Dakota Storm Page 19

  “What can I do to get you to go on another date with me?”

  Funny, she hadn't thought about it, but a second date just seemed inevitable—and that was the simple explanation she’d been looking for in her last question. No, they hadn’t dated back in high school, but they’d been inevitable. He must have felt the same way back then. Hell, being with him now made her feel as though she were taking a long breath after being underwater for too long. “You mean besides taking off your shirt?”

  He feigned an innocent look. “What could you possibly mean by that?”

  She felt like Caroline must feel every day of her life—a slutty flirt. And Misty was enjoying every minute of it. “You took your shirt off on purpose earlier today because you knew I was looking at you.”

  “And why were you looking at me?” he teased.

  Because you're hot. “There is one thing you can do to ensure a second date,” she hedged, not sure if she had the guts to say it. Up until that morning they'd skirted around each other, dropping clues here and there that there may be more than strained friendship between them. She'd told herself she wasn't just going to allow him back into her life as though nothing had happened. She'd even managed to stick to that decision for several long, agonizing days. When would enough be enough, especially when she was punishing herself right along with him?

  But now, with these hard-earned questions getting tossed around, she figured they both knew where the other stood.

  “Are you going to tell me what it is so that I can do it?”

  Sweet Jesus help her, why did he make her so nervous? He made it glaringly obvious he wanted to date her. Made it obvious he was attracted to her. And there he stood, feet apart, muscles pulling against thin cotton, waiting to hear what she wanted him to do.

  Now who was the chickenshit?

  “Come here, Misty.”

  A strange, almost hilarious knee-jerk reaction to break out in a run hit her, yet her feet started moving in his direction. Everything about him screamed male, and she just wasn't used to that. He'd returned to Garner with a dangerous edge, and the female inside yelled “hell yes!” The sensible side of her screamed “hell no!”

  For as nervous as she was, they came together seamlessly. His arms enveloped her, cutting off the world beyond and all the common sense her parents had tried to instill in her. Every rational thought in her head tripped over one another while scrambling to flee her brain, though she still had enough sense to remind him as much as he'd reminded her: “You're holding a loaded gun.”

  A small smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. “I can handle my weapon,” he murmured, his lips almost touching hers.

  “That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard you—”

  The loaded .45 at her back was completely forgotten as their lips touched. He felt nothing like she remembered back at the house on the day of the tornado. He wasn't demanding in the least, like their last kiss had been. His kiss wasn't gentle either. It was a lover’s kiss. A kiss that enticed and excited.

  When she’d kissed Brandon their lips had met. The rest of her body hadn’t reacted much. When she kissed David, her entire body tingled in places he hadn’t even touched, all her nerve endings tuned in to what he was doing with his lips and what he might do with his hands.

  As far as she was concerned, everything was going extremely well, so she was completely unprepared for him to pull away. It took her a few seconds to hear the sound of an engine approaching. She frowned, wondering who in the hell was driving on David's property. Beams from headlights bounced over the pasture they were in as a familiar car came speeding down the same field as they had.

  “Brandon.” He'd said his name like a curse. Because it was.

  “What in God's name does he think he's doing?” For the life of her, she’d never had guessed that Brandon would pull some crazy shit like this. She’d have never believed it if she wasn’t watching him pull into view with her own eyes.

  David took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “He's coming to kick my ass? Beg for you back? I don’t know.”

  David didn’t even know the half of it. She held out her hand. “Give me the gun.”

  He held the weapon out of her reach.

  Brandon brought the car to a stop, cut the engine, left the headlights on, and got out of the car like he owned the land. His chest was puffed out, his head was tilted down, and he looked like he was ready to take on anything that stood in his way. She’d never seen him like this. It was highly unnerving.

  His expensive blonde was nowhere to be seen. He glanced at David as though he were looking at a prison rat, then turned his attention toward her. “You’re not taking my calls anymore?”

  Misty looked toward David’s truck. She’d left her phone on the seat. But… What the hell? Why was he here? She turned her attention to him again, on the verge of losing her shit completely. “I didn’t know I was obligated to take your calls. Last time I checked we were no longer a couple.”

  She could only stand there and wonder if smoke could actually rise out of her head like a cartoon. Caroline likely had something to do with this. The slore had probably made up some outrageous lie about Misty and David to get Brandon to come out and check on them.

  “We broke up not two damn weeks ago. How do you think this makes you look?” he shouted, waving his arm at her as though he were indicating the newly crowned town whore. “Especially when Caroline practically announced to the bar that the two of you were heading back to an empty place.”

  She’d known Caroline was behind this!

  “Misty is a grown woman. All we did was go on a date. Relax. Caroline’s just trying to stir the pot,” David said.

  His tone held a bit of a threat to it, and Misty didn't want their first date to end in a fight. “We're just hanging out. Let the town think what they're going to think. It’s not any of your business anyway.”

