Eight years earlier

"Wyatt, how am I ever going to see this incredible place you keep talking about if you won't stop kissing me?"

He chuckles into my neck, the vibration tickling my skin. I'm smiling as his hands graze down my sides to pull me closer, my body flush against his. "You're so sweet, darlin. Once I start, it's hard to quit."

Sighing in defeat, I tilt my head to the side so he can continue his work, shuddering as he pulls the skin between his teeth. It hurts so good, and I clutch his hair to push his mouth further against me.

We're supposed to be going on our first date today, but at this rate, we'll never leave. I've been at his farm now for fifteen minutes, and after we fed Dolly and the pigs, he pinned me against the side of his truck, his lips never leaving the column of my neck.

I can feel how hard he is through his jeans, and I let out a steam of giggles when he groans and pulls away, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is why you wait for the first date to kiss a girl," he says. "Because then this happens."

"Oh, you've done this before then?" I cock my head to the side, and he rolls his eyes.

"I've kissed girls before, darlin, but never one quite like you."

"Is that a good thing?"

He kisses my lips, lingering there longer than usual. "It's a very good thing. Now come on. I'm takin you someplace."

***

We drive on the dirt paths of the farm for only five minutes or so until he begins to slow down. The truck passes over a hill, and when he rolls it to a stop, my eyes are gaping at the landscape in front of me. I've never seen something so beautiful.

There's a huge pond with lily pads and duckweed surrounding it, the buzzing of the cicadas singing their lovely melody. The grass is overgrown, almost up to my knees, but I slip my sandals off and run barefoot toward the pond, my long blonde hair swinging behind me.

I didn't know this was part of his farm. I didn't know the farm went as far as this, but this is incredible. I land on my back and smile up at the brightest sky I've ever seen, letting the September sun beam down on me. Wyatt comes to stand beside me, staring down at me with a lazy grin. "You look so beautiful right now, darlin."

My hair is fanned out around my head, and my sundress is hiked up to my upper thighs from lying down. I don't think I've ever been happier than right here, right now. This place feels serene. It feels like our own personal sanctuary. A place we can call ours.

"I can't wait for it to be summer," I breathe out. "I'm going swimming in that pond."

"There's fish in it," he says and relaxes down beside me. "My dad used to bring me fishin here a lot as a kid."

"You think I'm afraid of a little fish?" I tease.

He laughs and raises himself up on one elbow to hover above me, using his free hand to stick a strand of stray hair behind my ear. "I think you're a country chick whether you'd like to admit it or not. Feedin pigs, pettin horses, swimmin with the fish... Face it. You like it here."

I shake my head, refusing to allow him to be right. Because none of those things appeal to me, but doing them with Wyatt appeals to me. He makes me like it here, but it's too soon to say that. We've only known each other for two weeks. I'm falling too hard and too fast, and it scares the shit out of me.

"I'm not a country chick," I say. "I'll never know everything about this place like you do. I know how to feed the pigs and feed Dolly sugar cubes. I don't know how to do...all the other stuff. Not like some girls do."

He rolls his eyes. "You don't need to be like other girls, Macey." He's used my full name, so I know he's serious. "I like that you're different. When I saw you at The Starlighter, I'm pretty sure I lost my damn breath."

I smile brightly. "I did too."

"Sorry if this date isn't what you were expectin it to be. I don't have much money, but this is one of my favorite places to go, so I wanted to share it with you."

I grasp his cheeks so that he'll look at me. "It's perfect, Wyatt. It's the best date I've ever been on."

"Yeah?"

I nod and bring his head down to mine so I can kiss him. It's slow and steady at first, but then his hand rakes through my hair, making me lose all sense of thought. He moans, and I open my legs for him to crawl between, making it so he's directly on top of me. He adds tongue, and we're both breathing heavily through our noses as it grows stronger...faster...more powerful than our kiss has ever been before.

I whimper from the pleasure, letting him kiss down my chest. He's hard between my legs, and he slips his hand between our bodies to push underneath my dress. Everything feels right with him, so right. I want to feel him everywhere, but before his hand can reach past my underwear, he pulls himself off of me and sits up on his knees completely out of breath.

I prop myself up on my elbows, furrowing my eyebrows together. "What's wrong, Wyatt?"

"I..." He sighs, unable to stop moving his gaze over the entirety of my body. "I need to tell you something, and I don't know how you're gonna take it."

What the hell?

Is he dying?

Is he sick?

I'm waiting for him to continue, still panting from how hot and heavy our kiss was just seconds ago.

"I'm savin myself for marriage," he explains. "I have a really strong relationship with God. You know, I go to church every Sunday, start my morning with devotionals, and I made a promise with myself that I'm going to wait for marriage to have sex for the first time."

This is the last thing I expected him to say, but when I open my mouth to speak, he interrupts me.

"The girls I've dated in the past couldn't handle it, and I completely understand if this is too much for you, but I just thought you needed to know before we continue this any further. I don't wanna get too attached, darlin."

I nod, remembering his hand going up my dress, his lips pressed to my neck. "When you say sex...does that mean everything? Like..."

He chuckles. "Not everything. I still plan on pleasin ya, darlin. I just think sex itself is a sacred thing meant for a husband and a wife."

"And...will it bother you to know I didn't save myself for marriage? If it's too late for me?"

He shakes his head. "No. I don't think of it that way. I think, you know, if this works out between us, it'll be just as special on our wedding night that we waited for each other. It won't matter if you've done it before."

I knew Wyatt was a southern gentleman, and although I didn't think of this as a possibility, it's...special. Knowing Wyatt is saving himself for his wife just makes me understand the type of man he is. He takes relationships seriously, and if he's with me... He's thinking of the future.

"It doesn't bother me," I tell him. "I respect your decision, Wyatt, and I think it's amazing."

He arches a brow. "Really? You don't mind waiting?"

"If it's for you? I'd wait as long as it takes."

I must have said the right thing, because he relaxes back down on top of me, chuckling when I grab his hand and move it up my dress again. "I think our version of a first date is turning out a lot different than most in my town, darlin."

Sighing when his lips attach to my neck, I place his hand directly where I want it, my stomach bottoming out at the moan that escapes his lips. I want to hear that sound forever. "I don't care," I say, gasping from the feeling when he finally gives me what I want. "Just whatever you do, Wyatt, don't stop."

A/N:

Hm...

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