Our Favorite Days (My Favorite Mistake #3) (13 page)

“You’re afraid you’re going to turn into her,” I said. She pressed her lips together and nodded.

“And I
know
how stupid that is. I
know
how much John loves me.” Darah always called Mase by his first name.

“He does. He really does.” He’d fallen ass over heels for her the moment he’d seen her. Completely ignored Renee, who had been doing some of her best flirting at the time. Nope, Dare was it for him. And he for her. The men in Hunter’s family loved strong and deep. With one notable exception.

She smiled and looked down at her hands clasped on the table.

“I know he does. I love him too. And I didn’t know that it was possible to be this happy in a relationship. That’s why I was so reluctant to date.” Before Mase, Darah had always shied away from most guys. I understood it because I was the same way.

And then those boys. Those two boys with their wicked smiles and pretty words had busted their way into our lives and now we were stuck with them. I said as much to Darah and that got her laughing and wiping the tears out of her eyes.

“You know, when Hunter and I get married and you and Mase get married, we’ll be sisters.” That made her smile.

“We already are.” I held out my arms and we hugged. “Thanks for listening to me complain about my amazing boyfriend. Not a whole lot of people would tell me I wasn’t being crazy about it.” I let her go and shook my head.

“No, I totally get it. I’ve thought everything you’ve thought already. A hundred times. My parents’ marriage didn’t work out, so why would mine? But then I look at Hunter and I can’t imagine my life without him. And isn’t that really what marriage is?” She nodded.

The front door open and Mase came into the kitchen. That was my cue.

“I’m going to… go back up to my room and stare at my tattoo in the mirror,” I said as I backed out of the room.

“Dare?” Mase said  His jaw was twitching and he kept shuffling his feet. He was totally freaking out

I didn’t wait to hear what Darah said to him, but I was pretty sure they were gonna be okay.

O
n Monday my tattoo started itching instead of being painful. It was all I could do to not scratch it right off. I’d never had poison ivy before, but this had to be worse. It was torture.

“Don’t you dare scratch,” Hunter said, pointing an accusing finger at me as I shifted my shirt on Monday night. “I’m going to tape oven mitts to your hands.” He looked pretty serious so I put my hands up in surrender.

“Fine, fine. Even if I was just adjusting my shirt and not doing anything else.” I glared at him and he stuck his tongue out at me. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You dork.”

“Hey, you’re the one who loves me, so what does that make you?” I shrugged.

“Awesome?” He shook his head and sat down on the couch next to me.

“So, you know October break is coming up.” I was very much looking forward to pushing pause on the life button and not having to worry about school and everything else for a few days.

“Right,” I said.

“And I was thinking that maybe I could take you to Wylie.” My mouth dropped open.

“Are you serious?” He nodded and I could tell he wasn’t messing with me.

“You’re going to take me to your hometown?” He smiled and I couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah, I was thinking about it and how different it would be having you there. I made a list of all of these things I wanted to show you and, I don’t know, I got excited about it.” He shrugged and I threw my arms around him, being careful of my tattoo.

“Whoa, I didn’t know I was going to get that reaction,” he said, laughing and wrapping his arms around my back.

“You’re soooo getting blow jobs for this,” I whispered in his hear before I bit his earlobe. He made a sound low in his throat.

“I like the sound of that. So I should book the plane tickets?” I nodded and licked said earlobe.

“I’m going to take that as a yes,” he said, a little growl in his voice.

“Yes, yes, yes,” I said and he knew exactly what I meant.

I
didn’t show Taylor how nervous I was about going back home to Wylie. It was a smallish town near Dallas. Had a whole lot of cows and not much else.

Fortunately, my girl distracted me by being a nervous flyer. It was something I hadn’t even considered, but when we sat in our seats and the plane started taxiing, she gripped my hand so hard that her nails dug in.

“What’s happening?” I had somehow forgotten she’d never been on a plane before.

“We’re just moving to the runway,” I said, putting my arm around her and pulling her toward me. As luck would have it, it was just the two of us in our row. Her eyes were wide and panicky and her breathing kept stuttering.

“It’s okay, Missy,” I said, turning her head so it was tucked into my chest. I wished this were a bench seat so I could pull her across my lap and let her rest on me fully.

“Why am I freaking out?” she said, her voice muffled by my shirt.

“I freaked out on my first flight too. It’s totally normal,” I said. I’d actually thrown up on my first flight, but I wasn’t going to tell her that in case it gave her ideas. My fingers made soothing circles on her back and she held my other hand in a death grip. By the time the plane started to take off, I had no circulation left in it.

“We’re up, we’re up,” I said once the plane leveled out.

“Oh, thank God,” she said, trembling a little as she lifted her head.

“I wouldn’t suggest looking out the window,” I said and then pulled the shade.

“That’s probably wise,” she said, giving me a wobbly smile. I pushed her hair back.

“You okay?” She pressed her lips together.

“I think so.”

She put on her headphones and closed her eyes, so I nabbed her e-reader to finish the book I’d been working on the day before. I should probably get my own, but stealing hers was so much more fun. Plus, then we only had to buy one copy of each book. Taylor was on a fantasy kick, and as soon as she finished a book she really liked, she passed it over to me.

Our first flight to LaGuardia was short, and I woke her just as we were getting ready to descend.

