Page 30 of Brave Spirit (Bound Spirit #6)

Felix

T he headlights of my truck are all that illuminate the main highway leaving Twin Cedar Pass, though calling it a highway is generous.

It’s a two-lane road that is in desperate need of repairs once we leave the city limits.

Fortunately, Saturday night usually means heading toward Main Street for those who need to go out for fun, so there are very few cars on the road this far out.

Callie hasn’t commented on our odd direction for driving lessons, but I can tell she’s curious.

To be fair, I’ve been weirdly twitchy, stumbling over my words whenever I’m lucky enough to think of any.

Normally, I have too many words that often mash together, barely coming out fast enough to keep up with my thoughts, but tonight is different.

Tonight, I’m surprising Callie with a real date.

My brain keeps buzzing with anxious white noise, and my heart is thundering so loud, I can barely hear the music playlist I made as a special background for this drive—the best love songs from the past twenty-five years.

Nolan made this sound so easy. Callie and I are already dating, so it shouldn’t feel any different from other times we’ve hung out, except all those times, I wasn’t trying to plan a romantic evening, and my knowledge of romance predominantly comes from rom-coms—not the best source for romantic dates that don’t end in crazy hijinks.

“Careful going around that pothole,” Callie warns, her voice sounding distant over my very loud thoughts.

Like an idiot, I run right over it with a shocking thud that has us bouncing around the cab of the truck.

“Sorry, I, uh, didn’t see… I mean, I did see it because you pointed it out, so how could I miss it?

” A weird laugh that is way too high-pitched escapes me, and I wish I could pull over and flee into the woods to escape my own awkwardness.

I nearly jump out of my skin when Callie reaches over to gently squeeze my shoulder. “Are you okay? You seem really nervous driving out here. Maybe we should try night driving in a parking lot or residential street first? I can drive us back.”

“No,” I blurt way too loudly for such close proximity, and then I take a deep breath to hopefully calm the fuck down. “It’s okay. The driving isn’t what’s making me nervous.”

She reaches over to turn the music down until it’s barely audible, and then she shifts in her seat to better face my direction. “What’s going on? If it isn’t the driving, is it me? Is there something you’re nervous to talk to me about? Whatever it is, I promise to listen.”

Groaning, I take a hand off the steering wheel to rub the back of my neck.

“It isn’t that either. There’s…” I sigh, deflated that I couldn’t keep my cool long enough to surprise Callie and feeling like a total idiot for even trying.

“We haven’t been on, like, an official date, so I thought I’d surprise you with one. ”

“Oh.” Callie’s lips quirk into a soft smile, and her hand drops to my thigh. “So you’re nervous because this is a date?”

Awareness tingles through my body, radiating from the heat of her hand through my jeans, and I swallow heavily. “I want it to be special.”

She slides closer to me and rests her head against my shoulder. “Casper, any time I get to spend with you is special. There’s no reason to be nervous. It’s just me.”

“Just you,” I scoff, but her nearness has certainly changed the reason my heart is pounding. “Pretty girl, you’re literally my dream girl personified, and that’s before we get to the fact that you’re practically a superhero.”

“Yeah, but that’s never made you nervous before,” she points out with a teasing tone. “All I’m saying is that you don’t need to worry. I love you, and any time together is special. Whatever you have planned, I’m sure I’ll like it, because it will be with you.”

“I love you too,” I reply as a happy warmth fills my chest. Tension slowly drains out of me as what she said sinks in. “You’re right. Every moment I’ve spent with you has been special to me, dead or alive.”

Callie hums in agreement and presses a kiss to my shoulder over the fabric of my button-up. “So now that the big secret is out, do I get to know where we’re going?”

“Nope.” I grin, slowing down as we approach the turnoff that leads to our date location. “But we’re almost there.”

When I turn onto a narrow dirt road, Callie observes the shadows of trees that conceal what lies beyond. “Do you have some cabin in the woods you’ve failed to mention?”

“You’ll see,” I sing as I navigate the bumpy road, taking unmarked turns that are nearly impossible to see in the dark.

Soon the trees start to thin out, and I drive up a hill covered in wild grass. At the top, I park the truck and shut everything off. Callie looks confused as I hop out of the truck and head over to her side. Opening her door, I hold out a hand to help her down.

