“Okay,” Aaron yelled at Jason. “It’s on.”
He slid back into position, and I held on tight as the watercraft took off at a high speed.
“Hold on, babe,” he hollered, and I nestled in feeling freer than I had in a long time.
For once in my life, the fear completely dissolved as I felt the breeze running over my wet skin and blowing my hair in the wind. If riding a motorcycle felt anything like this, I could see why it would be so tempting. Maybe with Aaron by my side, there would be another side to life. One that I never thought I’d want to explore.
Chapter Sixteen
We pulled up to the shore, greeted by my brothers and Lily and a few others waiting to hop on the Jet Skis. Jason and Gabby were coming in behind us, and she looked about as happy as I felt.
“How was it?” Lily asked.
“Amazing,” I said, sliding off the Jet Ski into the water. “Thanks to him.”
“I don’t know how you did it, man,” Mason said, looking over at Aaron. “We’ve spent our entire lives trying to get her over her fears.”
I glanced up toward the cabin and saw Cole and some girl attached at his hip.
“Cole’s here, huh?” I asked, blocking the sun out of my eyes. “I was hoping he and his car would get stuck on the side of the road somewhere.”
“Yup. But luckily for you he brought his own entertainment.”
“Poor thing,” I said, grinning as I looked back at Aaron who was tying up the Jet Ski.
Lily walked over and handed me a green towel, which I wrapped around my chest tightly. The light breeze was causing my skin to prickle now that Aaron’s body wasn’t acting as my shield. We had been on the water for hours and every minute was glorious. Holding on to Aaron, feeling his body next to mine was amazing, like I was in heaven.
Aaron walked out of the water and stood next to me, his body still glistening and dripping from the lake. I unwrapped my towel and handed it to him. “Since I’m a nice person,” I teased.
He grabbed the towel from me and began wiping off the water droplets. I was slightly jealous of the terry cloth that was running along his body instead of me and began to chuckle.
“What’s so funny, knucklehead?” Mason asked.
“Enough with the knucklehead stuff.”
“You know you’d miss it.”
I rolled my eyes as Aaron laughed and handed me back my towel. My fingers touched his, and another spark ignited in me just as Jason and Gabby pulled in. The others waiting for the Jet Skis hurried into the water to take both of ours out, and I knew I needed to keep my thoughts and hands to myself as I quickly tied the towel back around me.
“Is that Cole?” Jason asked, blocking the sun with his hand.
“Yup,” I replied.
“Who’s that with him?” Jason asked.
“Some poor soul. I’m sure he’ll introduce her since it looks like he’s coming this way,” I said, noticing Aaron staring straight ahead, his jaw tightening.
I glanced at Lily who noticed Aaron’s gaze and quickly came by my side. Aaron’s eyes were pinned on Cole and his date as they walked down to us. Something was definitely off with this encounter. I could feel the tension rolling off of Aaron and couldn’t figure out what had changed so drastically since we were out on the water.
“How’s it going?” Cole hollered from the bank. His date was gorgeous. She had long black hair and was dressed in a miniscule pink bikini that showed off her tiny waist but otherwise ample curves.
Cole was holding her hand helping her down the hill, stopping right next to my brother when he looked at us all.
“Looks like my timing was perfect,” he said, grinning. His eyes bored into Aaron. “Everyone, this is Nina. But I think you already know her, if I’m not mistaken?” He was staring directly at Aaron.
I glanced at Aaron whose eyes were on fire. My insides were churning as I looked over at Nina who was staring at Cole, horrified. What was going on here?
“You didn’t tell me he would be here,” she whispered, glancing quickly at Aaron.
Cole looked over at me and flashed a wicked grin, and Lily slid her hand into mine for moral support.
“It’s nice to see you, Nina,” Aaron said, his voice low.
She turned to face him, her eyes blazing. “Is it? I wouldn’t have known. I gave up waiting for your call months ago. My mother said you were still alive, so I figured it was just you being you.”