“I can’t believe I fell asleep,” she said with a yawn. “Hopefully that will happen when we fly to Dallas because then I don’t have to spend the entire time freaking out that I’m trapped in a flying tin can.” I laughed and kissed her cheek.

B
y the time we landed in Dallas, the sun was sinking in the sky and we were both hungry enough to eat the interior of the rental car.

“Where would you like to eat?” I asked and Taylor gave me a look that I knew well.

“Got it. Whatever is closest and fastest and has vegetarian food.” She nodded and stretched her arms over her head.

I got off the highway and we hit a chain Mexican place that didn’t charge you extra for guac. Taylor inhaled her cheese quesadillas and started sneaking (not very subtly) bites of my rice until I pushed my plate over to her. My burrito that was the size of my arm, but I managed to finish it anyway.

“Oh my God, I don’t want to move,” Taylor said as she slumped back against the booth.

“I know,” I said, resting my hands on my stomach. I was probably going to have regrets later, but right now I was happy.

“Is it weird to be back?” she asked, running her hand across my head. My hair had gotten a little long. It was driving me crazy. I needed to cut it again very soon.

“A little. But then, it’s not? I don’t know if that makes any sense. Either way, I’m glad you’re here with me.” Her smile was dazzling and made me want to kiss her senseless. If only I could move.

We sat in the booth until both of us could get up again. Taylor rested her head on my shoulder.

“It’s so warm here. I can’t get over it,” she said. Closing her eyes and inhaling, she looked so beautiful that it almost stopped my heart. She would still be doing that to me decades from now. The breeze picked up, bringing with it the scents of home. Maine smelled so green and tangy from the ocean. Texas was different, but it was nice to be back.

S
ince there weren’t any good places to stay in Wylie, we were staying at a hotel in Dallas. I’d booked one of the nicest rooms. It had a Jacuzzi tub and the minute Taylor saw it, she kicked off her shoes and jumped in.

“Holy crap, this tub is huge. We can totally sit in this together.” I shucked off my sneakers and got in with her, sitting so her feet were in my lap.

“There’s only one problem,” I said, putting on a serious face.

“What?”

“We both have clothes on,” I said with a wink. She pinched my nose, which made me yelp.

“Well, you know that situation can be changed,” she said, taking her feet back and then getting out of the tub. What was she doing?

“Give me two seconds,” she said, dashing out of the room. What the hell? We’d been taking it slow since she’d gotten her tattoo, which had finally healed.

Taylor bounced back into the bathroom with her phone. She did something and then set it on the sink. Music poured from the phone. It was one of our songs.

“
‘
C’est la Mort’,” I said.

“
‘
C’est la Mort’,” she repeated.

“What do you want?” I asked. She’d told me and I couldn’t have been more shocked. It was one of the last songs I ever would have thought she’d pick. She took my shock negatively.

“What? Don’t know it? Not hip enough for you?” I’d had to look away from her for a second to get myself together. That song had special meaning for me and I didn’t know why. It just reached that deep place inside me where my soul lived and plucked at my strings. I knew if I tried to sing the song to her, I wouldn’t make it through, so I just played the melody, my fingers aching with the beauty of it.

“Singing is extra,” I told her when I finished. She had a look on her face as if she wasn’t sure what to make of me. I kind of liked it.

“You can dance, you can play the guitar. Jesus, Hunter what can’t you do?” She was never going to find out.

“I’m very good at a lot of things. If you want to come over here, I can show you a few more.” I set my guitar back in the case, waiting to see how she would react. Something passed over her face that made me think she might want me as much as I wanted her. Maybe.

As the song played and the voices of The Civil Wars filled the bathroom, Taylor started slowly removing her clothes. It was a good thing I was lying in the tub, because if I had been standing, I would have had to sit down because, fuck. My girl was beautiful.

Her shirt was first, inched up along her stomach until she pulled it over her head and dropped it on the floor, giving me a little smile. My eyes roved her body, from her belly ring to the new tattoo to her perfect, perfect chest. She was so perfect it was like I’d dreamed her up.

The jeans were next, and she had a little moment of struggle as she tried to get her socks off. She tipped toward me and I caught her, laughing. It was always that way with us. Sexy with a side of sweet.

Coming to Texas had been a very, very good idea.

Taylor got down to her bra and panties just before the song ended and then flipped to another. Couldn’t have told you which one. I was too busy focusing on her to pay much attention to the music.

“Come here,” I said, standing up and crooking my finger at her. She smiled and walked toward me. She was so sexy and she didn’t even have to try.

Slowly, she turned her back to me and I dropped my head to her shoulder to place a kiss on it. I licked her skin and moved across her upper back, sliding the straps of her bra out of my way so I could devour her.

I snuck my hands around to her front, stroking her stomach, flicking her belly ring and then roaming upward to cup her breasts over her bra. They were fucking perfect. My thumbs moved over her nipples and she sucked in a breath through her teeth.

I loved that she reacted to me like this. That I could be the one to cause my girl to make those sounds. It made me feel like I could conquer the world.

The bra had to go. It was keeping us apart. I undid it and let it fall the floor. She turned in my arms and looked up at my face.

“I love you, Hunter.” I’d heard her say it hundreds of times, but it was always magic.

“I love you too, Taylor.” She smiled at the use of her first name and put her arms around my neck.

“Let’s take a bath,” she said.

N
ext to the sink was a little basket of bath items, including a nice bottle of bubble bath.