by Violet Paige
“Oh, that’s right.” Blair grabbed her sunscreen and placed it in the top of her canvas bag before slinging it over her shoulder. She gave her friend a quick hug. “Have fun.”
Justyn’s truck rumbled in the gravel drive. “I think you’ll be the one having more fun today.” Maggie followed her friend to the door, noting the sexy boat captain perched in the driver’s seat, grinning under the brim of his baseball cap.
“There’s my ride.” Blair smiled and headed out, leaving the screen door swinging behind her.
Five
Blair
Blair watched Justyn anchor his boat on a secluded end of the banks where few beach-seekers visited. Light bounced off the water and caught the glistening of a swimming school of fish. Sometimes the wild ponies could be spotted on top of the dunes, playing a game of tag. Blair peered at the horizon, looking for the horses.
Blair’s mother had taught her well how to pack for a day at the beach. She had a cooler full of drinks, sandwiches, and suntan lotion. Justyn smiled as he loaded the cooler and other bags onto his boat.
“You know I usually just bring a six-pack of beer, sunglasses, and sometimes a bag of chips.”
“I want to make sure we have everything we need.” Maybe three bags were too many for a day trip, but she wasn’t about to admit that to him.
When they anchored, he helped Blair spread the blanket on a stretch of beach a few feet from where the waves lapped the shore.
Ever since the night at the lighthouse, things had been different between them. Blair could feel it when she would catch Justyn staring at her, or when he seemed to go out of his way to find little ways for them to pair off. Whatever it was that happened that night, it worked. Her summer was richly delicious and decidedly more fun with the sexy local by her side.
Blair kept reading the same page of her book over again. She couldn’t get past the second paragraph. Every time she looked up at Justyn, she noticed he had yet to turn the page either. There was something mesmerizing about his bronze skin, and her imagination was taking over as she watched him rub more lotion on his arms and chest.
“Either you can’t take your eyes off me, or you want some of this. Do you want me to put some on you?” Justyn held out the lotion bottle with a coy grin. “The sun is serious today. I would hate for you to get burned.”
“All right.”
Blair rolled onto her stomach, allowing Justyn full access to her back. He poured a generous amount of coconut-scented oil in his palm, rubbed his hands together, and worked the lather all over her back. Blair closed her eyes as the circular motion of his hand deepened while he explored the curves of her hips. He pulled the ties that fastened her bikini at the middle of her back and laid them on either side of her. She relaxed into beach towel as he massaged the untouched skin with more intensity, a move that almost brought a moan from her throat. He inhaled while his thumbs worked the small of her back, slowly dipping below her waistline.
“How does that feel?” He smiled.
“Uh-huh,” was all Blair could manage to stammer out of her intoxicatingly relaxed state.
“Is that all you have to say?” he teased. His hands made their way down her thigh, pressing in all the right spots.
“Do you want me to tell you to stop?” Blair giggled, hoping he would keep going. It took everything in her to keep her hands and mouth off this boy. It didn’t matter who was doing the seducing anymore; there was no doubt in her mind it was going to happen before the end of summer.
Justyn laughed and, with one firm hand, pulled the edge of her sun-kissed shoulder so that Blair rolled toward him. He gathered the scraps of bikini fabric clinging to her skin, letting his fingers brush across the pink flesh of her breasts, and tossed the top over her head.
Blair gasped as Justyn’s mouth found hers. It was sweet; his lips were soft and gentle, but she could feel the want and longing lingering between them. Playful teasing turned hot the instant he bit down on her bottom lip, just enough to make Blair catch her breath. She yielded to his tongue and tugged him down against her breasts. His skin was hot from the sun, and she dug her fingers into his shoulders, as if that would keep her from spiraling out of control. Yes, she wanted this, but she had meant to have him work a little harder for it. Everything felt too good to stop. She could taste the salt on his neck as her lips grazed over his shoulder and worked up toward his ear.
Arching toward him, she drank in the feeling of his rough hands exploring the inches of her exposed skin. Gradually, his lips trailed down the soft line of Blair’s neck until he was hovering over her breasts, casting a shadow on the creamy skin that only a few minutes ago was covered in a bright pink bikini top.
