How Long I Waited

The closer I got, the more excited I became. It had been 3 years sense I had been home and I couldn't wait to see all my family and friends, especially Rob. The more I thought about him the more anxious I became. Let me take you back; then you'll understand.

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I was adopted at the age of 13 to a wonderful family in Moulton, Alabama. If you don't know where that is, it's in the northern part, near Tennessee. They lived on a small farm that was like stepping backwards in time. Of all my years living there, the only time Darla wouldn't make something from scratch was if there wasn't going to be enough time. I loved it. I had been living in New York City bouncing around from foster home to foster home and when Darla and Ed came into my life, I finally had a home.

Ed and Darla had been married for 43 years when they welcomed me into their lives. Darla had been unable to bare children and had been looking to adopt for many years. Finally, they heard about me and my situation and decided that they would like to make me part of their family. I'm so glad they did.

Living on our farm was also the Saunders. The Saunders family consisted of Ben and Rob. Ben, Rob's father, was a retired horse trainer that had wanted to get away from the commercial side of the equestrian world. Rob was 18 when we met and we really got along great. He showed me how to do everything around the farm and made me feel like I belonged. He even took me to my first high school dance.

4 years ago though, everything changed. Ed passed away and left our lives shattered. Ed had become my father and I was devastated at loosing him. Luckily for me, I had Rob. He would hold me while I cried and stroked my hair, wipe away my tears and hold me again. I think it was then that I realized just how much I really cared about him.

A year later, our lives had moved on and while we all still really missed Ed, things needed to be done. Ben and Darla had become exceptionally close as well through the ordeal and Rob and I both knew that it wouldn't be long before the two of them would be moving into the house.

That spring had been great and we had 3 new yearlings to sell at the July Fair. Rob and I rushed around getting everything together for the drive to town. Once everything was ready Darla shooed me into the house to get ready to go. I knew that Rob had some kind of feelings for me and I wanted to make a move before leaving for college that fall.

I decided to wear a skirt. It wasn't a really huge difference, I had on occasion dressed up for events, but this time I made sure that it was sexy. I had made a few alterations to a denim skirt so that it now stopped shortly at my thighs. It was just long enough to cover my ass when I walked.

I stood in front of the mirror making sure that everything was sitting right before grabbing a white, low collared shirt. Pulling the shirt down trying to get what little cleavage my small B sized chest would allow, I check myself out in the mirror. Over the years I had lost the rough and hard appearance of a city girl and had become a hometown beauty. Lots of guys at school had tried to get with me, but I was never really interested in anyone but Rob.

I pulled on my black boots and fussed with my long strawberry blonde hair a little more. I knew that Rob didn't like a lot of makeup, so I kept it simple. A little pink eye shadow, mascara and clear lip gloss. My bright blue eyes I thought were one of my best features.

Looking in the mirror I thought I looked like a red-headed Faith Hill. Perfect! Darla called for me to hurry up and I grabbed a light denim jacket and headed out the door. Ben gave a raised brow and Darla was grinning when they saw me.

"Hurry up Jennifer! We're going to be late. Did you …" Darla went over the check list again, for the millionth time.

Rob was checking on the horses when I came out. I saw him watch me walk towards the family truck. I made sure to swing my ass just a little more then usual to make the skirt swish around my legs.

"Jenn, ride with Rob over to the stable. We're going to make sure everything set at the registration." Ben said gruffly.

My heart skipped beat and I quickly walked over to the other truck. Rob quickly locked up the trailer and almost ran to open the door for me. He stood close to the truck and as I stepped around him, I ran my hand across his waist. The smile that came across his hidden face told me that this was going to be easier then I had thought.

Rob and Ben discussed the finial details before he joined me in the truck. It was smaller then the family truck and we were sitting quite close together.

"You look good." Rob didn't really look at me, just started the truck and shifted into drive. His arm was stretched so that it rested against me if I leaned toward him, which I did.

As we drove we talked about what we were going to do that night. Because one of the yearlings was Rob's, he was tied to the barn for most of the evening until the auction.

"Are you going to stick around?" He asked, turning to look at me with his bright green eyes practically begging for my answer to be yes. "I was thinking about checking out a few mares for breeding. I could use your opinion."

