Chapter Eleven
Jeremy—Mason TX.
I SAT ON THE BARSTOOL and watched Kennedy pull the chicken from some liquid mixture, then put the chicken in flour and then in the skillet. She was concentrating on cooking and not really talking. So I sat and watched her, she turned on the music and William Michael Morgan’s I Met A Girl started to play, I remember seeing him perform and I remember thinking to myself that it was a good song but I never really listened to the words until now. As I listened to the words I realized that Kennedy did all of these things to me, she has captured my heart, just like the girl in the song. I slowly got up and walked over to her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my chin on her shoulder, quietly singing the chorus to her.
“I love this song.” she said as she kept cooking.
“I never really listened to it until right now, now I know what they say about songs having real meaning.” I said as I kissed her neck, she leaned her head over to the side to give me better access.
“I feel the words of the songs all the time. To me they all have meaning.”
“Maybe now I will really start to listen to them.”
“Why now?”
“Because they seem to have more meaning when you have someone that you care about.” I took the tongs out of her hand and flipped the chicken. She turned and looked at me and I noticed she had flour on her nose and cheek. It just made her look even cuter. “Do you usually wear the food when you cook?” I asked as I wiped the flour off her face.
Blushing she smiled “Not that I know of.” I leaned down and kissed her chastely on the lips, then kept flipping the food while she watched me.
“Am I doing it right?” I never cared to learn how to cook, but it’s kind of fun.
“Yep, can you watch this while I make the salad?” I nodded and kept watching the chicken, not wanting it to burn. She placed mason jars with salad and drinks in the basket and then came over to the stove and started removing the chicken to drain on paper towels. Then she wrapped them up in brown paper and added it to the basket. “It’s going to get chilly, we should put warmer clothes on and I’ll grab the blanket.”
We walked hand in hand down the hall and I stopped her as she started to open the door. Leaning down I kissed her, softly, moving down her neck, slowly nibbling as I went. She had her fingers woven into my hair, holding on tight. I made my way back up her neck to her lips and took possession of her mouth, devouring her, I reached down and pulled her to me until she was pressed as tight against me as possible. I knew she could feel how much I wanted her. Really wanted her. I pulled back and looked at her.
“I umm should go and get changed.” but she made no move to open the door.
“So should I.” But I didn’t move either. I leaned my head against her forehead. “Go and change.” she nodded and backed into her room. I smiled and went into mine, changing into a long sleeve shirt.
I went into the living room and looked out at the barn. I would have to be lying if I said I missed the ringing phones and the text messages. I love my artists but I don’t miss the stress of the industry. Before I came down here and saw how slow life was I thought I craved it but now I know that it is just a job. What I seem to crave now is Kennedy’s touch, I need to see her and know where she is. I have never had that feeling before, for anyone. I sighed, I could have let her slip away, never would have known what it was like to kiss her sweet lips. I could have been like my friends and moved on to the next girl and missed out on so much. She wrapped her arms around me. Laying her head on my back
“Is everything alright.” I place my hand over hers and squeezed it.
“Everything is wonderful.” I turned to face her. “I was just thinking how empty my life was until I came to see you.” She moved onto her tiptoes and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to me.
“Really?” She bit her lip.
“Really.” I kissed her again, if having her in my arms like this is amazing what would it be like to making love to her. I felt myself getting harder.
“What’s wrong?”
“Umm nothing.”
“Jeremy that wasn’t nothing, is it your ribs?” She started moving her hand down my ribs and I stopped her. “What?”
“It’s not my ribs, baby.” I pulled her closer and she gasped.
“Oh,” was all she said as her face turned an adorable shade of red.
“Why don’t we go and have that picnic, maybe continue this conversation out there and just see what happens.” She smiled and backed away just a little before making her way to the kitchen. She handed me the blankets before picking up the basket and walking outside. We walked hand in hand out to the pasture that is to the west of the house. We walked to this small hill and about five hundred yards away from the lights of the house and barn before she sat the basket down. She placed one of the blankets on the basket and then we spread the other one out.
“Sit.” she said as she sat down next to me, our legs touching. She handed me a plate with chicken on it, then a mason jar with a green salad and another jar with sweet tea. I handed her the silverware. We enjoyed the food while we ate and talked.
“This chicken is really good.” I said. “Reminds me of my mom’s cooking.
“It was my grandmother’s recipe. I used to love to help her in the kitchen, especially when she was baking.”
“I never had the desire to learn, my mom didn’t like it when we were in the kitchen. I guess my brother and I made too big of a mess.” I took a drink of the tea, something else I was never a fan of until now. “So, this is your favorite place to come and be alone?” I asked as I cleaned up the plates and placed everything back in the basket except the jars of tea. She nodded. I moved my legs and pulled her over to sit in between them. I pulled her back so she is leaning on me. I wrapped my arms around her and leaned my chin on the top of her head.
“Growing up I would come out here and look at the stars, I loved to look at the constellations and this was the best place on the ranch to see them. There isn’t any glare from the lights but I can hear Mom and Dad if they called my name. I would spend hours out here reading until it got dark, then I would wish on the shooting stars, wishing and hoping that my grandpa would get better. After he died, this was where I came. I needed to be alone and no one would bother me out here.” I squeezed her tighter, I could feel the sorrow coming from her as I held her close. “I think he would have liked you.”
“Really? He wouldn’t have thought I was a pain in the ass with an even bigger ego for coming all this way and thinking I could change your mind. To talk you into coming back with me?”
“I’m sure he would have sent you packing but he also would have tried to take you under his wing and make you a cowboy.” Chuckling I kissed her neck.
“I think I would have liked to have met him. He sounds like a character.”
“Oh he was, he didn’t take crap from anyone but he also had a heart of gold, a soft spot for anyone that he thought had a good heart. He worked hard, from before dawn to sundown and some days longer. He would either stay up all night or sleep in the barn next to a horse that was in distress. He built this Ranch house so he could ask my grandmother to marry him. Her father refused unless he had a house and a working ranch. So, he made it happen. That is why I work so hard to make sure that I keep the ranch running, because it’s his legacy.”
I sat and listened to her talking and I realized that I lost my heart to her as soon as she walked in my booth. I was a goner and didn’t even know it. I slowly started to lean back, taking her with me.
“Hold on.” I said as I rolled over on my side and turned her over. “There now I can see your beautiful face in the moonlight.” I leaned over her body and stared into her eyes again, the moon was overhead and we had a blanket of stars above us but she was the only thing that I saw. She licked her soft lips and I couldn’t wait any longer, I lowered my lips and captured her mouth with mine. We kissed, like we were starving, devouring each other. I felt her hands move inside my jacket, I could feel her hands moving under my shirt. Making contact with my skin, I moved my hand up her side, letting it roam. I moved down her neck and bit her earlobe. Causing a whimper, I ran my tongue back up her neck and I felt a shiver run through her.
“Are you cold?” I asked against her lips.”
“No.” she said breathlessly “I’m actually really hot.” she smiled and I saw a gleam in her eye.