I cried out, not caring who was in the other room or what anyone might think. Some part of my heart mended in her tenderness and the way she was willing to take care of me unselfishly.
She brought me to come three times before snuggling in next to me and kissing the side of my neck over and over again. "I love how you taste."
"Good. I'm gonna need that often." I smirked and turned to face her. "It's not something I'm used to.”
"No? I thought you said you had a ton of one-night stands." She moved her knees up and rested them in my lap as I pulled her as close as I could get her.
"Just a quick fuck and then I'm out. Nothing too intimate." I shrugged, thinking that maybe I should shut up.
"I understand." She kissed me once more before tucking her face against my neck and letting out a long breath. "I'm staying here tonight. That okay?"
"Every night would be better, but I'll take tonight, for sure." My heart raced in my chest over the idea of committing fully to the woman in my arms. Could I really live up to anything she might need me to be? It didn't feel like it, but I couldn't shake the thought that regardless of what I was headed into...she would be well worth the effort.
Chapter 24
Val
I woke the next morning with a crick in my neck from being snuggled against Tate all night. My mixed feelings could be dissected later when I had some free time to myself on the basketball court. For now, I was going to try hard to go with the flow and not think about the fear that crept around inside of me. Tate's mood swings were enough to leave me wondering what was coming next, but I wanted a chance at us enough to try to be the calm in the storms he kept coming up against.
"You awake?" He kissed the side of my head as I glanced up at him.
"Yeah. I can't believe we slept on this couch." I smirked.
His mother's voice caught my attention. "I can't believe you did, either. You guys need to get up and get moving. I have a detective coming out this morning to question me over this stuff with Daniel."
I sat up and groaned as my back popped. "It will be great when all of this is finally behind you guys."
"Let's just hope it stays that way." Tate stood up and turned to give me a quick kiss. "I'm jumping in the shower. You want me to walk you out to your car?"
"No, I'm good. I have a basketball game tonight. You guys should come and watch me play." I turned my attention back to Ms. Phillips. "It's up at the college."
"I'd love to. I'll make Tate bring me up there." She walked toward me and gave me a hug as Tate disappeared down the hall. "I'm so glad you two are working things out. He needs a good woman like you in his life."
"I'm not sure how good I am, but I'm not going anywhere just yet." I smiled at her and moved to pull my boots on before grabbing my keys and heading toward the door. "Good luck today."
"Good luck tonight." She smiled at me warmly and closed the door behind me.
I wrapped my jacket around me tightly and cursed myself for not getting a scarf from the house before heading out to Tate's the day before. It was freezing and the snow was moving in fast.
I jogged to my car and got in as my teeth started to chatter. I didn’t mind the cold, but the minute I graduated, I was going to look for a warm weather state to move to. The idea of Tate coming with me gave me pause. Was I that serious about him? We'd just started dating.
"One day at a time," I grumbled under my breath as I tried to start the car.
Nothing.
"Not again." I tried again. Not a sound. "Great."
A familiar truck pulled up next to me, and Sam got out all bundled up.
I opened my door and got back out of the car, giving him a curt wave. "Sam, is there any way I could get a ride to school? My car won't start and I have an exam this morning in my ten o'clock class that I need to study for."
"You bet. Is Tate's mom making breakfast?" He nodded toward the house.
"I don't think so. The detective from the police station was supposed to come down and visit her today." I walked toward the passenger’s
side door quickly as the wind picked up.
We got into the truck and I worked to get my seatbelt on as he started the engine. It was still warm from him just getting out, but it was so intensely cold outside, that it took me a few minutes to thaw.