Highest Bidder

27. Myles

27

MYLES

My hand is on Hunter’s thigh while I drive us to my mama’s house, and I’m nervous as fuck. But I suspect my nerves don’t come close to hers with the way her thigh hasn’t stopped bouncing since we got into the truck. I have never brought anyone over to meet her. I also didn’t give her a heads-up that I was bringing anyone. I didn’t want her to be ready with any baby photos or other embarrassing ammunition she might use against me. I also know she would have cooked a damn six course meal to keep us there all night. She had told me something needed to be fixed on her refrigerator. I’m going to try to take care of it as soon as possible and get us out of there, but I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce her to Hunter. I already know Hunter will love her, but I’m praying mama stays on her best behavior.

We pull into the driveway, and Hunter looks around. Her hand reaches for the door handle, but she pauses when I don’t make a move to get out.

“Are you okay?” She grabs my arm. “Crap. You have been so quiet on the ride over here.” She lets go and tucks her hair behind her ear and starts fidgeting with her shorts. “This is a big step. Are you having second thoughts?” She rings her fingers together in her lap. “I want your mom to like me. What if she doesn’t because I don’t know your middle name? Or what you take in your coffee, or how old you were when you first learned to ride your bike?” Her knee bounces, and I can see she’s panicking more by the second. “Maybe you can give me some cliff notes on how to get her to like me? I’m not good with moms, well at least not with my mom. I’ve never had experience with any others. Well, except Steve’s mom, but I lump her in with my mom.”

She’s spiraling and talking way too fast. I can't catch everything she’s saying or decipher what she means. I don’t know how to get her to stop, I try to speak. But I don’t think she has taken a breath since she started this whole speech. I grab her face and kiss her. She takes a minute, but I feel her relax into the kiss, leaning into me a little more. It feels good to be able to kiss her whenever I want. It’s a high having her body respond to my every touch. I can’t help but get a little carried away even though it was supposed to be a short kiss. She jerks herself back with such force, I almost fall forward.

“Myles!” She gasps and covers her mouth as she looks at the house. “What if she’s looking out the window and sees us? Oh, my god, she’s going to hate me!”

She covers her face with her hands, and I smile at how cute she’s being. It means so much to me that she wants to make a good impression. I have no doubt she will, but it’s cute watching Hunter freak out a little.

“Hershey, no one’s going to hate you. She’ll love you, and she actually doesn’t know you’re coming.”

She looks confused and goes to speak, but I place a finger over her lips. If she keeps talking, we will never make it inside.

“I didn’t want her to embarrass me with childhood stuff. She’s the one I’m worried about. Okay?” I assure her, my finger still mushed into her lips so she nodded. “Okay then. Let’s go.” I get out of the truck and open her door. She hops out, and we head toward the door.

“Can I say one thing first?” Her steps falter. “What if I want her to show me all the embarrassing childhood stuff?” she asks, giving me big sad puppy dog eyes.

I shake my head, knowing I’m going to be in trouble with these two. Fuck. . . this girl . I laugh and put my arm around her waist to get her to start walking again.

“God, help me,” I murmur, knocking on the door.

“What?”

But before I answer, my mom swings the door open, but she’s not looking up as she messes with her dress.

“Miney! Call your mother first before showing up here an hour early. You never know if I’ll be home or if I’m decent,” she says, finally looking up at me, and her eyes bug out of her head. “Who’s this gorgeous woman?” She smiles.

I lean forward and kiss her cheek then look at my phone for the time. “Mama, I’m not an hour early. You told me to come now, so how’s that showing up here unannounced?” My eyebrows furrow, she’s not making any sense.

Then Gus come around the corner buttoning up his shirt. “Oh, hi Myles. Great to see you again.” He clears his throat.

“Mama!” I know my face is turning every shade of red as my ears grow hot.

“Oh, hush.” She waves me off. “Like you don’t know that your mother has needs just like any other woman, and I guess we just lost track of time.”

I rub my hands over my face. This is not how this was supposed to go. We just got here, and I already wish I would have stayed on the lake with Hunter.

“Um, hi. I’m Hunter.”

I peek through my fingers to see Hunter waving at my mom. She seems so nervous even though this is already a shit storm. I sigh and do my best to not think about what was just happening .

