It was as if he was a brand-new person. He even seemed a bit smaller somehow too.
He turned to his kid and gave him a stern look. “Did you push that girl, Randy?”
“Yes! He did! I even scraped my knee!” Reese said, showing her leg.
“Why did you push her?” his father asked him.
“Dad! ’Cause she’s a weirdo,” Randy whined.
His father gripped him by the arm and pulled him closer to Reese. “Apologize.”
“What? No way! I didn’t even do—” Randy’s father gave him a cold, hard stare that made him shut up in an instant. Sure, I couldn’t get the kid to act right because, as he’d stated, I wasn’t his father. Yet the big dude was his father, and he clearly had that power.
Randy groaned. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.
His dad nudged him. “Say it with meaning. And look her in the eyes.”
“Dad!”
“Do. It. Now.”
Randy walked closer to Reese and looked her in the eyes. “I’m sorry for pushing you, Reese.”
She grinned with pride. “Thank you.”
“Sorry again, man,” the dad said, taking my hand yet again and shaking it. “Again. Huge fan. Can I get a picture?”
Awkward situation, but I took a picture with him.
The whole camp had slowed down as everyone took in the interaction that had taken place. So I took it as an opportunity to express my thoughts on the whole situation.
“Let this be a lesson to all of you. If you pick on this girl, you’re picking on me, and you definitely don’t want to pick on me. Otherwise, there will be trouble.”
“Yeah!” Reese chimed in. “Because he’s Oliver Mith, and he’s a rock star and rich and famous and he will kick all of your butts and take you to court to sue you, because he’s rich and he has a lot of money and he’d win!”
“Easy does it, kid,” I mumbled. “No need to threaten lawsuits.”
“Sorry, Mr. Mith,” she whispered back.
We headed to the car, and Reese seemed to have found her light again as she jumped into the back seat, where her booster seat had been placed. I went to make sure she was buckled in safely, and she leaned in toward me, placed her hands on my cheeks, and said, “Mr. Mith?”
“Yeah, kid?”
“You’re my best friend.”
Emery and Kelly’s girls’ day faded into the night. Reese fell asleep in the guest room after our second time watching Frozen 2. When Emery showed up, I welcomed her with a tight embrace.
“I hope Reese didn’t give you too much trouble,” she said.
“What? No way. We’re the best of friends. She’s asleep in the back room.”
“Thanks again for watching her.”
“Anytime. Is Kelly okay?”
Emery frowned. “She’ll get there. One day at a time.”
She didn’t know what a phenomenal woman she had been. Even when she was going through her own storm, she always made time to help others. I’d never met a woman who gave so much of herself without asking for anything in return.
I slid my hands into my pockets and swayed. “At my first meeting with Abigail, she made this analogy about how everyone’s life story is a mixtape, and each track is a chapter of their life. Some chapters are happy, and others are sad, but they are all entangled to create that person’s mixtape.”
“I love that concept,” she said, snuggling in against me. The warmth of her skin heated me up too.
“I do too.” I rested my head in the nape of her neck, trailing kisses down her skin. “Can I tell you a secret?” My lips fell against her earlobe as I nuzzled against it gently.
A light moan escaped her as she opened her eyes to look my way. “Yes.”
“You’re my favorite song on my mixtape.”
She placed her hands against my cheeks and pulled me in for a kiss. I kissed her slowly, enjoying every second I was able to spend with her by my side.
“Stay the night?” I asked.
“Okay.”
“Come to bed with me tonight?”
She bit her bottom lip before leaning in and kissing me gently. “Okay.”
I took her to my bedroom, and I began removing her clothing as she removed mine. My lips fell against her skin as I laid her on my bed. I took my time at first, tasting every piece that I’d craved for weeks. I spread her legs wide and lowered myself down to taste the heaven I’d been dreaming about.
Each time my tongue swept against her core, she moaned in pleasure. I sucked and licked every drip she gave me. I loved the way she tasted against my mouth, and fuck, I couldn’t wait until I felt my cock sliding in and out of her.
We made love that night, making a song that was ours, and ours alone. Every time she moaned, I fucked her harder, pulling on her locks as her fingers tangled up in my hair. Her wetness made me want her more. Each time I slid inside I wanted to live inside her even longer. She rode me hard, rolling her hips against me, coming over and over again as she cried out my name.