Taking my hand, she steps down into the shin-high grass. “Where are we?”

With my heart somewhere in my throat, I pull her into my arms and whisper against her ear, “Look up.”

She gasps, looking up at the spatter of stars in the sky. “Oh, Felix, it’s beautiful.”

Relief washes through me over the sound of wonder in her voice.

“This is part of a nature reserve that my dad used to take me to. The lack of light pollution makes it a perfect place to star gaze.” As I tilt my face up to the sky, my mind is filled with the countless memories of the time I spent here looking through my dad’s old telescope.

“My dad used to say that looking up at the stars gave him perspective. In an endless universe, we’re all just blips in time on one of many rocks rotating around a countless number of stars.

At the time, the idea made me a little sad, like nothing really mattered in life, but now I understand. ”

Callie’s gaze falls from the blanket of stars to my face, her expression tender. “What do you understand now?”

Looking into the beauty of her clear gray eyes, I cup her cheek with one hand while the other rests at the base of her spine. “When nothing matters, all that matters is what you do, so live your life to the fullest. I have a second chance now, and I don’t plan to waste a second of it.”

I lean down and kiss her like it’s my only purpose in life, savoring the feeling of her soft lips against mine. She tastes of mint chocolate and pomegranate ChapStick. She’s as sweet as ever, and I hope I get to spend a lifetime discovering all of her flavors.

Wrapping her arms around my neck, she rocks onto her toes to deepen the kiss. A purr of pleasure vibrates in her throat when I enthusiastically comply, walking her back against the truck.

My first spark of desire burns into an inferno of need as I feel all of her pressed against me.

Barely breaking enough for air, I kiss her thoroughly and recklessly as my hands traverse the sides of her body.

She’s warm and curvy in all the best ways.

When I slip my hands under the hem of her shirt, she feels like silk under my callused fingers.

Callie moans, a throaty sound that feeds the fire within me. One of her hands fists the back of my shirt while the other slips into my hair, her fingers tangling in the strands, and she pulls me toward her as if even a millimeter of separation would be too much.

Plans and reason leave my head, having no space to thrive around the reality of having Callie in my arms. I’m free to touch her, kiss her, and love her. It’s euphoric, because I know she wants this. She wants me.

Callie pulls back long enough to speak between gasping breaths. “Do you have a blanket or something in the truck?”

“Yeah,” I answer, my mind muddled with more physical interests. “You cold?”

“Cold? No.” She laughs huskily, the sound encouraging my blood to make a mad dash toward my groin. “The door handle is digging into my back, and I thought the grass might be more comfortable.”

“Shit, sorry.” I step back to give her some space. “I got carried away. This wasn’t how I planned it.”

Callie raises a single blonde brow, her voice full of amusement. “You didn’t plan for us to make out on our date?”

“Well, I hoped,” I joke, keeping to myself that I had more than kissing on the brain. “But that was supposed to be after the romantic hot chocolate and star gazing.”

“Romantic hot chocolate, hmm?” She closes the space between us, sliding her hands up my chest and around my neck. “Where’s that hiding?”

I’m so distracted by the feeling of her touch that I forget how words work, instead vaguely motioning to the bed of the truck.

Her smile grows as the night sky reflects in her eyes. “Want to share that hot chocolate and teach me how to star gaze? I’d hate to miss out on the date you planned.”

Nodding like I’m in a trance, I lead her to the back of the truck. Popping the tailgate down, I lift her up to sit on the edge. I climb up next, and as I go through the process of setting up the date I planned, the wheels of my brain slowly start to turn again.

The first thing I pull out of the metal saddle box that’s mounted behind the back of the cab is the thermos with the promised hot chocolate.

I pour a generous amount into a travel mug and hand it to Callie.

She takes it graciously, making happy hums as she sips the hot liquid and watches me continue to set up.

Next is an air bed that I roll out and begin to inflate, having to adjust it so it’ll fit between the wheel wells.

Then comes two thick blankets, one to place on the mattress and the other to snuggle under, and a couple of pillows for comfort.

Finally, I pull out a box with a hand telescope.

It’s nothing fancy, but it makes it a little easier to see the constellations.

Toeing off my tennis shoes, I sit on the air mattress and place the thermos on the lid of the saddle box. Afterward, I hold my hand out. “Here, I can hold your mug while you take off your shoes.”