“Fine.” I place my hand on his and remove it from my skin. He can think what he wants of it, but the truth is it was burning a hole in my flesh, and I’m not ready for that yet.
I push up off the mattress, but before I’m able to stand, Tuck scoops me up in his arms and gently sets me in the wheelchair. His touch is so opposite from his mean look and hard muscles, and it sends shivers down my bruised body.
Everything inside of me wants to tell him off, but my body is pulled to him. I watch my hand reach to his, and he walks by my side as the nurse rolls me down the hallway. We reach the sliding glass doors, and I see he’s not kidding about Lane and Sophie being gone. I scan the parking lot for Lane’s monster truck, but it’s nowhere in sight.
Tuck’s older truck sits in the u-shaped driveway, and I’m almost knocked back into a blackout where I don’t want to believe or feel anything.
“Tuck.”
“Yeah, Blue.” His breath is on my ear as he bends down to hear my whisper.
“Don’t break me again.”
“I won’t.”
“If you do, I won’t recover.”
“It’s your choice from here, Blue Williams. I’m about to open up more to you than I ever have to Noah.”
The melody of his voice and the sweet nothings he pours into my soul soothe an aching part of me, but that little devil on my shoulder doesn’t want to believe a word he has to say.
He lifts me from my wheelchair to his truck effortlessly, and again I’m pressed between the sweetest spot of my life and the hardest brick of chest I’ve ever experienced. His scent fills the single cab of the truck, and every single one of my tensed up muscles unwinds.
It’s the scent I’ve clung to for months…the one urge I’ve fought over and over to not devour, and now it’s surrounding me and I find myself relaxing. When I hear the driver’s door shut, I look up into his still, midnight eyes with his hoodie covering his beanie. But this time his arm and hand are outstretched to me, and it’s one offer I don’t hesitate to accept.
“Careful, Blue, your right side hurts.”
I hear each word, but don’t take the time to process them. I’m a strong, fighting, athletic individual, and this man makes me melt into him every single time.
Tuck Jones, what have you done to me?
Chapter 18
“Tuck.”
“Yeah, Blue, only two more hours.”
“I just wanted to tell you.” Lifting my head, I focus in on his beautifully etched face. “Pissing matches aren’t my style. I prefer to drown out the competition.”
“Oh yeah?” His smirk fills my vision.
I don’t know if it’s the pills he has been feeding me or his fucking charm, but I reply, “Be prepared to drown.”
Then my eyes rest again, finding everything black and safe in their path. Over the past few months at college, black and safe seems to be my polarizing force, which I prefer to bask in.
***
In grade school you learned how to tuck, duck, and roll, but this seems like the earthquake drill they taught you. Hide under your desk and pray your ass doesn’t get shaken into a deep crevice of the Earth and trapped until you rot…
“Blue.”
My eyes shoot open at the familiar baritone voice, and flashbacks hit me. I turn my head to see him, and it’s not him. It’s another person attacking me, beating my face into the asphalt and ripping clothes from my body. Then I hear his voice when I should’ve seen his face.
My eyes clench while I hear his voice hollering my name, but hands are assaulting parts they should never explore. But it’s his voice, and I scream a little louder and then fight a bit harder.
“It’s Tuck, I’m here.”
His voice is soothing and dangerous all mixed together, and I freeze. I’m sick of the tug of war or teeter or totter I’ve been riding. I need safety.
“You don’t love me, Tuck, or want me.”
“I told you.” Strong palms grasp my cheeks. “I’m taking you home and showing you everything.” His gaze burns holes into me, while I’m used to him peering away or backing off. “It’s all yours, Blue. Now let’s see if you are up to it.”
I’m not sure if it’s the sound of his voice or him finally giving over, but a drowsy haze hits me and I succumb to darkness once again. Cheer, goals, and GPA fly out the passenger window as I fight to see and hear Tuck for the first time.
Chapter 19
It may be the meds or willing myself to unconsciousness, but it sucks when I wake up in waves of awareness and then float back to sweet dreams. Words like beef jerky or diet Pepsi float in my vision, or were they really in my face? Sometimes strong and sturdy lips attack mine and I mimic them back like a playful kitten, relishing each taste as my tongue reaches deeper inside to soak up the sexy taste. Then just like a bad dream, my shoulders begin shaking and sounds invade the peace and reality sets in. A sweet voice similar to Tuck’s but much less agonized fills my dreamy haze.
“You’re home.”
Every muscle in my body focuses on opening my eyes to see just where this wonderful sound comes from. And when I focus on the so much sweeter version of Tuck, who is also years younger and toothless, I almost smile until that sharp pain in my right side reminds me of all my mistakes and past fouls in the game of life.
“Uncle Tuck.”
“Shhhh, Ruger. Go on in. I’ll be there in a second.”
“You have a girlfriend.”
I watch as the younger Tuck’s eyebrows waggle up and down and his toothless grin mirrors back at me.
“Run inside and let your mom know I’m home.”
“Roger, Dodger,” the little Tuck replies before he peels off toward a porch light.
My voice is a squeak in the night air. “Leave me alone, Tuck. Why are you pushing me?”
The tighter I shut my eyes, the quicker I spiral out of control once again, letting pain dictate every part of my life.
“I’m going to pack you to my bedroom.”
“Were you kissing me?” I pry my eyes open to see his face and the little smile that spreads across it.
“No, but I can.” His lips run over mine as he leans in the cab of the truck. “I think you were dreaming about me kissing you, though.”
“I don’t want to wonder anymore or remember what you feel like on my lips.”
Tuck doesn’t waste a moment before he lays his lips on mine, his kiss hard and full of passion. And it’s just as sweet as my dreams remembered. He grabs my hips and tugs on them. It takes everything in me not to squeal in pain.
“Okay, she knows.” The sweet voice is back, and Tuck pulls away and twists just enough to see the little boy standing behind us.
I wasn’t dreaming when I thought he looked like Tuck. He’s a miniature version of him, posture and all. I look closer and notice the football tucked under his arm, and I immediately know I’ve already taken too much of Tuck’s time in the boy’s eyes. The slamming of a door startles me, and I see a beautiful brunette standing on the porch of the smaller home.
It’s a simple ranch style home with a white fence and the perfect scattering of flowers. Nothing super fancy, but just the right size and look for something Tuck would come home to. When I see the way the woman looks at Tuck, my stomach sinks and the pain in my right side is nothing compared to what just hit me. My focus shoots back to the toothy boy, and then Tuck and the woman walking toward us. It’s his secret. The reason he’d never get close to me. He has a kid.
“Tuck,” the woman squeals.
He leaves me and wraps the woman up in a hug and spins her around. Her laughter sends chills down my spine as bile begins to rise up my throat.
“About time you got your ass home. We’ve missed you.” She pulls back and gazes at him with love covering every inch of her face. “Never stay gone that long again.”
“Mom, please,” the little boy says.