Once the devious little matchmaker walked away, I chuckled. “So, you barely remember, huh? Shall I refresh your memory after lunch?”
A wide grin spread across her face and she shrugged. “Sure. You can give it a shot.”
“Check, please!” I threw my hand in the air and teased—but I was dead fucking serious. I couldn’t wait to have my mouth on hers again.
We both laughed and my mom studied me as she set the two burgers down in front of us.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yep. I forgot we were meeting some friends down at the lake, so we’re in a bit of a hurry.”
“All right. Well, eat up and get a move on, then. I’ll see you both tonight for dinner.” She shook her head with a chuckle and walked off.
“You in a hurry?” Adelaide took a bite of her burger and tried to hide her smile.
“Hell, yeah I’m in a hurry.” I woofed down my burger and stared at her as she took one bite at a time.
My phone buzzed on the table just as hers did the same.
“It’s Shaw. He and Jax are heading down to the lake with Coco, Ivy, Ty, Maura, Kyle, Lydia, and Gigi.” I laughed. Such an unlikely group, but we’d all been hanging out a lot lately.
“Yep. I got the same text. Do you want to go meet them?” She studied me before biting down on her plump bottom lip. I gripped the table to stop myself from leaning over and taking her sweet mouth right there.
“No. Do you?”
“No.” She laughed. “Maybe we can all hang out tonight.”
“That sounds good. You ready?” I asked, anxious to get the hell out of there.
“Yep.” She sent a quick text, and we made our way out to my bike. I drove to our favorite spot on the lake, and the wind whipped around, as her hand fisted the hoody against my stomach.
And I fucking loved being with her.
When she got off the bike, she started running. “I call dibs on the hammock.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s my spot. You can’t call dibs.” I dropped down to sit beside her, and my mouth was on hers before I could even think about it.
This girl had become my drug of choice. I craved her. Thought about her when we weren’t together. Like some sort of fucking junkie.
Her fingers were in my hair, and a little moan escaped her mouth, as my tongue dipped in tasting and exploring. She fell back on the hammock, pulling me along with her. Her hips grinding against mine—I nearly came undone right there. I kissed her until my lips ached. Until I was so hard my dick was ready to explode. I pulled back, pushing the hair out of her pretty face. Her dark eyes were wild and needy. Her lips swollen and red. Her chest rising and falling, and I just stared down at her. Needing to take her in.
What the hell was happening to me? I was not the poetic, romantic type. But Adelaide brought something out in me that I hadn’t even known was there. And all I saw was beauty and goodness when I looked at her. I wanted more, but I knew better. We needed to slow down. One day at a time.
“Why’d you stop?” Her words came out all breathy and needy, and I adjusted myself as casually as I could, seeing as though I was propped on one arm, trying to keep us from tipping out of the hammock.
I slid beside her and carefully shifted her so we were lying side by side facing one another. “There’s no rush, Ace.”
She nodded. Her cheeks pinked. “Okay. Is this normal for you?”
I laughed. “Is what normal?”
“I don’t know. The way you kiss me. The way we are together.” Her gaze searched mine. Pops of amber and gold sparkling as the sun shined down on her. She looked like some sort of angel lying there acting like I held the answer to all life’s questions.
“There’s nothing normal about the way I kiss you. The way you kiss me. The way we are together.”
She nodded. “Okay, good. Because this is… very different from anything I’ve ever felt.”
I smiled, couldn’t fucking help myself. “Yeah? I think it’s called desire,” I teased.
“I think you’re right.”
My phone buzzed, and I reached for it in my back pocket. I read the text from Clyde and rolled my eyes. “Jesus.”
“What’s wrong?” Her fingers stroked my hair and I wanted to close my eyes and get lost in all things Adelaide Edington. Her touch could heal the fucking dead.
“Goddamn, Wren. I have a fight tomorrow night, and he’s holding it up because he doesn’t like the guy I’m fighting. I don’t know what the dude’s problem is.”
“Wren? Why does he care?”
“He owns the fight club. He’s always in my business and it pisses me off. He said he wouldn’t stop me from fighting, but here we are.”
“Why does he care who you fight?” Her gaze locked with mine and I could see that she genuinely wanted to know.
I scrubbed a hand down my face, trying to decide how much to share. Hell, I never talked about this shit with anyone. Not even Shaw and Jax.
“If I tell you something, you have to promise me you won’t tell a soul. Not even the Magic Musketeers.”
She pushed up on one arm, so she was propped above me. “Magic Willows. And I promise. Your secrets are safe with me, Jett Stone.”
“I think Wren might be my dad. I mean, I don’t know. He’s just always hanging around and I don’t know why he gives a fuck what I do, but he’s always there.”
Her jaw dropped open before she clamped it shut, and it was adorable how she tried to pull herself together and compose her reaction. “Has he always been there? Or is this new?”
“No. He’s always been around but I never used to mind it. I mean, the fighting is new, so I’m definitely feeling him hovering around me much more now.”
“Why do you mind it now?” she asked. So fucking perceptive. A reminder that I wasn’t used to hanging around people who asked questions. People that cared about what I did and how I felt.
“I have my reasons.” My words came out harsher than I meant them too. That shit was not something I was ready to share. Not now. Maybe not ever.
She didn’t back down. She nodded and cocked her head to the side. “Why don’t you just ask him? Or better yet, ask your mom.”
“I can’t ask my mom.” I shook my head. “It’s a sensitive subject for her.”
“Then ask him.”
I nodded. I honestly never thought about asking him. Would he tell me the truth? Probably not. How do you own up to that shit?