Never Far Away (The Never #2)(57)

Ella saw him smile at her, knowing that he remembered speaking those exact words to her at the beach house. It was true then and it was still true now. When he had spoken those words, it was her who needed reassurance, and now it was Porter who was looking for her to give him the assurance he needed. Ella would do anything to make sure he knew she wasn’t going anywhere.

“You kids are going to be fine,” the doctor said with a smile. Ella couldn’t help but smile back at her because she knew the doctor was right.





Chapter Thirteen


Ella


With a prescription in hand, Ella left the doctor’s office with Porter following close behind. The doctor suggested that Ella come back for weekly appointments to try and help her transition into taking the medication and dealing with her anxiety. Dr. Evans said she didn’t feel Porter needed to come back immediately unless his feelings of guilt or blame didn’t start to decrease soon, or something else became an issue for him. They made it out to the sidewalk and Ella paused as Porter came to stand in front of her.

“Well,” Ella said. “That was more exhausting than I had imagined it would be.” She took a step into him and rested her cheek against his chest. She felt his arms come around her neck and she snuggled in a little closer. She couldn’t help but smile a little at his scent of soap and wood. It was a scent she would love to smell over and over again. She inhaled deeply and felt his chest shake a little with laughter.

“Everything ok down there?” He chuckled.

“Yes. You smell good.”

“Are you hungry? It’s about dinner time,” he said, brushing some hair back from the side of her face.

“I could eat. Want to go back to my place?”

“No, I have other plans.”

“Oh you do?” She said, as she pulled back far enough to give him a questioning look.

“Yes. Leave your car here. We’ll come back for it later,” he said matter-of-factly, and took her by the hand, leading her to his truck. She didn’t argue or mind. He opened her door for her and she loved the feeling of his hands on her hips as he lifted her into the cab. Would she ever tire of feeling his hands on her body? She hoped not. She watched him walk around the front of the truck, and when he got in, she let her eyes graze all the way down his body noticing how his muscles were evident through his shirt.

“Enjoying the view?” Porter asked with a smug grin.

“Immensely,” she returned his smile. “Where are we going?”

“Out to dinner.”

Ella took his short answer and decided it was all she was going to get out of him, so she decided to just enjoy the ride. She unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted down the bench seat until she was right next to him, and she laid her hand on his thigh, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Buckle up, Ella,” he said, sounding more demanding than pleading. Ella rolled her eyes towards the ceiling of the truck, feigning annoyance at his protective nature. In reality, she thought it was sexy as hell when he worried about her. She would never take for granted that when she was with him she always felt safe.

As he maneuvered the truck down the highway, Ella took the opportunity to admire one of her favorite spots in Portland. Driving towards a tunnel, completely surrounded by trees and brush, once you emerge from the other side all you can see are skyscrapers. The sudden and immediate transition from greenery to cityscape is something that always amazed Ella. It spoke volumes about the city of Portland as a whole; you were never far from a completely different landscape. If you drove an hour from the city in any direction you could encounter an ocean, rivers, a mountain, endless fields of crops, waterfalls, not to mention the windsurfing capital of the world. You had to be completely lazy and blind not to notice everything that surrounded Portland.

“I love this tunnel,” Ella said quietly as they drove out the East end to a different kind of forest made of buildings instead of trees. “I love the juxtaposition. One second you’re surrounded by trees, then bam, buildings and bridges.”

“I never really noticed that before,” Porter said thoughtfully. Ella shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. They traveled in silence as she took in the sights of the city and the boats on the river. The fourth of July was quickly approaching, and she could see preparations being made on the waterfront for the annual Blues Festival.

Ella couldn’t keep herself from cringing as Porter squeezed his giant truck down the narrow and busy streets of downtown. Every time she covered her eyes and made scared yelps, Porter chuckled and patted her on the thigh.

“You think I’m going to hit something with my truck?” He laughed.

“It’s just so big. I don’t know how you control it the way you do.” Porter looked over at her and waggled his eyebrows. It took her a moment, but she finally realized what she had said and slapped him in the chest. “You know what I mean!”

“I’m an expert at getting big things in tight spaces,” he said, not even trying to hide his smile. Ella pulled away from him, trying to put a frown on over the smile that was surely taking over her face.

“What are you, fourteen?” She teased. Porter shrugged as he pulled into an available space on the street to park.

“I’m a guy, Babe. I call ‘em like I see ‘em. We’re here,” he said as he pointed across the street.