He stopped, and for a second, she worried something was wrong but she watching him. His eyes raked over her, taking in the curves of her body, her golden hair splayed all around the beach blanket, the rhythmic motion of her chest breathing in and out, and her eyes. She wanted him; she hoped he could see it. Everything happening between them right now felt hot, intense, and like they were in the same place, for the first time.
He reached for her hands and brought them over her head, nestling them in the sunbaked sand off the edge of the blanket. Blair lightly pulled against his grip, wiggling closer to him, but steadily released the urge to resist his positioning of her limbs. Extending one leg out, she wrapped it around him, forcing him to press into her.
“God, Blair, what are you doing to me?” he groaned.
His teeth grazed her neck then returned to her breasts. She arched her back so that their bodies were locked together, separated by only a tiny bikini bottom and a pair of swimming trunks. She smiled. She could feel exactly what she was doing to him. This was going to be amazing, she thought. The sensations taking hold of Blair’s every fiber were burning and pulsating below her skin.
With one leg tightly wound around his and the other outstretched, a cool, wet stinging numbness crept up her leg. The tide was coming in, but it was too late.
Before she and Justyn had a chance to move out of the ripping current’s path, they were both soaked by the unexpected wave. Startled and embarrassed, Blair scrambled for her bikini top as it drifted past her before the surf took it out to sea.
“Weren’t you paying any attention? This is unbelievable.” Blair flung an accusatory stare at Justyn.
“I’m sorry. I was a little wrapped up in—” He cleared his throat and reached for the drenched blanket and the sunscreen. Stuffing them in the bag, he turned to her. “Why don’t we find another beach? It looks like this one is going to wash away soon. I’ll load this stuff on the boat and we can find another spot.”
“No.” Blair snatched the blanket out of the bag and tried to wring some of the water out of it. “I think we should go back.”
She was instantly sorry she had snapped at Justyn, but the shock of the wave seemed to whip her back into reality and back into control of her hormones. She didn’t like surprises.
They loaded the remainder of the beach bags and cooler, neither one saying anything to the other. Blair felt burdened by the awkward silence. She knew it was her fault. Why did she have to snap at him like that? He was being so sweet, cute, and sexy. Her heavy sigh drifted out to sea as Justyn started the small twin power engine and careened the boat back to the docks. With one eye on the nearing horizon, Blair thought about how she could undo the last fifteen minutes.
Once they reached the marina, Blair watched Justyn tie up the boat with two swift loops of the heavy rope and pull the coil into a tight knot. As she walked past Justyn to put her bags on the dock, she pinched his butt and giggled. He arched his eyebrows and handed her the cooler.
“Fine. If you’re that pissed at me for what I said at the beach, well then I’m sorry. It’s just. I just … I hate being startled. And you know, the whole thing was a surprise to me anyway,” Blair blurted out the apology as she loaded beach gear on her shoulders.
Justyn seemed focused on untying and retying his bowline knot.
“Look. You act as if you didn’t want any of that to happen today at all, but every signal you’ve been throwing my way has said that’s exactly what you want. Hell, it wouldn’t be the first time I read the signals wrong, so if that’s what you’re mad about, then just say so. I didn’t have some big plan to seduce you or anything like that. My only plan was to hang out with you on the beach—that’s it.”
Blair didn’t like that he was calling her out. “Really? You just wanted to spend time with me, not plot how to get me naked? Because you seemed pretty intent on removing this bikini.” She realized she was getting bitchy with him for exactly what she had intended to do—sleep with him. However, those rules didn’t apply to him. It was her summer and her seduction.
Justyn laughed and let the rope drop from his hands. “Blair, come on. Give me a little more credit than that. I definitely wanted to spend the day with you.” He hoisted himself up on the dock and walked up to her. He reached for the underside of her chin and tilted her face toward him, as if he were going to kiss her. Holding her there, in that pose, he winked at her. “You do want me.”
“Justyn! Ugh!” She pulled on the bag and stormed off to where her car was parked in the gravel lot of the little marina.
