Chapter 18

Rainey

The truck bouncedover the bumps and dips of the dry field on the outskirts of Blueball as we looked for a parking space. The barren landscape had been revived with the structures of the carnival the Blueball city council put on every year. The yearly event had been named the Blueball Summer Crawl for as long as I'd known it existed. It was a family affair, despite the reference to a beer crawl, though that happened too. The city council set up a long line of rideshares to make sure everyone got home safe, but unlike when I was in high school and had to sneak the alcohol, I was looking forward to drinking out in the open this time.

Zeke had one hand up on the steering wheel, his thumb tapping out a rhythm to the country song playing softly on the radio. His other hand lay in a tight fist on his thigh, unlike when I'd first arrived when he would have had my hand tangled in his. I sighed quietly, wishing this space he'd put between us for the last week was gone. I'd quit thinking about Hawk and all that had happened there pretty much right after I told Zeke about it. I'd had twelve years to process that messy time in my life and I'd found some peace. Cleary, Zeke had not.

I glanced down at the jean skirt I'd put on for tonight. It was short by even a teen's standard. I'd worn it specifically for getting that flame to burn hot in Zeke's eyes. The one that had been missing for a week now. I wasn't one to sit back and let things happen to me, so I'd decided to take matters into my own hands. Starting tonight.

If I was staying here—and that was definitely still up in the air—then I wanted to take advantage of marital relations, if you catch my drift. I'd had one glorious taste of Zeke's naked body over mine and I craved more. Snuggling my backside up against him every night wasn't cutting it anymore, and based on the erection pressing back, it wasn't enough for Zeke either.

Zeke found a spot and put the truck in park, hopping out and coming around to help me down from his truck. I had to work to keep the mischievous grin off my face as I "stumbled" getting out of the truck and accidentally slid down his body. My cowboy boots hit the ground with a small puff of dirt and I leaned my head way back to smile up at my date.

"What shall we ride first, husband?"

Zeke's jaw tightened and I had an even harder time tamping down the smile. Fair was fair. He'd been calling me wife since the moment we said I do. He didn't answer me, but he did lace his fingers through mine and tugged me toward the entrance. He took care of purchasing the tickets, even when I offered to pay.

"We're on a date, Rain. I'm fuckin' paying," he growled, not caring one bit that my bank account was stuffed to the gills and willing to be spent.

I hugged his arm as we walked through the turnstiles and debated which row of games to walk down. Obviously I'd liked Zeke when I lived here before. We were best friends, after all. But this time around, I had at least some level of maturity to see that he really was the nicest man I'd ever met. He could growl and pout and be generally disagreeable just like anybody, but underneath all that bluster was a heart of gold. And I really, really liked that.

Maybe even loved that.

"They better not let our star pitcher near the milk bottle toss!" A guy with dark hair clapped Zeke on the shoulder, his other arm around a pretty woman who had two kids in tow.

"Diego," Zeke said, shaking the guy's hand. "Meet my wife, Rainey. Rainey, this is Diego and Mandy. They own Grass."

I shook their hands, happy to see Zeke have friends in town. "Nice to meet you. I've been wanting to try your restaurant."

"Maybe you can get this husband of yours to take you out on a date, huh?" Diego teased Zeke.

"Worry about your own date, ass—dude." Zeke barely corrected himself in time, tossing an apologetic smile to Mandy.

She shrugged and pointed her thumb at her husband. "Like they've never heard those words with this guy around."

They walked off, the kids tugging them toward the carnival games for kids. Zeke took my hand again and we walked to the basketball game where Zeke handed over a couple bucks in exchange for miniature-sized basketballs.

"Pitcher, huh? Still doing that?" It occurred to me that there was a lot I didn't know about Zeke in the years I was gone. After my explanation about Hawk, we hadn't talked about anything deeper than what we wanted to make for dinner that night.

Zeke gestured for me to go first. I hit the button and the countdown started. I tossed the first ball and it didn't even hit the rim. Shit. I tried another and got a little closer. Zeke didn't laugh at my attempts, but I wouldn't have blamed him if he did. This was harder than it looked. Then again, I hadn't attended a carnival since I last lived in Blueball.

"I still pitch for the town softball league."

I looked over at him. "Why haven't you taken me to a game?"

