For the Love of Donuts

31. Say It Again

Skye

Tatum yanks away from me with a ragged exhale and I fight to catch my own breath as Mrs. Nelson gapes at us. “I-I didn’t realize the two of you were involved! I would never, ever intentionally pursue another woman’s man!”

What the—

Is she for real? Does that mean she was actually trying to like, land a date with Tatum? I thought she was just flirting with him in an old lady kind of way !

“I am so sorry,” she apologizes to me while fanning herself. “I promise it won’t happen again though, honey. You have my word!”

“Mrs. Nelson—”

“Oh, obviously this means I’ll have to uninvite you to my bowling team nights,” she interrupts Tatum, now turning her attention to him. “And going on that cruise together would just be highly inappropriate, given the circumstances.”

I try my best not to laugh at the situation, but poor Tate looks so uncomfy and lost by all of this. “Thank you so much for understanding, Mrs. Nelson,” I finally speak up. “We were just about to head out, but you have a good night, okay?”

I mean, what else is there really to say?

“You too!” she exclaims as I start to drag Tatum toward the exit doors. “I think the both of you make a lovely couple, by the way!”

“Thank you!” I call over my shoulder. “Bye, Mrs. Nelson!”

And before she can offer any sort of reply, I slip outside with Tatum right behind me.

“I can’t believe Mrs. Nelson has been seriously into me this whole time,” Tatum says in disbelief. “I thought she was just bored or something.”

“Well, I can’t really blame her for having a crush on you,” I muse as we walk to his car. “You are pretty great…she’s got good taste.”

He side-eyes me with a slight grin. “So, it doesn’t bother you that another woman was hitting on me right before our date started?”

“Not when she’s old enough to be your grandma,”

“ Gross , Skye.” He proceeds to shudder. “Why’d you have to say it like that?”

“Because it’s true. Are you going to unlock this car or what, Jacobs?”

He rolls his eyes, but also unlocks the car and opens my door for me. “You still pressed about not knowing what we’re doing tonight?”

“Hmm,” I hum as I get into the car, “not as bad. The kissing helped for sure.”

“The kissing helped—” He cuts himself off with an amused scoff. “What am I going to do with you, Pink Stuff?”

I put my seatbelt on before batting my eyelashes at him. “You could tell me what we’re doing tonight.”

“Nope.” And to my utter surprise, he swoops down to press a brief kiss against my lips. “But there’s another kiss to help ease the disappointment.”

He has the audacity to wink at me, and then he pats the top of the car before closing my door. Meanwhile, I’m talking myself down from kissing the crap out of him all over again.

“All right,” Tatum says, getting into the car, “you wanna pick the music?”

I raise an eyebrow as he turns the car on and buckles up. “You’re letting me pick whatever I want?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Even if they’re trendy, overplayed songs from social media?”

There’s no missing the pained wince on his face. “Uh-huh. Whatever you want.”

I immediately hook up my phone to his sound system and choose a catchy pop song to play. “Ya know, I think you should let me pick the music more often.”

“I’m sure you do,” he muses, driving out of the parking lot, “but I can’t get behind listening to mainstream music all the time, baby.”

It was worth a shot.

“ Baby ,” I echo with an evil grin. “I think you just helped me pick the next song, Tatester.”

“Skye,” he deadpans, squinting an eye at me, “if you play that song—”

“Let me check something really quick,” I interrupt, placing the back of my hand against his forehead. “Yep, just what I suspected. You have Bieber Fever .”

He curses at me, but not without laughing, and I laugh too. “You can act like you hate it, Jacobs, but we both know you’ll start singing along once the song starts playing!”

“No, I won’t!”

But guess what?

He sings along just like I said he would, and I love every off-key second of it.

Soon we’re downtown, and Tatum pulls into the Coastal Springs shopping center parking lot. I should also mention that the movie theater is in this plaza, and now I’m wondering if I was wrong about him taking me to the movies.

“Tate,” I say as he parks in an empty space, “what are we doing?”

“We’re sitting in my car and listening to a song about coffee,” he replies, taking his seatbelt off. “Ready to get out?”

I answer with a scowl. A real one. “You’re still not going to tell me?”

“Oof, that scowl was one for the books.” He unbuckles my seatbelt and turns the car off. “Come on, Skye, just trust me.”

I mean, watching a movie for our first date wouldn’t be the worst thing ever. Are there any new movies out that we’d even want to see though? I think a lot of them were horror movies, and that does not give first date energy.

Tatum captures my hand once we’re both out of the car, and then he leads me through the semi-crowded parking lot. But we don’t walk to the movie theater. We walk past a couple of stores, a dentist office, a Chinese restaurant, a nail salon, and—

I gasp when I realize what building we’re standing in front of. “Tatum, are we getting donuts?”

“We are…” he trails off, opening the soft pink entrance door for me. “I figured you’d want to go in and pick out which ones we got.”

