Page 31 of Cozy Girl Fall

Competitive apple bobbing had been set up at the front of the orchard, with scores being kept for how many apples were retrieved in thirty seconds.

The winner would get to take home the winning apple pie from the competition—though Angie had won it enough times in a row now that people had complained it was rigged.

Penny couldn’t say for sure one way or another, though she did have her suspicions.

A voice called her name and Penny spotted Tasha by the store in a denim jumpsuit that made her look like she’d stepped out of a cowboy lookbook, the style heightened by the barrel curls in her blonde hair. She waved and took another sip of her apple wine as she joined Tasha.

“Hey, you look cute.”

“Thanks! You do too. Ethan’s just inside talking to your dad about something.” Tasha smirked at the instant concern that filled Penny’s face. “Orchard-related, I think.”

Penny nodded, like this wasn’t worrying in the least. There wasn’t some trend she didn’t know about that involved getting a girl’s father to bless a break-up was there?

Like the opposite of giving permission to marry?

Had Ethan’s dad got to him more than she’d thought at the dinner party?

No, surely Ethan would have said something if that were the case.

Before Penny’s thoughts could spiral too far out of control, Ethan appeared sans Philip and she smiled, letting him fold her into a hug that did more to warm her than the apple wine.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, enjoying the warmth of his skin on her cold face and the softness of the faux-fur collar of his corduroy jacket.

“Hey, you.”

“Hi,” she breathed. “I missed you.” Tasha made a fake gagging sound that had Penny rolling her eyes. “OK, come on. Let’s get Tasha a candy apple before she combusts.”

Tasha’s face did brighten at the mention of the sweet treat and Ethan chuckled as Penny led them through the trees toward the dipping station. It was a delicacy Penny had loved as a kid but that was liable to give her a sugar crash just from smelling the caramel now that she was an adult.

Under the cover of the trees, Ethan slipped his hand into Penny’s and leant in close to murmur in her ear, “I missed you too.” The husky softness of his voice made heat curl in her core as butterflies took flight in her stomach.

Several kids with harried-looking parents walked past, sticky apples in hand and Tasha sped up a little until the station came into view.

“More power to you,” Penny said as Tasha picked out her apple and placed it firmly on a white stick, ready for submerging.

“I think they have a cinnamon-toffee flavor this year,” she offered and Tasha practically salivated as she handed the stall vendor some cash and hurried over to the vats for dipping.

“I wonder if that’s an apple I picked,” she mused and Ethan chuckled.

“It’s a wonder you got anything done, what with all the climbing of trees and frolicking that went on.”

She narrowed her eyes and he laughed, the sound warming the night air as he kissed her frown away.

“I can’t believe you outgrew this stuff,” Tasha groaned, oblivious, as she licked the excess off her fingers while twirling the apple expertly to prevent any drips as the sugary mixture cooled and hardened.

“Do you remember that year your mom asked us to run the stand and you dared me to get inside one of the vats at the end of the festival?”

She laughed at the memory, remembering how long it had taken Tasha to get the toffee out of her hair and eyelashes. “And you did it, too.”

They’d been twelve at the time and Ethan had been going through his moody phase where he’d thought it was uncool to hang around with his sister.

He’d missed toffee-gate in favor of playing basketball with his guy friends, and had regretted it as soon as they’d told him what he’d missed.

Ethan used to have a sweet tooth almost as big as Tasha’s.

It was the perfect night for the Orchard Fest: the sky was clear and the ground was mostly dry, it was cool but not freezing, and tucked into Ethan’s side Penny wasn’t sure when she’d last been this happy.

Strange that it had taken coming back to Magnolia Springs to feel like this.

She wasn’t sure it was just being close to her parents, or even rekindling her romance with Ethan and friendship with Tasha, but sometimes she thought she liked the town itself. The thought was ridiculous.

For the longest time, she couldn’t have imagined anything worse than being stuck in Magnolia Springs and becoming a lifer in the little town.

But now that she was here … Well, maybe Ethan had been right.

Magnolia Springs wasn’t so bad—and not just because it was the place where she’d first met him, but because it was her first home.

Maybe her only home, considering how disastrously things had gone in the city; she couldn’t say she felt much of a connection to the place.

For her, it had been more about what San Fran and being a chef in the city could offer her.

Now, as she watched Ethan and Tasha under the light of the twinkling trees, she wasn’t sure the city would have ever been enough.

Tasha spotted several friends a little over the way, standing in line for apple wine, and took off to greet them, leaving Penny and Ethan alone. She slid her arms up and linked them behind his head, gazing up at him intently.

A half-smile pulled at his mouth. “What?”

“I’m just glad you gave me a second chance.”

He softened. “I’ve been in love with you for half my life, Penny Larkin. You did what you thought was right back then and, yeah, it sucked, but you’re here now. Things happen for a reason. Who knows where we’d be right now if you hadn’t ever left and grown into the person you are now?”

“You sound like your sister,” she teased and then she kissed him, tasting his smile, and then leant back to smirk at him. “How much wine have you had?”

“Stone cold sober, baby,” he drawled and her laughter made her shoulders shake.

“Are you worried this is moving too fast?” she murmured once her giggles had subsided, a melancholy filling her as they swayed under the stars without any music.

“You mean other than my dad’s interrogation about our non-existent children?

” His eyes sparkled but he shrugged. “Not really, but we can take this at whatever pace you’re happy with.

Like I said before, I may not have known it at the time but I’ve waited ten years to be with you, Penny.

So, no, to me this feels long overdue,” he whispered, kissing her fiercely.

