Free Book Boyfriend (Someday #5) by Melanie Shawn

I’ve really been trying to respect that and not spook you or overwhelm you. But I’ve gotta tell you, Miche…” He trailed off, looking down at his lap and shaking his head.
    I prompted, “Yes?”
    He looked back up, directly into my eyes, and said, “It was hell. Not talking to you for two days, especially when you were upset? Not knowing if you were happy or sad or how else you might feel? It was hell.” His voice shook. “It was fucking hell.”
    I grabbed his hands. “I feel the same way,” I blurted, the intensity of my feelings for him filling my voice.
    He grinned. “Let’s never do that again. ’Kay?” he said, his tone deceptively light but his face betraying the true intensity of what he felt.
    I grinned right back. “That’s a plan that I can get on board with.”

Chapter 15
    Sebastian
    D riving down 101 with Michelle by my side was awesome. The open road, a truck, and my woman. I felt ready to write a country song about it. Of course, in the song, I’d have to be wearing boots instead of sneakers. And Michelle would have to trade in her faded, thrift-store Sex Pistols tee for a fitted, button-down, plaid blouse.
    I preferred my life to the imaginary song version of it.
    I had driven the road between Arcata and San Francisco before. A few times, in fact. But it looked more beautiful now than it had in the past—which was quite a feat, considering how naturally beautiful it already was. But now, the hills seemed more lush, the green of the pine trees deeper and brighter. Everything just felt bigger, better, and more alive when I was with Michelle.
    That was the simple fact of the matter. When she was with me, it didn’t matter what we were doing—I felt like I was seeing everything with fresh eyes. I noticed every brilliant detail I had glossed over before.
    Partway through the drive, I saw one of the signs that marked a scenic view spot and pulled off the highway.
    “Oh, are we stopping to check out the scenery? How cool! I love unscheduled stops during road trips. That’s always when you see the coolest stuff!”
    “Absolutely! Plus, I thought that it might make a nice picture. You know, for your Instagram.”
    “Oh, that’s awesome! Thanks, Sebastian. That’s so thoughtful!”
    I felt kind of guilty for taking credit for such a sweet and selfless idea. Although the Instagram thing had been part of my thought process, the other plan I had in mind was a lot more of it. In addition to looking at beautiful scenery, after all, there was another thing view spots were well known to be good for. Parking.
    The road off the highway led up into the hills to the west, narrowing and winding as we crested farther up the mountain. When we reached the peak, I drove into a sprawling, largely empty parking lot. Still, even though there was hardly anyone there, I chose to park the truck in the remotest of spots, far away from the small cluster of cars that were in the lot.
    Michelle gave me a knowing smirk, and I could see in her quick and intelligent eyes that she knew exactly what I was thinking. That suspicion was confirmed when she opened the truck door and hopped out, tossing a sassy, “Fine, Casanova, but we’re gonna go look at the view first,” over her shoulder.
    We walked up to the railing that enclosed the viewing deck and admired the gorgeous vista. I didn’t even mind taking time away from the busy “making out” schedule I had planned for us. Not really, anyway. Standing with my arm around Miche, her head on my shoulder, as we gazed at some of the most beautiful land in God’s own creation might not have been naked-time levels of awesome, but it was pretty damn awesome.
    After fully taking in the scenery, not to mention snapping about fifty pictures of it from different angles, Michelle turned to me, the teasing half smile back on her lips. “All right, Romeo. I think we’ve looked at the trees enough. We’ve earned some tongue-on-tongue time. Don’t you agree?”
    I laughed.