He shrugged and handed me another ball, which I shot and almost made in. "Figured I'd get back to it later."

His words hung there between us, the meaning clear. He'd get back to it later…after I left Blueball again. The loud buzzer made me startle and the carnival worker shot me a look that said he wasn't impressed with my one measly point.

"How about we go bust down some milk bottles?" I said with false brightness, wanting to change the subject.

Every part of me wanted to put his fears to rest. To tell him that I was staying, that his constant monitoring of my whereabouts was unnecessary. But I couldn't. I couldn't give him that kind of hope until I was certain about my future. I didn't even know why I was still here. Okay, that wasn't true. I knew why I was still here and his hand was currently on my back and steering me down the dirt aisle until we got to the game I knew he'd ace.

Zeke handed over some cash. He had that little grin on his face that made my toes curl. "Stand back, lil' lady," he said with an exaggerated drawl, pushing me out of his way and warming up his shoulder.

A few people stopped behind me and watched. Zeke tossed the ball up an inch in his hand, testing the weight before winding up and throwing it square into the tower of bottles and toppling them all. The carnival worker rolled his eyes. Zeke threw the next two balls and took down the other two towers of bottles to the applause from the small crowd behind me. He looked down at his feet, shy all of a sudden, and my heart decided to skip a beat and then race. Yep. There was exactly one very handsome reason I was staying in Blueball when I normally would have left already.

And I was pretty sure I was developing feelings that went way beyond friendship.

Zeke handed over a few more dollars and waved me over. "Your turn, wife."

I stepped up to his side, feeling all eyes on me. I used to crave the attention from anyone I could get it from. Now I just cared that Zeke was looking at me with all the warmth of the summer sun that had set behind the pine trees. I held the first ball in my palm and decided to have some fun.

"How about we make a little wager?"

He scraped his hand over his jaw, the short whiskers making noise against the calluses of his palm. "I'm listening."

"For every bottle I knock over, I get a kiss."

Zeke's body went still, but his eyes said it all. The deep blue ignited. "I'm in."

I threw the first ball and it hit the backdrop with a thump. Not one bottle even rattled. Someone chuckled behind me and I ignored them to focus on the next ball. I wanted a kiss, dammit.

The next one knocked over the top bottle, the one below wobbling, but not falling. I turned to face Zeke, my face upturned and my lips puckered. He huffed a laugh, but obliged, pecking my lips with all the warmth of a politician kissing the bald head of a baby. I narrowed my eyes at his look of innocence.

"Maybe if you knock over two…" he drawled.

With a growl, I let the third ball fly. The ting of the ball hitting bottles sent a thrill through my body. Three bottles tumbled to the ground. I turned around triumphantly to the cheers of the townsfolk who'd stayed to watch. Zeke hooked a hand around my waist and hauled me against him. A wolf whistle cut through the night air. Then he dipped me over his arm in a movie-worthy kiss, his lips warm and eager against mine. He took his time, exploring my mouth and ignoring everything going on around us. By the time he set me upright, I couldn't have stood on my own two legs if I tried.

"One more ball, miss," the carnival worker said, nudging the last ball closer to my hand. I picked it up without looking away from the heated gaze of Zeke. I threw it and it missed by a long shot.

Zeke shook his head. "That's a damn shame. Watch how it's done, Rain." He let me go to throw a few more dollar bills on the counter. He took the balls in hand and stood even further back than you had to and let them fly, one at a time, knocking every single bottle in the booth down onto the dusty ground. The crowd cheered and the carnival worker presented me with a giant stuffed blue ball.

"Seriously?" I said on a laugh, looking at the hideous prize.

The crowd disbursed, but Audrey, Marlo, Paisley, and Keva remained, their men glued to their sides.

"Showoff!" Gannon hollered at Zeke.

"Can we get beer now? We've earned it, haven't we?" Lincoln asked the group.

We looked around at the various prizes clutched in the women's hands. Our men had all shown off for us here at the Summer Crawl. The least we could do was reward them with a cold beer. We all headed for the food vendors, selecting equally unhealthy fried food items and overflowing beer cups, and meeting back at a picnic table. There wasn't room for all of us to sit, so Zeke sat and pulled me onto his lap, feeding me a corn dog so good I let out a groan each time I took a bite. Conversation flowed and we might have been the loudest table with all the teasing and laughing.

