#chris stapleton

___

That Saturday, you take a chance and wear a sleeveless, black-and-white buffalo-check top with a pert peplum. You add to it the simple, light wash, comfortable jeans he called for, and of course, the just-right, wide-calf cowgirl boots you spent hours upon hours scouring the internet for.

When he pulls up for you in that gorgeous, candy apple red pickup, he hops out and immediately smirks as he takes you in. “Damn.”

“What?”

“Went sexy tonight.”

Your grin shoots wide, and your voice rises to a squeak. “Really?”

He lowers at the knees a bit, tilts his head back, and playfully lifts his eyes skyward in a mock roll. When he straightens, his eyes shoot back to yours with a smirk in them.

“Damn straight! Here, let’s have a turn, babe.”

He reaches for your hand and holds your arm up to twirl you as you bite down on a smile. When you finish spinning, his appraisal is stamped with a click of his tongue.

“Yeah—” he grunts. “Cute sexy too.”

“Cute sexy?” you genuinely wonder aloud.

“I’ll be the goddamn envy of all.”

Your smiling eyes widen and bore into him.

“No—” he lifts an open palm. “I ain’t tellin’. Sooner we get in the truck and get there, sooner you can quit guessin’.”

He takes you over the mountain and farther than you would’ve thought. The horizon slowly grows pale and pastel as the sun slips away. And when you pull up to the enormously crowded grounds of a county fair, lit with sparkling, hazy lights in the summer evening, you gasp and flit your eyes to him in shock.

His wheezy chuckle only sends your smile bigger. “Don’t squeal just yet. There’s a very specific spot inside there we gotta be.”

“Arthur, it’s the fair!” you immediately squeal, grabbing onto his shoulder and pushing him as he laughs. “I didn’t even know this was happening! I always wanted to make it to one! Hurry— Hurry up and park!”

Once he parks and gets the two of you through the ticket line, he tugs you by the hand deep into the fair, never once allowing you to peruse any of the magnificent items that catch your eye and whip your head—enormous and juicy watermelons by the crisp slice, spirited toss games, corn on the cob covered with cheese and chile, glossy candy apples with peanuts. Your senses are filled with scents of sticky cotton candy and ketchup, the sounds of screamed laughter from carnival rides and distant, vibrant music.

All at once, you’re almost stumbling into his solid form when he stops tugging on your arm, and your face whirls forward.

You’re standing at the edge of a huge, tent-covered, hardwood dance floor filled with couples, old and young, dancing lively steps and spins to the band’s current upbeat tune. All right in the heart of a raw dirt county fair.

Your jaw drops in a wide grin, and you immediately turn to find Arthur holding back a smile.

“What is this, two-step?!”

“I been practicin’.”

“Practicing?!” You elbow him in the arm and enjoy the way he lets himself appear to have been jostled. “How long have you planned this?”

“Ehhh…” He begins to ferociously rub the back of his neck. “Couldn’t have been since you tried to show me some moves in the livin’ room.”

“Naw.” You let your slack mouth go stern and let your brows gather momentarily as you give your head a single shake. “Couldn’t have been.”

His head snaps away, but you catch a glimpse of his grin. And it’s so shiningly bright, it shames the shimmering fair lights, at least from where you stand.

As you watch him shift his weight from one hip and work to keep his face turned, your own mouth slowly transforms into a smile bright enough to match.

“I don’t know any two-step.” Your quiet voice pulls him to turn to you again as if by a line in lake water. “Or really any paired dance at all!” you laugh as you look up into his blue-green eyes, lit with twilight, neon carnival lights, and an anticipation he’s clearly stored for months.

Your voice dips low again. “Promise to be a good teacher?”

His smile has eased to something warm, his eyes still on yours. “‘Course.”

The moment you reach for his hand, your arm is almost yanked from its socket as he jolts forward towards the hardwood dance floor, and you laugh outright as he immediately finds a way to fold you into the crowd of paired dancers.

___

Later…

___

The next song begins with soft picks and gentle strokes of guitar strings, and the mood quickly shifts to accommodate the ballad tempo of the bassist’s deep, resounding strums. Couples all around you start to slow and step closer to their partners.

Though you’re still huffing to catch your breath, your wide smile slowly softens as you watch Arthur hold out a hand to you.

“Come on closer,” he says quietly with a sweetened smirk. “I don’t smell too bad today.” His smirk grows at your laugh as you take his hand and he draws you flush to him.

He cradles your left hand in his and brings his right hand to the small of your back, tucking you in close until no air separates you. Before you know it, the two of you start to gently sway.