“Of course, I do!” I exclaim, stepping inside. “If you weren’t my best friend already, I swear the position would be yours. How many donuts should we get?”

He follows me to the ordering area and offers a shrug. “As many as you want.”

“I’m sorry?” I look at him in disbelief. “It sounded like you said as many as I want , but I know that can’t be right, because my Tatum would make sure to give me some kind of limit.”

He tilts his head to the side before making a sound of approval. “ My Tatum . I like that.”

Don’t blush. Don’t blush. Don’t blush.

I try to think of something flirty to say, but all that comes out is: “You’ve always been my Tatum.”

And then I turn my attention to the wall menu. I know most of the options by heart, but I need something else to focus on. Pink Lemonade. Bad Brownie. Coconut Cream Pie. Pistachio Crunch .

“Hey,” Tatum murmurs, slipping his arms around my waist as his chest presses against my back, “I’m sorry if that was the wrong thing to say. I know I’ve always been yours, but it just hits different now.”

You know what hits different now? Being hugged like this by him. Frick, I wonder if he’d start kissing my neck if we weren’t here. If we were someplace more private. And even though Tatum kissing my neck doesn’t automatically translate to hickeys …what about that conversation we had? Would he eventually want to do the hickey thing? I never really saw the appeal before, but now I think that maybe—

“Skye.” He brushes his thumb across the section of exposed skin below my crop top, and I fight the urge to shiver. “Am I losing you to the donuts or what?”

I smile, because that’s a valid question, but then I exhale in frustration. “You didn’t say anything wrong. I’m just—I’m still getting used to us flirting with each other, and I feel like I’m not very good at it.”

“Nah, you’re good at it,” he assures me, kissing the side of my head. “So, which donuts are we getting?”

I could disagree with him about my flirting capabilities, but I’d rather get donuts.

After some careful consideration, I make a final decision on the flavors I want, and we end up with a half dozen donuts. If Anna doesn’t drive me crazy when I get home, maybe I’ll share the leftovers with her, and we can make ourselves donut ice cream sandwiches.

Tatum pays for our box of BEAUTIFULNESS, and then he—drags me back outside?

“Wait, where are we going?” I ask, failing to hide my irritated tone. “Why aren’t we eating donuts?”

We got donuts to eat them. Am I wrong?

“We’re going to eat them. Just be patient.”

I give him another hefty scowl, but he doesn’t notice because he’s too busy making sure we don’t get killed as we cross the parking lot.

“Okay,” I say once we’re sitting in his car again, “are we eating them nowww?”

He turns the car on, but not without shooting me a dry look. “Girl, you’re messing with the plan.”

“What plan?”

“ My plan.”

He doesn’t offer more than that, so I’m left to sulk as I tap my nails against the donut box of sweet temptation.

“I call dibs on planning our next date,” I finally speak up after a few minutes of us driving in silence. “And I’m going to keep everything a complete secret from you, how about that?”

The corner of his mouth lifts rather smugly. “Pink Stuff, are you asking me out on a second date before our first date is even over?”

Ugh, there he goes being flirty again…

I wave him off. “I’m only going on a second date with you if I’m able to eat these freaking donuts, otherwise I’m so out.”

“Relax, you’ll be able to eat them.”

“But how long do I have to wait?” I whine, now crossing my arms. “Why does your plan involve making me suffer?”

“We’re almost there, okay?”

“Okay, but where is there ?!”

Tatum

“Heron Point Park?” Skye asks as I open the backseat door. “Tatum, what’s going on? What are you doing back there?”

“It’s part of my plan,” I tell her, grabbing what I need before I close the car door. “You’ve got the donuts, right?”

“Doy,” she huffs, coming over to me, “but I—is that a picnic blanket you’re holding?”

“You mean is this the picnic blanket you talked me into buying a few months ago because it was on sale ? And you said we should go on a picnic , but then you never brought it up again?”

“You’re taking me on a donut picnic?” she gushes, her eyes dancing with excitement. “That’s so perfect! And so romantic!” She then offers a sheepish smile. “I uh—I’m sorry about being such a menace. Are you mad at me?”

Mad at her? Not even close.

But she has been a menace, so it’s only fair that I get a little bit of payback.

I grunt as my only response and then I turn my back to her. I almost walk away for extra emphasis, but it’s late, and I don’t like the idea of her being alone out here even for a second.

“Tate, please don’t be mad at me! I’ll never forgive myself if I ruined our first date!”

I can hear her stepping closer to me, and then I feel her tugging on the back of my shirt.

“We can listen to rock music on the way home! You’d like that, right?”

Actually, I would.

I peer at her over my shoulder. “Are you going to complain the whole time if we listen to rock music?”

“Of course not! I’ll be very respectful.”

This woman…

“Very respectful, huh?” I turn around to face her. “You promise?”

Using her free hand, she extends her pinky out toward me. “I promise!”

I wrap my pinky around hers, but I bite back a grin. “I mean it, not even an eye-roll.”

