“Sorry about that. Got caught up. Come on, I don’t want to be late,” he said, pulling her out the door. She followed him across the lawn. It would be her first time driving with him, and she was nervous. She had seen his own nervousness firsthand as a passenger, and that did not go well. And one other time he explained his anxiety to her on one of their late night calls when he was away with the team. But holding his hand now, Tate seemed okay. So maybe her nervousness was unnecessary, she thought.
That hope changed when they reached the front of his truck. His hand gripped hers tightly as he walked with her to the passenger side and opened the door for her. She could see his hand shaking as she got into the truck. Shutting the door, he went around to the driver’s side, and she watched as he stood by the door for a moment, shaking his arms out by his sides. She gave him another minute, and when he didn’t make a move to get in the truck, she jumped out and came around to him.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking at her.
She said to him, “Look at the handle of the truck, I read that this is all about breathing, and training yourself to be calm. You got this,” she added, putting her hands on his waist and resting her head against his back, feeling his heart beat out of control. “Now, breathe baby,” she whispered, moving her hand up and down his side.
His heart wasn’t slowing down, but he reached for the handle and opened the door. She wanted to cheer for him, but he was nowhere near done. She continued to massage his side, slowly coaxing him to take each step. Moving her hands around his navel, like the news article said, she slowly rubbed, encouraging him to get into the truck. When he did, he looked down at her with a grin as he reached over to put the key in the ignition. She watched his hand shake, then took his other hand, stroking it slowly until he finally inserted the key in the ignition. The truck started with the roar of an F-150 engine, and he squeezed her hand.
Glancing up at him, she said, “Did it help?”
Tate nodded, a shy smile on his face. “Kind of, but it mostly just turned me on.”
Audrey laughed. “Well at least it took your mind off of your anxiety,” she said as she shut the door. She ran around to the passenger side and climbed up into her seat, to find her scrumptious boyfriend grinning at her.
“You are lucky it is cold outside and our neighbor is over there raking his leaves or I would be taking advantage of you,” he said.
Audrey giggled as her face warmed. “Drive, Ooooodder.”
Tate took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles. “Fine, Parker,” he groaned.
Audrey grinned as they backed out of the driveway. She was excited about their surprise date. He had been talking about it for weeks, and she was glad it was finally here. She usually hated surprises, but Tate made them kind of fun. As they drove out of Nashville, she tried to keep the conversation going so Tate wouldn’t get anxious, and it seemed to work.
“I don’t think I’ll ever find a spot for Audrey Jane’s,” she pouted.
“Sure you will, love, it just takes time. This isn’t a quick process, baby.”
“I know,” she said with a sad smile. “I’m just so impatient.”
“I know you are, that’s why I love you so,” he said softly as he kissed the back of her hand. “This is off the subject, but I have been thinking of something lately.”
“Okay?” she asked, looking over at his profile. He hadn’t shaved in days, and his face was delectably covered in his coarse blond hair. She loved the feel of it along her skin, and she would lie for hours running her fingers through it. Reaching out, she cupped his chin, running her thumb along his jaw.
She was rewarded with a smile before he asked, “Did Levi hurt you?”
Her thumb stopped as her brows drew in. “How do you mean?”
Tate glanced over at her, then quickly back to the road. “Did he physically hurt you?”
“What brought this up?” she asked, buying herself some time.
“It was brought up a couple weeks ago.”
“By?”
“Lucas.”
“Oh,” she said, dropping her hand from his face. He didn’t let her get far before he tangled his fingers with hers.
“Tell me.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, he did.”