I laughed lightly at the last comment. Both of us knew that I only had an ounce of breeding knowledge, but I liked that he wanted me around. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I was thinking that maybe this year I'd actually walk around and see everything. When is Brock up?" I turned to look at him, bringing a leg up to rest below his arm, which he nonchalantly lowered closer to my bare knee.

"He's going to be in the second round. I'm hoping that it won't be like last year and be forever. I heard that this year's fillies list is short." Rob shifted his weight so that he could place his arm on the back of the seat, which I'd never see him do before.

At the open gesture, I moved to face him more on. I leaned back against the door and watched as his eyes darted to the stretched fabric between my legs. I saw him lick his lips and turn his attention back to the road. The rest of the trip was filled with small talk about breeding mares.

When we pulled up to the stables, Rob jumped out and ran around to my door. Even though I had already opened it, he held it open, standing just behind it. When I stepped out I made sure to step close to him and stretch. I wanted him to push me against the truck and kiss me, but of course he didn't.

I hung around while he unloaded the horses and get everything settled. He kept watching me as I shifted around. When Tim walked up I could see that it made him uncomfortable.

"You look great girl! Have big plans tonight?" Tim, while most girls thought he was good looking, was a real jerk. Probably because he thought he could have any girl he wanted. He propped himself up by leaning against the wall I had been stand next to, his body close to mine.

I leaned back and pulled the hair out of my face. "Not really, though I was thinking of spending most of the night at the dance barn." I could see Rob glare at Tim and throw the tackle box into the stall. While he groomed the horses, he made sure to keep an eye on me.

"Maybe we could meet up, watch the show. Maybe have a little fun." Tim licked his lips and leaned in closer.

Fun with Tim was something that did not interest me in the least. I leaned up closer to him. "Tim," I said with a bit of sexy tone, "I'd rather be trampled to death by a rabbit then to be with you." I pushed him away and walked over to pet the horse that Rob was grooming.

Tim huffed and stormed off at the rejection. Rob was trying to hide a smile while he finished his work.

"What an ass! Does he think that every girl's desire is to be his?! I really don't get why they think he's such a heart throb." I smiled at Rob and untied the lead. Our hands touched when he took it from me. He didn't say anything, but I could tell that he liked what I had said.

The next two hours were filled with flirting and lots of smiles at each other as we walked around the auction barn. A few times he put a hand on my back or shoulders while we walked and at the last stall we stopped at he stood so close to me that I could feel the coolness from his buckle on my side.

When it was Brock's turn to be auctioned, I waited at the stall for him to return. When he walked up he was grinning from ear to ear. I had heard the bidding war that had taken place and was just as excited for him. When he reached me he gave me a hug, which was not common practice for a man that tried to keep his feelings hidden.

"Did you hear?! Not only did I double what I spent last year, Peter Glen said he'd be interested in studding Firebrick to Maddy!" He was so excited that he was almost jumping up and down.

"That's great! Who got into the war?" I loved how close we were and wanted to make it last longer.

He put his arm around me and led me towards the front of the barn. "Do you remember the fat old bastard that said he won't pay 2 bits for a horse of Dad's? Seems he's had a change of heart. Peter wasn't too happy to loose neither."

I couldn't believe that we were touching. I was so disappointed when he let go when we walked over to Ben and Darla. There was more congratulations and talk of what they were going to do with the money.

"Why don't you go celebrate?" Darla finally said. "We'll wrap things up here. Have fun now!" She called the last bit over her shoulder as she led Ben away. She flashed me a big smile as an 'I know you want to be alone'.

Rob was still beaming about the huge event that had just happened when I grabbed his hand. "Do you want to go get something to eat? I'm starving!" I laced our fingers together waiting for his response.

He didn't say anything, just squeezed my hand and looked down at me. Stepping closer he pushed his hat back. "Little Lady, I think you've got something there." He smiled as he watched me giggle. I love it when he calls me Little Lady; it sets my body on fire.

We walked off towards the concession stands in the middle of the park. He had taken to rubbing his thumb across mine while we walked and when we reached the picnic area he pulled me close to him.

