“I know, Dad. I’m trying not to push it, but…”

Just then, Heather glanced back over at me, and my heart started pounding.

I looked at my dad. “Dad, did I love her this much? I mean…am I just feeling what I felt before? Or is this all new? I feel like I can’t breathe without her near me. Can you really fall in love with someone so damn fast?”

My dad cleared his throat and smiled at me. “Josh, when you came to your mother and me and told us you were planning on asking Heather to marry you, we were beyond happy. Not only do we love that girl like she’s our own, but you also love her with your whole heart. When I asked you if you were one hundred percent sure about asking her, you looked me dead in the eyes and smiled. Then, you said to us, ‘I know that I don’t want to live a single day in this life without her in it. I want to wake up every morning to her beautiful smile and go to sleep to that same smile. I want to have kids with her and grow old with her. I want everything with her and only her.’ Son, a love like that is too strong to be broken…by anything! A love like that will remain faithful until the very end.”

“I said all that, huh?” I asked with a shit-eating grin on my face.

He let out laugh and grabbed me by my shoulder. “Yep, you must have gotten that from Gunner ’cause you sure as hell didn’t learn it from me!”

When we both laughed, Heather glanced over again.

“Don’t rush it. I know how much you want to be with her, and it’s not like y’all haven’t been together before. I just don’t want you rushing into this.”

“Oh god. Really, Dad? You’re gonna go there?” I rolled my eyes. “I believe you gave me the sex talk when I was twelve years old.”

My dad laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m not gonna give you the sex talk, you little bastard. I’m just telling you…take your time. Make it special for both of you. Make it a night she’ll always remember. That’s all I’m saying. Now, I’m going to find your Uncle Pete. He owes me an arm-wrestling rematch.”

Make it special. How the f**k am I going to make it special?

I looked around for Gunner and found him making his way over toward where Heather was talking. I walked as fast as I could and grabbed him by the arm.

“I need to talk to you right now!” I said as I pulled him past Ellie, my mom, and Heather.

“Um…okay.”

I dragged him upstairs and into my room, and then I shut the door. I felt like I was about to hyperventilate.

“Shit, what the f**k is wrong with you?” Gunner asked.

I shook my head. I couldn’t talk. I’m gonna f**k it up! Did I f**k up our first time? “I’m gonna f**k it up, dude. I know I am.” I gasped for air.

“Fuck what up?”

“The first time with Heather…I just know I’m gonna f**k it up.”

Gunner threw his head back and laughed. “First off, you stupid bastard, you’ve already had sex with her. From what Ellie has shared, even though I begged her not to, it was the most romantic moment of Heather’s life.”

“Oh f**king great! I don’t remember that, Gunner. So, I’m really gonna f**k it up now ’cause I have nothing to compare it to. Ah shit!” I started pacing back and forth as I ran my hands through my hair.

“Jesus, Josh, calm the hell down. Is it going to be tonight?”

I stopped and looked at Gunner. “I thought I wanted it to be, but now, I’m not so sure. I think I need to wait, but…I don’t think I can wait. I just want to rip off her clothes and devour her. I want to see and touch every inch of her body.”

“Okay, first off, just stop. I love Heather, and I think of her as a sister. You’re totally grossing me the f**k out with the picture you’re putting in my head, you a**hole. Second, don’t worry. It’s going to be perfect no matter what you’re doing or when it is or even where it is. Just let it happen when it feels right.”

“What did you do for Ellie?” I stopped pacing and stared at Gunner.

He started looking everywhere but at me.

“Gunner? What did you do for your first time with Ellie?”

Gunner looked at me and shook his head. “Dude, I don’t think you really want me to tell you what I did.”

I just stared at him. “Yeah, I do. What did you do?”

“I, um…well, I had Jenny…she’s Aaron’s wife. You know Aaron, Drake’s son? Anyway, Jenny decorated the old deer cabin that I had remodeled. She filled it with daisies and other flowers and champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries and all of that good shit. But I, um...I...well, first I…”

“Jesus, spit it out.”

“I asked her to marry me first,” Gunner said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Wait…what? How long did you date her before you asked her to marry you?”

“About six months,” he said with a smile.

“You dated her for six months and never had sex with her?” I asked, stunned.

“Yep. I didn’t want to rush it. I wanted it to be perfect. Believe me, there were a few times we almost went too far, but I always stopped it before we got carried away.”

“You’re my f**king hero!”

Gunner let out a laugh and sat down on my bed. “Just don’t rush it, dude. I know you want to remember everything about those years you lost, especially your memories about Heather, but it’ll come back. And if it doesn’t…well, you’ll make new ones.”

Just then, there was a knock on my door. I walked over and opened it to see Ellie and Heather standing there. Heather’s face instantly blushed. Shit, why does she get so flushed around me? I smiled as she walked in, and the smile she gave back almost brought me to my knees. There isn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for this girl.