“Mama.” I sigh. “This is Hunter,” I say, wishing I could pluck my eyes out. But Hunter doesn’t deserve me losing my shit over this. Mama blinks at me because I’ve never mentioned Hunter to her before this. I put my arm around Hunter’s waist to bring her tightly tucked up against my side. “She’s my girlfriend, Mama.” Her shocked face morphs into the most elated expression I’ve ever seen.

“What?” She screams, making Hunter, Gus, and I cringe from a pitch I didn’t even know was possible. “She is…” She can’t even form a complete sentence.

This might be worse than baby pictures. Hunter’s going to think there’s something genetically wrong with me. My mom’s freaking out that I brought a girl over.

“Mama,” I say again more firmly. This seems to make her snap out of it, and she launches at Hunter and squeezes her into a tight hug. Hunter laughs, her joyous laughter, making me relax a bit.

“Hi. I’m not sure of your actual name. He and JT always call you just Mama.” Hunter laughs out.

I know she’s nervous, but she’s perfect. My embarrassment fades as I watch the two most important women in my life embrace in a hug. Mama finally pulls away but keeps a hold of Hunter’s shoulders.

“Oh, sweetie. Please, call me Mama! It would make me the happiest woman alive. Oh, please, come with me. I want to hear all about you.” Mama walks inside still holding Hunter close to her side.

“Okay. I’ll shut this door for you, Mama,” I call after her and shake my head.

“Thanks, Miney! Don’t forget the fridge while you’re at it,” she says over her shoulder but focuses back on Hunter. “So how long have you been with Miney?” I shake my head.

“Mama. Please! Don’t use the nickname. Can’t you just call me Myles for once?” This was a mistake. Why did I do this to myself?

“I believe it’s actually Myles Alexander, Miney.” Hunter winks.

They talk the entire time I’m fixing the refrigerator. Of course, Mama pulls out a secret stash of photos she has easily accessible, as if she were waiting for a moment just like this to bust them out. When I finish the repair, it’s impossible to pull them apart. Even though I act like I’m annoyed, I loved seeing how Mama embraced Hunter. I also saw the way Hunter got so comfortable with my mom. It made my heart swell. We stay a full hour, and they act like they are the best of friends. I hate tearing them apart, but when I see it’s getting close to four, I know we have to leave. I don’t want to miss out on what I planned for us tonight. They finally say goodbye, and I had to promise Mama that we will visit again soon. She even gives me a deadline, which make Hunter laugh.

Back in the truck, Hunter rolls her head against the seat to look at me. “I love your mom.”

I reach over and squeeze her thigh. “I can tell she loved you too. Thank you for that.”

“Are you kidding me? She’s amazing. I can’t wait to see her again.”

I groan which makes her laugh.

“Come on, I didn’t find anything out that makes me like you any less, Miney,” she teases me by using my nickname. I fake a groan. “I mean, it honestly made me…” She trails off, but I snap my head over to look at her.

“Made you, what?” I’m white-knuckling the steering wheel with one hand, and I’m not sure if she still has feeling in her thigh with how hard I’m squeezing. She doesn’t seem to notice. She keeps looking at my forearms, tracing my tattoos like she loves to do.

“It made me like you a lot more.” Her voice is quiet.

I’m happier than I have been in a long time, and I can’t stop the urge to want her in my arms. As I park the truck in JT’s driveway, I unbuckle our seat belts and grab hold of her legs to bring her over to sit with me, moving my seat back so we have more room. I tuck some of her wild hair behind her ears. I want to commit every last detail of her face to memory. I gently rub her cheeks with the pads of my thumbs, and her eyes flutter closed. I lean in, making our lips ghost over each other.

“Oh, Hershey,” I say, giving her a brief gentle kiss. “I’m so far gone for you, I don’t even know which way is up or down anymore.” She gasps, and I kiss her hard using her parted mouth as an advantage to kiss her deeply. Wrapping my hands around her back, I bring one hand into her hair to thread my fingers through. She melts into me, and I groan with how perfect she is. It makes me want to say fuck it and take her home so I can bury my face between her legs. It’s been over 24 hours since we’ve had sex, and my craving is intensifying by the second. She’s perfect in every way. Her toned legs are clutching mine while she’s straddling me. I pop the button on her jeans and slide my hand inside so I can feel how wet she is. “Fuck me. You’re soaking wet.” I growl out.

