She nods but the expression on her face tells a different story. She thinks we’re having sex, and that thought horrifies me. I don’t want her thinking things like that. As soon as she’s busying herself in the kitchen, I high tail it out the front door. The guys are still working and I know Uncle Bobby has gone to auction, so he’s not going to see this.
Jeremiah is driving the tractor, mowing down the hay so it can settle for the next few days before they turn it into bales. Standing in his path, I make sure I give him plenty of time to stop what he’s doing. Once the engine stops, he stands and tips his hat.
I march over to him and beckon him down with my finger and a sweet smile, which seems to do the trick, because before I know it’s he’s climbing down with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“What’s up, darlin’? You lookin’ for someone better than ole Tyler?”
I close my eyes and imagine the scene playing out in front of me. My hand forms into a fist and before I know it, my arm is back and moving forward at a break-neck speed, connecting with his chin.
“What the – ”
“Oh, holy mother of – ”
“What the hell is going on?”
Jeremiah, Tyler and I are all yelling. Jeremiah is holding his chin. I’m holding my hand against my chest, trying not to cry. Tyler is running toward us at full speed. This is not how things played out in my head.
“Savannah, what the hell?”
I look at Tyler with tears in my eyes and see nothing but confusion all over his face. “Tyler, he went and told Aunt Sue that you and I were humping in the damn stall.”
“You what?” he roars at Jeremiah who is still holding his face. He doesn’t seem to care because he’s not agreeing or disagreeing, he’s just standing there.
“What?” he shrugs. “I was just sayin’.”
“Dammit all to hell, Jeremiah, her uncle is going to kick my ass.”
Jeremiah spits and thankfully there’s no blood. Tyler moves over to me and pulls my hand away from my chest. He rotates my hand back and forth and wiggles my fingers.
“Doesn’t look broken,” he mutters. “Jer, sometimes I think you’re out to get me killed.”
“Nah, man, just laid.”
I start to say something but he’s climbed back onto the tractor and turns it on. He wouldn’t be able to hear me if I yelled. Tyler shakes his head, takes my hand in his and walks us to the house. I’m learning really quickly that Jeremiah says what’s on his mind whether it’s correct or not.
Tyler
We walk back into the house. I have one hand on Savannah’s back and the other cradling her injured hand. I know what Jeremiah’s doing; it’s what he always does, creating a comedic yet drama-filled situation to gloss over his own insecurities. My only guess is he has a crush on Savannah, which I really can’t fathom because he knows how eager I was for her to get here. Yes, my feelings have changed these past few weeks, but he knows that I’m definitely into her.
“I can’t believe you hit him,” my voice is soft, caring. Savannah leans into me, her head brushing lightly against my nose. I breathe in deeply, taking in the coconut shampoo she uses. She smells like summer and warmth. She makes my days brighter just by walking into my line of sight.
“Well, I can’t believe he said we were doing it.”
I chuckle lightly. It’s nice to see the slight subtle changes in her. When she got here, she was hardcore and mean. Nothing was going to penetrate her tough façade, but I did. It took some time, but it was done.
“Would it be so bad if we were?” I close my eyes and wait for her to stiffen in my arms. I can’t believe I let my mouth get the best of me. She has to know that guys, especially me, think about her like that. She has a rocking body, and the thought has crossed my mind a few times.
“Sorry,” I shake my head. I know it’s a dumb question to ask. Hell we aren’t even a couple. We’ve just been kissin’. I haven’t taken her out on a date yet and taking her to Jeremiah’s tonight doesn’t really count. There will be a lot of people hanging around and it’s probably the least romantic thing I could do for her. Tomorrow I’m going to have to take her out, wine and dine her, and show her how special I think she is.
Savannah stops one step below me. She holds her hand out in front of her while I push her hair over her shoulder. She looks up at me and without hesitation I lean down and kiss her. I’m trying to make up for putting my foot in my mouth. I don’t want her thinking that I’m only hanging out with her to get into her pants, especially after what she told me earlier. I had a feeling that her being here had something to do with another guy. Deep down I didn’t want to know, but she’s told me and I’m not going to use that to my advantage.
“I’m not saying it’s bad, Tyler. What I’m saying is that Jeremiah telling my Aunt is not a good thing. She wanted to have the ‘talk’ with me, which was slightly awkward and when she used the word humpin’, I swear I turned fifteen shades of red. You should’ve been there.”
I lean my head to the side and laugh. “Oh, sweetheart, I would’ve loved to be there when this all happened.” Shaking my head, I look into her blue eyes. “I’m sorry Jeremiah is such a dink. He’ll never learn and it doesn’t matter how many times I beat his ass. Although, since you just cold-cocked him, maybe that’s his lesson. If you don’t want to go there tonight, we can do something else.”
“No, I want to go.”
“Okay.” I look around quickly to see if there are any prying eyes before I lean down again and kiss her. Her lips are sweet, soft and taste like candy. They’re reminding me of our make-out session – one that I want to revisit, repeatedly. “Come on, Rocky, let’s get you some ice.” I take her hand in mine and lead her right to the kitchen where Aunt Sue gasps as soon as we walk in.