Song of the chapter - We Belong by Pat Benetar

I watched as Matt drove away, feeling...off. That was a strange conversation to say the least. He had changed so much, and he seemed to think it was because of me. But it wasn't me at all. He never would have made any of those connections if it hadn't been for one afternoon behind the cafeteria. If Garrett hadn't have stepped in and knocked him out, I might still be with Matt, and he would most likely still be the jerk he'd been before.

My bare feet wiggled in the grass on my front lawn, still damp from the morning dew as I remained in front of my house, looking towards where Matt had driven away. I hugged myself, feeling so conflicted after speaking with him. Suddenly my emotions were a mess. He had wanted to be with me, partly because he saw me as someone who had helped him change. Wasn't that part of the reason I now had feelings for Garrett?

My brain started to second guess every moment Garrett and I had spent together. Maybe he had been so open with me just to make me see what I had gotten myself into. Maybe the hand holding was for comfort or encouragement. Maybe the hugs were just to make me feel better. What if all of this time I had been falling for him, but he just saw me as a weak girl that needed saving.

April had spent the morning with me asking all kinds of questions about our date. Thinking about the night before created more confusion. Was it really a date? Did he just say that because I had asked him if it was?

But then I remembered how he wanted to create good memories with me and I tried to shake off the confusion. I had to stop second guessing everything and just let things happen naturally. I needed to relax.

Since it was a long weekend and I had no real plans, I decided to take a walk. That had always helped clear my head, especially when music was involved. I went back into the house to put my shoes on and grab my phone and ear buds.

"Mom, I'm going on a walk." I called to her.

She came around the corner from her room, "That's fine. Is everything ok?" She had a worried expression after seeing Matt at the door.

"Yeah, its good. He was fine. I just want some fresh air, I shouldn't be very long."

She waved me off and I got some music going. My feet hit the pavement and moved me forward as I let my mind focus on the song. I headed towards the local park, it being one of my favorite places to sit. It was close enough to go frequently, and it was a quiet place to think most of the time.

In a few minutes I was at the open grass area of the park, and a dozen steps later I was at the swings. Swinging had always been such a soothing activity, I mean that's why little babies have swings. It literally puts them to sleep. So as I swung back and forth, my mind calmed down and my happiness from the night before returned. I was anxious to see Garrett again, but I had no idea when that would be. He and Nico were deep into their current restoration project and tended to spend long hours working.

As I started to remember my hand in Garrett's and the look he gave me right at the end of our date, I felt my phone buzz with a text.

Hey, where r u rn? - April

At the park. Y? - Amber

Just curious, Doll. See ya later ;-) - April

That was weird, I thought to myself, but remained on the swing enjoying the playlist I had on shuffle. My legs continued their motion pushing me higher each time. I liked the little drop in my stomach as the swing fell back to Earth. A few songs later, my phone buzzed again.

Turn around - April

What?

Not having a clue why she would send that, I slowed my swing and soon came to a stop. Without getting off of the swing, I turned around and saw nothing but a beat up car parked right by the swings. However, something inside the car caught my attention. I decided to get off of the swing so I could face it fully.

Taking a step toward the car, I came to a stop the moment I recognized the driver. Garrett sat behind the wheel with a smile on his face. He was so handsome, but the smile made him even more so. His blue eyes caught mine, causing my heart to flutter in response. As I stepped forward, drawn right to him, he simultaneously opened the car door and started to get out. He stood to his full height, then turned and closed the door. My movement towards him hadn't stopped, until he looked up at me and began coming my way.

I stopped dead in my tracks. My heart rate speed up noticeably, and my breathing became unsteady.

This was a different Garrett. The confidence he had was noticeable. Something about the way he was looking at me sent tingles all the way across my body, my mouth went dry. He continued walking towards me with that smile, now more of a smolder, the confidence in his step increasing with each passing moment. I, however, stood there just watching his approach in awe.

Without a word, he came to stand right in front of me. Without hesitation, he reached for me, both hands cupping the sides of my face. Without pausing, even for a heartbeat, he leaned down to me, pressing his lips to mine in the most tender way possible. He lingered there, holding me close, creating a stir within my heart at the feel of his lips on mine.

Before I was ready for the feeling to end, he pulled away slightly, just enough to look deeply into my eyes. "I'm kissing you because you are the best thing to ever happen to me. You've changed everything that I couldn't have changed on my own. I'm kissing you now because I couldn't wait one more moment for you to know how I feel."

I had never felt as happy as I did in that moment. Garrett still had his hands on my cheeks, his eyes still connecting with mine. "You told me I should know why I was kissing you the next time it happened. Well, I do know. And I wanted you to know, too."

The look he was giving me caused my heart to soar. No words were needed for me to tell him how I felt. I just pulled his hands from my face and wrapped them around my waist. Stepping even closer to him, I put my arms around his shoulders and stood on my toes to reach up and kiss him back.

This kiss was so much more. This kiss was everything. Our lips connected and my eyes fluttered closed. He grabbed at my waist to drag me to him, leaving no space between us at all. At the same time I pressed my arms against his back, pulling him down towards me even more. I felt his mouth open slightly against mine, and I followed his lead. His tongue gently dipped in, testing, teasing mine. I answered his tease with one of my own. My own sigh of relief at finally having him close, kissing me with all of his heart, was met with a matching groan from Garrett. That sound was almost my undoing. I had never felt such a passion for someone. And this was just a first kiss...