“Hate to interrupt guy time, but we better head back before it gets too late. I don’t want to leave Alex with your parents for too long,” Ellie said as she walked by me and gave me a wink.

She’s the sweetest thing ever.

Gunner got up, took her in his arms, and kissed the shit out of her.

When I looked away, I caught Heather staring at me. My heart started pounding, and my hands started sweating. Jesus H. Christ. Am I in high school? I winked at her, and there went the blushing again. I let out a little laugh, and she tilted her head at me. Then, she bit down on her lower lip. I was pretty sure a small moan escaped from me. She giggled and looked away.

The next thing I knew, Gunner slapped the shit out of my back.

With a wink, he said, “Remember what I said, dude.” He turned, leaned down, and kissed Heather on the cheek. “Take good care of the birthday boy, sweetheart.”

When Ellie hugged Heather good-bye, she whispered something in Heather’s ear that made her smile and blush again.

I felt my dick getting harder by the second. Calm the f**k down, Josh. Think about something else.

Before Gunner walked out, I called out to him. “Gunner! What did you think about?”

He turned and smiled.

Bastard knows exactly what I’m asking.

“Dogs.”

“Dogs?” I asked, confused as hell.

He let out a laugh and nodded. “Yep…f**king dogs.”

Ellie looked at Gunner, and then she glanced over at Heather. Heather just shrugged her shoulders. I watched as Gunner and Ellie started walking out.

Ellie turned, and before she shut the bedroom door, she gave me a wink. “Happy birthday!”

Once the door was shut, I pulled Heather into my arms. I pressed my body against hers, so she could feel how much I wanted her. I looked down at her mouth and ran my finger along her lower lip, pulling it out from between her teeth.

“Let me.” Leaning down, I took her lip in my mouth and sucked on it. God, she tastes like honey. Then, I kissed her with as much passion as I could.

“Oh god,” she whispered.

“You want to go for that drive?” I looked into her beautiful blue eyes.

“What?” she asked, confused. She almost seemed like she was in a daze.

“Our drive that we’ve been trying to go on for the last few nights,” I said with a smile.

She giggled and nodded. “Okay. Can I go change into some jeans though? It’s getting kinda chilly outside.”

“Okay. Hurry and meet me at my truck. I’m gonna try and sneak out without anyone seeing me,” I said with a wicked grin.

She raised her eyebrows at me before she reached up and gave me a quick kiss. “It’s a date!” she called out as she opened my door and skipped down to her room.

I shut my door and quickly changed into some jeans and a long-sleeve shirt.

When I got downstairs, I heard my parents talking to their best friends in the kitchen. I tiptoed around the corner and hustled down the back hallway to the garage. I went out the garage and jogged over to my truck. Thankfully, I’d parked down by the barn, so no one was blocking me in.

The next thing I knew, I heard Heather laughing as she was running to the truck. When I turned, she jumped into my arms.

Oh my god, my ribs. I couldn’t help it. I let out a grunt.

“Oh my god! Oh shit, shit, shit! I forgot about your ribs. Oh, Josh, I’m so sorry!”

I laughed and pulled her back to me. With one look into those eyes, I forgot all about the pain. I kissed her quickly before I picked her up and carried her over to the passenger side of my truck. Once she was in, I jogged around to the other side and got in.

As I pulled out of the driveway, I saw my parents standing outside the garage door, smiling. I gave them a quick wave and headed off to the back pasture.

I parked the truck in my favorite spot and turned it off. I looked over at Heather and smiled. She was grinning from ear to ear.

“I thought we were going for a ride?”

“We did. This is my favorite place to come to when I just want to relax and think. Wait until you see the stars.” I rolled down the truck windows and turned up my iPod. “Come on, the sun is going down. They’re gonna start popping out!”

I jumped out of the truck and went over to help her out. I took her hand and led her to the front of the truck. “Climb up,” I said.

“Up where?”

“Onto the hood of the truck.”

“You want me to climb up on the hood of your brand new truck? And do what?”

I let out a laugh. God, she’s so damn adorable. “Just lie back and look at the sky, princess. I promise it’ll be worth it.” Then, I stopped and stared at her. “Have I ever brought you out here?”

She smiled and shook her head. “Nope, this would be a first!”

Perfect.

I wasn’t sure how long we were on the hood of my truck, just talking. We talked about everything from the grades we made in high school to our first fight. I couldn’t get enough of her. She cried once when she started to tell me about her parents. I hated that she had to live through it all over again, just to tell me once more, but I wanted to know.

Everything about her was…amazing. She was beyond perfect in every way.

“I still can’t believe Jeff talked you into buying a Ford. You loved your Dodge so much.”