"What are you in the mood for?" He let go of my hand and put it around my waist.

"Let's get something quick and easy, corn dogs? And then maybe some cotton candy?" I looked up to see him staring down at me. I couldn't tell if he was looking at my face or down my shirt. Either way, I liked it. He nodded and we went about getting our food.

"Let's go eat back at the barn." I suggested and he agreed. This time we had our hands full but he still made sure that we were close enough to touch.

We had almost finished eating when we saw Ben and Darla. We made a little small talk and Ben suggested that we switch vehicles if we were interested in staying for the fireworks later that night. Sense I said I really wanted to see them; Rob switched keys and said we'd see each other later.

"Let's go see what's here." I said to Rob and we said our goodbyes and walked back towards the fair. Once we were out of sight from the barn Rob grabbed my hand and together we walked around looking at all the fun stuff available.

Like every year, the busiest attraction of the Sheriff's Shooter, which was nothing more then moving targets shot at with a B.B. gun. Rob smiled and pulled me towards. He pushed through the small crowd and paid to shoot. I'd never seen him play any games; he always said it was a waste of hard earned money. He turned to me and asked me what I wanted. Playing I said I wanted the top prize, a giant stuffed horse. He nodded and went to shooting. Amazingly he was incredible! When most people played they went for the easiest row, the slowest moving. It didn't give many points, but almost everyone who could shoot would win something. Rob took on the 2nd from the top row. He hit 6 in a row before missing one. The man running the stall was amazed that he had hit 7 out of 10 shots. Rob just pointed at the black and white stuffed toy.

When we walked away I was still amazed. "I didn't know you could do that!" I hugged my new toy.

He laughed. "Do you like it?" He put his arm around me and I nodded. "Good, then what does it matter?" He smiled as we walked towards the rides. "Do you want to go on the Farris wheel?" He asked it so timidly I couldn't say no.

I left my prize with the conductor and as we went up, Rob put his arm around me. I laid my head on his chest and he began to rub my arm. We didn't say anything until we were almost at the top.

"I'm going to miss you." It was out of the blue and not at all what I had expected him to say.

"What do you mean?" I moved around to look at him and placed a hand on his leg. He reached down with his other hand and squeezed my hand.

"House is going to be empty without you there." He sounded like he was trying to hold back the tears. "I kinda took for granted that you'd always be there."

I thought I was going to melt away. I had no idea that the feelings he had went that deep. "I'm kinda scared to go. I don't want to be alone like before." I stared off at the sun setting. I was surprised how easy that secret came out.

Rob shifted around and pulled my face gently towards him. He stroked my cheek and I pressed my face against his touch. "Don't go."

It was short and direct but I knew it took all he had to say it. I didn't really know what to say. I just looked into his eyes trying to find out just what his intentions behind the statement where. He knew how important it was to me to go to college. Neither Ed nor Darla's family had been and it was something that Ed had always pressed.

Finally I looked away. "I can't. I've already made all the arrangements and it's really important to Darla that I go." My voice started to trail off.

He took my face in his hand again and pulled me to him. He kissed me lightly. The whiskers on his face tickled my skin. "Stay." He said before kissing me again.

I kept my eyes closed not wanting him to see the tears in my eyes. If he had said this last year I would have dropped everything. He wanted me and that meant the world to me. I would give up everything to be with him. Or I would have.

We kissed again, this time more passionate. I put my hands on his chest and he ran his fingers through my hair. Our kissing stopped as we started back down. I looked away when it ended trying to keep in control.

"Stay with me." He whispered in my ear before kissing my neck as we started back up. The sun had set and was casting beautiful strands of reds and oranges across the skyline.

I sighed. I didn't know what to do. He put his hand on the other side of my neck and kissed my neck and ear. Why did he have to do this now? All I had wanted was to get his attention, not be begged to stay.

When we came to a stop we were at the very top. He stopped kissing my neck rested his head against mine. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't… I shouldn't be pushing you." He kissed my hair and pulled me to him as we started to move again.

