts in. “I think she gets the idea. One day, you might become a melodramatic sap for someone you love.”
Travis claps a hand on Scott’s shoulder and squeezes. “Never happening, my dude.”
I shake my head at the pair of them as my heart expands, full to the brim with happiness and love.