"This looks like a good place to sit down," he said, gesturing to a clear spot ahead.
We settled on the grass and spread out our coffees and bag of hot donuts. If today was an indication of Jory's speed, I wasn't going to complain. It suited me just fine.
"This is nice," Jory said, handing me half a donut. "I like being able to talk to you. Our schedules are so different at school that I hardly see you."
"And we were too busy sprinting from one leg of the first date race to another last weekend to make much conversation," I quipped.
He elbowed me in the ribs. "How many times do I have to tell you I had fun? I was exhausted and still can't get that weird stain out of my shirt but it was an epic first date."
I shoved my portion of the donut in my mouth to stop myself from apologizing—again. After a swig of coffee, I asked, "I know why I'm worried about messing everything up but why are you?"
Jory busied himself with inspecting the rest of the cinnamon-sugared donuts. He didn't meet my gaze when he said, "I generally worry about messing up all things."
"But—why? You're smart and cute and"—I gave his slim cut jeans, plaid shirt, and quilted vest a plainly appreciative glance—"you look like a hot L.L. Bean catalog."
"And you look like a hot Under Armour catalog." He shifted, reaching for his back pocket. "Here. Let's get a pic. I'm aiming for full-on basic today. That, and I want to remember the day I got to rub up against you and snuggle in the dirt."
"First of all, you have a standing invitation to snuggle me in the dirt or anywhere at all," I replied. "And second, let me get that cinnamon-sugar mustache you're rocking since I know you're not going to want that in your pics." I leaned in, kissed the sweetness right off him. I wanted to press him down, lay my body over his, and show him what it really meant to rub up against me. But there were pumpkins everywhere, not to mention people, and Jory wanted his Instagrammable moment. "Much better."
"Yeah? You got it all? You didn't miss any?" he teased, a smile tipping up the corners of his mouth. "Maybe you should check one more time."
"You're right. More thorough attention is required." I lifted my hand to cup his clean-shaven jaw and brushed my lips over his. He edged closer and I took that as an invitation to drag him into my lap. I lashed my arm around his waist, settled his legs over my thigh, and tugged him tight against my chest. "You're going to have grass stains on your jeans," I murmured. "Dirt too."
"Should probably take them off right away." I could feel the smile in his kiss. "Gotta treat those stains properly or they'll set in."
I closed my fingers around the back of his vest, caught his bottom lip between my teeth, groaned at the twist of need in my belly. "I have no clue whether we like these stains or not, Jory," I rumbled. "I just know I want to get your pants off as soon as you'll let me."
He twined his arms around my neck and shoved his fingers through my hair. Everything about him felt unbelievably good. His body was tight and lean, he smelled like expensive herbs, and his lips destroyed me.
Eventually, he leaned back, tidied my hair, and said, "I'm serious about getting that perfect autumn photo."
I smoothed a hand down my chest to straighten the sweater he'd rucked up. "I'm serious about getting you naked, but I won't cry about being your arm candy if that's what you want."
"It is," he replied with a cheeky grin.
Out of absolutely nowhere, a woman with one of those fancy professional cameras around her neck appeared. She pointed at the phone Jory held up, asking, "Do you want me to take that for you? You don't really want it to look like a selfie, do you?"
"Of course not," Jory replied, handing her the phone. "Thank you."
She backed up a step and focused on the screen. I squeezed his waist. He nipped at my jaw. "I'm so glad we're not at the symphony," I said under my breath.
"Because there are no wandering photographers at the symphony?" he asked, that warm laughter ripe in his words.
"Because the only suit I have would never conceal the boner your cinnamon-sugar mustache caused."
"I caused?" Jory ran his knuckles over my scruffy chin. "I believe it was a group effort."
"Big smiles," she said. "Say pumpkins!"
We didn't say pumpkins but we did laugh, and I knew the image would be a keeper. I knew Jory was a keeper.
When she handed Jory's phone back to him, she said to me, "I can take one for you too."
Before I could argue about Jory simply sharing his pic with me, I retrieved my device and swiped open the camera app. "That would be great."
"All right, this time you're saying pumpkins or I'm giving you two the mom stare," she said.
"I know that look. My sister is a pro at the mom stare," I said. "But I have to warn you. We might have you beat with teacher stares."
"Bring it on," she said. "Now, say pumpkins!"
We complied this time, and she made an amused face at the screen. "That came out goofier than anything my twins have ever managed. Well done."
"Hear that?" I asked Jory. "We're extra goofy."
"It's a good complement to extra hard," he replied under his breath.
I kissed the sharp line of his cheekbone as she murmured, "Awww." Then, with a hand over her forehead to block out the sun as she peered at the screen, "Oh. Oh, that's a sweet one. It's just precious."
The woman returned my phone and dug a business card out of her shoulder bag. "I do a little photography work. Mostly maternity and newborn stuff but I like getting to work with couples too. It brings me joy to work with people who can't get enough of each other. Babies are the best but so are people who are clearly in mad, crazy love. Hit me up when you're ready for an engagement shoot."
Jory's lips parted as her words registered. "Thanks. We'll keep that in mind."
I accepted the card because I didn't want to leave the nice lady hanging but it was safe to say engagement photos were one of the last things on my mind. Even if we jerked off together this morning, this was our second date. It'd taken Jory a month to agree to the first one. Even from the most optimistic view, engagement photos were miles and miles away.
And I tucked that card in my wallet just the same.
"That was interesting," he murmured as she retreated. "You know, for a sales pitch."
I shrugged. "I think we're pretty adorable."
"Shut your mouth. Of course, we're adorable." He smiled as he swatted my chest. "That's why it looks like we're in mad, crazy love."
"In that case, maybe we should take a break from expecting to fuck this all up. I'd say we make a good team, Hayzer." I handed him another donut and grabbed one for myself. "What d'you say?"
"I reserve the right to worry irrationally at any time," he replied, his focus trained on the donut. "It's part of my charm."
Since my arm was still locked around Jory's waist, I had to station my donut on the lid of my coffee and pray I didn't create chaos with that maneuver. "Does that make my hella nasty breakup with a serial cheater last year part of my charm? Because it's one hundred percent of the reason why I tried to impress you with the best date in the history of dates last weekend and had a low-key panic attack over sweaters this morning."