Rekindle (10 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Emma Grace

It’s been a month since our first date so yesterday when Rhett called me and told me to be ready at six and dress comfortably, I was caught off guard but equally excited. I had no idea what he had in mind. However, nothing would have prepared me for mini golf. As we pull up into the mini-golf course, I am giddy. It’s been a week since we all hung out at Reed’s, and even though we’ve talked on the phone and texted throughout the week, it’s good to spend some actual time with him.

“Ready for me to kick your butt?” he asks, turning off the car.

“Not a chance, big guy.” I laugh as he climbs out and comes to open my door.

We get our putters and bright, colorful golf balls and head to the first putting green. Rhett gestures for me to go first, so I place my ball down and take a swing at it. The fluorescent pink ball flies up over the first putting green, hits a makeshift boulder that is placed as a decoration, and lands in the middle of what looks like the sixth hole.

Rhett bursts into laughter. “Babe. It’s putt-putt. As in, you putt the ball in one hole at a time. We aren’t trying to make it to the eighteenth hole in one swing.”

“That’s what I thought I was doing.” I huff. I’m not quite as amused as Rhett over my high-flying ball.

Still laughing, he runs off to retrieve my ball and comes to help me line up my next shot.

He stands behind me and wraps his arms around mine, showing me how to hold the putter. I can feel the heat of his chest through my back, and I find myself leaning into him to get closer. He helps me practice the swings with his chin resting on my shoulder and his cheek against mine.

“It might make it easier if you were a little less stiff, M.” His voice rumbles as he slides his hands off of mine and onto my hips. He pulls them back into him and moves us both side to side, trying to loosen me up for my swing. He goes to step back and his hands linger on the edge of my ass.

“Babe. It’s putt-putt. Not foreplay. Hands off the goods,” I smart off at him.

He holds his hands up in surrender, chuckling. I shake my head and glance back down to my ball. Taking a slightly less aggressive swing, I hit the ball and it rolls toward the hole, landing a few inches away.

“Yippee!” I squeal, jumping up and down.

“Much better. Before you know it, you’ll be the next Tiger Woods.”

Rhett takes his turn and sinks his ball on the first swing.

“Show-off,” I mumble on my way to my next putt.

It takes three more tries before I can sink my ball in the hole. We pick them up and move to the next wonky putting green, complete with a tunnel and several funky obstacles blocking the hole. This should be fun.

“I think that any time I start to doubt myself, I’ll just bring you to play mini golf,” Rhett suggests after my eighth attempt to finish the second hole.

“Glad I can make you feel so good about yourself.” I roll my eyes in case he didn’t pick up on my sarcasm.

“Babe, I don’t even have to play. Just watching you attempt this is the highlight of my week.”

“Oh, c’mon! I’m not
that
bad,” I say, just as my ball lands in the second cup. “See!” I gesture to my accomplishment.

Rhett just gives me a pointed look. “Okay, so I suck. At least I’m not a spoil-sport.”

“True. Your determination is cute.”

By the time we reach the eighteenth hole, I’ve gotten considerably better. Well, not considerably…but still. Rhett and I have laughed so hard at my failed attempts to win the game.

He’s really good at this. It shouldn’t surprise me. He seems to be really good at whatever he puts his mind to.

My average number of swings per hole has been somewhere around five or six…or seven. But who’s counting.

Rhett’s is two. Show-off.

On my seventh swing, my fluorescent pink ball slips into the eighteenth hole and disappears for good.

“Great game, M&M,” he says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. McCoy,” I reply, wrapping my arm around his waist.

We make our way to turn in our clubs and head out to the car. Before he opens my door, Rhett turns to stand in front of me. His other hand joins the one he has on my cheek and he looks down at me, cupping my face.

“Not ready to let you go yet, M. You up for pizza?”

“I’m always up for pizza.” I smile at him.

He smiles back, and I can’t help but get lost in his smile a little bit. The way it takes over his whole face. I’ve never actually seen someone smile with their eyes, but Rhett can. And it’s beautiful.

We hop in the car and Rhett takes us to Romero’s. I’ve had this pizza a few times since coming back to Alabama and it is amazing. It’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

We pull into Romero’s and walk in to get a table. The place is surprisingly packed for a Thursday night. We are able to get a booth on the back wall and Rhett orders us two beers.

The waitress returns with our beers and asks for our order.

“Large pepperoni and tomato?” He asks, looking at me. When I nod, he looks to the waitress to confirm and hands her our menus.

“How did you know I liked pepperoni and tomato?” I ask.

“The night I came over and you and Cam had ordered pizza, you had like three slices of pepperoni and tomato. Never touched the other one.”

He remembered. Such a small detail, but he remembered. And what’s more, he cares enough that he held on to that detail.

“How are things with school? Did the kids do alright with that
The Outsiders
project you had them working on?” Rhett asks. I love that he asks. And when I answer, he really listens. I know this because I told him about it earlier in the week when the kids were presenting their projects on which characters they thought they were most like.

