Tucker #2
Sully chuckles at the stern look I must have on my face. I imagine I look a bit like Rhett right now, with his male equivalent of resting bitch face. “Got it,” he says with a smug salute. “C’mon, Hud, let’s grab ourselves a drink.” And with that, they walk away.
A gentle squeeze on my hand gets my attention. Gracie is looking up at me with a bemused smile. “You good, cowboy?”
The jealousy coursing through me just moments ago dissipates at the sound of her voice. I can practically feel my blood cooling and the heat beneath my skin retreating. “Yeah, Gracie,” I say, squeezing her hand in mine, “I’m good.”
“Wanna get some air with me? I’m feeling a little warm from all that dancing and the crowd.”
I nod, and she turns, tugging my hand behind her.
Weaving expertly through the crowd at the hands of Gracie, we end up out the front of the bar.
It’s instantly cooler out here, with only a handful of people spread among the barrel tables and a pleasant night breeze drifting through.
We head toward one of the unoccupied picnic-style tables and Gracie plonks herself down, straddling the bench seat and patting the space in front of her.
The risk of splitting my jeans feels too high, so I choose not to straddle the seat and just sit, pulling one knee up and lying my bent leg between Gracie’s spread legs, facing her.
It’s the first opportunity I’ve had tonight to really look at her, up close, and my breath almost catches in my throat.
Her beauty is indescribable. I don’t know a heck of a lot about Greek mythology, but I can’t imagine any of those goddesses could hold a candle to the one smiling at me right now.
Her cheeks are rosier than normal, a combination of her makeup and the drinks, and her eyes are a vivid blue beneath her shadow and liner.
But it’s her lips that really get my attention—they’re painted ruby red.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” I say after staring at her for far too long. I can’t help it, she’s always been irresistible to me.
“More like a sight for jealous eyes, if that little altercation was anything to go by.” She gives me a playful slap on my knee, leaving her hand resting there. “What was that about, huh?”
“Ain’t no word of a lie there, Gracie girl.”
The nickname affects her the exact way I’d hoped it would—those red lips part as she gasps softly. They’re quickly snapped shut, but the darkening of her eyes gives her away.
“If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel that sort of jealousy about anyone after I lost you, so it’s strangely refreshing to experience.”
She just looks at me for a moment, and I hold my breath in anticipation before she bursts into a fit of giggles.
She’s bent in half with her hand on her stomach and her forehead resting on my knee.
The giggles have turned silent, but her shaking body gives her away.
When she sits upright again, her face is flushed and her eyes are bright.
“You might be a little bit crazy,” she says with a wheeze, wiping at the moisture beneath her eye.
The only way I ever want to bring her to tears is like this.
“Yeah, crazy about you.” When her eyes meet mine, I grab her cheeks and lean in to kiss her.
It was meant to be just a quick peck, but as I go to pull back, Gracie deftly slides her fingertips into the hair at the nape of my neck and drags me closer.
Her tongue glides along the seam of my lips, a silent request for permission.
I part them immediately, my tongue tangling with hers.
Beneath the beer and tequila, she tastes as sweet as ever.
When she groans into my mouth and my cock twitches, I know it’s time to wrap this up.
“Gracie,” I whisper against her lips.
She hums against my mouth in response.
“Gracie,” I say again, a little louder this time, and her eyes pop open. I break contact, holding her face inches from mine. “We should go back inside before this gets out of hand.”
Her gaze drops to my groin, where I know the outline of my hardened cock is visible. “Looks like it’s already a little out of hand for you, cowboy.” One of her eyebrows is raised in a perfect arch, and the smile she directs my way is nothing but smug.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use the word ‘little’ when referring to my dick,” I deadpan.
Her laughter ripples in the breeze around us, and she places a chaste kiss on my lips before jumping off the seat.
When I look up at her, she adjusts my hat where it sits haphazardly on my head, probably jolted off kilter by the unexpected make out session, then holds her hands out to me.
