Rekindled (31 page)

“Do you ever think about having kids?”

Callie’s question throws me off guard, and I stop midstride to look at her. She’s curled up on the couch with her legs tucked underneath her, one hand resting on the back of the sofa, twirling a strand of her hair that came loose from her bun. I take my time crossing the room before handing her a glass of wine, not quite sure how to answer her question.

“Honestly? Not really.”

“Does that mean you don’t really think about having kids, or you don’t think you want to have any?”

Sighing, I settle onto the couch next to her and pull her legs onto my lap, taking a long sip from my beer before setting it on the coffee table. I reach down and begin to rub the soles of her feet, massaging them with my thumbs. “Both, I suppose. Julia never wanted to have kids and I don’t know… I guess I’m just not sure I’m cut out to be a dad.”

“Why not? You’re great with kids. Look at how well you and Jonah get along.”

“Yeah, but Jonah’s a great kid.”

“He is, isn’t he?” She looks at me and smiles.

“I guess I just don’t know that it’s something I really want. At least not anymore. After losing Rylee, I don’t know how I would be able to be a father and not be crazily overbearing.”

She takes a sip of wine and stares into her glass. “I know what you mean. There’s plenty of times I try to control every little thing, but you just have to try to remember that you can’t. Things are going to happen, no matter how hard you try to prevent them.”

“But that’s just it, I would want to try, and it eventually would drive me crazy. Losing Rylee was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. It nearly broke me. If I had a kid and lost them, too, there would be no coming back from that. I mean, if anything ever happened to Jonah, would you ever be able to be okay again?”

“No,” she says, quietly. “No, I don’t suppose I would. But don’t you think the joy of having a child would make that risk worth it? Knowing all the hours and days you would have filled with their love?”

“Not for me, no. At this point, I just don’t think it’s something I could handle.”

Neither of us says anything for a while, and I can tell from the way her hands are wrapped around the neck of her glass that she’s unhappy with my answer. I know that’s not what she wanted to hear, but I’m not about to lie to her. Maybe somewhere down the road, I’ll change my mind about wanting kids, because it’s not like I don’t like them. If I ever did have a kid, I’d love them with my entire being, but that’s exactly what scares me.

Her head is turned away from me as she stares out the window and I lean over and tilt her chin towards me. “Callie, I didn’t say that to upset you. And it doesn’t mean in the future, I won’t think differently, okay? And it doesn’t mean I don’t love Jonah, because I do. He’s the greatest kid, and I want to spend more time with him, if that’s okay with you.”

She nods and gives me a small smile. “I’d love for you to get to know Jonah better. You know, he still never shuts up about your tattoos.”

I laugh and trail my nails lightly along her leg causing goosebumps to appear. “Is that so? And what do you think of my tattoos?”

“Meh.” She shrugs, trying to suppress the grin on the corners of her lips. “I guess they’re alright if you’re into that sort of bad-boy, sex-god thing.”

“Sex-god, eh?” I quirk an eyebrow at her as I roll over her so that I’m hovering over her, my arms flexed on either side of her body to keep myself propped up. “Is that what you think of me?” I drag my nose along her jawline.

“Not at all.” She grips my biceps with her hands.

I plant my lips on the curve of her neck, teasing her by alternating between sucking and nibbling at the sensitive skin below her earlobe, all the way down to her collarbone. “So then, you never picture yourself fisting my hair as I fuck you mercilessly until you come all over my cock?”

“Never,” she says breathily, letting her hands roam over my biceps and over my chest.

“You never touch yourself while you’re alone, wishing it were my fingers inside your pussy? Wishing it were my hands squeezing your nipples?”

She swallows and I see pure lust form in her eyes as I let my hand roam underneath her shirt, palming her breast where her nipple hardens beneath my touch.

“Nope.” Her wicked smile says otherwise.

I move my hand lower, over her belly button and down until I slip inside her pants.

“I still see you as that dorky kid who plays with Legos and tells awful riddles,” she says, as my index finger runs over the thin material of her panties which are completely soaked.

“You’re a dirty liar.” I push aside the material and let my index finger slip inside her, causing her to gasp. The playful smile on her face vanishes.

She throws her head back as I let the tip of my finger graze against her clit, brushing over it gently. She lets out a moan and I swirl my finger inside her before pulling it out and sucking on it, needing to taste her. Her eyes widen and color stains her cheeks as she averts her gaze to the ground. The innocence and embarrassment that flashes across her face amuses me, and I realize she’s probably never tasted herself. Leaning forward, I press my lips to hers, sliding my tongue along her bottom lip. When I pull back, her eyes are glazed with desire.

“Can you taste yourself on my lips?” I whisper hoarsely in her ear before nipping at her lobe. “Can you taste how badly you want me?” I ask as I slip two fingers back inside her, watching her body ignite as she arches her back, writhing against my hand.

“Yes,” she breathes as her hands grip the edges of the couch, her nails biting into the leather. “Oh God, Tate.”

I pump my fingers inside her, using my thumb to circle over her clit as my mouth finds hers and our tongues tease each other. I grin when she pulls her mouth away from mine, her lips forming a perfect “O” as she throws her head back and moans. Her body trembles as she pulses around my fingers, her climax hijacking her movements. As she comes down, I place a gentle kiss on her lips before sliding my hand out of her pants and help her sit back up. She scoots onto my lap, and I wrap my arms around her waist, hugging her to my body.

