I smiled as I picked out groceries. I was heading over to Jacob's house this evening and he'd asked me to pick up a couple of things to help with dinner. I felt incredibly domestic and helpful as I picked the ripest tomatoes and the freshest gallon of milk in the entire store.

The summer heat was oppressive as I walked to my car. The blacktop radiated the sun and shimmered with imaginary mirages of water. I was sweating by the time I finished the short walk and loaded everything into my car.

That was summer in Iowa. Humid and hot.

The cicadas thrummed in the trees and birds called out as got in my car. We would get thunderstorms this evening, and given Jacob's propensity for getting wet and looking sexy as hell because of it, I was rather looking forward to them.

I especially liked how he held me as the thunder crashed around us. When the storms came, I didn't have to worry about people coming to our houses and finding us. I didn't have to worry about what anyone else thought. I was Jacob's and he was mine.

It was my own little slice of heaven.

I hummed as I drove the roundabout route to Jacob's house. I didn't want his father surprising me again. I had some dummy files in my car, just in case. I also had my notifications turned all the way up on my phone in case Jacob needed to text me that his parents had randomly showed up at his house.

We had a system and so far it had worked.

I circled a cornfield and double checked to make sure there was no one around before turning down the dirt road to Jacob's home. I tucked my car into his open garage and shut the door, feeling rather like a spy as I did it.

No one knew I was here.

“Groceries,” I called out, entering the kitchen. Jacob emerged from the living room and smiled at me before taking them off my hands.

“These look great,” he said, putting the tomatoes in a colander to wash and dry. “And so do you.”

“Is that so?” I grinned. I always felt beautiful around Jacob. I didn't need to wear makeup or do anything crazy with my hair. I liked to, but I didn't have to. He thought I was beautiful no matter what the humidity was doing to my hair.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his hands on my ass. A gentle squeeze told me exactly where his mind was.

In the gutter.

“So, that's first today, huh?” I asked, looking up through my eyelashes at him.

I loved the way he looked back at me. He looked at me like he was hungry and I was a five-course meal. His pupils dilated and he pulled me into a sensual kiss. I could feel him hardening against my hip and desire flared to life. The tomatoes could wait if he was what I could have instead.

“Yeah, I think that's first today,” he whispered, nibbling on my ear. His breath tickled the small hairs of my neck and made me drunk on lust. I was jelly to his touch when he did that. “You drive me wild.”

He tugged on my shorts, pulling them to the floor. I kicked them to the side as he ran his fingers along the smooth satin of my panties. I loved the way his skillful fingers danced across me, teasing me with the pleasure he could bring. I let my head fall back and groaned as he kissed my neck and played with the thin satin.

“More, please,” I whimpered, lifting the back of his shirt. He grinned and pulled it up and over his head. I don't know if they taught men the sexiest way to remove their shirts in a secret boy school or if it just came naturally, but I loved watching him strip for me.

I ran my fingers up and down his chest, feeling his heart beat underneath my palm. He pressed his hips into mine and I could feel just how hard he had gotten in just a few minutes. I ached to feel him inside of me. I needed it.

My hands slid down his chest to his waist and undid the button on his khaki shorts. I helped guide the shorts off his hips and down to the ground. I went to my knees and looked up at him with a smile. I saw his breath catch just a little as I licked my lips.

I reached up to grab the hem of his boxers when I saw his mother watching us with horrified eyes.

I froze. I didn't know what to do. Maybe she was actually a T-Rex and couldn't see me if I didn't move.

We both stood perfectly motionless for an unbearable amount of time.

“What's wrong, baby?” Jacob asked, looking down with a frown. He followed my look of terror to see his mother standing in his kitchen with a bag of cucumbers. “Oh shit.”

That's when his mother came alive.

“Oh shit?” she repeated.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Jacob managed to keep a relaxed body posture despite the fact that he was standing in his boxers, his erection quickly fading. I still was on my knees in nothing but my panties and t-shirt. I didn't think I could get up.

Mrs. Matthews focused the full weight of her glare on me. I swear her eyes went red and smoke came out of her ears. She was shorter than me, but at that moment she towered over me.

“Get out,” she growled, marching over and grabbing the collar of my shirt. She was tiny, but strong as she managed to nearly drag me out of Jacob's kitchen.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Jacob moved in front of her and blocked her path. “You don't talk to her like that.”

“I'll talk to that whore any way I like,” she spat. She let go of my collar, pushing me away in the process before looking up at her son. “How could you do this, Jacob?”

