3.13.22: Smut warning:)
I grin when I see the box Sam pulls from his bag. "Nertz?"
"Nertz." He confirms with a grin matching mine. We each take a deck of cards before sitting in a circle on the dusty, warm, multicolored rug.
"Is this rug new?" Rylie asks.
"New to its home in the tower, yes. But the rug is at least a few years old." Sam says.
"At least." Jeremy echoes with a laugh. We quickly shuffle our cards a few times before beginning, and I win the first match within minutes.
"How?!" Derek shouts. I laugh and shrug my shoulders. We start again, and even though the round is several minutes longer than the first, I win again. Rylie takes a close second. On the 5th round, Derek wins.
"NERTZ!" He yells excitedly. "I got Nertz! Stop playing!" I laugh at how excited he is and begin sorting the cards into their piles. Once Derek finishes counting his, he turns to me with a triumphant gleam in his eye.
"How many did you get, Aspen?"
"You tell me first." I say with a smirk.
"Fine. 32."
"Wow," I say, genuinely impressed. He looks so happy and proud at that moment that I can't bear to tell him that he did not, in fact, win despite being the one to call Nertz. "I got 30." I lie, and his face lights up even more, which I didn't think was possible.
30 pls 4... I add in my head.
"Yes!" He yells. "I finally beat you! I can't tell you how happy I am right now!"
"I could take a guess." I laugh. "Good job, Derek. You make for quite the competition. Maybe more so than Rylie." I tease, earning a glare from both Rylie and Derek.
"Hmm... when I watched you count, it didn't look like 30..." Rylie says from beside me with a grin.
"I know," I whisper back. "But I couldn't crush his dreams when he looks so damn happy." I giggle.
"You're too nice, Aspen."
"Only to those that deserve it." I smile as I kiss her cheek.
"Okay, we've got a surprise for y'all." Sam says once the cards are all cleaned up. "Follow me." He leads us out onto the deck and around the back side of the cabin, where I see a ladder. We take our turns climbing the slightly wobbly ladder, and when I reach the top, I wonder if it's safe to be up here. But then again, I don't really care. The view of the stars is worth the risk.
Blankets are piled on the middle of the roof, and I grab two before spreading one on the ground and pulling Rylie down onto it beside me. She pulls the other blanket over us before cuddling up beside me.
The sky is absolutely beautiful. No lights pollute the view and countless stars shine down on us. Sam pulls out a speaker and starts playing some quiet music. I smile, recognizing the song Kiss Me by dreamr. and Kyra Grove. The sounds of the song match the vibe perfectly.
Rylie's head rests on my chest as she stares up at the stars and I take a minute to just watch her. She is so beautiful, so perfect, and I still sometimes couldn't believe that she was mine.
In two days, I'll be able to call her my fiancé.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When we get back to our hotel, it's a little after midnight, and I'm exhausted. We have to be up early tomorrow for Sam's wedding, so I quickly get ready for bed. But when I turn to Rylie and see the look in her eyes, I know we won't be getting any sleep for a while.
YOU ARE READING
When Summer Ends
RomanceBook 2 of That North Carolina Summer. Aspen and Rylie's love continues to grow as they work to build their life together. The future looks exciting and promising, but will things along the way end up testing their love?
