This Girl

She shakes her head. “Hell, no. Not even close.”



I place my hand on her shoulder and slowly run my fingers down her arm, resting my hand on her waist. I lean in until my lips are barely touching hers again. “How about this?” I ask her. I part her lips with my tongue, sliding my hand beneath her shirt and across her stomach. The muscles in her stomach clench beneath my palm. “Is this your point of retreat?” I whisper.



She shakes her head slowly. “Nope. Keep going.”



I lower my lips to her neck and my fingers crawl up her stomach and come to a stop where her bra usually is, if she were wearing one right now. I bury my head in her pillow and groan. “God, Lake. Seriously? Are you trying to kill me?”



She shakes her head again. “Not retreating yet. Keep going.”



I raise my head away from her pillow and scroll over her lips with my eyes. My thumb grazes her breast and that’s when we both lose it. Our lips crash together, and as soon as I cup her breast, she moans into my mouth and wraps a leg around my thigh. I immediately slide off her and stand up.



“I think we found my point of retreat,” I say, breathing heavily. I run my hands through my hair and back up to the wall, putting a safe distance between us. “You need to get dressed so we can leave. I can’t be alone in here with you right now.”



She laughs and rolls off the bed, then heads to her closet. “And Lake? If you want to survive the day without being completely mauled by me, make sure you put on a bra.” I wink at her and walk out of the room.



19.



the honeymoon



HER EYES ARE closed, but there’s a smile spread across her lips. I lean forward and lightly kiss them. “You asleep?”



It’s late and we have to drive home tomorrow. I’m not ready to go to sleep yet. I want to drag this night out as long as I can.



She shakes her head no, then opens her eyes. “Remember the first time we didn’t call point of retreat?”



I laugh. “Well, considering it was just last night, then I’d say I remember it pretty damn well.”



“I want you to tell me all about that,” she says. She closes her eyes and cuddles up to me.



“You want me to tell you about last night?”



She nods against my chest. “Yeah. It was the best night of my life. I want you to tell me all about it.”



I smile, more than willing to tell her what I thought about the sweetest sweet I’ve ever had.



honeymoon night



“THREE MORE MINUTES,” she says. She reaches behind her and pulls down on the handle, swinging the door open. “Now carry me over the threshold, husband.”



I bend down and grab her behind the knees and pick her up, throwing her over my shoulder. She squeals, and I push the door all the way open with her feet. I take a step over the threshold with my wife. The door slams behind us, and I ease her down onto the bed.



“I smell chocolate. And flowers,” she says. “Good job, husband.”



I lift her leg up and slide her boot off. “Thank you, wife.” I lift her other leg up and slide that boot off, too. “I also remembered the fruit. And the robes.”



She winks at me and rolls over, scooting up onto the bed. When she gets settled, she leans forward and grabs my hand, pulling me toward her. “Come here, husband,” she whispers.



I start to make my way up the bed but pause when I come face to face with her shirt. “I wish you’d take this ugly thing off,” I say.



“You’re the one who hates it so much. You take it off.”



So I do. I start from the bottom this time and press my lips against her skin where her stomach meets the top of her pants, causing her to squirm. She’s ticklish there. Good to know. I unbutton the next button and slowly move my lips up another inch to her belly button. I kiss it. She lets out another moan, but it doesn’t worry me this time. I continue kissing every inch of her until the ugly shirt is lying on the floor. When my lips find their way back to hers, I pause to ask her one last time. “Wife? Are you sure you’re ready to not call retreat? Right now?”



She wraps her legs around me and pulls me closer. “I’m butterflying positive,” she says.



I grin against her lips, hoping that this entire year of being frustratingly patient will be worth it to her. “Good,” I whisper. I reach my hand beneath her and unclasp her bra, then help her slip it off. She slides her hands through my hair and pulls me against her.



By the time all of our clothes are off and we’re wrapped together under the covers, I’m breathing too hard to hear the pounding in my chest anymore, but I can definitely feel it. I press my lips to her neck and inhale a deep breath.



“Lake?” My hands are exploring her and touching her and I can’t decide if I ever want to stop long enough to actually consummate this marriage.



“What is it?” she says breathlessly.



I somehow find it in me to pull back and give myself enough space to look her in the eyes. I need her to know that she’s not the only one experiencing something for the first time right now. “I want you to know something. I’ve never . . .” I pause and pull back a little bit farther and hold my weight up on my left arm. I reach up and slip my hand to the nape of her neck, then dip my head and kiss her softly on the mouth. I look her directly in the eyes and finish telling her what I need her to know. “Lake . . . I’ve never made love to a girl before. I didn’t realize that until this very moment. You’re the first girl I’ll ever make love to.” She smiles a heartbreakingly beautiful smile that completely swallows me up. “And you’re the last girl I’ll ever make love to,” I add. I lower my head and press my forehead to hers. We keep our eyes locked together as I lift her thigh and brace myself against her.