“You’re so beautiful, Callie.” I whisper against her hair. “Everything about you is so damn beautiful.”

Tilting her head back to look at me, she smiles and runs her hand over my scruff. “I’ve waited for what feels like a lifetime for you to touch me like that. I’ve never felt anything like that before. I’m pretty sure you’ve ruined all other men for me.”

Chuckling, I grip her tighter. “Good,” I say while looking into her eyes. “Because now that I have you, I have absolutely no intention of ever letting you go.”

“Wow, this place is unbelievable!” Callie yells with a laugh as I turn onto the familiar South Carolina highway with the top of our rental car down.

The past three weeks have flown by in a blur. Whenever I wasn’t out in the forest, I was with Callie and Jonah, either down at the lake, or taking them to various places around town. But the past week Mother Nature must have been on her rag because the weather has been all over the place. California got another monster of a fire up in the mountains, so the boys and I spent four days over there beating her down, and directly after that, I went up with another jumping crew to a fire over in Oregon which took another three days.

I’m not going to lie, being away from Callie and Jonah for the past week has been fucking hell. And maybe I sound a like a pussy talking about missing my girl and all that shit, but it’s the truth. Now that I have Callie in my life, it’s agony being away from her. When she told me that Caleb was taking Jonah into Boise for the weekend to go to a comic-con, I knew it was the perfect time to ask the Captain for a couple days off and Matt and I decided to surprise our girlfriends with a last-minute trip to our old stomping grounds in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Her hair is whipping around her face in a wild frenzy, and her hands desperately try to control it, until finally she reaches into her purse and pulls out a hair-tie, twisting her strands into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. “Much better,” she says with a grin before pulling out a tube of chapstick and swiping it across her lips.

I glance over at her and place one hand on her thigh, letting my thumb rub over the smooth surface of her skin. I’m grateful that summers here are hot and sticky, because it means for the next two days, I’ll get to see her in tiny shorts and skimpy tops. No complaints here.

“Tate, you keep that up and we’re not going to make it to the hotel.” She cocks an eyebrow at me and grins.

I laugh and give her thigh a quick squeeze before placing my hand back on the steering wheel. “Well, normally I’d be okay with that, but you deserve better than a quickie in the backseat of a Mustang.”

Matt couldn’t believe that Callie and I haven’t slept together yet, but I want to do right by her in every aspect of our relationship. I don’t want our first time together to be rushed and unmemorable. She deserves more. She deserves to have her body worshipped, to have every inch slowly devoured, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing now that we have two days to explore each other’s bodies.

“Always the romantic,” she says, then reaches over and turns the volume up to the rock station we’ve been listening to since we departed the airport. “God, this song is possibly one of the greatest songs ever written.”

She proceeds to sing along with Queen’s
Bohemian Rhapsody
while strumming her fingers on the dashboard. She can’t hold a note worth a damn, and the lyrics she’s spouting are questionable at best, but watching her is the greatest sight in the world.

“So, the room won’t be ready for another hour or two. I was thinking we could stop and get some lunch if you’re hungry?” I ask.

“I’m starved. Those peanuts on the plane did nothing for my stomach.”

“Okay, what would you like to eat?”

“Can we go to that BBQ place you told me about before?”

“Done.”

I pull off the highway and take the side streets until we reach the restaurant. From what I can tell, not too much has changed since I was last here. It sits at the end of a row of stores that make up a tiny strip mall area. A used bookstore, a bead shop, a real estate office, a sushi restaurant and a couple of crafting and hobby places fill the remaining spots. Red lettering spelling out “Babe’s Barbecue”
in big block letters sits above dark tinted windows, and a couple of green shrubs line the walkway. It’s completely non-descript and easy to drive past without giving a second thought, until you’ve eaten there, and it’s the only food you ever want to put in your mouth ever again.

There’s only a couple other cars in the parking lot, but considering it’s two o’clock, way past the lunch rush, I’m not too surprised. I take Callie’s hand in mine as we march across the gravel lot, and grin when we step inside and my stomach gurgles with the memory of this place.

“This place is adorable,” Callie says, as we step inside and takes a look around.

I’m not sure what she was expecting, but from the smile on her face, she’s pleased with what she sees. Inside smells like smoke and Worchester sauce, and all the tables are lined with red and white checkered vinyl tablecloths, sporting bottles of ketchup, Sriracha sauce, salt and pepper shakers, with a roll of paper towels on top. The chairs look like they’re from the eighties, with high rounded backs and crimson padding that’s cracked and taped over with duct tape. The only menu is hand-written in neat cursive on a chalkboard behind the register, the plates are Styrofoam, and the silverware is plastic. No frills. No pomp. No circumstance. Just friendly employees and amazing BBQ.

“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!” Holly shouts as we approach the register to place our order. “The prodigal son has returned!”

“Hi, Holly, it’s good to see you, too.”

“Well, don’t just stand there. Come on over here and give me hug, you loon.” I release Callie’s hand, step around the register, and give Holly a quick hug.

“How the hell you been? You look good.” She places her hands on my shoulders and gives me a once over.

“I’ve been good. Great, really. And I have someone for you to meet.”

I introduce Callie to Holly and spend the next five minutes filling her in on my life in Idaho. Turns out, Holly broke up with her old girlfriend and is now seeing a woman named Lisa who is in a country band that’s playing tonight down at Frankie J’s Crab Shack, a place Matt and I frequented when we lived here.