Country Girl at Heart

Chapter 7

Dawson turns out to be right. Even after hours of begging, Wren is stern on his stance. I'm expected to be there Sunday morning, in the front row, next to my family. Feeling the sacrament and getting closer to God. Singing the gospel and sitting through hours of testimony's.
The experience isn't as bad as I thought it would be, seeing as it was my first time in church as an aware adult. The worst part of it all is that I was forced to borrow one of Ali's church dresses, something neither one of us was excited about.
     Now we're to spend quality time at home with each other. Not that I have the slightest clue as to how to talk to family. Especially one I just met a few days ago. I don't know what I'm supposed to say to these practical strangers. They seem so comfortable with each other... jibber jabbering about places and people I don't know. Most of the time I mute them out as best I can and try to enjoy my silence.
We're making sandwich's in the kitchen when a knock comes at the door.
"Wonder who that could be?" Wren leaves to see who it is. A few minutes later, he comes back and points at me. "You have a visitor."
Seeing as I don't know anyone other than the people in this house, that can only mean one thing: Dawson is here. I spring down the hall, stopping when I see him standing in the door way.
Wren acts like a barrier between us. "Now what's the meanin'a this, boy? You know it's family day."
"Yes sir, I do. And I am more than sorry to ask this of you... Lexi only gets a few days off a week... I'd really like it if I could show her around a little. We can stay here on the land, won't venture too far off."
Wren is clearly weighing his options looking back and forth between the boy and girl asking for his permission to run off and do who knows what.
Becky walks up right then, hugging him from the side. "Oh, hello Dawson! What are you doin' here?"
"The boy's wantin' to take Lexi and show her 'round."
"I see." She clicks her tongue. "Well why not?"
"Because it's family day!"
"Oh, hush now." She waves her wrist flippantly. "Let the two kids have fun. There'll be plenty'a Sunday's to spend together."
"Fine. But next weekend I expect you here. You too Dawson. You gotta make up for today."
"Yes sir. And thank you, ma'am."
"Mm-hm. Get outta here before I change my mind." He let's Becky drag him back inside.
Our faces light up at the same time.
      I ask, "Where are you taking me?"
"Hop in and I'll show you." Being the gentleman he is, he opens the passenger door for me and everything.
I stick my head out the open window and say with a British accent, "Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome, ma'am."
I smile at his perfect slang.
We don't go far, only a little ways from the house. It's a direction I haven't been before so I guess he really is trying to show me the land. We pull under the largest oak tree I've ever seen. As a kid I was only allowed to go so far by myself, so I only saw certain parts of the property.
     I get out and look through the branch's, amazed by how Mother Nature created it.
He lets down his tale gate and steps onto the bed of the truck."If I timed it right, you were in the middle'a makin' food, which means you're hungry."
"You didn't interrupt family time so you can starve me to death, did you?"
"Not quite."
"Then why did you bring me out here? Just to get me alone?" I'm compelled to watch him as he shuffles some things around. "Is that a blanket?"
"Come up here." He grins down at whatever he just did.
When the setup comes into view, I realize he brought me out here to have a picnic. This is the most sweet, thoughtful date, if I can call it that. I honestly don't care to put a label on it. Im okay with the mystery behind whatever it is we're doing here.
"I thought we could have lunch at my favorite place in the world."
"This is your favorite place?"
He chuckles. "Have you looked around?"
I do a full 360 turn, taking in all that I can. Besides the oak, there are plains of long, straw grass waving in the slight wind. We're so far out that the only sounds come from the brushing of the grass against each other and the whistling through the leaves above us. I don't think there's a single place in New York this quiet. "You're right. It's a great spot." I step up and take a seat on one of the pillows.
The blanket is a thick wool material, creating a perfect softness underneath. Then there's the full on charcuterie board displayed in the middle.
     He sits down, looking at me with pride. "What do you think? I googled what people in New York eat and the wine and cheese boards came up. I'm not 21 and I don't have a fake ID like you, so there's no wine, but the cheese will have to do."
     "Cheese is definitely the way to a girls heart." I grab a chunk, chewing in slow motions. "It's so delicious."