  By the rigid stance of Brandon’s body she could tell he was livid. The tension between the three of them was a sharp contrast to the playful nature shared between her and David only moments before.

  “Remember this, Misty. The first time was a mistake. The second time will be nothing less than a choice.” Brandon must have caught wind of the threat in David’s voice, because without another word, he got back into his car and drove away.

  Misty glanced at David and watched him as he stared at the retreating car. He stood stock-still, looking about the way she currently felt—beyond pissed.

  What was it about her and David? Anytime they ventured from friendship into something more, shit went south. Maybe the universe was trying to tell her something. Problem was, she just didn't want to listen.

  One step forward and two steps back.

  David rubbed the back of his neck as he walked into the bathroom the next morning, a vain attempt to release the tension knotted there. Caroline was lying half on the sofa in the living room and half off, wearing the same clothes she'd been wearing the night before. Her mascara looked like it was trying to crawl down the sides of her face and she had a pale tint to her skin. Definitely going to have a hangover when she finally woke up. He hoped to be far away from the house when she did.

  He finally decided she was never going to leave the guesthouse, even though she'd originally said she was going to rent a place with her sister within a week or so. She might as well be classified as a squatter.

  He walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Misty had already showered, and the bathroom felt like a sauna. He turned on the shower faucet, already under the impression that he wasn’t going to have much hot water.

  Misty had barely said a word in the short ride home last night. Everything had been going well until Brandon had shown up. After he’d left, she’d clammed up, and he'd ended their impromptu shooting lesson.

  There had been no more kissing after that.

  He hoped that after he had a shower and some coffee, the morning would start to look up. He opened a cabinet to get a towe
l out. He had to scrounge toward the back of the cabinet to get one, which reminded him that he needed to do some laundry. When he shut the cabinet, he damn near jumped out of his skin. “Christ, woman,” he snapped, a hand to his chest. Misty was leaning against the closed door like she’d ghosted under the damn thing.

  Matt had been right on target when he’d said the old Misty was coming back, little by little. David recalled what Matt had said not that long ago: “Mark my words: I know my sister.” He’d been one-hundred percent right. David doubted Misty would have snuck into his bathroom a month ago. She was starting to remind him more and more of the old Misty. Just like when they’d been growing up, she was sugar and spice. Naughty and nice. A good Christian who loved Jesus but cursed a little. She completely overwhelmed him sometimes. This happened to be one of those times.

  “My brother and I had a little talk this morning.”

  As if the whole house hadn't heard their version of When Siblings Attack. Matt thought she was moving a little fast where David was concerned. David chose not to get involved and to let the two battle it out. On one hand he could see where Matt was right, and on the other, he’d sided with Misty—that it was none of her brother’s damn business.

  What was left of the hot water was making a run down the drain. He wasn't shy, and he wasn't losing a semi-warm shower. “I heard some of it.”

  “I'm not sure how I feel about you. About us.”

  Well, there was another kick to his nuts. At this point, he should just start welcoming it. “I’m guessing he thinks we might be moving a little too fast.” He pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the floor.

  She raised her eyebrows and looked toward the cabinets under the sink. “I... Yeah, maybe we are. I mean, here I am living with you when a month ago I didn’t even want to speak to you. Matt's right. Things are moving too fast. Uh, are you really going to strip in front of me?”

  “I'm pretty sure you knew I was getting in the shower when you barged in, so yeah, I am.”

  He dropped his shorts and boxer briefs and kicked those to land beside his shirt. Suddenly the shy girl again, she shifted until she was facing the door. He stepped into the shower and pulled the blue curtain. “You can relax now.”

  There was a loud knock on the door. “Y’all in there together?”

  “If you need to puke, go outside,” Misty yelled at Caroline. He couldn't help but laugh. It was a strangled laugh. Almost forced. He didn’t want to take a step backward where he and Misty were concerned, but from what she’d just said, that was exactly what they were going to do.

  The water was a touch above freezing. He had to suck in a breath when he reached for the shampoo. He didn't waste time doing the lather, rinse and repeat.

  “David, what is it you want from this? You know I'm leaving soon.”

  Damn good question, and one he wasn't ready to answer. Part of him would love to propose to her and start a family. That was the type of girl Misty was. Another part of him wanted to take her into his room and learn every inch of her body. Obviously, that was off the table. For some reason, there seemed to be no in-between where she was involved. Dating her seemed like a joke. Dating was for people who wanted to get to know each other. He already knew her. Already loved her.

  His relationship with her was complicated.

  “Better question is, what do you want, Misty? I think you know where I stand.” Hell, he didn't even know where he stood, so why did he just say that? He grabbed the washcloth and began to rub soap on it. The water hit him so cold his nuts tried to hibernate somewhere in his abdomen.

  He heard the door close and pulled the shower curtain aside. Misty was gone. He yanked the curtain back in place and made quick work of his cold shower. He toweled off and got dressed just as quickly, so he could go in search of the woman who was driving him absolutely insane.

