“So good,” I confirm.
I somehow remember we have someplace to be and flick my eyes to the clock. We’ve been making out for twenty minutes already, and need to go if we’re going to make it on time or even a little early.
“We should probably go,” I tell him, much to my dismay.
“Already?” he asks as he removes his lips from my neck and looks at me.
“Unfortunately,” I confirm. “We definitely can’t be late, or everyone will know what we were up to.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asks.
“I don’t know. I mean, we’re grown-ass adults; it isn’t like we’re doing anything wrong, but this is also all so new and I don’t really know when the right time is for things to happen.”
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong time, just whatever feels right at the time. But I want you to promise me something,” Garrett states as he cups my face and makes sure I’m giving him my full attention.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“If at any time you aren’t comfortable with something, you tell me, and we’ll stop. Be that something physical, conversation topics, or this whole thing going on between us that we’re exploring. Don’t misconstrue that as me giving up on you. I’d back off if you asked me to, but I can’t see myself giving up on this.”
“How are you so sure?” I ask.
“I don’t really know how to put it into words, but I can feel it, Lacey,” he says, and grabs my hand, placing it over his heart. “The moment I met you, I felt something shift right here. You’re all I think about when we’re apart. I think of your beautiful face as I’m falling asleep at night and it’s the first thing I think about when I wake up. I know that might sound crazy, as we’ve only known each other less than a week, but I’m willing to see where this goes if it means I get to feel the way I do when I’m around you.”
“I still don’t think you’re real,” I tell him as I cup his cheek.
“I promise you, baby, I’m definitely real,” he says, and presses his erection against my core. “I’m all real.” He grins and drops a chaste kiss to my lips before pulling away just as quickly. I immediately miss his body pressed to mine. After that whole encounter, I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to hold out being with him.
10
GARRETT
I carrythe cooler out to my truck and place it in the bed. Lacey follows me out of her house, the bag of buns in her hand. “Do you just want to follow me to the park?” she asks.
“That works for me, unless you want to ride with me?”
“I’ll be bringing the kids home after, so they’ll need their seats,” she states.
“No problem, I’ll just follow you, then.”
“It isn’t very far, just a five or so minute drive.”
“Lead the way,” I tell her before hopping up into the truck. I wait for Lacey to back out before I do the same and start following. We make a few turns at stop signs before pulling into the parking lot. It looks like we weren’t the only ones with this idea, as there are a few families spread out within the park. “Where do you want this?” I ask after pulling the cooler out of the truck bed.
“It looks like Harper and Nathan are already over at that shelter area,” she says, pointing to one about mid-way into the park. We head that way, carrying the items we packed to bring.
“You made it!” Harper exclaims as she pulls Lacey into a hug. I don’t catch what she says to Lacey but can only imagine it is something to do with me, the way her eyes flash my way and a blush covers her cheeks.
“We made it,” I confirm as I set the cooler down.
“Hi, I’m Nathan, you must be Garrett,” the man who was standing at the grill states as he steps my way and offers a hand for me to shake.
“That I am. It’s nice to meet you,” I tell him as we size one another up. He’s got a nice firm grip, but then again, so do I. I must pass his initial test as he lets go, a smile on his face.
“Did you get the oven working?” Harper asks.
“I did. The new control board was all it needed to fire right up,” I tell her.
“I’ve already got everything planned out for tomorrow. I’m going to have both ovens up and running all morning. Putting them to good use!” Lacey tells her.