Chapter Four
Nate
Whoknewplanninga date could actually be fun? Hell, who knew the guys would have so many great ideas? You may not believe it, but we’ve spent Sunday afternoon in the Ball House brainstorming ideas for my date with Cory.
“I think horses should be involved,” my teammate, Luke, adds with a very serious expression. “You grew up in a horsey area; shouldn’t you show her a piece of your past?”
We all stare at him before bursting out laughing. “A horsey area?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
“You know what I mean. There were ranches nearby.”
“The closest ranch to my family home would have to be at least a hundred miles.”
“Close enough.” He shrugs, unperturbed by our laughter. “You grew up in a ranchy state.”
I roll my eyes and move on to the next good idea. Although, reasons aside, horse riding might actually be a winner.
Cory opens the door with her trademark beaming smile, and I know instantly that tonight is going to be perfect. When I’m finally able to take my eyes off her beautiful face, I run my gaze down her body and have to stop myself from groaning. If this was a cartoon, my eyes would have bulged out of my head.
“Wow. Cory, that outfit… you look…” I clear my throat and mentally snap myself out of my schoolboy persona. “What I’m trying to say is that you look amazing.” She’s wearing skin-tight jeans and a top that dips low in the front, revealing some spectacular cleavage. It has cut outs at each side, making me itch to place my hands there. To feel her skin beneath my fingertips.
She closes her eyes as a beautiful blush graces her skin before her eyelashes flicker and she looks back at me.
Taking a step forward, I gently cradle her face with my hands and press my lips to hers. She sighs into my mouth, causing my pulse to spike. After a few minutes of making out, I pull away with a smile and link my fingers through hers, taking a deep breath. “Ready to go?” I ask, because if we don’t leave now, I’ll never be able to move from her doorstep.
I’m driving with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on Cory’s thigh, because of my desperate need to be touching her. This girl is driving me all kinds of crazy, and I don’t even think she knows it. I mean, we’ve only had one night together, if you don’t count the months I spent sneaking glances her way, and now I want all her nights to be with me. Starting tonight.
First stop on our date agenda is… drumroll… horse riding at dusk. Thank you, Luke. I was on the phone for an hour before I found somewhere with availability on such short notice, but I had success, and we’re now thirty minutes from our destination.
“Are you an animal person, Cory?” I ask out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere for me, but nowhere for her.
She eyes me curiously. “I love most, but—”
Bang!
Cory screams as the back end of the truck slides out of control until I pull us to a stop safely on the side of the road. What the fuck?
I turn to Cory to inspect her for any injury. My eyes run from her legs to her face, bouncing all over. “Are you okay?” My heart races as my breathing becomes erratic. Was that my fault? Did I hit something? My eyes were on the road. Weren’t they?
My hands move involuntarily to Cory’s face to assess any damage, not trusting my eyes alone.
“I’m okay, Nate,” she says, placing her hands on top of mine. “Are you okay? You’re acting a little crazy.”
I flinch and pull my hands back, clenching them into fists.
“Sorry. I’m fine. I just… what happened?” I don’t let her answer before I jump out of the truck to check. It takes all of two seconds to see the issue. Punctured tire. ”Fuck!”Thankfully, I’ve got a spare, but this means we’ll be cutting it close for the horse ride.
Cory follows me out to join me at the rear and cringes. “Ouch, that’s not good.”
“Sorry. This wasn’t part of the plan.”
“It adds to the adventure.” She smiles and drops to a squat beside me. “Can I help? I’ve changed a few tires in my life.”
“Really?” I smile proudly. “This is my first. Care to watch and make sure I’m doing it correctly?”
“Absolutely.” She laughs, and a little layer of my stress floats away.
Twenty minutes later, we’re on the road again after changing the tire without issue. Thank God.