Tatum is looking down at our entwined fingers. She doesn’t retreat, so I take that as a good sign. Lifting her chin I say, “Hey you.”
She replies with a croaked hi. The crack in her voice calms me. She feels this, too. She has to. This can’t be one-sided. “Let’s get you moved,” I whisper. To my surprise as much as hers, I kiss her forehead. I lead her down the hall to join the others. I don’t trust myself to be alone with her. I gently squeeze her hand and let go before placing it on the small of her back. I’m not ready to not have that connection with her.
I’m at a loss as to why I’m acting this way. And right now, in this moment with Tatum right next to me, I couldn’t give a f*ck. I’m going with it. Isn’t that what Dad and Asher both said to do?
“Brent and I will get the furniture and the heavier boxes and put them in my truck. Why don’t you ladies load up Brent’s SUV,” I say. I don’t understand why, but I want to feel like I’m taking care of her.
Brent shakes his head in agreement. “Sounds like a plan.”
In no time, we have all of Tatum’s things loaded in my truck, her car, and Brent’s SUV and we’re ready to head to Ember’s place.
“So Ember and I will meet you there?” I say to Tatum. I know I sound like a dumbass. Of course she’s going to be there; she’s moving in.
“Uh, yeah. Sounds good,” she replies.
We are standing beside her car, so I open the door for her. She hesitates before finally getting in. Brent and Leah head off to theirs while Ember and I climb into my truck. The door is barely shut before Ember bursts out.
“Holy shit, Blaise”
“What?” I ask her. I know damn well what she’s holy shitting about, but I play dumb anyway.
“What do you mean, what? Don’t think I didn’t see you touching her every chance you got. Hell, you were devouring her with your eyes,” she exclaims.
I don’t respond. I don’t want to outright lie to her, and well, she’s right. I reach over and turn up the radio. Thomas Rhett’s “It Goes Like This” is playing. It makes me think of Tatum; hell, what doesn’t make me think of her?
Ember reaches over and turns the radio off. “You’re different with her,” she says.
“Yeah,” I say. I decide since Ember is going to be living with Tatum, she should know what’s going on in my head. “I really like her, Em. I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with her, but what little bit I have…” I shake my head. I can’t really put into words what I’m feeling.
“I saw you, you know, on the dock. I saw you sit beside her. I kept glancing at you out of the corner of my eye. I watched you move closer and then pull her into your arms,” she says softly.
“Yeah.”
Thankfully, the drive to her apartment is a short one. We pull into the lot, so Ember doesn’t have the opportunity to badger me anymore. I know I’m different with her. I need to figure out what it means, what I want it to mean, and either shit or get off the pot as Grandpa used to say.
“Jackson said he and Cade may stop by and help,” Ember says as she reaches for the door.
I growl.
Ember chuckles. “Exactly. You need to figure out what you want. Tatum is beautiful, and I would hate to see you lose someone who you obviously care about because you can’t get your shit worked out,” she scolds me, and then climbs out of the truck.
I tighten my hold on the steering wheel at the thought of anyone else touching Tatum. My mind flashes to Cade with his arm around her at the picnic.
Nope, not happening.
Tatum’s mine.
I step out of my truck just as Tatum is pulling up. She parks beside me. I rush to her door so I can open it for her. I want her. She’s different than anyone I’ve ever met. Now I need to show her. Show her what we can be.
As Tatum gets out of her car, I see Ember is already inside and Leah and Brent are not here yet. Perfect.
As soon as she’s standing, I grab her waist and pull her into me, wrapping her in a hug. This shit is not me, but I need to touch her. She’s stiff at first. After a few seconds, which seems like a lifetime, she hugs me back. Just like that, all is right in my world.
Reluctantly, I pull away. I drop a kiss on her temple. “Let’s get you moved in, sweets.” She smells so f*cking good.
I slowly step away as Brent and Leah pull in. Brent and I get to work moving all the furniture in first. Tatum instructs us on how she wants it. Once that’s done, it doesn’t take long to have everything in the apartment.
“Hey! Why don’t we throw some burgers on the grill?” Ember says, looking at me. “Maybe you and Brent can run out and pick up the necessities for a cookout while we girls get Tatum settled.”
Spending more time with Tatum.
I’m in.
I look over at Brent. He nods his head, then leans down and kisses Leah. My gaze travels to Tatum and I want more than anything to kiss her goodbye as well. I’ve never been that guy. In this moment, with Tatum…I want to be. Not only do I want to be, I’m good with it.
Ember and Leah are the best! By the time the guys are back from the store, we have all of the boxes unpacked and everything put away. We carry the boxes down to the dumpster and settle into the living room to take a break and soak up the air conditioning.
This is where the guys find us.
“Good help’s hard to find,” I hear Brent say, laughing at us.
I’m sure we’re a sight. We all three are sprawled out. Ember is on the floor, right by the vent. Leah is laying sideways in the recliner, and I’m kicked back on the couch. We worked our asses off getting everything organized and put away. We deserve a break.
I can hear Blaise and Brent laughing in the kitchen. I assume they’re putting everything away. I’m too hot and too tired to really care at the moment.
I hear a knock at the door, but don’t bother to move. Ember and Leah remain where they are as well. The guys will take care of whoever or whatever it is. I hear lots of male laughter and it’s getting closer.
“Ember, you have a guest,” I hear Blaise tell her. I can tell by the tone of his voice that he is still highly amused by our lack of interest.
I open my eyes to see Jackson sitting down beside Ember on the floor. He pulls her head onto his lap. “It’s so hot,” Ember whines, making Jackson laugh.
“I told you, man,” Brent says. “They’re beat. We were only gone for like an hour, and this is how we found them.”
“Hmph! We unpacked all the boxes and got everything organized. Then we hauled them down to the dumpster. Tate is officially a resident of this fine establishment,” Leah explains.
This causes another chuckle from all three guys. Although I can’t see him, I can hear him. It’s like my body is in tune with him, so I know Blaise is close. The next thing I know, I feel big strong hands on my ankles as he lifts my legs and plops his fine ass down on the couch. I try to move my legs and sit up, but Blaise has other plans. He pulls my feet into his lap and starts to massage gently. He continues his conversation with Brent and Jackson like it’s no big deal, like he’s not driving me freaking crazy right now.
“So who has the most talent on the grill?” Blaise asks. His hands continue to caress, and it takes everything in me not to moan at how great it feels. I’m overwhelmed. Is it the massage itself that has me feeling this way, or is it Blaise? Hell, maybe it’s both. Either way, I don’t want it to stop.