Chapter 8
Ridge
This feels so real. Surely Summer can’t be this good of an actor.
I want to tell her that nothing about this is fake for me.
I want her. In my arms. In my bed. In my life.
For the longest time I swore that I was just fine on my own but I didn’t know that just being with someone could feel this good.
I feel a connection with Summer. The feeling of never quiet fitting in.
The feeling of being an outsider. But does she feel the same?
I have to know and I have to know it now.
Not caring one bit what people might think, I grab Summer’s hand and march her out of there.
Away from the noise and the crowds. I need to get her alone.
I march right up to the general store. It’s closed for the night and far enough away from the concert.
Going around the back I grab the key from above the doorframe and let us into the back store room.
Finally I let go of Summer’s hand. Moving away from her to flick on a low light and turn and face her.
I want to tell her everything I am feeling.
But I’ve never been good with words. Instead I reach out and pull her to me.
It’s been far too long since I was kissing her and I need to feel her body against mine again.
But after a minute she pushes away. “Nobody can see us here.”
It hurts that that’s what she is thinking about. “Does that matter?” I ask in clipped tones.
She blinks at me as though she is trying to understand. And then she crosses her arms and gives me a stubborn look. “I thought you wanted to show your family…”
Her words trail off as I step closer to her. She is breathing hard. Her chest rising and falling. Her green eyes flash. Defences up. But I can’t resist reaching out and touching her. Tracing the line of her jaw, her skin so silky soft. “What about you, Summer? Do you like it when I kiss you?”
She pulls her head back a little and gives a little shrug. “You’re a good kisser.”
I can’t help but smile. Stepping closer I inhale her perfume. It’s sweet like strawberries. My hands on her hips I whisper low close to her ear. “What about when I touch you? Do you like that?”
The barest of nods. I lean in to kiss her but her hands on my chest stop me. She looks up at me and I recognize the fear in her eyes. The fear of opening up and of being hurt.
“I know I’m not your type. There are plenty of pretty girls for you…”
Again her words trail off. I kiss her hard. Needing her to know how beautiful she is. A gentle hand on her cheek, I angle her face up to mine.
“You are beautiful Summer. Your beautiful face, this sexy body, you have haunted my dreams. You are stubborn and crazy and all that I can think about. I don’t want just one kiss.
I don’t want just one night. I think I might have found my forever in you.
And I don’t want to let you out of here until I’ve convinced you how much I want you. How much I need you.”
Running my thumb across her plump lower lip.
I hunger for this girl. But I am determined to take my time.
It kills me that she doesn’t think she is beautiful.
Summer has a kind of beauty that grows on a person.
Infects them. To me she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
When she smiles I feel it. When she crosses her arms and gets all stubborn, it drives me wild.
And when she is looking up at me right now, in the soft orange glow, I vow to myself to make her the happiest woman alive.
“I’m going to kiss you now.” I whisper the words. Kissing down her throat. Making my way back to her mouth. Promising myself to take it slow.