“I love you, Will Cooper,” she whispers.



“I love you, Layken Cooper.”



I hold still against her, taking one final look at this amazing, beautiful girl beneath me. “You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to my life,” I whisper. As soon as I push myself inside her, our lips collide, our tongues collide, our bodies collide, and our hearts collide. Then this girl completely shatters the window to my soul and crawls inside.



20.



the honeymoon



“I LIKE THAT version,” she says.



She’s wrapped up in my arms where she’s been most of the weekend. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend the last forty-eight hours. I think back on everything we’ve gone through . . . everything I just shared with her. Everything she learned about me and I learned about her and how, by some miracle, I’ll leave this hotel room loving her just a little bit more than I did when we arrived. I kiss her on her forehead and close my eyes.



“Goodnight, wife.”



“Goodnight, husband.”



welcome home



I CAN’T COUNT how many times I’ve pulled into my own driveway. At least once a day since I’ve lived here; sometimes twice. But I’ve never pulled into this driveway with my wife before. I’ve never pulled into the driveway of a house where I live with my own family—a family other than my mom and dad. I’ve never pulled into this driveway feeling so complete before.



“Are you gonna turn off the car?” Lake asks.



Her hand is on her door handle and she’s waiting for me to put the car in park and turn it off, but I’m staring at the house, lost in thought. “Don’t you just love this driveway? I’m pretty sure we have the best driveway in the whole world.”



She lets go of the door handle and falls back against her seat. “I guess,” she shrugs. “It’s a driveway.”



I put the car in park and reach over and grab her hands, then pull her onto my lap. “But it’s our driveway now. That makes it the best. And it’s our house.” I slip her shirt over her head and she tries to cover herself, but I move her arms out of the way and kiss up her neck while I talk about all the things that are no longer just mine. “And the dishes in the kitchen are our dishes. And the couches are our couches. And the bed is our bed.”



“Will, stop.” She laughs and attempts to pull my hands away from her bra. “You can’t take off my bra, we’re in our driveway. What if they come outside?”



“It’s dark,” I whisper. “And it’s not your bra. It’s our bra and I want it off.” I slip it off her, pulling her against me as I rub my hands down the length of her back, then around to the button on the front of her jeans. “And I want to take off our pants.”



She grins against my lips and slowly nods. “Okay, but hurry,” she whispers.



“I can be quick,” I assure her. “But I’ll never hurry.”



AFTER CHRISTENING THE driveway, we make it inside to a completely empty, dark house. I flip on the light switch in the kitchen and there’s a note on the table.



“My grandparents left a few hours ago. The boys are with Eddie and Gavin across the street.”



Lake tosses her purse on the couch and makes her way into the kitchen. “Do we have to go get them right away? I sort of want to enjoy some quiet while we can. The second we tell them we’re back, the honeymoon will officially be over. I’m having fun; I don’t want it to end yet.”



I pull her to me. “Who says it has to end? We still have rooms to christen. Where should we start?”



“Besides your driveway?”



“Our driveway,” I correct her.



She squints her eyes, then they suddenly widen with excitement. “Your laundry room!” she says excitedly. “Our laundry room,” she adds quickly, before I can correct her. She grabs the collar of my shirt and stands on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to mine. “Come on,” she whispers, pulling me along with her while she continues to kiss me.



The front door swings open and someone runs through the living room. I squeeze my eyes shut and groan as Lake separates her mouth from mine.



“Don’t mind me, we just need the ketchup,” Caulder yells. He runs past us and into the kitchen. He grabs the ketchup and glances at us as he makes his way back to the front door. “Gross,” he mumbles before he pulls the door shut behind him.



Lake laughs and presses her head against my shoulder. “Welcome home,” she says unenthusiastically.



I sigh. “I wonder what they’re eating? You gave me a solid two-day workout and I’m hungry now.”



Lake shrugs and pulls away from me. “I don’t know but I’m hungry, too.”



We both make our way across the street. When we reach the front door, she puts her hand on the doorknob, but pauses and turns to me before opening it.



“Should I knock? It feels weird knocking on my own door, but I don’t live here anymore.”



I ease past her and grip the doorknob. “Nobody else knocks, why should we?” I open the door and we make our way inside. The boys and Kiersten are seated at the table and Eddie and Gavin are both in the kitchen, filling plates with food.



“Look who’s back!” Kiersten says when she spots us. “How was the honeymoon?”