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Blake

I had no idea what was going on with this girl. I thought I had seen a damn mirage when I looked over at the bar door and locked eyes with her. Nothing was going to stop me from running after that blonde, just in case it was Sierra. I knew I had it bad.

There wasn’t enough whiskey or beer last night to drink her out of my head, and I had sure as hell tried.

I thought I saw Sierra everywhere I went. The girl I spun around in the grocery store yesterday almost clocked me. Even my cousin, Cece, had started teasing me about it. The music helped; singing about Sierra helped. When those notes were in the air and I could sing about her, my heart didn’t hurt quite as much for that one song. Taking a hit on the field, or scoring a touchdown took the edge off. But, now here she was, already running out of town, and she hadn’t been here five minutes.

“I shouldn’t have come. Big, big mistake.” She fiddled with the door handle, suddenly very clumsy. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll call you later.”

I reached around her and took the keys from her hand. “Call me later?”

I wasn’t letting her out of here until we had it out. I was still a little drunk. Drunk enough I wasn’t going to hold anything back.

Her eyes fell to the pavement. She pinched her lips together.

“Say something before you leave. Have a beer with me at least?” I realized I might be begging a little, but this was crazy.

“I think you’ve got that covered. Cece’s keeping a barstool warm for you, isn’t she?”

“What?”

“I saw you two. You don’t have to say anything else. We’ll talk another time. Just let me go, Blake.”

I laughed. Once it started, I couldn’t stop. I wiped the tears that started squeezing from the corners of my eyes.

“I’m glad my humiliation is so funny to you.” Sierra stood, looking disgusted as I tried to control the jolts of laughter.

“You-you’re mad, because you think I’m with Cece.”

“Aren’t you?” She sputtered the question.

“No, she’s my cousin. She’s here every week with her friends.” I stopped laughing long enough to brush a lock of her hair away from her face. “She heard I was here for tonight so she didn’t want to miss it. Don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Sierra’s eyes softened. “So, you’re not with someone else?”

My hand moved along her neck and snaked its way through her hair. “No, didn’t you hear that song I wrote about you? I am not with anyone else.” I was still trying to wrap my head around her being here.

“Just how many freakin’ cousins do you have?” I could see the blaze in her eyes.

I looked toward the sky to count. “You want a first cousin number or what?”

She shoved my chest. “That’s not funny. Oh my God, I thought you were with someone, and I flew here and I didn’t stop driving until I found you. I couldn’t stop and now…”

My wide eyes conveyed all the surprise I was feeling. “You were that serious to get here?”

She bit her lower lip. “Yeah.”

“Why? Why now?”

She shivered. “Do you think we could go inside, but maybe not here?” She rubbed the sides of her arms. “I don’t think I can face Cece after the death stare I shot her.”

I laughed. “I doubt she thought anything of it. Cece’s a tough girl.”

“We need to talk, Blake.”

Talking could wait. There was only thing I wanted right now, and the more I played with her hair, the harder it was to deny.

I didn’t need a second invitation. I pulled her into my arms and pressed my mouth against her. Sierra wrapped her hands around my neck and moaned. Had I let her walk away? I was a fucking idiot. She started to giggle as I picked her up, and her legs wrapped around my hips.