There Is No Arizona

With the morning sun sneaking into the beautiful Paris hotel suite, I smiled softly to myself feeling calm and relaxed, like this is how it should’ve been all along. Feeling the bed shift from the body next to me moving, I felt a pair of soft lips on the back of my bare shoulder before the person rested their chin on my shoulder, “You know, when I asked you out to breakfast, I want to officially say that this wasn’t what I had in mind but it sure as hell beats going to some corner café.” Raylan insisted, his southern voice dry sounding.

I smiled more than I had been before I rolled over onto my back then turned my head to Raylan, “And I want to officially say that I usually don’t give it up on the first date.”

Raylan chuckled softly before pushing some of my hair back, “Before the first date, in our case,” He teased.

“I think it’s safe to say that last night was the first date and this breakfast will be the second.” I smirked.

Nodding his head, Raylan silently agreed before he leaned down and touched his lips to mine, “Is it safe to say that you’re mine?” He whispered in a scared yet loving voice.

“I think it’s pretty safe to say that,” I assured, “Your dream came true, Cowboy,” I laughed, “You slept with a Wellington.”

He growled playfully before he kissing me passionately. Pulling out of the kiss, slightly out of the breath, Raylan shook his head before sitting up, “How many times do I need to tell you that, that my goal was to never sleep with a Wellington.” He said simply before reaching over to the nightstand, “Had I known about you though,” He smiled, “That would’ve been my goal.” He teased while grabbing the room service menu, “So, now that we know what this is,” He muttered, pointing between myself and him, “We should order breakfast.”

I stood up, still completely naked from last night and pointed to him, “You should order breakfast while I go into the bathroom, turn on the water and pretend I’m not peeing.” I laughed.

Raylan’s eyes were full of happiness and excitement, “Are you going to give me any hint as to what you want or do I have to guess?”

“After last night,” I muttered referring to our sexual activities, “You should know,”

Laughing cutely, Raylan shook his head, “You’re going to make this hard on me, aren’t you?”

“You bet your country boy ass, I am.” I winked then disappeared into the bathroom of his hotel suite, shutting the door behind myself quietly, I inhaled deeply trying to contain this overwhelming feeling of happiness.

After I had did what I needed to do, including washing my face, I walked out of the bathroom to see that Raylan wasn’t in bed any longer but instead was standing at the window wearing a pair of PJ pants hanging low on his hips. Reaching down, I picked up my panties and pulled them on before grabbing Raylan’s shirt from last night and tugged it on.

“I have a kid,” He informed me with a serious tone but he didn’t look over at me, he kept his eyes on the Paris sunrise, “She’s three and has me wrapped around her tiny finger.”

I raised my eyebrow but said nothing as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

“You should know, before this goes any further,” He glanced over at me, “Because I feel like this is getting serious fast,” He muttered then looked back outside, “I’m a packaged deal, you get me, you get my Daughter.” He cleared his throat, “Things didn’t work out between myself and her Mother, we were engaged to get married then I got her pregnant and we moved in together. It wasn’t even four months into the pregnancy that I realized that she wasn’t the woman I wanted anymore and I definitely wasn’t the guy she wanted.”

I nodded slowly but continued to stay silent.

“She was easily jealous, she got pissed because I do a lot of lingerie shoots and I have half naked models around me all the time. She was convinced I was sleeping around on her, and I just didn’t trust her either, I can’t explain it but I didn’t. We remain on good graces for the sake of our little girl but that’s it. And before I go to LA, I’m flying home to pick Mia up so I can take her with me.” He turned around to me, “I’m taking her to Disneyland for the first time and to the beach,” He smiled proudly as he thought of his Daughter, “I have one shoot over there the entire week and it’s a kids clothing line shoot, the designer is my friend and she wants Mia to model some of the clothes. I agreed and decided to turn it into a fun vacation.”

I smiled, “She sounds like a sweetheart,”

“She is,” He confirmed then he looked back outside, “I totally understand if this is a deal breaker, a lot of girls can’t handle a guy who has a kid. I don’t want to pressure you into anything.”

I stood up and walked over to him, hugging him tightly from behind, “It’s totally not a deal breaker.” I whispered before kissing his shoulder.

Raylan laughed cutely, “You’re just saying that because you like my sex.”

I shook my head, “No,” I insisted, “I’m being serious and thank you for telling me, a lot of guys would’ve kept her a secret until well into the relationship.”

“Like I said, I think this is getting serious fast,” He licked his lips, “And plus, Mia is a huge part of my life, I’m not big on leaving her with my ex. She’s with my parents right now then after LA she’s going to my ex’s parents.” He cleared his throat, “They’re great people even if me and their Daughter didn’t quite see eye to eye, they’re friends of my family.”

“So, were you and your ex childhood sweethearts?” I smiled.

“Eh, no … not really.” He shook his head, “I mean when we were kids we had a crush on each other then when we got into junior high her parents sent her to the private school and mine wanted me in public school, and we drifted apart. It wasn’t until after our high school graduation that we truly got back in touch. Things were hot and heavy for two years, then I asked her to marry me then she got pregnant shortly after that and shit went bad. Almost four years later, here I am.”

I nodded slowly, “Do you have full custody of Mia?”

“Sole custody, yeah, my ex gets her every other weekend that is if she wants to take her. She hasn’t seen Mia since her last Birthday.”

“Oh no,” I made a face, “How does Mia take it?”

“She’s three,” He smiled, “Her Mom hasn’t really been a big part of her life to begin with so she doesn’t really get it yet,” He made a face, “My ex calls to check up on her but she’s a flake.”

“That’s horrible,” I shook my head, “I can’t even imagine how I would feel if my Mother were like that.” I admitted, “My parents have a very strong and loving relationship.” I licked my lips, “One day, I will find a love like theirs.”

Raylan smiled, “That’s a great goal to have,”

I nodded, silently agreeing with him before I stood up on the tips of my toes, “Thank you for telling me.”

He nodded but said nothing.

“I can’t wait to meet her,”

“I can’t wait for you to meet her,” He laughed, “She’s going to love you but she’s biggest tomboy you’ll ever see, I guess it’s because she lives with my parents when I’m working and they live out in the country, she loves running around and getting dirty.”

“We’ll get along fine,” I laughed, “Truth be told, I’m still a tomboy.”

Raylan just laughed then leaned down and kissed my lips lightly, “I hope you like eggs and bacon,”

“I love eggs and bacon,”

“Because that’s what I ordered for both of us,” he blushed cutely, “With toast and fresh fruit.” He caressed my face, “I didn’t know if you drink coffee or not so I ordered coffee and orange juice.”

I smiled, “Actually, I love coffee but I don’t really drink it in the morning, I’m more of a chocolate milk or orange juice kinda girl in the morning.”

“Well, I’ll just drink your coffee then,” He smirked and kissed my forehead softly.

Closing my eyes as he kissed my forehead, I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, “I’m glad I found you.”

“Me too,” He whispered against my skin before hugging me tightly, “Me too,” He repeated in the same tone and as I clung to the twenty four year old, I felt so right and I never wanted the moment to end.