Suddenly I remembered we were in a park. In public, in the middle of the afternoon. So reluctantly I pulled back. If it were up to me, I'd have spent the rest of the day just enjoying Garrett's kiss. His brows furrowed in confusion as he looked down at me, my eyes then scanning the area around us, making sure we weren't creating a spectacle.

"Um...we're pretty exposed out here." I explained, "but I wish we weren't" I added as I looked back at him, desire evident on his face as much as my own. In that moment, I don't think April and Nico held a candle to what we were feeling.

Garrett took a slight step back, running one hand through his dark hair, but keeping the other close around my waist. He wasn't letting me get away. "Right. I wasn't thinking about that." He laughed a little, seeming somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not sure what came over me, other than needing you to know." His smolder had returned. My knees became a little weak.

"And you must know I feel the same. It's been building up and..." he cut me off with another tender kiss. The desire was still there, but he kept things simple and sweet. As he looked at me once again, I felt a blush take over my cheeks. I couldn't believe this was finally happening between us!

"You are so beautiful..." he whispered in my ear. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

"I'm just happy that you're here now." I replied in a whisper of my own.

Garrett stepped back from our happy little bubble, grabbing my hand and turning me towards the beat up car he had driven. "Want to go for a ride?" He asked, one eyebrow raised. Something about the car seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"When did you get this?" I asked.

"This morning. It was a killer deal, so Nico and I picked it up. I just needed to make a few adjustments to get the motor running smooth." He explained. "Do you know what it is?" He added at the end.

I stepped away from Garrett and walked closer to the car. Suddenly I understood what he had been saying. My mouth fell open and I inhaled sharply as I recognized what was in front of me. It couldn't be! I felt Garrett come up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. He leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"I've been thinking about this since that night, the night of the car show. It took me so long to admit to myself how I was feeling about you, but I think that was the night it started to take over."

The things his words did to my heart...

"But, how? I..." words wouldn't come to me, I was speechless.

"First, this isn't necessarily a gift...yet. Right now it's a project, inspired by you. And I want you to help me with the design, so it matches who you are." Garrett said as he turned me around to face him once again.

"Honestly, it was a really good deal. And my cut from the Camero sale was significant. We made a big profit." He continued as he held my gaze.

"And...there was a reward for Brett from the original bond because he had jumped bail. I was the one who caught him, so I got the reward. This was the best thing I could think of to do with the money." Garrett looked down as he mentioned Brett. My heart broke again, he had just been through too much.

"Garrett" I took his face in my hands and forced him to look back at me, "this is amazing. I would love to work on it with you, it will be like it's...ours. And there's nothing I want more in the world than to spend time with you. To be with you."

He smiled again at me, this time not quite as widely but still in a way that stole my heart. He reached up to brush my hair away from my face, then leaned down to place a kiss on my lips. My left hand went to his shoulder, while my right hand went to his hip. The flutters in my stomach came back stronger than before. I'm not sure I would ever get used to his kiss.

It was Garrett who pulled away first this time. "We better go on that drive before some soccer mom shows up and calls us out for public indecency."

I laughed at his casual joke. He was such a different guy than I had first met. It was a relief to see him so content. And I was so happy to be part of that for him. He took my hand in his and started to walk me to the passenger side. I pulled a little on his arm to stop him, then he looked back at me questioningly.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. I was just wondering...could I drive?" I asked shyly.

His eyebrows went up. "Well, yeah, of course. But I'm not sure this is the best car to learn on."

It was my turn to smirk at him, "Oh, then that's not a problem. I've already learned."

"Since when? What did I miss?" He looked adorable when he was confused. His eyebrows were all wrinkled up.

"Since just after Christmas. April taught me." I replied with pride. I was proud that I had finally learned. Even though I didn't have a license yet, I was on my way.

"April? Well, looks like I'll have to reteach you a few things." He laughed. "She's lucky the transmission hasn't fallen out of her mustang!"

I laughed but shrugged my shoulders at the same time, "I thought she was a good teacher. But I guess we're about to find out."

Garrett agreed as he walked me to the drivers side and opened the door for me. "Your carriage awaits, my princess." I blushed at his words.

Sitting in the drivers seat of the little car of my dreams, next to the guy I had been dreaming of, was an amazing feeling. I wouldn't have traded that moment for anything. I looked over at Garrett and realized that everything we had gone through had brought us to that very moment. And although there were parts of our lives that were difficult, awful even, I knew it's what made us who we were.

"What's going through that head of yours?" Garrett asked, bringing me back to that moment.

"Just that life is strange. You never know where the hard things in life will take you. And that I'm so glad they brought me here." I replied honestly.

Garrett reached across the seat and took my hand once again, giving it a little squeeze. He didn't need to say a word for me to understand. He was finally happy. And happiness was a good look for him.

^^^^^

So, did I deliver?? This was so much harder to write than I thought it would be! I've had this scene in my mind FOREVER and it was so challenging to get it right.

But I hope you got the feels with this one! And it's not quite over yet. Matt is up next and I have some fun in store for him. Plus we still have a Garrett chapter on the way. And then two epilogues 😉

We Belong is how Amber feels about Garrett. All the second guessing and the feeling of fate or destiny combined. Admit it, you know they are a perfect pair! ❤️

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