I wanted to grab Aaron’s hand, wrap my arm around his waist, anything to claim him as mine, but I couldn’t because he wasn’t mine and because Gabby was only a few feet away. So instead I just stood in place feeling completely insignificant as the blissful memories and hopes for something more faded away.
“You are a total creep,” Nina said, turning to Cole.
“What?” he asked, throwing his hands into the air. “I thought you two—”
“Why don’t you come with us to the house,” Gabby offered looking over at Nina.
“Who are you?” Nina asked snidely.
“I’m Aaron’s sister.”
I wasn’t sure that was actually a selling point at the moment, but she seemed to soften a small amount. Nina shot a glance to Aaron and he nodded. So whoever she was, they were close enough to know about him having a sister.
Wonderful!
Gabby moved from Jason and marched over to a very hostile Nina. Once reaching her, she grabbed her hand and started hauling her up toward the house with Mason right behind. Leave it to him to swoop in and help clean up the mess. I knew I was supposed to follow, but I couldn’t. My legs felt like they were bolted to the beach, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear her side of things, especially if it involved Aaron.
“What do you think you’re doing, man?” Aaron asked, his eyes narrowing on Cole.
“Honestly, I didn’t think it would be a big deal,” he said, glancing at me. “How was I supposed to know you and Nina had some sort of messed up history?”
I felt Aaron’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t look at him. This was exactly why I couldn’t get involved with him. There was just too much of this floating around waiting to come in and spoil otherwise perfect moments.
“And to think I thought you were kind of cute,” Lily said, squeezing my hand as she looked at Cole.
“No, you didn’t,” I blurted.
“Don’t you think it’s only fair I show Brandy what she’s getting into with you?” he asked, ignoring Lily’s comment. “After all, I went to school with her brothers, and it’s partly my responsibility to look after her.”
“Do you really think bringing one of Aaron’s exes to my brother’s party is going to bother me?” I asked, my heart pounding. “He’s twenty-seven years old. He’s bound to have had relationships. And we aren’t even together anyway.”
“Could have fooled me. The way you two were out there together, straddling him like your life depended on it,” Cole replied, taking a step toward me. His eyes narrowed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Your hands were all over him out there.”
“I was holding on to him for dear life.” And then I remembered. Last year, Cole tried everything under the sun to get me on a Jet Ski with him and I refused.
“Whatever. If you want to waste your time with someone who has no respect for anything without a dick, have fun.”
That was it. I leapt toward Cole and pounded my fist into his chest. “Take a hike, Cole. You’re no better.”
He fell backward onto the shore, bringing me with him. His arms circled around my waist as I tried to get away, but he only squeezed harder.
“Let me go,” I said, pounding on his chest.
“Not until you say you’re sorry.”
“Let me go, Cole, or I’ll have my brothers make you sorry you ever showed up.”
Within an instant, Aaron’s arms swooped around my waist and pulled me off of Cole. Cole scrambled to his feet, but it was too late. Aaron landed a swift punch to the
side of Cole’s cheek. Jason quickly responded by hauling Aaron away from Cole, and something told me this wasn’t the first time these two had to intervene for one other.
“That was kind of hot,” Lily whispered, and I looked at her with a huge grin on my face.
“Tell me about it.”
“I’m sorry about all that,” Aaron whispered.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. You’re allowed to date.”
“Yeah, but the accusations that were—”
“That’s all they were. It’s not my business. It’s not like we were together at that time in your life.” Even as I spoke the words that’s not how I felt. At all. The jealousy that bolted through me was insane when I realized there was a connection between Nina and Aaron. That kind of connection.
“And according to your plan, it’s not like we’ll be together anytime soon…” his voice broke off.
“People are allowed to change their mind,” I whispered, sliding closer to him.
The night’s temperature was dropping quickly, and I heard the loud shouts from the nightly poker match beginning, which meant it was midnight.
