Free A Long Goodbye by Kelly Mooney Page B

being curled up next to him. I couldn’t believe this. Could girls get blue balls, or maybe the equivalent of it? The next half hour Woody made small circles on my back as we talked. I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that I did something wrong, or that I wasn’t pretty enough, or my body was too fat for his liking. But somewhere between all those thoughts, Woody leaned down softly taking my lips to his, before a simple, “Good night, Grace.”

CHAPTER 12
    DANE
    It had taken me an entire hour to get the balls up to kiss her good night. And it was barely a kiss. It wasn’t the kind I really wanted to give her, or the one she deserved. When she flat out asked me, I swear my cock stood at full staff, my heart felt such a sense of calm that I could barely understand it.
    I wanted her, but could I really have her? I knew I could’ve easily had my way with her last night, but she held me back without even knowing it. She seemed so innocent and I was so afraid of hurting her. In reality, she was a paycheck. She was a job that would be over when her trip was over, and then we would have to be over. I convinced myself not touching her was good for both of us, even though I hated myself for it.
    She was still sleeping in my arms as the sun started to rise and all I could think of were honeysuckles. When she finally opened up those eyes, she looked at me nervously, like she just got caught with her pants down or something. I smiled down at her, staring at those perfect lips. And told her what I was thinking. “You smell like my childhood.”
    The tension came away from her as she wrapped her arm back around me. “What are you talking about?”
    “When I was a little boy, I played baseball, and the field we played on had all these chain link fences around the perimeter, and they were all covered in vines with these little flowers. I can remember it like yesterday plucking them off and sucking all that sweet nectar out of them. That’s what you remind me of. You smell like the honeysuckle I used to love when I was growing up.”
    I couldn’t see her expression as I told her this since she had tucked her head under my chin. I heard a small sigh escape her mouth, but then she propped herself up on her elbow with her hand holding up her head. “It’s tomorrow. You promised to take me driving.”
    “How ‘bout we head back, shower, and we’ll meet back at the lobby around noon. I have some things I need to take care of first. Besides, maybe Lu would like to come along.”
    “I’ll ask her.”
    Driving back, I took the long way to keep her beside me a little longer. I noticed that when she didn’t like a song when it came on, she scrunched up her nose, and then fiddled with the buttons until she found something she liked. Normally, I’d find this kind of thing annoying, having her go through thirty stations in under twenty seconds. But I let her do her thing. It was kind of cute watching her bop around, humming to the music.
    As we pulled up, I hopped out first to help her down, letting my hands rest on her hips. I left my truck running trying to get her to go in first so she didn’t realize I was right next door to her. “Aren’t you coming in?”
    “Nah, coffee sucks here. I’m going to go find a Quickie Stop and grab one.”
    She lifted my sunglasses up but kept a soft grip on them. “I’ll see you at noon, right? You’re not skipping town, or anything?”
    I knew why she pulled them up. I told her why I wore them and apparently, Miss Ashton thought she could read me now. I stared back at her. “I promise you, I will be here every step of the way.”
    She bit down on the edge of her bottom lip, appraising me for a minute, and then flashed her pearly whites. “Bye, Woody.” With that, she stepped up on the tips of her toes and kissed me quickly. “I had a great time.” Once she was inside, I headed out looking for an inexpensive cup of coffee, and to clear my head.
    Back at my room, I dialed Jason at