“C’mon, let’s go find our friends.”
I place my hands in hers and let her lead me back inside.
All the while, there’s a warmth in my chest from the phrase ‘our friends’.
Realistically, I know she’s just collectively referring to her friends and my friends, but it’s the possibility of having shared friends again that sparks excitement in me.
“Can you do me a favor and officially introduce Rhett and Carson?” I ask as we approach our growing group.
When Gracie looks back at me curiously, I flash her a grin. She stops abruptly, and I almost slam into the front of her. “You’ve got a bit of lipstick,” she says with a giggle, reaching up and swiping the pad of her thumb across the corner of my lips.
“What, red isn’t my color?” I tease.
Lips pursed, she tilts her head and regards me for a moment. “No, I don’t think so.” She shakes her head. “Maybe more of a mauve?”
As quickly as my reflexes allow, I turn my head and nip at her thumb.
Gracie gasps and pulls her thumb away, bursting into laughter as she cradles it as though it’s injured.
We might be in the middle of a crowded dance floor, but we might as well be the only two people on Earth right now.
Everyone else fades away when I look at Gracie.
“I feel like you’re up to something with this introduction, but sure.” Her voice and subsequent tugging on my hand pulls me out of my trance. When we reach the group, Gracie loops her arm through Carson’s, whispering something in her ear that makes her laugh.
Trying to be subtle, I sidle up to my brother.
“C’mere for a second,” I say, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, turning us away from the guys and around to face Gracie and Carson instead.
It’s an effort not to stare at Gracie, but keeping my eyes on my brother is so worth it when he realizes who’s in front of us.
His cheeks flush, and he stiffens beneath my arm.
The poor thing can’t even manage a smile.
I’m a dick for thinking it, but this is highly entertaining for me.
Gracie smiles sweetly at Rhett, and pats Carson’s shoulder. “Rhett, I’d like you to officially meet Miss Carson Avery, future country music star and my very best friend. Cars, this is Tucker’s older brother, Garrett Beaumont. But his friends call him Rhett.”
I watch closely as Carson gives him the once over, her gaze returning to his face.
He roughs a hand nervously along the side of his bearded jaw.
“We friends then?” I haven’t known Carson very long at all, but if I’m not mistaken, there’s the slightest hint of challenge in her voice.
I watch closely as my brother’s throat works, clearly having noticed it as well.
Several seconds pass by, and yet Rhett remains silent. The cogs in his brain must be working overtime trying to figure out how to respond to the force of nature that is Carson, but she puts him out his misery when she smiles and says, “You let me know when you decide, darlin’.”
Disregard—she only deepens his misery. Thankfully for Rhett, Gracie tugs her away with a laugh, playfully berating her for teasing him. A quick glance at my brother is all I need to know she’s shaken him.
“Hey, Romeo,” I tap him on the chest and he startles.
“Y-yeah?” He stumbles over his words and I suppress a grin. “I made myself look like a fool again, didn’t I?”
I give him the most sympathetic look I can muster, but he sees right through it and sighs. “I don’t know what it is about her, but I get the feeling she’d have you wrapped tightly around her pinky finger if she just asked nicely.”
Rhett laughs humorlessly. “I don’t know what the fuck it is either, Tuck.
But if you figure it out, give us a shout would you?
” He glances across at Carson, and I find my own gaze drifting toward Gracie.
She sings along to the music, her painted lips pulling into a wide smile as she dances with her friends without a care in the world.
It might be cliché, but I’m drawn to the bright red lipstick like it’s a beacon.
My fingertips trace over my lips as I watch her, pausing on the spot Gracie wiped her lipstick from.
Great, now I’m thinking about what her lipstick would look like wrapped around my cock.
I can’t get the image of that kiss out of my head.
The rest of the night passes by in a blur of drinks, dancing, and more fun than I’ve had in a long time. By the time last call is announced, I’m more than ready for bed. But if the kiss earlier this evening keeps playing on repeat, sleep might not be in the cards for me.