Forty-Five
"Is there anything you'd like to do today?" Sean asked as he held his truck door open for her, having picked her up at Bellum after her opening shift.
She gave him a thoughtful expression as she watched him walk back to his side. "Well… What I'd like is to have a milkshake, but seein' as I can't…," Tatum started as she rubbed her belly, freezing and quickly adjusting her clothes when she realised her move had pulled her shirt tight over her bump. "I wouldn't say no to a burger and fries," she quickly continued, hoping he wouldn't notice, making him chuckle now.
"You really do have a good appetite," he said appreciatively. "Do you mind if we go for a drive first?" he asked as he pulled away from her house. He didn't want to be obvious about it, but while they were still getting to know each other he wanted to limit the chances of being seen together in Little Grove.
"No, course not," she nodded, pulling her legs up a little as she leaned back. "But maybe not too far, I'm gettin' quite hungry, I've worked hard this morning," she chuckled in her defence, making him laugh again as well. She'd woken up early from having to pee and had gone to the bar when she couldn't get back to sleep, thinking she might as well get everything ready a little early. "Where do your folks think you are when you're with me?" Tatum asked curiously after a few minutes. They seemed to mostly spend time together during the day and that worked for her, as she worked shifts. But he worked at the factory, overseeing the floor, and going to their other business interests.
"Mama kind'a knows I've met someone, even if she don't know it's you," Sean mentioned the easier answer first. "Aaron… well… I dunno what he thinks. Pa thinks I'm either workin' out in the gym or at one of the other shops or towns," he said slowly, trying not to grip the steering wheel too tightly. "How about Isabella?" he asked back.
"I told her a few days ago," the redhead answered honestly. "I hope that's okay. She was quite happy, and didn't say anything about the feud," she added quickly, as if to excuse herself.
"Yeah that's okay," he nodded, glancing at her with a smile. Tatum smiled back, thinking his blue eyes really sparkled when he smiled and wanting him to smile at her more. He focused back on the road, glancing at her every now and again. It looked to her like he was thinking about something, but she didn't want to interrupt his thought process.
After another half an hour of driving, Sean finally pulled off the main road and into a town he seemed to be vaguely familiar with. He parked up outside of the diner and made his way round the truck to help her out again. This time he offered her his hand. She took it and was surprised at the rush of adrenaline and butterflies she felt. She managed to keep her face neutral, but her hormones had definitely awakened. Tatum tried to take her hand back once she'd slammed the car door shut, but he intertwined his fingers with hers to hold on. Oh boy, she thought to herself as she felt hot under the collar, trying not to fan herself with her free hand.
"Everything okay?" Sean asked, thinking she looked a little squirmy.
"Uh huh," she smiled nervously, hoping her body would calm down. If it reacted like this to a simple hand-holding, she didn't want to know how bad her hormones would get if they did end up kissing.
Once they were sat down, it was only in between ordering and after eating that they could touch in any case, which made it a little easier on her. They ended up laughing about some of the more idiotic things that their families had tried to do to each other during the 20 years of feuding – one of her favourites was when her father, during the early stages of the feud, had tried to damage their property by tying a rope to their fence and the back of his kart; instead of damaging their fence, he'd ended up losing the rear axle on his kart and rolling off the back into the mud.
She didn't worry about him kissing her again until he'd pulled up outside her house and they were saying goodbye. When Tatum noticed that he was starting to lean in, she braced herself and said, "Sean, there's something I need to tell you."
"Okay," he sat back a little to listen.
"Sean, I…"
"Oh my god, Tatum, your nose is bleedin'," he interrupted her in shock.
She raised her hand to her nose and groaned annoyed. "Not again," she complained as she pinched the bridge of her nose and leant forward. "I'm so sorry," she apologised, holding her other hand underneath to catch any blood dripping down.
Sean found a spare tissue in the glove box and handed it to her. "What are you apologisin' for?" he asked confused.
"I don't want to get blood in your car and this ain't a nice endin' to the day," the redhead said, not daring to look up at him.
"Don't worry about the car," he told her straight, much more concerned about her. "Are you gonna be okay? Maybe you should see a doctor if you've had them before?" he suggested, surprised to see her shake her head.
"No, it's fine, they can't do anythin' 'bout them anyway," Tatum said wryly. "I gotta clean this up. See you tomorrow?" she said as she made to get out of the car.
He jumped out and ran around to open the door for her, helping her out carefully. "Definitely. You sure you're okay?" his blue eyes looked worried as he guided her towards the house and up the porch step by placing his hands gently on her back and elbow.
"Uh huh," she managed to nod as she lectured her body on its bad timing, of both the nosebleed and the rush of hormones at his light touch.
"Okay, I'll text you," Sean said as she headed in, a little surprised and worried about how today had ended.