  Chapter 16

  What did she want? Misty didn't have a clue. Matt had made a few good points that morning, even though she’d stood there in his face adamantly denying them, point by point. Maybe she and David were moving a little too fast. But the strange thing about going on a date with David was that it all felt so…slow. As though they should be eons past first-date status.

  She needed time to think.

  Misty power walked to the Buchanan’s barn in the early morning sunshine, needing some privacy. She'd played in the old, red barn countless times with Matt, Abby and David. In the third stall, when she was nine years old, she’d nearly been trampled by a speckled gelding. Over in the loft, when they’d been in grade school, she and David had hung a rope by tying it to the rafters and played Tarzan until David had taken a swing and the knot had come loose. The bruise on his ribcage had been impressive.

  They'd played hide-and-seek, tag, and other children’s games inside the barn when it had been raining outside. The barn held a hell of a lot of memories for all of them, both happy and sad. The barn was usually where she, Matt or David had come to hash out a problem. For that reason the smell of diesel fuel, gas and oil made her feel like she were visiting an old therapist. One that listened but never asked her, “And how does that make you feel?”

  She already knew how all of this made her feel—conflicted and a little batshit crazy.

  She climbed the creaky ladder up to the loft and sat down with her legs dangling over the side. She gripped the edge of the loft, the rough wood biting into her palms. What did she want? She wanted everyone in town to stop gossiping, her brother not to judge her, Caroline to get the hell out of the guesthouse, and Brandon to realize they were no longer a couple.

  But when it came to David, she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted. She would love to have the easy relationship she'd once had with him. It had never felt awkward when she'd hugged him after he'd played a good game of football, or when she’d dropped by his house and hung out in his bedroom. Yeah, she'd been crushing on him, but he hadn't known. There’d been an invisible line between them that they’d never crossed, but she assumed that line had kept them from all the pitfalls of dating too young. Instead of breaking up and making up, they’d been glued to each other’s side. Until the middle of senior year, anyway.

  What did she want from David? She wanted her best friend back. But more than that, she wanted what they'd shared at the gun range—the playful and sexy antics of two people who were much more than friends.

  The future? She couldn't imagine David with anyone else. The simple truth of that realization brought on a clarity she hadn't experienced since he'd returned to Garner. She was looking for long-term, gunning-for-a-rose shit. Just this morning she'd told Matt that he needed to back off and give her and David some breathing room. Even though she and David had known each other all their lives, this romantic dynamic to their relationship was new. She'd also just ended a long romantic relationship—her first. And here she was, only a few weeks later, dreaming of happily ever after with someone else, but not sure if they’d even make it as far as Christmas.

  Though she knew they needed to slow things down, damn it all to hell, she just didn’t want to. She felt like it was finally Christmas morning and her parents sat her in front of the tree, only to tell her she could open presents after breakfast. It was inevitable that the presents were going to get torn open, but the wait was excruciating. And she and David had waited for years.

  Some of Matt’s words from this morning came back and slapped her in the face. Their argument played out in her head, reminding her of why she should take it slow.

  “Don't you think you're moving a little fast?”

  “It's none of your damned business.”

  “You're leaving in a month. I'm not saying David's not right for you, I just think you need to get your shit together. What happens to the two of you when you move?”

  Was she making the same mistake she'd made when she'd jumped in the back of David’s Ford? It wasn't like they were hopping into bed together, but she couldn't deny her feelings for David any longer. She didn’t want to be just his f
riend, and she’d waited long enough.

  Her cell in her back pocket dinged. She pulled it out and glanced at the text. It was from David.

  Where are you?

  She decided not to play coy. In the barn.

  A few minutes later David marched into the barn. His short hair was still damp from his shower, and he was wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a white T-shirt. He looked up at her and slowly hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his shorts. Seeing him in person brought on another clarity to this situation. One she’d been battling since the second she’d seen him when she’d come out of that theater, her hand linked with Brandon’s.

  David’s face was the same face in every single one of her fantasies, whether those fantasies were naughty or nice. Whether she’d had them in the fourth grade or high school. Some of her daydreams had been woven around him playing football and her cheering him on. Some where the silly fantasies of a nine-year-old, hoping that her dad would take David along on their fishing trip. When she’d fantasized about him her senior year, she’d imagined what their kids would look like. What kind of suit he’d wear to their wedding.

  So many dreams—and David had been the center of each and every one of them. She was staring down at the face of her lover, her hero, and the husband she’d always imagined waiting for her at the end of the church aisle.

  Unfortunately, she was also looking down at the face of her tormentor. The face of betrayal.

  “What are you doing in here?” he asked quietly.

  Clarity. It was simple, really. She finally knew what she wanted. Simple fact was, she’d known since she’d been a pig-tailed girl in grade school. Hell, maybe she’d known that first day on the school bus when he’d sat by her and not her obnoxious twin brother.

  She wanted David. Always had and always would.