“Do what, Mom?” Jacob crossed his arms, the muscles standing out as he protected me from his mother.

“Do this to Katie.” Mrs. Matthews shook her head in horror. “You're supposed to be getting engaged soon. What will poor Katie think?”

“Katie and I aren't a couple,” Jacob told her. “We broke up.”

“Because of her?” She made a face that made me feel like garbage.

“No. Because Katie and I aren't right for each other. It's over. I can see anyone I want to see and I want to see Hannah.”

Mrs. Matthews sighed. “You say that, but I see the way you and Katie are around each other. That's a partnership worth pursuing.” Her gaze came back to me and she twisted her mouth like she'd bitten into something bitter. “You sure jumped on the availability. He's barely been single for an hour. Learn that in the city?”

“You don't talk that way to Hannah,” Jacob growled.

“Jacob, you clearly aren't thinking clearly.” His mother smiled at him and patted his shoulder. “This is a fling. This doesn't mean anything.”

“You're wrong.” His voice was solid and sure. It made my heart thrill to hear him defend me. “You need to get out of my house. Now. You don't talk to Hannah like that.”

“Jacob-”

“Get out of my house.” His tone was dangerous.

She crossed her arms and her mouth tightened as she looked back and forth between Jacob and me.

“Fine.” She huffed to the door. “This isn't over. I won't let you throw everything I worked so hard on away for a blow-job.”

Jacob's mother slammed the door hard enough that the entire house shook. Silence filled the room. I could hear her car engine start and she pulled away, the gravel crunching in her tires.

Jacob was at my side, his hands on my shoulders and his blue eyes searching my face.

“Are you okay? I can't believe she said any of that,” he told me. He looked confident, but his hands were shaking. “None of that was okay.”

“It's not your fault,” I told him, rising slowly to my feet. “I appreciate you defending me.”

“I wanted to punch her,” he admitted.

“Not a good thing to do to your mother,” I informed him. I was glad he managed to crack a small smile.

“I'm sure this will blow over,” he said, but it was obvious he didn't believe it.

“You know that's not going to happen, right?” I pulled my shorts back up. I didn't feel like a sex goddess anymore. “She's going straight to the Ladies with this. It's going to be all over town by morning.”

My voice caught as I thought of what was going to happen.

“I'm so sorry, Jacob.”

“For what?” He wrapped his arms around me. “I'm as much in this as you are.”

I shook my head. “You're the prodigal son returned. They are going to say that I lured you. That I tempted you down the wrong path. Two hundred years ago they'd have me hung as a witch.”

“Hannah...”

I wiped at my face. “I should go home. I'm not going to be good company tonight.”

“Please don't go.” He looked at me with puppy-dog eyes. “I don't want you to leave. Stay. It's not like it can get worse, right?”

I sighed. He was right. His mother had just caught me about to give him a blow-job. Thank heaven it was then and not ten seconds later. Just thinking about it made my skin crawl and my stomach sick.

“I think I'm going to throw up.” Nausea suddenly hit me hard and fast. I ran for the bathroom and barely made it.

I splashed some cool water on my face, but the queasiness remained. It had to be the stress and the worry. It had finally caught up with me. I was already imagining myself being kicked out of the grocery store, a scarlet letter emblazoned on my chest.

“Here.” Jacob brought me a cool glass of water and a couple of Tums. I chewed on them gratefully and took a sip of water. “Come sit down.”

I let him guide me to the couch and there he wrapped his arm around me. We watched TV and I tried not to look at my phone. I didn't want to know what was going to happen next.

I snuggled into his arms, and surprisingly started to drift off to sleep. I'd been tired recently.

“I love you,” I whispered, not even realizing the words came out of my mouth. I froze, suddenly very awake.

He moved, pushing me up and putting his hands on either side of my face. I was sure he could feel the blush heating his palms. I bit my lip. I didn't mean to say it out loud, but it was still true. I loved him. I'd loved him since that science class in high school.

He smiled, his eyes soft and sparkling. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

“I love you,” he whispered back and my heart stopped beating.

Jacob Matthews loved me. Me.

“Really?” I asked, my heart still frozen.

He nodded. “Yes.” He kissed me again, this time on the mouth. It was soft and tender. “Always.”

I fell into him, burying myself into his shoulder as he held me tight.

This was no longer the worst day of my life. Jacob loved me. It was now one of the best.