Page 23
I sat up on my elbows and looked at her, stunned. “Wait, Jeff said I wanted to get a Ford because my Dodge was having a hard time pulling my trailer with the furniture on it. ” I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach.
Heather let out a laugh. “Your Dodge pulled your trailer just fine! Jeff always teased you about your truck, and…” She stopped when she realized what was going on. “Oh no, Josh!” She giggled.
“That dirty, rotten, motherfuckin’ asshole. I’m gonna kill him! I’m. Going. To. Kill. Him. ”
Heather couldn’t stop laughing.
I just sat there in shock. I let that bastard talk me into a Ford truck. “I trusted that motherfucker. And Gunner! Why didn’t he say anything?”
“Probably because they both love Fords,” Heather said with a shrug.
I leaned back and looked up at the sky. I was tired of talking. I just wanted to enjoy this time with her.
Then, I heard Jason Aldean’s “Talk” playing through my speakers. So perfect. I grabbed her hand and slid us down the hood. “Dance with me. ”
She smiled and walked into my arms. I pulled her in closer to me and just held her as we danced under the stars.
“I want to make love to you so damn bad, princess,” I said in her ear.
“Yes,” she whispered back.
“But I won’t do it in my truck or in my parents’ house. I want it to be perfect for you. ”
She grabbed on to my shirt and took a deep breath. “Amanda’s in Austin this weekend, staying at her parents’ house. She has to go see Brad and meet with his counselor. We could, um…well, we could go and stay the night at my house after Luckenbach. Then, you could head to your apartment in the morning, like you planned,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
When I smiled at her, her face lit up like Christmas morning.
I love this girl so much. “It’s a date, princess,” I said before I leaned down and kissed her.
Chapter Twenty-One
I watched as Ellie bent down and kissed Alex for the fourth time.
“Ellie, sweetheart, let’s go!” I called out.
Grams and Gramps started laughing.
“Ellie, I raised two boys, darling. I’ve got this,” Grams said before she kissed Ellie on the cheek.
Ellie skipped over to my truck. I opened the door, and she jumped in.
“Let’s go cut a rug, Mr. Mathews!” she said with a smile.
After we parked and got out of the truck, I heard Ari call out, “Ellie!”
Ellie’s face brightened as she waved at Ari.
“Hey, bitch! Dropping the baby off two days in a row! Aren’t you brave?” Ari said as she winked at me.
“Shut up, Ari. You’re gonna make me turn around and go back and get her,” Ellie said as she pouted her lips.
I grabbed her and pulled her chin up to me. “I’ve arranged to have Grams keep Alex all night,” I said as I winked at her.
“Really?” Ellie gave me a wicked look.
“Six weeks, baby. ” I captured her lips with mine.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, I don’t need to hear that shit!” Jeff grabbed Ari’s hand and headed into the Luckenbach dance hall.
Ellie and I both started laughing.
Once we got in, I spotted Josh and Heather on the dance floor. I smiled as I watched the two of them. When Ellie had told me that Heather was pregnant, my heart just broke. Heather had gone to the doctor yesterday morning and confirmed it all.
“Ells, do you think it’s a good idea for Heather to not tell Josh about the baby?” I asked.
Ellie turned and looked at me with such sadness in her eyes. “Ari and I talked about it with her. She wants to wait just a little longer. With Josh getting little bits and pieces of his memory back, she’s holding out hope that he’ll get it all back. ” She turned and looked at them both dancing.
Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Happen Twice” was playing, and Josh had the biggest smile on his face.
I smiled and let out a laugh. “That boy is head over heels in love with her. ”
Ellie reached up and took my face in her hands. “He is…just like I’m head over heels in love with you. I love you, Gunner. ”
I leaned down and kissed her so softly. God, she tastes like heaven.
“How sweet are you two?”
I pulled my lips away and looked behind me to see Victoria standing there. Oh fucking great.
I turned back and winked at Ellie. “Let’s dance, sweetheart. ” I grabbed her hands and led her away from Victoria. That girl is nothing but trouble. I couldn’t even believe she had shown up after Heather told her to fuck off yesterday.
After dancing for at least four songs, Ellie looked exhausted. “Gunner, can we grab a drink and sit for a bit?” Ellie asked as she made her way over to Heather and Ari.
I noticed Victoria trying to talk to Josh. I glanced over to where the girls were sitting. Heather, Ari, and Ellie were all shooting daggers at Victoria. As I laughed, I felt someone slap my back.
“I feel really sorry for Tori if she messes with these girls tonight. Ari’s in a mood!”
I smiled as I looked at my best friend. “Congratulations, Jeff. ” I held out my hand.
He smiled so big that it made me smile harder.
“Fucking great, isn’t it? I can’t believe she’s pregnant again. ” Jeff glanced back toward Ari. Then, he looked at the dance floor. “What the fuck?”
I turned and saw Josh dancing with Victoria. What the fuck is he thinking? “That stupid fucker. What the hell is he doing?”