“No eye-rolling,” she says with a firm nod. “So, you’re not mad at me?”

I kiss the back of her hand before we unlink pinkies. “No, I’m not mad at you.”

“And we can have our donut picnic now?

“Well, unless you don’t feel like eating the donuts anymore.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” She starts walking over to the park entrance. “Come on, let’s pick a good spot!”

A few minutes later, we’re sitting on the picnic blanket, and Skye is breaking open the box of donuts.

“Which one should we eat first?” she asks, looking at me expectantly. “I can’t choose!”

I glance at the different options. “How about the peanut butter pretzel one?”

“Ooh, good idea.” She picks up the peanut butter cream frosted donut with crumbled pretzel pieces on top, and then carefully rips it in half. “I haven’t had this flavor in forever.”

Skye gives me one of the halves, but I don’t eat it right away; I’m too busy watching the little shoulder dance she does after biting into her donut. Then I smile when she lets out a happy sigh. “Worth the wait?”

“Yesssss.” She proceeds to wag a finger at me. “But I’m still planning our second date! You had your chance to be secretive and annoying, so next time will be my turn.”

“Annoying?” I echo, taking a bite out of my donut. “I haven’t been annoying.”

“Don’t act innocent. You could’ve given me at least a tiny little hint about tonight, but you refused to! And you know which word best describes that?” She pauses to give me a sassy look. “ Annoying .”

I click my tongue. “Ya know, I don’t remember you complaining about me being annoying when we were kissing in the hallway.”

At the mention of us kissing, her eyes wander to my mouth, and I lick my lips just in case there’s any peanut butter frosting left behind. I definitely wouldn’t be doing it to prove a point or anything. That would be wrong.

“You’re right, I didn’t complain,” she says, trailing a finger across the picnic blanket, “so maybe we should do that again.”

My nerves are buzzing with adrenaline, but I feign confusion. “Kiss in the hallway?”

“No, not in the—” She curses in frustration. “See? I told you I’m not good at flirting. I meant we should kiss again as in now . Maybe. If you want to.”

“I knew what you meant,” I assure her, my voice dropping ever so slightly. “And as for wanting to kiss you again…”

I lean in close enough, so our mouths are only a few inches apart, and I wait for Skye to close the remaining space between us. Except, she doesn’t.

At least not soon enough, anyway.

Her fingers trace a heated path along my arm.

Her nose brushes against mine.

Her nails graze the back of my neck.

Her breath teases my lips.

And just when my last bit of patience is about to disappear, she finally kisses me.

Sweet and salty . I’m sure Skye can taste the same lingering flavors from our shared donut as I kiss her back long and hard. She responds by sighing into my mouth, and a fresh wave of desire pulses through me, causing my hands to grasp at her waist. I tug her forward, my fingers digging into her soft skin, and then I’m pretty sure I go into shock.

Because Skye is making herself comfortable on my lap.

I’m frozen in place as she straddles me. Her thighs are hugging my hips, her chest is pressed against mine, and she moves her hands to my shoulders before kissing me breathless. Every stroke from her lips is better than the last, and I match her hot, fervent kisses with an endless amount of my own as I chant her name like it’s the only word I know.

At some point, our making out turns into languid touches, and I savor the change of pace as I slide one hand up her back. Then I use the other one to cradle her face, so I can trace the curve of her jaw with my thumb. After a few more gentle kisses, Skye rests her head in the crook of my neck, and I play with the ends of her hair.

“Mmm,” she mumbles, drawing random shapes across my chest, “this is nice.”

I lean down to nuzzle her cheek, which causes her to smile, and then I sigh in contentment. “It’s perfect.”

“Tatum?”

“Yes, baby?”

“I know I haven’t exactly said it yet, but I like you too.” She drags her finger along the neckline of my shirt. “Ya know, like -like you.”

Okay, well now this date is better than perfect.

I give her hair a light tug. “Say it again.”

She laughs at me, but thankfully meets my request. “I like you. I like you so much, Tatum Kenyon Jacobs. I like that you feed me donuts. I like your gorgeous smile. I like how great you are with the twins. I like that you make me happy. I like the way you kiss me. And I like that I can always be myself with you.”

I swallow, trying my best not to come apart from the intensity behind her words. “Skye—”

“Hold on,” she interrupts, tapping her fingers against my chest, “I’m not done yet.”

She proceeds to kiss the corner of my jaw. “I like you.” The spot behind my ear. “I like you.” The side of my neck. “I like you.”

Then she draws a heart over my actual heart, which is thumping harder than it has all night. “There, now I’m done.”

Overwhelmed by everything about her, and everything about this moment, I stay silent as I think of what to say. There are so many things I could tell her, but I know Skye, and I know what’s going to mean the most to her…even if it’s just a simple truth.

I lace my fingers through hers before kissing the inside of her wrist. “I’m so glad you’re my best friend.”

She snuggles closer to me, her eyelashes fluttering against my throat. “Same here.”