“Really?”
“Yeah,” he says with an easy laugh. “I like small-town life. I like the family that I’ve made here.”
I mull over his words as I pop the last bite of food into my mouth and chew. Things have been easier since I got here. I like my friends and even Stan is starting to grow on me.
Teller and I head back into the living room and he pours me a glass of wine and grabs a beer for himself. We sit on the couch and Teller tells me stories about Stan and his early days of working at the Mystery Cabin.
I laugh as he tells me about the time that the miniature golf course flooded and Stan tried to convince Teller to set up swamp tours for the kids.
“Did you?” I ask through my laughter.
“No, I told him that it was a liability and that I could fix the course and he let it go.”
I laugh, setting my empty wine glass on the coffee table. My phone lights up and I’m surprised that it’s already after midnight.
“It’s getting pretty late.”
“I’ll drive you home,” he says, standing up and carrying our glasses into the kitchen.
I grab my phone and follow him out to his truck. It’s a beautiful night and I smile as I hear the crickets sing. Lightning bugs dance around us and I can see the appeal of this small town. They don’t have any of this in Boston.
“I had fun tonight,” Teller says as we make the short drive back to Mystery Cabin.
“Me too,” I tell him truthfully.
I like Teller a lot. He’s smart, funny, and so kind. Plus, he’s gorgeous and he makes tingles race through my body every time he looks at me.
We pull up outside of the Cabin and I smile when I see that Stan left the porch light on for me. Teller gets out and opens my door for me and he takes my hand as we walk up to the front door.
“Go out with me again.”
“Okay,” I say right away.
I wonder if I was supposed to play a little hard to get. Man, I don’t know anything about dating, but slowing down with Teller just doesn’t feel right.
“Good,” Teller says.
We stare at each other, the soft glow from the porch light bathing both of us in a golden glow. My heart is racing and I wonder if I should shake his hand or try to move in for a kiss, but I’m not that bold.
Teller takes a step closer to me and I curl my fingers into my sweaty palms. I wonder if he can hear my heart beating out of control. I wonder if he’s just as nervous as I am right now.
Then he’s leaning down, his head blocking out the light, and my heart skips a beat as I feel his warm breath on my face. I part my lips, my tongue running over them and wetting them a second before his lips brush gently against mine.
Heat floods through my veins as my chest brushes against his and Teller presses another soft kiss against my lips.
He presses soft, quick kisses against my mouth as he backs me up. Once I hit the porch railing, things really heat up.
His hands cup my face, the rough calluses scraping against my neck as he tilts my head back. Tingles race down my spine and I shiver. Teller steps closer to me, his woodsy smell enveloping me as his tongue brushes against the seam of my lips, searching for entry.
I open for him eagerly, my toes curling as I get my first taste of him. His warm taste silences my racing thoughts and I’m left drowning in him, in our kiss. His kiss is so intense, filled with hunger.
The wood porch railing is rough against my back but it’s also the only thing keeping me standing. I know it sounds cliché, but I think my knees went weak as soon as our lips met.
Teller’s hands slip down my arms and he pulls me closer against him, his arms strong and comforting as they wrap around me. It’s strange to feel so turned on, and yet completely at home, at ease.
We’re glued to one another and I never want this kiss to end, but before I can stop him, Teller is pulling back. He rests his forehead against mine for a beat before his eyes meet mine. His are dark, filled with some emotion that I don’t recognize right away because I’ve never seen it directed at me.
It’s lust.
I want to invite him in, I want to keep making out with him, but then I remember that I currently live with my great-uncle and that Stan could be watching us right now for all I know.
“Have a good night, Sutton,” he says softly and I nod, unable to find my voice to say anything in return. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nod again and then head inside. Teller stands there until I’ve locked the door before he heads back to his truck and heads home himself.
I turn off the porch light and creep through the house, not wanting to wake Stan. I make it back upstairs to my room and collapse down on the twin-size bed, smiling up at the ceiling.
That kiss keeps replaying over and over in my head. My lips are still tingling and the warm feeling that encompassed me when his lips first brushed against mine is still lingering.
I’ve been kissed before, once, when I was in high school, but it was nothing like Teller’s. This kiss was on a whole other level.
Paul’s kiss in high school had been that of a boy. It didn’t make me feel anything, except nervous. I had been so distracted by my thoughts, wondering if I was doing it right or if I should move my hands somewhere else or tilt my head in a certain direction, that I barely processed anything.
With Teller, it was all feeling.
I can’t tell if that scares me or thrills me. I guess a little of both. Strangely enough, that doesn’t freak me out.
I change into my pajamas and get ready for bed, smiling the whole time.
15
Madelyn and Iris each sent me a text this morning and they both just said ‘Girl’s Night.’ I had told them both that I was in and that I would make sure that Lyla joined us as well.
Lyla worked today, so she agreed to drive me over to Madelyn’s apartment. She lives one street over from Main Street and close to the Destiny Falls Market. It’s a nice, modern looking two-story with a great view of the lake.
There are three cars in the driveway and I wonder who else is coming tonight. Iris is just climbing out of her car and she beams at us as we make our way over to greet her.
“Hey, need a hand with anything?” I ask when I notice that she’s got a duffel bag on the passenger seat.
“No, I got it. Thanks though.”
Lyla and I follow Iris up the front walkway and Iris opens the front door.
“We’re here!” she calls out and I hear Madelyn’s footsteps on the floor above us.
“Hey, Flynn,” Iris says and I notice the man sitting at the kitchen counter.
“Hey, Iris,” he says, giving all of us an easy smile.
“Girls, this is Flynn. Flynn, this is Lyla and Sutton.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Flynn says and we both nod at him.
“Who’s ready for girl’s night?” Madelyn calls as she slides into the room and I laugh at her exuberance.
“What do you have planned?” I ask her.
“Takeout, wine, gossip… about boys,” she whispers and I laugh.
“Yeah, I’m going to take that as my cue to leave,” Flynn says as he clears away his dishes and heads for the door. “It was nice to meet you guys,” he says with a friendly smile, and Lyla and I both wave as he makes his way upstairs.