Page 40 of Love Is a War Song

He led us through a side entrance for employees.

It was eerily dark and quiet, but Wyatt knew where to go, turning on a few lights to illuminate our path.

Quickly, he ushered us into his office, going past the waiting room and into an examination room.

He motioned for me to sit in the chair and turned the overhead light on.

Wyatt grabbed a pair of purple gloves from a box attached to the wall. “Luke, you might want to look away from this.”

“Why? What are you going to do?” I asked. I couldn’t help the panic that grew in my voice. Lucas’s hand found mine. He used his thumb to lightly brush the back of my hand. It was steadying me.

“Nothing bad, but the veneer mouth is not for the faint of heart.”

Lucas rolled his eyes as he stood next to me. “I can handle it.”

“If you say so. Avery, can you tilt your head up and open your mouth wide?”

I did.

“Mm hmm.” Wyatt used his finger and thumb on my chin to direct my face more toward the light. “Mm hmm.” He moved my head again. “Mm hmm.”

“Got any words besides mm hmm, doctor ?” Lucas said “doctor” like one would say idiot . Wyatt only smiled.

“I’ll be right back with some supplies and have us all out of here in less than forty-five minutes.”

Wyatt left me and Lucas in the examination room. Lucas still had not dropped my hand. My nerves were shooting off as the adrenaline was waning and I could feel a splitting headache form. The pain made me wince.

“Hey, are you okay?” Lucas stepped in front of me, as much as he could given the awkward way the examination chair had my legs sticking out. His right hand rested beneath my jaw as his left brushed my hair behind my ear. The glide of his fingers sent shivers through me.

“I’m fine, I just need some Advil or something.” When he went to pull his hand away, I brought mine up to keep him there. I leaned my cheek into the most beautiful and hardworking hands I had ever felt. They were so gentle with me.

“I’ll make Wyatt get you some when he comes back.”

I nodded, feeling the black cloud of self-pity starting to form in my stomach.

Every time it was starting to feel like I was gaining my footing here and fitting in, I screwed something up.

Now I was in a random dentist’s office, missing my front tooth, had the worst headache of my life, holding Lucas’s hand to my face, and I just really wanted to kiss him.

Lucas took a step back, ripping his hand out of mine. “You want to kiss Wyatt?”

“What? Where would you get that idea?”

“You just mumbled that you want to kiss him.”

“I did?”

“Yes.” He frowned.

“I don’t want to kiss him. I don’t know him. I want to kiss you. My brain’s all scrambled.”

“You want to kiss me?” His smug smile set off an inferno in the dentistry. He stepped closer to me, leaning down to brush his lips against my ear. “I want to kiss you too.”

I slurped at my saliva and gulped.

“But we won’t,” I said.

“We won’t?”

“I’m missing a tooth, remember? And we are stupid business partners.”

“Valid point there, but you could be missing all of your teeth and I would still want to kiss you.”

The sexual tension was mounting, and I was dizzy from his words and proximity. And while it was sweet of him to say that, I couldn’t help picturing us making out, me all gummy and thrusting my tongue into his mouth. It was ridiculous, and I hid my laughter behind my hand.

He pushed my hand away. “Don’t hide from me. Missing a tooth doesn’t define you and we are getting it fixed.”

Wyatt knocked on the door before poking his head back in. “Okay to come in?”

“Yeah, let’s get on with this.” Lucas pushed himself off the armrest of my examination chair, going to the spare rolling stool in the corner to give Dr. Cole space to fix me up.

“I’m going to inject some local anesthesia to numb the area and then will bond this back in with the light resin cement.”

I hated needles. I gripped the armrests and shut my eyes so I wouldn’t see as Dr. Cole brought the needle close to my face. I could feel Lucas’s presence return in an instant, his hand in mine, anchoring me as I felt the first pinch of the injection before losing all feeling.

Once the procedure was over and Dr. Cole assured me the resin was set, I moved my tongue around my mouth.

The top section of my gums on my left side was still numb, but my mouth felt normal again.

He handed me a small paper cup full of blue mouthwash.

I gratefully swished it around before spitting it out.

“Thank you, Dr. Cole.” I beamed my winning, fresh smile up at him.

“It was my pleasure, and please call me Wyatt. We’re practically family.” He winked. Lucas groaned.

“Well, thank you, Wyatt. I appreciate your kindness and help.” I paused and glanced at Lucas before continuing. “How much do I owe you?”

“I can cover it,” Lucas interjected.

“What? No, you can bill me.”

“It’s fine. I don’t charge family. Just be more careful.”

“Thank you for fixing me up.” I thought about the horrible stickball game and the reason why we were there in the first place. We needed to get the word out about the fundraiser. Wyatt looked like he knew some friends who could help support the effort. “Are you going to be around next weekend?”

“I’m pretty sure. You wanna hang out?” Wyatt leaned down, all swagger and flirtatious charm.

“We’re hosting a fundraiser for Lottie’s ranch.” Lucas stepped in, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Wyatt straightened, smugly smiling as he pointedly looked at where Lucas rested his hand.

“We all love Lottie. Count me in.”

“Thank you!” I clapped. “Invite everyone you know.”

“Will do. See you then, Avery.”

I jumped and hugged him. I was a hugger, and he saved my smile. I moved back to stand next to Lucas, and he took my hand, lacing his fingers with mine.

“Wyatt.”

“Lucas.”

They nodded their farewells, and Lucas and I left the medical center hand in hand.

“How’s your headache?” he asked me as we made it to the passenger side of the truck.

“It’s doing better actually.” I smiled.

“Great.” He gently reached his hands under my jaw and pressed our lips together in a kiss that was all-consuming hunger.

The sky was fading into dusk above us, and the summer heat grew a few degrees hotter as I gripped his shoulders. Lucas stole his mouth away to trail his lips down my neck, the tip of his tongue leaving a scorched wake.

His growing arousal pressed against my stomach, and I brought my hand down to grip his girth with my hand. It was substantial and I wanted more than just a fondle above his pants.

He let out a strangled groan. “What do you do to me to make me lose control like this?” he panted into my ear.

“The same thing you do to me.” I gazed up at him. “I’d invite you back to my place, but it’s basically the same place as yours and I’m currently roommates with my grandmother.”

“She would have my hide for this.” He groaned.

I nodded. “We should stop.”

“We should.”

I melted as I looked into his soft, gray eyes, mirrors to the clouds darkening the sky overhead. I’d never seen anyone look at me with such tenderness underneath the heat of desire. His look set me on fire.

We fused together again, our hands going everywhere. I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his torso, his fingers so dangerously close to the edge of my shorts and the growing heat there.

He took one hand away and opened the truck door, then set me gently into the seat.

I grabbed his face for another kiss that was slow and lazy.

It was our last kiss and we both knew it.

When we separated, I caressed his cheek for a moment, memorizing the feel of his skin, the look of his gray eyes, clear of worry or stress.

We were in this tiny bubble the size of the cab of the truck and as soon as we left it, nothing would be the same.

My heart constricted. I wanted to live in a world where I could have it all: a successful music career; an affectionate boyfriend with his dream job caring for horses and kids who needed it; a functional relationship with my mother and my grandmother.

But at this moment I had to choose, and I worked too hard on my career and music to give it all up and stay in Broken Arrow with Lucas.

I had to sacrifice something, and I wished it wasn’t always my heart.