“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, Shelby. All you have to do is ask. I’m okay talking about it. It’s easier with you,” I tell her with a reassuring smile, unable to stop myself from running the tips of my fingers down her cheek.
The chorus of the song picks up and the Biebs starts singing about being sorry, knowing he let his girl down and wondering if it’s too late to say he’s sorry. The kid might be a punk, but he says the words I want Shelby to hear and feel and know.
Moving my fingertips down until they slide off her jaw, I reach my arm behind me, grab one of her hands, and pull it around up by her shoulder. Lacing my fingers through hers, I take the swaying one step further and start to move my feet, my hold on her body forcing her to move with me.
She licks her lips nervously and lets out a shaky breath.
“Eli, I can’t dance,” she mumbles so softly that I barely hear her over the music.
Leaning down without stopping the movement of our bodies, I press my lips to her ear and speak just above a whisper. “Close your eyes.”
I pull back just enough to watch her do as I said, her eyelids slowly lowering until her long, black lashes are resting against the skin of her upper cheekbones.
Kissing the tip of her nose, I slide my lips across her cheek and place another kiss right in the middle of it before pressing our cheeks together and speaking again.
“You just need to feel the music, Beautiful. Close your eyes and just feel the music.”
I push her a little further, my palm against her back sliding down and around to her hip. With my hand splayed against the side of her body, I start swaying and rocking my own hips to the beat of the music, pushing my palm against her just enough to guide her movements to match mine.
“I can’t do this. I’m scared,” she tells me quietly.
Her hips are moving perfectly with mine, all on their own, just as fluid and natural as always.
“Does your leg hurt?”
She pulls her cheek away from mine to look up at me, shaking her head no.
“It doesn’t hurt, it just feels…bruised. It always feels like this when it rains.”
The song ends and the silence in the room only lasts long enough for a loud crack of thunder to be heard from outside before the next song I put on the playlist starts right up. As fate would have it, the next song is called “Barefoot and Bruised.”
When I added the song to the playlist for tonight, I had no idea Shelby would show up here, so beautiful and perfect in her wet sundress and bare feet, with her leg feeling bruised. I added it because the words to this song were a thousand times better than the stupid Bieber one.
“If your leg starts to hurt, you tell me, okay? I’m right here beside you,” I remind her, echoing the words of the song.
She nods her head and takes a deep breath as we once again start swaying to the music in perfect sync.
“You saved me, Shelby,” I whisper, pressing my forehead against hers. “For five years, you saved me, and you didn’t even know it. Now it’s my turn to save you.”
I feel her breath against my face when she lets out a shaky sigh.
“Close your eyes, Shelby. Just close your eyes and feel the music.”
When her eyes close once again, I push my lips forward and press them against hers.
Chapter 20
Shelby
November 4, 2010
Shelby,
Do you know what I miss the most? What I think about more than anything else when I’m alone in my bunk at night, it’s pitch black, and all I can hear is the distant sound of gunfire and bombs exploding? That little sound you’d make when I kissed you. Even with all the noise going on around me, I can still hear that little gasp you’d make as soon as our lips touched. Even when it wasn’t a surprise and you watched me lean in, you still made that sound. Goddammit I miss that sound. I miss you. I love you, Shelby. Only you. Always you.
Remember that day we first kissed?
The muscles in my arms screamed in protest as I grabbed another bale of hay and chucked it into the next stall. After eight hours of Marine conditioning all day and Paul putting me on grunt work tonight as punishment when he found out I was a half hour late coming back from my dinner break two days ago, all I wanted to do was take a shower and fall face-first into bed.
Even with all the extra shit work I was given and how sore and exhausted I was, I couldn’t help but smile, knowing that extra half hour I’d gotten with you and the reason for my lateness was worth it. I’d chipped away a little bit of your attitude, got to hold you close and dance with you, and even made you laugh.
It was definitely worth feeding all the horses without any help.
Bending over, I grabbed a bale and paused before lifting it when I heard a strangled sigh come from behind me. I quickly looked over my shoulder and found you staring right at my ass.
“Enjoying the view, Legs?” I asked with a smirk.
You rolled your eyes and pushed off of the wooden post you’d been leaning against, crossing your arms in front of you.
“Why are you so annoying?” you asked.
Lifting the hay bale, I threw it into the stall and tossed the hooks to the ground.
“Why are you so beautiful?” I countered, pulling my work gloves off and shoving them in the back pocket of my jeans as I stalked over to you.
You took a quick step back as I advanced, but forgot all about the post behind you and smacked right into it, halting your attempt to get away from me.
I kept moving until we were toe-to-toe. Leaning into your body, I brought one hand up and rested it on the post above your head.
“You really need to stop looking at me like that,” I told you quietly, staring down at your face.
You nervously licked your lips and my eyes darted to your mouth. I knew from experience you had the softest lips I’d ever tasted and it was getting harder and harder not to kiss you, but I knew you needed to warm up to this thing happening between us before I went there. As much as it killed me.
“Looking at you like what?” you whispered, your voice coming out small and shaky, so unlike the fire that blazes from it when you usually speak to me.
And so fucking hot.
I chuckled under my breath, giving you a sweet smile instead of a cocky one so you knew without a doubt I wasn’t making fun of you.
“Looking at me like you want me inside you…you’re killing me, Legs,” I admitted, looking back up into your eyes.
Your mouth dropped open and I could tell you were struggling not to roll your eyes and give me attitude.
“I’m not going to kiss you again,” you muttered, lifting your chin indignantly. “I tried that once and you were a jerk.”
Bringing my hand that dangled down by my thigh up between us, I brushed my thumb gently across your bottom lip, suddenly realizing what the deal was with all the attitude you had been giving me. I hurt you when you left for college, and you weren’t about to let it go that easily without making me work for it.