C is for Carter

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll bring you home.”

We got dressed, and he drove me back to my apartment. We held hands as he walked me to the door, and he pulled me in against him before I opened it. His arms looped around me, and his mouth crushed down hard on mine. His body pressed against me, guiding me to walk backward until my back was pressed against the door.

His kiss was hard and insistent, like he wanted to leave a bit of himself with me and take a bit of me with him. When he pulled back, I was breathless.

“Good night,” he said.

“Good night.”

Carter brushed his lips against mine in one more soft kiss, then walked away. I was floating when I opened the door and went inside.

15

CARTER

It was nice waking up on the weekend without having to think about going to work. I really was proud of how the company was coming along and happy to have the work to do every day. But that didn’t mean I was always excited to wake up early and head straight for the long, often hard days. The weekends meant being able to sleep in a little later and think about something other than logging for a little bit.

That weekend, there was only one thing on my mind. I woke up Saturday wishing Lauren had stayed the night after our date. We had such an incredible time together, and I could have just stayed wrapped up in her for the rest of the weekend. But I didn’t want to rush things.

We were already moving fast. Expecting sleepovers and long weekends spent together was probably a bit too much. That didn’t stop me from thinking about it, though. As I stood outside drinking my morning coffee, I sent Lauren a text to say good morning and find out how she was.

We chatted for a little bit, and she let me know she was hanging out with Harleigh and Desiree that night. Knowing I didn’t have any chance of seeing her that day, I decided to focus on getting things done around the house, so I wouldn’t have to think about them during the week.

Household tasks like laundry and dishes weren’t my favorite things, but I forced myself to stay on top of them. Probably not as much as I should.

My mind was still flooded with thoughts of Lauren and our night together. I wanted to call her, go scoop her up, and bring her back to my place. It was like all the feelings and desire I had for her had built up for so long. And now that I had gotten a chance to let some of it out, I couldn’t stop it.

I went to bed that night still thinking about Lauren, but with my house cleaner and more organized than it had been in recent memory.

I slept in late Sunday morning and woke to a text from Aiden inviting me over to a cookout at his cabin. Rather than texting him back, I called him.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m definitely in for the cookout. What can I bring?”

“Desiree,” Aiden called into the background, “Carter wants to know what he can bring to the cookout.”

“I’ve got the food under control,” Desiree responded. “But tell him to bring Deacon and Everett.”

“She says…” Aiden started when he came back on the phone.

“I heard her,” I said. “I’ll call the guys and see if they have any plans for this afternoon.”

When I did, they were both excited to have been invited and immediately agreed to come. I offered to pick them up, but they said they had to run some errands before coming and that they could just meet me there. I gave them the address to Aiden and Desiree’s cabin along with some basic directions to make it easier for them to find it.

Desiree said she had the food taken care of for the cookout, but I didn’t want to show up empty-handed. My parents always taught me to show up to a gathering with something to offer, and I really didn’t think the two guys counted. I had a couple of hours before the cookout started, so I headed for town. Maybe a tour around the grocery store would give me inspiration for something to bring.

By the time I showed up at the cabin, Deacon and Everett were already there. I carried my boring but functional vegetable tray to the back, following voices and laughter to the deck. I set the tray down next to another one that looked just about identical.

“Healthy eating options all around,” Everett said, walking up to me with a bottle of beer in each hand. “Good to see you were just as creative as me when it came to what to bring.”

I accepted the bottle he held out to me and nodded. “Yeah, I guess when the host says they have food under control and not to bring anything, I should just take that as my sign to not bring anything.”