up those donuts you owe me?”
I say a breathless hello just as Rex leaves the room.
“Hey, Batter Bits, just wanted to see what you were up to. I thought maybe we could grab a quick bite. That is, if you don’t have any plans.”
“Actually, I do have plans. I’m with Rex up at Mirror Lake.” My face heats. Why the hell did I say that? Am I going to fess up to the fact I’m about to gift him my virginity over a patchwork quilt? That a very fair exchange has been made for a shiny new compound bow? I think not. I hope not. God knows my mouth has had a mind of its own for the past few weeks.
“With Rex? Are Lynette and the twins with you? What a wonderful time you’ll have.” His voice lifts with hope as he rounds out his thoughts.
“Um, no, not exactly.” This oh-so comfy mattress suddenly feels like a bed of nails, sharp and hard as the truth I’ve just shoved in my poor father’s face.
“Oh, I see. Uh-huh,” he grunts out a few unintelligible words. Probably something only fathers who are faced with the fact their daughter is about to turn in her V-card understand.
“Isn’t Lynette with you?” Another foolish thing to fly from my mouth because it’s pretty obvious at this point.
“No, actually—she’s, well, I don’t know exactly where she is. We haven’t spoken in a week. I’m afraid it’s over.”
“What!” I sit up straight, startled by my own voice. “You have to find her. Talk to her. She makes you happy. And if she’s able to bring that much joy to your life, then that’s someone I want you with for a very long time.” A trail of hot tears trickles over my cheeks. The bed depresses, and I look up to find Rex beside me, wiping down my tears with a grievous nod. “Look, we’ll get together some other time, but I promise you, everything will work out with Lynette. It will. I know this.”
“I wish I had your assurance.” We say our goodbyes, and Rex pulls me over his body and holds me a very long time before either one of us says anything.
“You think we can undo the damage we’ve done?”
I press my face into the warmth of his neck. Not only is Rex gorgeous, but his heart is the size of the planet.
“You were never really all for pulling them apart, were you?”
“You thought it was a good idea.” He dots my nose with a kiss. “I might have, too, in the beginning.”
“I can’t believe how childish I was. I was just determined to find something disturbing about your poor mother. I’m sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
Rex opens his mouth and stagnates on what to say next. “There’s nothing to forgive. How about we focus on us for now? We can resume Operation Wedding Bells once we get back.”
A dull laugh ripples through me. “It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come.” My fingers slip into the front of his jeans. “In every capacity.”
“Here’s to progress.” Rex reaches back and holds a donut between us. We devour that glazed confection in less than a few bites before we move on to far sweeter pastures, each other. A tug-of-war of clothes ensues as we evict every last stitch between us, a first for me. The sun sets over the lake, illuminating the room with its salmon glow, masking the fact I’m blushing from head to toe.
“Your hair.” Rex buries his face in it a moment. “It glows like fire in the light.”
“You make me burn.” It would have been a cheesy sentiment if I hadn’t meant it with so much conviction. Rex takes me in with those speckled eyes in one long sweep, and I feel the heat of his scorching stare right down to my feet. His mouth finds mine, and we explode like tinder, his hands holding my arms open wide. His skin adheres to mine, and we groan at the same time. Rex’s hot flesh melts against me, and my skin quivers as if drinking him down. It feels as if time had given up, simply ceased in honor of what the two of us are experiencing.
I pull back and clear my throat. “I might have a donut stashed somewhere creative.” I swallow hard. “Maybe you should do a thorough search and see what you come up with.”
A dark laugh strums through him, and he thrusts himself back up to my lips