“I know you’re not telling me this to pressure me Finn.” It was then that she finally smiled at me. “I love you too. You are so sweet to me. I couldn’t understand why you chose me. I’m just me. I’ve never felt special. I always thought of myself as a plain girl until you came along and made me feel special. I’ve seen the girls you’ve dated Finn, and I’ve always thought I was just average next to them. I hear what they all say about me being with you, so it can be hard to understand why someone like you would want to be with someone like me.” Tears glistened in her eyes. I couldn’t believe she thought she didn’t deserve me! And what the hell were other people saying to her?

“Shhh baby… don’t cry.” My hands were still holding her small delicate face. I used my thumb to swipe across her face when a tear fell down her cheek. “Who is saying these things to you? I swear to god I’ll beat their ass!”

“No, don’t be mad at them Finn. They weren’t telling me things that I didn’t already know.”

This was not how I’d seen this conversation going. I just told her that I loved her and she said she loved me too, but the euphoric feeling was short lived after hearing what she thought of herself, and that others were only confirming it. They were so wrong, and I’d tell her that every day for the rest of my life if I had too. “They don’t fucking know anything Emilyn. Is it guys or girls telling you this? Because the guys on the team all think I’m one lucky bastard.”

“You don’t have to say that to make me feel better.”

I let out a frustrated growl. “I’m not blowing smoke here Em. You’re not seeing yourself right and I don’t get it. There’s no way it’s a guy telling you this. They all think you’re hot, so I’m assuming it has to be one of the girls. Who was it? I want you to tell me right now. Nobody is going to talk to my girl like that.”

“It was Aubrey and her cheerleader friends. But it’s fine honestly, I know why they said it. I get that I’m different for you. I don’t look like them, I haven’t put out. We haven’t even kissed for heaven sakes, and all because I’m still a nervous wreck around you.”

I should of fucking known it would have been Aubrey and her little minions. She was going to know by the end of the day that I wouldn’t tolerate her telling Emilyn all this crap. I let go of her and began pacing. Em was standing still with her hands clasped in front of her and she was looking down, biting her lip.

“I didn’t mean to make you mad, or ruin this moment Finn. I’m sorry. I guess I should go.” She started to turn to walk away. Where in the hell was she going? I wasn’t mad at her. Oh fuck it! I was going for it.

I caught up to her and grabbed her elbow to stop her. I swung her around, cupped her chin with my hand and bent down to her face. I paused just before putting my lips on hers. I looked right in her eyes. I could read her so easily. She was scared and nervous. Nervous because we’d never kissed before, but it was definitely going to happen now. I was tired of waiting. I’d been dying to kiss this girl since the first day I plucked up the courage to speak to her. I needed to show her that she was safe with me.

She didn’t pull away so I guessed she was giving me the go ahead. She closed her eyes, waiting for me to close the distance between us. I wanted to surge forward and kiss her hard and rough—to taste every part of her mouth—but she deserved more from me. She deserved to be treasured and loved. I’d be gentle with her. I leaned in and placed my lips on hers. I held them there for a few seconds before I pushed a little harder and opened my mouth a bit, in a silent request for her to open her mouth for me. I ran my tongue ever so slightly across her bottom lip. Her lip gloss tasted like cotton candy. When she opened her mouth a little bit, her tongue slipped past my lips and touched inside my mouth. It was subtle but I loved it. I opened my mouth more and she followed my lead. When our tongues started moving, she let out a little moan and weaved her hands into my hair, bringing her body flush with mine. There was no way she couldn’t feel my hard on between us. Hopefully it wouldn’t scare her away. I wasn’t pressuring her for more, because right now this was all I wanted from her. And if this was all she would give me for the rest of my life, well then I’d just deal with the blue balls I’d get from it.

The kiss was so much more than I had expected it to be. I’d had a feeling she’d never kissed another guy, based on the fact that she had us wait a month before doing it. But the way she kissed me, it was as if she held the instruction manual to my body and controlled me with her sweet, delicate mouth. Her tongue pushed back against mine, roaming every part of my mouth. She started to pull away, and I wanted to protest but she apparently wasn’t done. She sucked my lower lip into her mouth and bit down very lightly. I could tell it was something she had wanted to do, but was testing to see if I was okay with it. Fuck… I was more than okay with it. I groaned into her mouth, putting my left hand down on her lower back just above the curve of her ass, and my right hand moved to grasp the nape of her neck. We couldn’t get any closer if we tried. I don’t know how I was going to refrain from wanting more with this girl, but I would… somehow.

As much as it was clear that we both wanted to keep doing what we were doing, I needed to slow it down. It was going to be too easy to get carried away with her. I began to pull away from her, kissing her incredibly soft lower lip, once… twice… three times. I pulled back and kissed her nose, loosening my grip on her neck. When she opened her eyes, they were wild with want and lust. It just about did me in. If the time came that she’d want more from me, I’d never be able to tell her no. Not with the way she was looking at me right now. We were both breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry my Tiny Girl. I didn’t mean to push you, but I’ve been dying to touch this mouth of yours.” I ran my thumb across her now swollen lips.

Even after the kiss we just shared, she still blushed. “I’m glad you did. I’m hoping it won’t be too long until we can do it again.” She smiled at me and I was putty.

I smiled at her and the words needed to be said again. “I love you Em. I don’t care what anybody else says. As long as you know that I mean what I’m saying, nothing anybody else says to you matters. Do you understand? I love you and that’s all there is to it.” I leaned down and gave her the softest kiss I could and we turned to walk back to the softball field. I was flying high.

By the time I got off the plane and gathered my luggage, I was even more anxious to see Em. Time was going by too slowly and I’d worked myself up so much that I planned on giving Kyler a good beating for not just telling me everything. I was just getting into Mountain Home when I called Ky and asked where I could find Emilyn. He said she was working at Beans, the coffee shop that sat in the middle of town. I didn’t understand why she was even working when West made millions. She was bound to see some of that money with the divorce. Beans only paid minimum wage and she could surely get a job working at her Dad’s office making twice what I was certain she was making now. Hell, she didn’t even need to work at all. There was definitely something more going on here, and I was only a few minutes away from finding out what it was.

Finding a parking spot down the road, I stopped the car and got out, making my way down to the coffee shop. As I approached, I could smell coffee in the air. I was almost directly across the street from the store when I saw her. Her back was to me and she was wiping down the tables that were outside under large umbrellas to shade people from the sun. She had her hair up in a messy pony tail, and a few loose strands hung down, gracing her neck.