At one point, with my belly full and my heart feeling even fuller, I laid my head down on Zeke's shoulder and closed my eyes to take it all in. I was happy. I'd made friends here. Why in the world would I even be considering leaving Blueball again?

Zeke nudged me. "Falling asleep, baby girl?" he whispered.

I kissed his neck before I thought about it. "Nah. Just happy." Then I remembered my goal tonight. To get Zeke and I back on a good path. One that led to intimacy and more nights exploring each other's bodies.

"Want to make me even happier?" I asked coyly.

"Always."

He was such a good man. I lifted my head and looked him right in the eyes. "Take me to our spot."

Zeke didn't even hesitate. He just put his hand on the table, pushed me upward so I stood, and told the group we were leaving. They gave us shit, but I let it wash over me. I was sure they all knew what we were getting ourselves into. I just hoped Zeke was on board with that plan.

We got back in the truck and drove to the park, holding hands as we walked through the dark. The park was deserted, as the whole town was over at the Summer Crawl. We got to our spot, the bench barely visible in the dark shadow under the bridge. Zeke sat first, then tugged me onto his lap like we'd been sitting at dinner. I slid my arms around his neck and kissed him, not waiting one more second for him to make the first move. He responded with a groan, his tongue immediately jumping into action and taking the kiss deeper.

"Zeke?" I gasped, pulling away just enough to speak. He bit lightly into my bottom lip and then we were back to kissing. Without disconnecting, I pulled my leg over his lap and straddled him. My short skirt pushed up indecently high on my thighs and his hands took advantage, squeezing my flesh all the way up to the juncture at the top. My underwear was already soaked, which he'd find out soon if he kept exploring.

"Rain," Zeke groaned into my mouth, his hands stilling before they got to where I needed him most.

I took matters into my own hand, in the back of my mind amazed at how aggressive I was being. I'd never been like this before, but Zeke made me feel safe. I unbuttoned his jeans and slid down the zipper.

"Here?" Zeke said, his voice catching.

"Yes, please," I begged, my hips already rocking against the steel length below me.

"Fuck, Rain," he growled, sliding his arms around me to lift us up enough to shove his jeans down. His erection popped free, and a second later, I had my hands on it. "I don't…shit. Rain, stop."

I stilled, my heart frozen, thinking he was about to say no.

"I don't have a condom on me."

"I'm on birth control." And quite frankly, I didn't want anything between us. Not the silence and careful movements of this last week. Not even a condom.

He studied me in the darkness, only the biggest of details visible. When he nodded, I didn't waste any time. His thumb held my damp underwear to the side. I lifted up using my thighs and notched him at my entrance. I slid downward, one glorious inch at a time until he filled me so completely all I could do was rest my forehead against his shoulder.

"Rain," he muttered, sounding as overcome as I was. We hadn't even started moving yet.

I lifted my head and held on to his shoulders. "Don't hold back." I lifted up and slammed back down, the pleasure of the tight squeeze so good I wanted to keep my eyes shut. I wouldn't though. I wanted to see every expression flick across Zeke's face. I wanted to see his jaw harden and that vein on the side of his temple throb. I wanted to see how his fingers gripped my hips so tightly I'd have bruises tomorrow. And I definitely wanted to remember the sight of him thrusting up into me when I took too long to lift back off of him.

"Oh my God," I chanted, the cool evening breeze hitting my heated skin, but doing nothing to cool things off between us. My shins ached from using the wood bench for leverage, but I pushed away the pain to focus on the intense pleasure of each lift and fall.

When Zeke shifted a hand, his thumb strumming across my clit, there was no keeping quiet. I mewled into the night, the first wave of orgasm taking over as he pistoned wildly up into me. He cursed, the rumble of his voice adding to every sensation bombarding me. I held on for dear life, letting him prolong my orgasm as he caught up. As he spilled into me, I finally laid my head down on his shoulder, the image of his face burned into my memory. Zeke unleashed was the hottest thing I'd ever seen.

Before I was ready, Zeke was pulling my skirt down over my ass, as if he was afraid someone would happen to walk by and see us. I began to giggle, imagining their face if they did. He twitched inside of me and the laughter dried up immediately. He pushed hair away from my heated skin and cupped my face.

"Let's go home, wife."