“You tired?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not at all.”
“That’s good.” He stood up from the steps and grabbed my hand, hauling me to my feet.
“What are we doing?”
“You’ll see.”
“I don’t think we should…” My heart rate accelerated at the thought of where he was taking me, and I couldn’t finish my sentence. I didn’t want to finish my sentence. I wanted him to take me anywhere he wanted, do anything he wanted.
Aaron held me close as he led me away from the house toward the wooded area along the lake. Darkness led the way as the houselights reduced to nothing, and the moon’s glow was our only splintered source of light through the trees.
“Where are we going?” I whispered.
“Far enough away where we won’t be bothered.” He stopped and stared down at me, his fingers tracing along my cheek as my pulse quickened. “But we’re not quite there yet.” His voice was so low, seductive. Just as I had imagined it so many times before. The images of him this afternoon cascaded through my mind as he began leading me deeper into the woods. Normally, I would have been panicked. But somehow being with him made it all right.
He led us down closer to the lake to a small clearing where the moonlight splashed more freely. There was a blanket rolled up and tucked underneath a thicket. Confused, I pointed at my find and he smiled, reaching for it. “You’re not the only planner.” He unrolled the blanket and tucked inside were two plastic cups and a bottle of wine.
“I saw this place when we were on the Jet Ski and had to check it out,” he said, handing me the cup. “It was a good diversion to cool off from Cole.”
“Thank you for that, by the way.”
I took a step closer and tossed the cup onto the blanket.
“I can’t keep fighting the feelings I have for you,” I whispered.
His mouth parted slowly, and all I could imagine was his lips on mine.
“Then don’t.” He placed the unopened wine back on the blanket and drew me into him.
I looked into his eyes and saw the passionate, kind soul I wanted to unravel, and my insides were barely holding on for the ride. I leaned up against him as he kissed my neck, sending waves of heat rippling through me.
“I’ve been dreaming about feeling those lips on me since last night,” I murmured, feeling the moistness along my flesh.
My body shuddered as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his firm body.
“I’ve been dreaming about it since the moment I saw you at the winery,” he said, his eyes locking on mine. “And every time after that.”
I ran my hands through his hair and brought his mouth closer to mine.
“Feeling your body wrapped around mine on the water…” His lips trembled as I softly kissed his lips. It felt amazing knowing I could do this to him. I felt his hands slowly glide down my sides, resting on my hips as our bodies pressed up against one another. An uncontrollable heat ran through me as his mouth parted and our kisses deepened. Feeling the warmth of his lips on mine became my drug, but as our kisses deepened, the warmth was traded for the cold flick of his metallic tongue ring, sending my insides into a spiral.
Better than I imagined!
There were no words for what he was doing to me with each kiss. My legs weakened as his tongue dove deeper. I leaned into him more as my body failed me and felt his firmness press against my stomach.
My breathing caught as his hands worked their way up my back, skating over the bikini straps that he quickly released. I felt my bikini top fall to the ground, but my t-shirt was still on.
“We should wait,” I murmured.
“For what?” he asked, his breathing ragged as his fingers traced along my shoulders.
“Until we’re sure about us.”
“You have doubts?” his voice lowered.
“A few,” I confessed and saw his expression fall. I backed away and sat on the blanket where he followed soon after.
I leaned my head against his chest and felt the beating of his heart begin to steady as I wondered what I was trying to stop between us. Or maybe that was the problem. There was no us, but I desperately wanted there to be. Falling asleep in his arms, I dreamed of a carefree relationship with Aaron and hoped that when I woke up, I’d be able to remember some of the pieces to make it a reality.