...

“When I think of you and the first time we met…” ...

You’d know the sound of Chris Stapleton anywhere, but you’re surprised to find you haven’t heard this one before.

...

“And I heard the sound of your sweet, gentle voice…”

My heart took me over and gave me no choice…

And right then I knew,

It makes me want more of you,

Again and again.”

...

With just a few words set to lulling music, you’re grateful you’re so close that your face is near Arthur’s shoulder, beyond where he can see. Held close by this man you love so dearly, your eyes are already misting at the frame the lyrics set the two of you in—the improbable thought that Arthur could ever experience such an instant revelation of love at meeting you, at meeting someone like you. ...

“I fall more in love with you,

Than I’ve ever been.”

...

A woman’s voice joins in to form a sweetly intimate duet. As you listen to the lyrics, so deeply meaningful to you, you’re filled with an equal mingling of swelling love and audacious hope and trepidation. While the two of you softly rock side to side, you swallow and press in to rest your lips against the front of his shoulder.

...

“From the moment you wake me up,

‘Til you kiss me goodnight,

...

A faint, cooling summer night breeze sweeps into the tent. It lifts the wisps of hair at your temples and glides beneath Arthur’s shirt and across the damp skin of his back.

...

“Everything that you do,

It makes me want more of you.”

...

Arthur takes a piece of your fine hair between his thumb and first finger and lets its coolness run between the pads of his hands like some liquid form of priceless metal. In the next moment, he’s curling his back and dipping his head down into the crook of your neck, hiding his face in your soft, fragrant hair.

...

“When I look at you

Now that years have gone by…”

...

The flash of a smile flickers onto your mouth at the mere feeling of Arthur playing with your hair. And when you feel him tucking himself closer, so close into the contours of your body, your heart thuds with elation.

...

“I think of the memories

That time can’t erase…”

...

You brush the fingers of your left hand across the top of Arthur’s shoulder, savoring the soft weave of his shirt warmed by his skin. ...

“And all of the smiles

That you’ve brought to my face…”

...

You relish the firm solidness of Arthur’s body as he wraps himself around you and holds you close. You feel his chest expand against yours as he breathes. ...

“Your love’s been so true.”

...

When Arthur brings your right hand to his chest, fiery prickles leap into your chest, and the back of your skull tingles with a shock of pleasure. Never have you experienced such an unashamedly intimate gesture. This moment on this dance floor with Arthur is the most romantic moment of your life.

...

“It makes me want more of you,

Again and again.”

...

Closing your eyes, you focus on the intoxicating nearness of him, the feel of him. You slowly reach the other hand up to cradle the back of his neck, letting your fingertips drift into his hair.

...

“I fall more in love with you

Than I’ve ever been.”

...

Those warm voices with their cooed wisdom intertwine in the air above you, surround the two of you, envelop you, until there’s no bandstand, no other dancing couples, no hardwood floor beneath you—nothing but the caressing breath of a summer breeze, the soothing lilt of folk tones, and a heaven in the one you love.

...

“From the moment you wake me up,

‘Til you kiss me goodnight…

Everything that you do,

It makes me want more of you.”

...

The flat of Arthur’s cheek skims against yours as he draws his head back. When his face hovers beside yours, you catch the briefest glimpse of his eyes—silver sharp with intent and longing, his brows bunched tight. Then his nose traces the curve of your face until his forehead is softly anchored to yours. The front of his cheek is pressed flush to the front of yours, and he holds himself there, hungry for you, his mouth achingly near your own, as the two of you sway suspended.

...

“When I leave this earth,

You’ll be holding my hand.”

...

It seems an age like that, both remaining nearer than either of you can stand, exchanging breath with closed eyes. By the looks on your faces, a bystander might think you were both almost pained. Almost.

...

“And it gives me comfort

To know you’ll be there.”

...

Meekly and carefully—more carefully than anyone else might’ve imagined possible for a man like him—Arthur inches his jaw forward and finally takes your mouth.

...

“And I’ll thank the Lord

For the love that we’ve shared.”

...

There you are with Arthur Morgan, dancing—of all things—on a summer evening, mouths mingling like no one can see, his presence crowding you, his broad back hunched with desperation to have you, your hand held tenderly to his chest.

...

“You’re heaven to me.”

...

He stays. Stays there, cradling your body to his, kissing you deeply, like it’s all he wants from the world.

...

“It makes me want more of you,

Again and again.

I fall more in love with you

Than I’ve ever been.”