He dips his head, placing his lips on mine, pulling all of the thoughts out of me that I never thought I’d feel.
The absolute longing for a family of my own and a love I never thought possible.
CHAPTER 12
ERIC
She blows her hair out of her face, struggling to roll her suitcase to my truck. Looking around as if she's making sure no one sees.
"Would you stop being so paranoid?"
"I'm not paranoid. This thing is just heavy."
"You know it's only a few days, right?"
"I know, but with my dad, you never know what you're going to need."
I open the door for her, help her slide in, toss her bag into the truck bed, and hop in the driver's seat.
"Do I need to go repack?" I laugh, "You got me worried."
"No, no. It will be fine."
She turns her head in my direction and smiles.
I love that smile. I don't think I'm ever going to get sick of the way she looks at me. Her eyes get all bright and wide like she's never been so excited and nervous. It's cute.
It's like I've known her all my life, and we just met all at once. She's so free-spirited and a safe kind of wild. The kind that makes me want to know everything there is to know about her, all while doing things you've never done before.
I'm not even nervous about meeting her parents. Not at all like I was when Hanna drove me to South Georgia to meet hers. Karly just reminds me of home, I guess. If her parents are anything like her, I know I'll like them.
Luckily I had a long weekend off, so I was able to come. Otherwise, I would've been stuck at the hospital, hating every second of it.
We get on the interstate, and I can't take my eyes off her lips as she sings every single song that comes on her playlists. I can tell which songs mean the most to her by how much effort she puts into the enunciation of the lyrics.
"Is this song ever going to end?" I laugh, watching her flail her arms around and basically scream the words.
"It's the ten-minute version," She grins, "Don't you like it?"
"I don't hate it, but I wouldn't consider myself a Swiftie."
Her eyes go wide, "You know who this is?"
"I might be busy, but I'm not living under a rock."
"I can't picture you listening to this."
"Oh, I prefer 90's country, but I'd listen to you sing anything."
She reaches the dial to turn the volume dial down, "Careful what you wish for."
I shake my head, "I know exactly what I'm doing."
She blushes, squeezing my hand reassuringly.
"So, how long have your parents lived here in Charleston?" I ask, realizing we're only ten minutes from our destination, and I'd heard her sing everything from NSYNC to Def Leppard.
"A couple of years, actually. I never thought they'd ditch the motorhome."