I shrugged, laughing harder. “Um, yeah. It’s your favorite…gummy bear.”
He chuckled and scratched his jaw as he reached for the cake. “I think you like me, Tate.”
I stared into his warm eyes as I said the words I knew he needed to hear as much as I needed to say them. “I don’t like you, Jude Brooks. I love you.”
His smile fell and I feared he was mad, but then he cried, “Fuck the cake,” and dropped it to the ground. By some minor miracle the glass didn’t shatter, but the cake did get messed up. But then his lips were on mine and my legs were wrapped around his waist and I completely forgot about the cake—about everything.
All that existed was Jude.
My body, my mind, my heart—all of me—had been starved for him.
I owed many thanks to whatever god had listened to my prayers and let Jude forgive me.
I’d expected him to be angry with me—and I’m sure he was—and unforgiving.
Being back in his arms reminded me that my home was wherever he was.
I fought to catch my breath when he set me down.
He cupped my cheeks in his large hands and stared down at me. “You love me, Tate?”
“I love you,” I said again.
He growled low in his throat and took my earlobe in his mouth. Letting the flesh go, he brushed his mouth against the curve of my ear. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that for as long as I live. And Tate?”
“Yeah?” I breathed, my tongue slipping out to moisten my suddenly dry lips.
“I love you. I. Love. You. Do you hear me?” He narrowed his eyes, wanting to make sure his words penetrated my stubborn skull. “I love you and only you. It’s only ever been you.” He skimmed his fingers lightly over my cheek and down my neck. “Every part of me was made to love every part of you.” His voice lowered and his eyes darkened. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. “I’ve been in hell without you.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “I hate that I did this to you. To me. To us.”
“It’s okay, Tate,” he cupped the nape of my neck and tilted my head back slightly. His eyes bored into mine. “It’s over now, and I think we learned a valuable lesson from this.”
“And what would that be?” I asked, trying to keep the laughter from my voice.
“That we’re better together.”
“Sounds about right,” I smiled. “Now, are we going to our spot or not?”
He chuckled. “Let’s go.” He reached down to entwine our hands and his eyes landed on the cake lying on the ground. The glass might not have shattered, but there was a crack in it, and the cake inside lay smashed. “Well,” he shrugged, bending to retrieve it, “it’s still edible.”
Such a guy.
He handed me the cake and I held it on my lap as he drove us to our spot. As he drove his hand rested possessively on my thigh and he continuously looked over at me, as if to make sure I was still in the truck.
Once we were at the meadow he led me over to the pond and onto the dock. We kick
ed off our shoes and sat down, letting our feet dangle into the water.
The sun shone bright in the sky—glowing down upon us and casting a golden glow.
The cake sat untouched between us as we grew quiet.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked eventually, growing fearful that now he was second-guessing forgiving me.
He shook his head. “No. I was. But seeing you again, hearing you tell me that you love me…that took all the anger and pain away. I’m just happy to have you back. You’re not the kind of a girl a guy wants to lose. I don’t mean that in a possessive way, just…” He shrugged, letting his shoulders sag as he kicked at the water. “You’re my girl, Tate. There’s no one else I want. I’d be a fucking idiot not to forgive you.” He ran his fingers through his dark hair and turned his head slightly to look at me. Squinting against the sunlight, he confessed, “With you, it’s different.”
I knew exactly what he meant.