Blow (TKO 3)

“Not yet. I was trying to wait on the insurance company but I’m about to just go buy one and then use the insurance money to pay on it.”

He finally sits in a chair. He was beginning to make me nervous just standing there. The same nurse who brought my food earlier steps in to check my vitals and make sure I’m doing well. I smile and tell her I’ve never been better. At least I’m remaining optimistic.

Ruston and I talk about all kinds of things while we wait for Tamilyn to come back with our food. It’s almost like nothing ever happened, and I like that. I was worried just like he was that things would never be the same between us, and it would cause this huge rift, but it was the complete opposite. If anything, although he got the girl, this brought us closer. That’s more than perfect for me.

Chapter 35

Tamilyn

My heart is at ease after leaving the hospital. After seeing him, I’m not really sure why I was so tortured about going in the first place. There was no need to act the way I did. Ruston opens the truck door for me and I climb inside. I kinda miss his old truck, but I do like this rental. The leather seats are comfortable.

He pulls my hand into his as the engine roars to life. I watch out the side mirror as the hospital soon becomes just another building in the distance. I let out a sigh as Ruston passes the road that my apartment complex is on. I raise my eyebrow and turn to face him.

“Where are you going?”

“Does it matter?” He asks with a chuckle.

I shrug my shoulders and turn to look back out the window. He wants to play stubborn, so can I. “Does it matter?” I mock him.

“Watch that attitude, Tammy Lou.” He takes his right hand off of the steering wheel to point at me.

“How about you watch the road?”

“Yes, ma’am.” His chuckle eases my mind. It doesn’t really matter where he’s going. I could honestly not care less. “Don’t you know what today is?”

I’m trying to figure out just what he’s up to. It’s not anyone’s birthday, I know that much. “Ruston, I have no clue what today is.”

“I’ve decided that today is going to be our official first day of dating. All the shit is finally cleared up and done and we can finally be together. I don’t know about you but I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for this moment. So, that being said, I’ve got a little picnic planned for us and then we’ll just go with the flow from there.”

My jaw drops. The night of the barbeque, we were going to attempt to make the move to be together, but then Austin got into his accident. At that moment, nothing else mattered. I couldn’t possibly think of being with Ruston when everything seemed to be falling apart. “Don’t you think you should have consulted me in this decision?”

“You have a problem with this?” He raises his eyebrow as he pulls into the park.

“No, I have no problems with it at all.”

“Then why are you questioning it? Go with the flow, Tammy Lou.” He laughs as he parks the truck. I glance at the backseat. How did I not notice the ice chest and bags sitting there?

He unbuckles his seatbelt and leans over to softly kiss my lips. His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me closer to him as the kiss deepens. I hate to break the kiss, but since he mentioned a picnic, I’m a little hungry. Plus, if we keep kissing like this, we may not have a picnic. “Easy there, lover boy.”

“What?”

“Keep this up and there won’t be a picnic.”

“You’re lucky I love you, pretty girl. I can’t complain. At least we have as long as we want to kiss.” He pulls away and opens his door to get out. The next thing he does is grab the ice chest out of the backseat.

I follow his lead and grab a few bags. “I love you too. I have for quite some time, you know, it just never seemed to be the right time to tell you. Honestly, I didn’t think you felt the same way.”

He grabs a large blanket and sets it on top of the ice chest before we begin walking to a vacant spot in the lush green grass. Ruston sets the blanket on the side of a large tree and I’m more than happy to sit down. Actually, I lie down.

“What’s in the ice chest?” I ask.

“A few drinks, some grapes, and ham and cheese.”

“Sandwiches and grapes?” I make sure I heard him correctly.

“That good enough for you?” he asks as he grabs two slices of bread out of the plastic bag. He begins fixing a sandwich. He hands it to me and I take a small bite.

With my mouth full, I decide to answer him. “Yep, it’s all good for me. Can I have a drink?”