     "I hope this is fancy enough for ya." He bites into a cracker.
     "Not even close. But this is way more fun."
     We hang out under the tree for the rest of the afternoon. Laying in the back of his truck, eating cheese, and talking about nonsense. I don't even care about the calories I shouldn't be consuming, cheese has never tasted so good in my life. And conversation has never been better.
We head back in once the sun starts to set, but the truck gets stuck in the mud on the way. After several attempts of getting it out, he looks over and tells me to get behind the wheel.
"I'm gonna get out and push, so when I say 'go' push the gas, but not too hard."
"Sounds easy enough." I grasp the wheel and ready my foot, watching him through the side mirror.
He yells, "Okay!"
I press the gas at a steady rate, trying to force the truck foward. We stay in the same spot, becoming more stuck in the pothole. When I realize it's no use, I put it into park and get out. The second I see him, I bust up laughing. He's covered in mud. It must have flung from the tire and I didn't notice in time to stop. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"
He shakes some from his hands, smiling a malicious grin before stepping forward.
"I swear I didn't do it on purpose!" I scream when he reaches out to wipe the mud on me.
He grabs at my sides and I wrestle away while squealing with laughter. Of course he succeeds in getting it all over me, but I don't even care. When I slip out of his grip he rushes me again, picking me up and setting me on the tailgate.
My breath becomes rushed when he slides his hands up my thighs, dragging mud up to my underwear. It's a bold move, which I welcome by wrapping my legs around his waist, pulling him in. He kisses ruthlessly, like he can't get enough. Or like he decided to stop holding himself back.
     Our first kiss feels like it's the 100th. Everything between us moves fluidly. Like we already know exactly how to touch each other.
     Every kiss.
     Each lick.
     It all melds together with perfect chemistry.
     I finally know what his mouth feels like. And it is not disappointing.
      He supports my head as I'm laid back against the blanket. Fluttering my eyes up through the tree above when he takes his attention to my chest. Small trickles of the sunset shine through the branch's, reflecting off the leaves. With Dawson melting into me, slipping his hands up my dress...
     This is the most magical moment of my entire life.
Dawson's favorite place in the world just became mine. Euphoria surrounds me everywhere I look. So much so that I would let him do whatever he wants to me right here on the tailgate, covered in mud. But I don't want to rush this. I need to hold out because this type of adrenaline, the wanting of another human being in the most intimate of ways... it's addicting.
     Lust is a powerful drug.
     And we're both getting dragged under.
     I reach for his face and pull it to mine, looking him dead in the eye. I'm too compelled not the kiss him again, so I give in for a few more minutes. Then I somehow find my self control and push us up, placing both my hands on his chest to hold him away. His heart beats with a rapid thud, confirming that he's just as into this as I am. Both of us are breathless, like we just ran a marathon.
     He smiles into me, kissing my lips lighter than before. "Damn, city girl."
"Now that." I kiss him back. "Was epic."
     We laugh at how outrageous and out of control that got. Both of us are covered in mud and there are smear marks from his hands all over Ali's dress. She's going to kill me. But it's worth it.
     "Come on." He lifts me down. "We gotta walk back."
     "How will we get your truck?"
     "Your dad'll come pull me out. It's no big deal. Besides." He throws his arm around me. "Now we getta walk back together."
    "True." I rest into his side. "Wren is going to kill me for getting home so late. They're weird about everyone making and eating dinner together."
     "Sounds nice to me. I make and eat dinner by myself every night. Having people around can't be that bad."
     It saddens me when I think about how lonely he must be in that trailer of his. I could compare it to how I eat dinner back home; self isolated in my room while Mom and Jon eat in their offices or in front of the tv.
     "I guess it's not so bad eating at a table every night, I'm just not used to the togetherness."
     "You don't seem to mind us together."
"Thats because you're easier for me to talk to. And our conversations aren't forced and dull. They're way deeper. You make me think about the world differently."
He stops and takes my face in his hands, pressing our foreheads together. "You truly are unlike anyone I've ever met."
A sweet smile forms on my lips. "You too, cowboy."
He kisses me heavily, then we walk hand in hand back to the house. The whole time I can't stop thinking about the summer fling we just officially started.