Their mouths collided, a tide of feelings rising up and swallowing them whole as Ethan tugged on her bottom lip and taunted her tongue with his.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you this week. ”

“Oh yeah?” She leant up to kiss him again, slipping her hands beneath his open flannel shirt and tugging him closer. “Do you want to get out of here?” she asked breathlessly as they broke apart.

She had been looking forward to the Orchard Fest for weeks and there was no way she was leaving this early and missing all the fun.

But she couldn’t deny that right now, with Ethan’s hands on her and the warmth of his body under her fingertips, she wished there was somewhere they could slip away to, just for as long as it would take to relieve the desire that was building in her.

Ethan licked his lips, his grin made of pure, smug, male dominance. “That desperate for me, Penny?” His hand slipped from her waist to curve over her ass and she nearly growled.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

She debated where best to go, her body burning hot with need. They couldn’t stay in the orchard, not with impressionable young kids running about liable to get an eyeful. Her parents’ place was closest, but it would look a little too obvious what they were sneaking off to do if she took her car.

“How do you feel about horses?”

Ethan’s eyes widened but he didn’t argue as she took him by the hand and led them out of the trees.

The town seemed to be out in full force, standing in line to carve apples or eat pie and vote for their favorite.

They slipped through the crowd unnoticed and her heart raced as they crossed the dirt road to the much quieter fields on the other side.

Her hand was clasped tightly in Ethan’s as they moved over the scraggly grass and toward the large brown barn.

Colton had stopped using this space years ago when one of his horses had escaped too close to the road, the near-miss frightening everyone half to death.

Luckily for Penny and Ethan, it meant one thing: privacy.

It was almost pitch-black inside and Penny left the door slightly ajar to let the bright moonlight illuminate the inside of the barn.

Hay was strewn about the floor, an old tack set hung on one wall, and some graffiti had been sprayed onto one of the others.

Penny wondered vaguely if this was a new make-out spot in town or if it was too out of the way for the high-school kids.

“Are you sure this—”

Penny halted his question with her mouth, the heat of his lips making her shiver as he walked them back until they leant against a wooden post. Ethan lifted her up so that her legs could wrap around his waist. “Did I mention I missed you?” she mumbled between kisses, gasping when he trailed his mouth down her neck to suck at the pulse point in her throat.

“I was worried you’d changed your mind about me. ”

He pulled back, the moonlight bathing his face and making him glow. “Never.” His kiss was tender, his hands gentle as they cupped her cheeks, and she whimpered, wanting more.

“Then why did we wait so long to do this again?”

His laugh rumbled through her as his hands slid into her hair, tilting her head back so he could kiss her deeper. “I was trying to give you space. I didn’t want you to feel rushed or that this, us , was only about sex.”

Her answering laugh was breathless. “If I need space, I’ll tell you.”

“Do you need space?” The question was a taunt and she answered by tightening her legs around him and grinding against the hardness she could feel through his jeans.

“What I need is for you to put your mouth to good use,” she said, crying out when he nipped at her lip, the bite of pain making her breaths come hard. “What I need is for you to fuck me, Ethan.”

The words were his undoing.

She was glad she’d opted to wear a skirt that day, and Ethan made short work of her tights, ripping through the material with his bare hands and groaning her name when he found her bare underneath.

One finger slicked through her wetness, dipping inside of her briefly before pulling back to stroke her clit. “Have you been this wet for me all night, baby?”

She nodded, barely coherent as his fingers worked her, curling against that spot inside her that made her see stars. A slice of his face was visible in the moonlight, his pupils blown wide with desire as he bit his lip, head tilting back as he swallowed hard.

“You feel so good, Pen.”

She reached down to find his belt buckle, tugging at it desperately while he laughed, a dark sound that made her pulse race.

“You want me, do you, baby?” He freed himself and supported her weight with the post behind her. “You want me to fuck you right here where anyone could find us?”

“Yes,” she moaned. “ Yes .”

His head notched at her entrance and she could feel the heat of his skin, the way he twitched against her sensitive flesh.

He sank in one inch at a time, lifting her chin so she’d meet his eyes.

“Look at me, Penny. You’re going to take all of me, aren’t you?

” He glanced down to where they were joined and shuddered. “Fuck. That’s hot.”

She looked down too and couldn’t help the way she clenched around him as she watched her pussy swallow him with ease. When she wriggled, needing more, needing friction, he finally stopped teasing her and began to move.

The post behind them creaked ominously but didn’t give as Ethan fucked her against it, her desperate whines muffled in the collar of his shirt.

“Penny,” he moaned and she wasn’t sure there was any sweeter sound in the world.

She rocked against him, feeling more than a little wild with the cool air sending goosebumps over her skin and the wood of the post behind her hard at her back.

His hand dropped between them, stroking her clit in the way that made her desperate for more and Ethan groaned when she tightened around him.

“Again, sweetheart. Eyes on me,” he growled, the words short as he fought for self-control and she lifted her eyes to his, still hazy from her first orgasm as he kissed her breathless. “You can take it, baby. Can’t you?”

She nodded, gasping when his pace quickened and the sound of their bodies filled the barn. Moonlight sliced across them and she glanced down to watch as he bottomed out into her over and over again.

He pressed closer, the angle shifting as he supported more of her weight on his hips, and she moaned at the new depth as his hand moved between them once more.

“Now, sweetheart. Come for me, Penny.”

She came, gripping him tightly as her muscles clamped down, causing him to teeter over the edge with her, chanting her name, and she couldn’t describe how good it felt to be with Ethan Blake.