Strawberry Wine (Chris Evans Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

Y/N heard a soft knock on her bed. She put down the book. "Come in."

Carter opened the door and leaped on to her mother's bed before crawling next to her. She shimmied underneath the comforter before she leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. She exhaled deeply. "This is all so weird," she said above a whisper.

Y/N's heart sank. Although her daughter was in high school, understanding death could never fully be understood no matter how old you are. Y/N wrapped her arm around her daughter and pulled her in for a tight hug. She kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I know, baby. It's okay to feel however you feel. This was not only your first funeral, but it was also a funeral of someone who you loved so much."

Carter shook her head. "Technically, this is my second, but I don't remember the first one. I couldn't even if I tried. I was just a toddler when daddy passed away." Carter hesitated for a second before she continued, " I don't remember dad at all, but your stories help. A lot. Especially when you take out the photo album. It makes me feel like he's still around. Is that so stupid to think?" She whispered the last part.

Y/N's eyes welled up, tears filling up to the brim and ready to fall down her cheeks. She shook her head and cupped her daughter's cheek. "No, baby. That's not stupid at all. Sometimes I think your dad is with us too "

"Promise me something?" Y/N nodded, motioning Carter to continue. "Can you do the same with grandpa? I mean, yes, I knew him for 15 years, but I still want to be reminded of him. Especially since you have more years worth of stories than I do."

"Of course, baby," Y/N promised.

"That jam farmer guy..."

Y/N's heart dropped to her stomach. She knew exactly who Carter was talking about and truthfully Y/N hadn't thought about him since the storm at the farmer's market. She had seen him a couple of days before at the funeral, where he gave a beautiful eulogy. As much as she wanted to see him again, she was thankful she hadn't just yet. She needed some time and space to grief the loss of her grandfathers with her daughter. Whether it was intentional on Chris's end or not, she was grateful. But, now that Carter had mentioned him, she couldn't help but think when she might see him again.

"You love him, don't you?" Carter finished her sentence.

Her words made Y/N's heart stop. She didn't know what to tell her daughter. Carter had never seen her with anyone else. The only man she knew about was her father and in a way, Y/N wanted it to stay like that. She didn't want to tarnish the memory of her father with someone else even though she did love her late husband.

"You can tell me, you know?" Carter said as if she could read her mother's mind. "Not only am I old enough to know about your past relationships if you want to share them with me, but also, mom," she grabbed her mother's hand and squeezed it tight. "Dad's been gone for 13 years. I want you to be happy. I want you to be loved again."

The tears she had in her eyes finally fell down. She opened her mouth to say something, but the doorbell rang. Carter looked at her, giving her a look that asked if her mom was expecting someone. Y/N shook her head and said, "let's see who it is."

Both of them made their way down the stairs. Carter opened the front door and smiled wide as she saw Chris standing with a brown paper bag in his hands. Y/N's stomach flipped at the sight of him.

"Hi," Chris said with a small smile. "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to drop by to give you a couple of things."

He pulled out a bottle from the bag before handing over the bag to Carter. "In there there are jars of grape, raspberry, and black raspberry jams just for you."

Carter took the bag with a huge smile. Before she went to the kitchen, she leaned in and whispered a little too loudly to her mom, "marry the jam farmer guy."

Chris chuckled, hearing what Carter called him. But, his heart also skipped a beat when she told Y/N to marry him. His mind replayed the night he realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Just like every morning for the past month, Y/N did her chores on the farm. It was nothing too hard or extremely dangerous. She gave out the keys to the workers for the tractors and any other machinery at the crack of dawn. Chris would be the last one so she could sneak a kiss before they both had to work. She then grab all the eggs the hens had laid and used a couple to make breakfast for the guys when they would take their break around 9AM. She would feed the chickens, refill the water tubs for the horses and pigs. By the afternoon, she was done.

She would go into the barn to visit her favorite horse, Bucky. She would always brush his hair and pet him. She would talk to him just about anything and everything.

"Bucky, have you ever been in love?" She asked him.

At that exact moment, Chris had walked into the barn. Y/N's back was to him, so she had no idea he had heard her question. He took a couple of steps and hid behind the first empty stall and listened to her conversation with Bucky.

"I've never been in love before until now. I guess you can say it's my first taste of love and it's bittersweet, like green on the vine, like strawberry wine." She stroked his hair. "I've never had someone look at me the way he does. Every time I lock my eyes with his, I see the awe in his beautiful blue eyes. I know because I look at him the way same way. Like he hung the moon and the stars, he'd swim oceans just to get to me.... because I would do the same for him in a heartbeat.

"He's also very kind, sweet, gentle," she continued. "More importantly he's patient with me. Any time he touches me, like when he cups my cheeks for a sweet kiss, hold my hand because he doesn't want to let go of me, or hug me tight like he's being shipped off to war.... it sends tingles all over my body. My heart does this quick flippity flappy thing. And there's butterflies in my stomach every time he kisses me. No boy had ever done that to me before. But, I can't bare to say it because I don't know if he feels the same way."

Her words tugged his heart. No one had ever spoken about him like that before. He didn't know what their future held as they both know come September, she would be gone for college. But, something happened that he had never experienced before. He saw a life with a woman he loved just as much as she loved him. He wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with her.

"And, let's be honest," she said as Chris walked out of the stall and marched towards her. "He's a great kisser. His lips are like a lifeline, like my oxygen tank in order for me to breathe. I know it's sounds stu-"

Chris grabbed her elbow and spun her around. She gasped as her skin jumped out of her skin, not realizing anyone else was in the barn. She placed her other hand on her racing heart. "You scared the hell-"

Chris interrupted her with a kiss. It was soft and gentle at first, within a couple of seconds it turned into a feverish kiss. He wanted her. He needed her. He loved her.

She sunk into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pushed her up against the wooden stall and pressed his body against hers. She moaned, enjoying the sensations rippling through her body.

She pulled back, panting. Her warm breath fanning against his swollen, pink lips. He pressed his forehead against hers and cupped her cheek. He looked deep into her soul and whispered, "I love you."

Her eyes welled up. "I love you, too," she whispered back.

"And, I'll love you forever," he promised.

Chris cleared his throat, pushing back the memory. He held up the bottle he grabbed out of the bag moments ago. "I brought you a bottle of strawberry wine. I'm not even sure if you like wine-"

"Chris, would like to join me for a glass of wine?" She smiled at him. "Maybe catch up a bit?" She asked, hopeful.

"I know just the place. Do you trust me?" He asked as he extended his free hand.