Chapter Seventeen
Curled up by the fire in our condo, I was reading over the differences between real property and personal property. It had been so busy at the office this week I could barely believe I’d ever been on a weekend trip. It was almost like the entire weekend escape never even happened. And regardless of my drunken “buddy only” proclamations to Aaron, it was really nice to get to know another side of him. He still vowed that he wasn’t the one who sent the flowers or chocolates, but I had my doubts. I was so excited to tell him about the lessons I had signed up for. I doubt he’d even believe it. The truth was that I was somewhere between terrified and elated at the thought of my first motorbike lesson on Saturday, but after getting a taste of riding the Jet Ski, I wanted to face my fears and take some motorcycle lessons. I even got Jason on board, and he’s building me a small bike to begin on, and he swore he wouldn’t tell anyone.
Meeting Nina definitely wasn’t a highlight of the trip, but if anyone knew he hadn’t been celibate, it was Google and me so I didn’t completely understand Cole’s intentions. But that was his past, not his present, and now I just wanted to focus on the remaining weeks of summer before law school.
I grabbed the fireplace remote and checked the temperature. Even though it was the middle of summer, the weather was as cold and rainy as mid-November. The thermostat read sixty-five, but it felt chillier than that so I grabbed another blanket for my lap.
I was looking forward to meeting up with some of the other students who were entering law school this quarter and had a little bit of time before I had to leave the house. Some of them had gotten a jumpstart on the reading like I did, and a few of them didn’t bother. Must be nice to be so confident. I always got good grades through school, which was why I wasn’t too worried about getting into law school, but I always had to earn my grades. I wasn’t one of those who naturally floated by. I had to study, memorize and study some more.
My phone buzzed, and it was a message from Gabby letting me know she was going to spend the night at Jason’s. I already figured as much and planned on inviting Aaron over tonight. I wanted to cook for him and try to make things as normal as possible for our first official non-date date.
I texted back a smiley face and decided I had completed enough reading. I walked to the kitchen and pulled out the marinating chicken and stirred it once before placing it back in the fridge. I picked a meal that had absolutely no garlic in it just in case I was lucky enough to experience a repeat performance from the weekend.
Aaron was working late tonight and had planned on coming directly here from the office so he was probably going to be exhausted but a girl could hope. If this turned into something, I promised myself that I would tell Gabby. But I didn’t want to complicate anything now. I had done enough of that.
I glanced at the clock and decided to head for the coffee shop. I picked up some of the schoolbooks I’d been reading and stuffed them in a bag. I flipped off the lights and locked the door. As I waited for the elevator, excitement crept over me. I couldn’t wait to see Aaron. The kiss we had shared was impossible to shake and conquering my fear of the Jet Ski was pretty intense as well. The elevator opened into the lobby, and I gave a quick wave to the doorman as I stepped out onto the street. I hadn’t brought an umbrella with me and was thankful the rain had let up on my walk.
The coffee shop was full and I quickly scanned the crowd, trying to find a group of strangers that looked like they were about to enter law school. I had no idea what that would look like but hoped for the best. I saw a woman toting a large bag of books, grabbing her drink off the bar and beelined toward her. She had to be part of the group.
“Are you here for the study group meet-up?” I asked the woman. She had short, wavy blonde hair and green eyes. She had a small frame, and she looked like she was going to be swallowed by the books she was hauling. Relief spread through her face and she quickly nodded.
“I’m Brandy. And you are?”
“Teresa,” she said. “I’d shake your hands, but I don’t have any left.”
I started laughing at the awkwardness of everything and glanced toward a large table in the back of the coffee shop.
“Must be everyone over there?” I asked.
“I think so,” she replied.
“Okay. I’ll be back there in a sec. I’m gonna grab something to keep me going.”
She smiled and nodded before turning toward the group of people. They all looked innocent enough. There seemed to be an equal divide between men and women, and the ages were just as varied. I stood in line to place my drink order and watched a couple of the guys glance in my direction, making me chuckle internally. Not a chance. The giddiness of getting to see Aaron tonight was almost unbearable. I couldn’t imagine this lasting more than an hour. Placing my drink order, I felt the buzz of my phone.
Spring Fling Trio- Beyond Love Starter Set Page 37