“At least it’s a fast song, and he’s staying a good distance away from her,” Jeff said.
I looked over at the girls. Heather was smiling as she stared at Josh and Victoria dancing together.
Why is she smiling?
She turned and said something to Ari. Ari jumped up and did a fist pump before she started walking over to the DJ.
Ah hell.
I smiled when I saw Jeff was watching Ari.
Turning to me, he said, “Shit, they are up to something. ”
We walked back over to our tables, and Ellie jumped up.
“Okay, listen. There was a song we made a dance to in high school. Well, really, Heather made up the dance ’cause she had taken dance lessons for years,” Ellie rattled off.
“Wait, I thought Ari took dance lessons,” I said.
“She did, but so did Heather. Focus, Gunner!” she said.
I let out a laugh. “Okay. Sorry, baby. ”
“So, anyway…just don’t really pay attention to how we dance here in a second, okay?”
“Oh motherfucker. Ells, what are y’all gonna dance to?”
Just then, Josh walked up, shaking his head. “Don’t bitch at me. I see the look you’re giving me, Jeff. She wouldn’t leave me alone, so I asked Heather if I could dance with her once. ” He rolled his eyes as he sat down.
I handed him a beer, and then I glanced behind Ellie to see Ari walking up with a smile.
She grabbed Ellie. “It’s up next!” She walked over to Jeff, straddled him, gave him a kiss, and told him she loved him.
“That can’t be a good sign,” Jeff said with a laugh.
The three girls walked onto the dance floor and started dancing to the song playing.
Josh looked at us, confused. “What’s going on?” he asked, looking between Jeff and me.
“I think Heather is about to make a statement,” I said as “Give It Up to Me” by Shakira started.
“Oh fuck,” Jeff and I said at the same time.
Ari started first, then Ellie, and then Heather. In all the times I’d ever seen these girls dance, I’d never seen them move their hips like they were moving them now.
“Dude, did you know they could move like that?” I asked Jeff as I turned toward him.
He had his beer frozen to his lips. I glanced over at Josh, and I’d be damned if his mouth
wasn’t hanging open. He looked shocked as shit.
I turned back to the girls. I couldn’t help but notice that Heather really knew how to dance. She was dancing just like Shakira. Her hips were moving all over the place.
Then, I looked at Ellie. Holy motherfucking shit.
“Holy shit,” Jeff said.
“Um,” was all Josh could get out.
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Ellie. I was thanking God that we’d hit our six-week mark. I moved around to adjust myself.
Once the song ended, the girls walked back over to us.
Ellie came and sat on my lap. She raised her eyebrows at me as she smiled.
“Motherfucker. Ari…are you trying to kill me?” Jeff asked.
Ari laughed. “God, I haven’t danced like that in years. I didn’t know my hips could still move like that!”
“If I knew your hips moved like that, we could have—”
“Eww! Stop, Jefferson! Just stop!” Ellie scrunched up her nose.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Baby, I think we can skip Matt Kimbrow and just go home!” I said with a shit-eating grin.
Ellie threw her head back and laughed. “Oh no, Gunner. I’m gonna have me a good time tonight!”
Just then, Selena Gomez’s “Come and Get It” started playing. Heather was standing in front of a still stunned Josh. When she reached her hand out, he took it, and they made their way to the dance floor.
“Get it, girl!” Ari called out.
I looked at Ari. “Did you ask for that song, too?”
Ari smiled and winked at me. “Fuck yeah, I did!”
I looked back out, and those two were really dancing. With the way Heather was moving up against Josh, I felt sorry for the poor bastard.
“Damn…I’m even getting turned on by watching them dance!” Ari busted out.
Ellie started laughing. “You’re pregnant. Everything makes you horny when you’re pregnant!”
“True dat!” Ari said as she stood up. “Dance with me,” she said to Jeff.
“You wanna dance?” I asked Ellie.
She shook her head and moved a little on my lap. I smiled as I pulled her closer to me.
I fucking love this girl.
I’d never seen Ellie have so much fun. She loved the Matt Kimbrow Band. They were playing “If It All Goes Right,” and Ellie, Heather, and Ari were dancing.
Every now and then, she would look over and smile at me.
Jeff had been pouting ever since Scott showed up. Scott had danced once with Ari, and Josh had practically held Jeff down the whole time.
I had to laugh at how Scott loved to get Jeff worked up. Scott had absolutely no interest in Ari, but he loved to torment the fuck out of Jeff.
“So, Josh, I hear you’re gonna be spending the night with Heather!” Jeff yelled over to Josh as I was sitting in between them.
The smile that spread across Josh’s face said it all.
“This the night?” I bumped him with my shoulder.
He turned to me, took a drink of his beer, and winked.
I leaned in closer, so he could hear me. “You remember anything else?”
“I don’t think so. I mean, I keep having dreams and shit. Stuff will pop up in my head, especially when I’m with her. I don’t know if they’re memories or not. I sure as fuck hope they’re memories,” Josh said with a laugh.