“It’s all because of you. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

She looks into my eyes. I slide my fingers inside of her which makes her gasp. I love pleasuring her. I kiss and nip at her neck. She’s so beautiful. I pick up the pace, and she rides my hand trying to find her release. It doesn’t take her long till I feel her spasming. She moans out my name, and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard. Her body relaxes against me, and we hold each other for what seems like forever .

There’s a banging on the window, making us jump and look to see JT wiggling his fingers at us in greeting.

“We have got to stop meeting like this.” He smirks.

Hunter’s like a statue in my arms not wanting to face him.

“Alright! We’re coming.” I wave my arm to shoo him away. She buries her hand-covered face into my neck and shakes her head as soon as he’s gone. I laugh and try to pull her away to look at her. “Hey!” I continue laughing. She won’t budge, and it’s freaking cute.

“No!” she shouts, sounding like the little girl on Lilo and Stitch.

“Come on,” I coax and gently scratch her back to get her to relax.

“No. I never want to see JT again.” She groans, then pops her head up and gasps. “This is horrible!”

I bite my lip to hold in my laughter, and she shoves my shoulders.

“This is serious, Myles!” she screeches and shoves my shoulders.

“Come on. He doesn’t care, he’s messing with you,” I say while opening the truck door and motioning for her to get out. She glares, but reluctantly steps down and walks toward the front door. I'm relieved until she spins around and bolts back to the truck. She looks at herself in the side mirror and tries to fix her hair. After all the wind on the boat this morning and then me running my fingers through it, there's no hope. She flips her head and ties it into a messy bun. She checks the button on her shorts again and then sighs, like she’s hyping herself up to go inside. I try to hide my smile as she slowly walks back toward me. I grab her hand and kiss it before opening the front door.

“Finally!” JT yells from across the room and laughs. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything out there, Hunter.” He walks toward her, giving her a wink.

“JT!” she screams and balls her hands up by her sides .

He laughs uncontrollably, and I eventually join in. She shoots me a death glare, making me hold my hands up in surrender. I slowly go out back to where Jess is taking in the view. I look over my shoulder and see JT fling his arm around Hunter’s shoulder whispering something to her, and she looks mortified. But she shoves him and starts laughing.

They join us outside, and JT asks, “Seriously, how’s Mama? And did she make me anything because I’m hungry!”

“JT, we literally just ate,” Jess says and shakes her head.

“Eh, that was a snack. Besides, I’m a growing boy.” He wiggles his eyebrows which makes me roll my eyes.

He’s ridiculous sometimes.

“No, she did not. She was too busy embarrassing me,” I complain.

“She was the sweetest! Jess, you would love her. I can’t wait to see her again. She made him promise to bring me back. Right, Myles Alexander?” Hunter snickers.

JT covers his mouth with his hand to try to cover his amusement, and I give him a hard look.

“She middle-named you in front of your girlfriend? See what I mean? She’s the best,” JT exclaims.

“I love her, and I haven’t even met her yet,” Jess admits.

“Alright. Is everyone ready to go?” JT asks.

Hunter gives him a quizzical look. “Go where?” she asks.

I snake my arm around her waist and bring her right up against my chest.

“We’re heading to my favorite place, where I go every Sunday evening,” I say, giving her a hint. Her eyes light up.

“We’re going horseback riding to the creek?” she asks in an awe-filled whisper. I nod my head and kiss her forehead. She squeezes me and takes off running to the barn, grabbing Jess’ hand as she passes. JT and I slowly follow behind them.

“I’m glad to see you so happy, man. You deserve it,” he says and puts his arm around my shoulders .

“Thanks. Anything you want to tell me about you and Jess?” I give him a knowing look.

He smiles and rubs his jaw. “Not yet. But I’m hoping maybe soon,” he admits and looks down. I slap him in the stomach which makes him let go of my shoulders and give a little fake cough from the impact.

“Don’t wait too long. Take it from me, it’s way better to be happy with the girl than to be unhappy without the girl.”

He nods his head. “Yeah. You lucked out,” JT says.

“You’re fucking right I did.” I watch my girl kissing my favorite horse. She’s standing on the bottom board of the fence. The brown horse looks like he’s hugging her with his head draped over her back. Hunter looks over her shoulder at me and gives me the biggest and most beautiful smile, and I know I’m done for. I don’t know when it happened. But somewhere along the way, I’ve fallen for this short, feisty, wild-haired woman with the most beautiful green eyes. I finally understand what it feels like to be the highest bidder.