He mock-growled at me and then kissed me on the forehead.
I tilted my head up and captured his lips with mine. After a moment, I pulled back.
"If this isn't what love feels like, than I'll keep this instead," I said, running my hand up over his face.
"Agreed," he said, dropping a more passionate kiss on my lips.
We continued kissing for several more minutes, but stopped when things got too heavy and his leg became a hindrance.
Instead, we continued to shoot questions back and forth. Many subjects we felt the same about, but his views on the CW shows made my blood boil and I had to lay into him about the fact that towns with all pretty people did exist. He mocked me openly when he found out I was a diehard vampire fan. We moved on from TV shows to all-time favorite movies and I was surprised that his taste ran with the Marvel variety while mine was all about the horror flicks.
"If you could live anywhere, where would it be?" I asked once we exhausted TV and film.
"I wouldn't mind seeing the ocean, but I want to live here. I've been trying to talk Rick into building us a couple of cabins up here for years."
"I'm surprised he won't. It's obvious he loves this land."
"He feels it's not convenient. I keep telling him I could stay up here and he could take care of things in town."
"What would you do all by yourself up here?" I asked intrigued.
"I think we should open up the camp for skiing. There's plenty of land. All we would have to do is bring in the gear."
"What about the chairlift thingies?" I asked.
"It would be a cross-country skiing camp, so a chairlift wouldn't be necessary. It'd be cool for the kids since most of them have never had an opportunity like that."
"I think it sounds like a great idea," I said, meaning it.
"You do?" he asked surprised.
"Hell yeah, 'follow your dreams' has always been my motto, obviously," I said, grinning in the dark.
"Is that what you do, follow your dreams?"
"I always have. My venture here wasn't exactly my dream since I didn't know about Rick until two days before I got here. Now my dreams are little hazier."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to Rick just yet, among other things…"I said, letting my voice trail off.
"Am I among the other things?" he asked as I tilted my head up.
"Is that presumptuous of me?" I asked before mentally kicking myself. I really did need a latch for my mouth sometimes.
His lips found mine. I turned to face him, looping my arm around his neck. "Not at all," he finally whispered against my lips. I shivered as his hands pulled at my layers of clothing, seeking the bare skin underneath. I tilted my head back as his lips trailed a path down my jaw line, stopping at my neck before dipping lower to my collarbone.
A wracking cough from me ruined the moment and he pulled back and tucked me back in the crook of his arm.
"This rain needs to stop so they can hurry up and fucking save us," he said frustrated.
I was surprised by his mood change and harsh tone. "Hey, it's all going to be okay," I said, using the practical voice I'd used for years.
"You could die in conditions like this by getting sick," he said.
"I'm fine. Besides, I'm more worried about you," I said, trying to tamper back the urge to cough again.
"This whole thing is messed up," he said, pounding his fist against the dirt floor. "You're not supposed to be catering to me. I'm the man. I should be running out in the rain, finding shelter. I should be taking care of you."