“It’s going great. This might be my favorite lesson of the year. It gives me the best feeling to see these kids actually enjoying books. I love being able to share my love of reading with them and have them get something out of it. I still have a few kids who are a little shy about speaking in front of the class, but that will get better as the year goes on.”

"I'm glad you like your job."

"Me too. I was really worried about moving to a new school, but the adjustment has been easier than I thought it would."

"So you aren't planning on leaving anytime soon?"

"What?"

"Well, you told me that you and Cam left Chicago because you were both unhappy there and needed to make a change. I just want to make sure Alabama is making you happy. I don't want to see you leave again, M."

"I don't think I'll be leaving any time soon, Rhett."

"That's good to hear. Don't think I'd take to it very well, seeing as how this is going."

"What's going?"

"You and me."

"And how are you and I going? May I ask?"

"Well, from my perspective, I'm spending time reconnecting with a woman who has been my best friend since I was born. A woman who is beautiful on the inside and on the outside. A woman who, though she has changed and likes disgusting things like Taylor Swift and pizza with pepperoni and tomato, is funny and smart and makes me think on my feet. A woman who I like more and more each day I spend with her."

Well, he just laid it all out there. Again. He has a habit of leaving me speechless.

"I like you more and more too, Rhett."

"I definitely feel like we have something worth taking a chance on. I told you that I would be patient, and I will be, but I hope that you are starting to feel the same way about me."

"I'm getting there."

He flashes that gorgeous smile my way and nods his head once, accepting the fact that I need a little more time. The waitress brings our pizza and we dive in. Serious conversation aside, we eat and continue talking about work, our crazy friends, and little things in between.

By the time Rhett drops me off at home, I'm full. My belly is full of delicious pizza, my heart is full from great company, and my mind is full of everything that Rhett said at dinner.

He walks me to my door and kisses me goodnight. His kiss is soft and sweet with a hint of need. When he lifts his lips from mine, he looks at me intently.

"Had a great night, M. Thank you for that."

"Thank you for my fabulous putting lessons."

He smirks at me and touches my lips once more. "I'm going to be working this weekend, so I probably won’t see you much until later in the week, but I'll call."

"Okay. Talk to you soon."

"Goodnight, M&M. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight, Rhett."

I let myself inside and head straight for my room, crawling under the covers of my bed. My mind is spiraling with everything that has happened over the past few weeks, but when I fall asleep, I do it smiling and I have sweet dreams.

It’s been a week since Rhett and I had our mini-golf date. We haven’t seen each other much, other than a night together with all of our friends at Reed’s for burgers and beer. Somehow we’ve all just merged together into one big group. They’re no longer
my
friends or
Rhett’s
friends. They’re simply
our
friends. It feels natural, our lives meshing together like this, even after only a month and a half. Rhett has integrated himself into my life so deeply that I can’t see him not being there. It’s the little things—the random texts during the day, late night phone calls, calling in our favorite pizza order for delivery when he knows I’ve had a long day. They aren’t huge things, but I’ve come to crave those moments with Rhett… The moments when he makes sure I know he’s spending time thinking about me. It’s not something I’m used to, but it’s something that I’ve come to love. My phone pings with an incoming text, and speaking of the devil….

Rhett
: What does a nosy pepper do?

I stare at the text. He does this all of the time. His texting repertoire is full of useless facts and corny jokes.

Me
: What?

Rhett
: Gets jalapeño business.

I let out a loud, short laugh and shake my head. Where he gets these things from, I will never know. My guess would be Micah.

Me
: Hardy-har-har. That was a good one. How’s your night going?

I settle deeper into the blankets on my bed. It’s rare that I get to talk to Rhett on a night when he’s working, so I’ll text him as long as he is able.

Rhett
: So far, so good. Definitely ready for tomorrow.

Me
: What’s tomorrow?

Rhett
: If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

Me
: Tease.

Rhett
: Not even close. Gotta run. Sweet dreams, M.

Me
: Goodnight, Rhett.

I smile and curl into my pillow. I already know I’ll be settling in for sweet dreams…ones that include Rhett.

Someone is shaking me. Whoever that person is, they are going to die—preferably slowly and painfully—for waking me up on a Saturday. I’ve decided all of this before I open my eyes to see Rhett standing above me, a smirk on his face.

“You know, you’re gorgeous. It’s going to be a shame to have to kill you,” I mutter sleepily before rolling over.

Rhett lets out a low chuckle and crawls into bed behind me. “Wake up, sleepy head. We have plans today.” His kiss to the base of my neck almost makes me want to wake up. Almost.

“I have plans that include sleep, mister. I don’t know what your plans are.” I roll toward him, I can’t help it. He’s warm and perfect to snuggle into.

“As much as I love having you in my arms, M, we will have plenty of time for that tonight. C’mon. Let’s go.” He stands and grabs my hands to pull me out of bed.

I reluctantly stand up and stretch. Rhett grabs my waist and bends to kiss me. I immediately turn my head and his lips land on my cheek. He pulls back and looks at me quizzically.

“Nasty morning breath. I’m going to grab a shower and get dressed. I’ll be ready in just a minute. Any hint as to where we’re going, so I can get dressed?”