When we reached the bottom the ride had ended and I wanted to run away. I had thought that tonight we'd fuck and it would be a wild night, not pull at my heart strings. We picked up my prize and he led me back towards the auction barn.

"Do you still want to stay?" He asked quietly.

I laughed. "Why wouldn't I? Did I miss something?" Did he think he could say all that and then forget about it! I wanted to be with him and I knew if we went home that would be the end of it.

He smiled. "Do we have to stay here to watch the fireworks?" He had a grin on his face.

I was puzzled. "Where else would we go?"

"You'll see." He was in a better mood. Probably because he had another thought for how to keep me from leaving. He opened the door for me and ran around to the other side.

"Where are we going and why are you grinning like a wolf?!" I was getting turned on at the thought of him wanting to take me somewhere.

He didn't answer me, just threw the car into drive and sped off. We went driving for about thirty minutes until we reached a dirt road on a hill. From there we went another 45 minutes until we reached a clearing. There was a lake nestled quietly in a cover. We drove down towards the shore and then backed in. All the while Rob had a huge grin on his face.

"Okay, now what?" I asked. Now I have to admit that at this point I was not only turned on but had butterflies.

He smiled and we got out of the truck. He reached into the back and pulled out a blanket and tossed it onto the bed of the truck. Going around he let the tail down and sat down. I went and sat next to him and decided to be bold.

"Why are you just now asking me to stay?" We were sitting closely and I put my hand under his arm and onto his leg. He was a little shocked and didn't answer right away.

"Just stay here with me." He turned and held me. "Stay with me." He whispered before kissing me.

I kissed him back before pushing him away. Smiling, I was going to tease him. "So you think it's that easy huh? You just have to say 'stay' and kiss me? It'd take more then that to change my mind at this point."

Smiling back he kissed me again, this time slipping his tongue inside my mouth. I put my hand on his face and kissed him back. Our tongues dueled while my hand ran through his hair. He shuddered at my touch and kissed me harder. His hand moved from my waist down my side and leg to my knee before move back up and under my skirt.

It was the first brake in our kiss and it was a moan from me. It seemed to ignite a fire in him and he pushed me down onto the bed of the truck. Our kissing changed from passionate to sexual as he pulled our bodies close. I slid up farther into the truck and he moved to lay by my side. He started kissing my neck as his hands rubbed up and down my leg, bending my leg and laying it against him.

I giggled as his whiskers tickled my neck and I could feel him smile. "Do you think I'm that easy?!" I laughed more and he said yes.

He stopped kissing me to look into my eyes. "Will you stay with me?" He stroked my cheek.

I sighed. "And do what?" I was starting to wonder if he was going to ask me to marry him, which I was not ready for.

"Be with me? Isn't that enough?" He looked hurt.

I reached up and ran my fingers over his mouth. "You know I've been planning this for 2 years now. Why didn't you say something then? You could have changed my mind you know."

It was his turn to sigh. He looked crushed. "I…" He looked away, but I pulled his face back to me. "I didn't realize just how much I'd miss you. I wasn't sure if you were interested in me." He was quiet and timid.

I laughed. "The whole getting dressed up all the time, the teasing and flirting didn't give it away? I thought I was doing a pretty good job!"

He smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, but it only seemed to happen when we were alone. I didn't …"

"HELLO! What do you think Darla would do if she'd known her sweet underage baby wanted to screw the help?!" We both knew it wasn't the full truth, but it was funny none the less.

"You want to screw the help huh? How long has that been going on?" He sat back up to pick up his hat that had fallen off during our kissing and threw it farther into the truck before laying back down by me.

"Oh, I don't know…couple of year's maybe." I said casually.

His jaw almost dropped, but he quickly composed himself. "Couple of years huh? So if you screw the help will you stay?" He tried to be funny, but I could still hear the plea in his voice.

I pinched his cheek. "I don't know, the help would have to be pretty damn good in bed." With that I pulled him to me and this time I was the first to induce the French kiss.

We lay there kissing passionately for several minutes. I think he was trying to prove my statement without have to say anything. While we kissed he started to rub my leg again, this time pulling me onto my side and bringing my leg over him. As he slow moved his hand up my leg and under my skirt I could feel my body start to burn.