“Hold up! Come back! I’m just kiddin’ around.” He jogged toward Blair while she crammed her bags into the trunk of the car.
“You act like this is all just a joke. I’m going home.” She turned to the driver’s side. “Thank you for the day at the beach. I’ll see you later.”
“Blair, wait.”
She threw the car in reverse and whirled out of the dusty lot before she had a chance to change her mind. Her head was swimming. She wanted him to want her, but not want her only for sex. She had convinced herself all she wanted from him was sex. Dammit. This is exactly what she and Maggie had talked about—no entanglements this summer. And here she was in an argument with an island guy over a silly wave—in the middle of the marina parking lot, no less.
It wasn’t until she walked into the quiet house that Blair remembered Maggie was gone for the night. Her friend was spending the night in Morehead City with her Aunt Jenny, who was in town for a day. The house seemed overly large and lonely without her best friend to commiserate with.
Blair shed the drenched beach bag in the utility sink and pulled the soaking wet towels to hang outside. She plucked four clothes pins from the line and clipped them to the colorful edges of the two towels she had. She ducked around the billowing towel, shimmied out of her cutoff shorts, and pulled the tank top over her head. She shook the clothes to loosen the wet sand stuck to the fabric. There was no point. She knew it would be tomorrow before she could properly shake these out.
Wrapped in visions of Justyn untying the delicate strings of her bathing suit on the beach, Blair leaned against the tree on the other side of the clothesline. She closed her eyes as images of his hands and hard chest flitted through her mind. She walked toward the house and left the remnants of the make-out session gone sour blowing in the island breeze.
Kicking her sandy flip-flops by the back door, she traipsed into the house in search of some ice tea. She grabbed a tall glass from the cabinet and filled it with ice and a few lemon slices. As she was returning the pitcher to the fridge, she heard the squeaky springs of the screen door give way.
“Maggie, you’re back early?” She turned to face her friend.
“No. Not Maggie. I hope it’s ok I’m here.” Justyn stood in the living room, holding a handful of flowers that Blair had to assume he picked on the side of the road on his way over. He had on a fresh shirt and khakis, and his hair was slightly wet.
Blair looked down at her bikini. Her cover up and towels were out on the line. She was planning on a nice hot shower after she guzzled the glass of ice tea, but she was killing time and soaking up every second she could. She hadn’t made it up the stairs yet.
“Uh. Sure. What’s up?”
She sipped the tea and slid to the other side of the kitchen island. She felt silly trying to cover the bottom half of her body from Justyn after their escapade on the beach.
Justyn crossed the floor in a few long strides. “I didn’t like what happened back there. Here.” He extended the flowers toward her. “I got these for you.”
Blair smiled and took the heaping pile of black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne’s lace from his hand.
“Thanks. They’re pretty.”
She immediately turned and searched the upper cabinets for a container to house the wildflower bouquet. She could feel his gaze eyeing her backside as she reached on her tiptoes for a milk glass vase on the second shelf.
“Here. Let me get that for you.”
Justyn brushed past the island and reached over her outstretched hand to grab the vase. She watched as he flipped the lever of the faucet and filled the antique vase until it was half-full of water. When he turned to reach for the flowers, Blair was leaning against the island with the flowers behind her.
He stepped closer. Then, running his hand along her bare skin, he stretched around her back to retrieve the colorful blooms. Blair giggled as the petals tickled her back.
“Good. Glad you’re smiling again.”
Justyn stuck the bunch in the vase and placed the arrangement on the counter. “I don’t want you to be mad at me, Blair. Can we start the day over?”
She smiled at him as he planted a hand on either side of her waist. “It’s almost sunset, so I would say this day is kinda shot.”
“I know how to make it up to you. Let me take you out for a cruise.”
“A cruise? You think that’s such a good idea for us today? We barely made it back to the marina on speaking terms.”
“It will be different—promise. Will you go out with me again?” His thumb was playing with the little knots on the string of her bikini bottom. He looked distracted.
Blair thought about the day on the beach, and where things were headed with the sexy boat builder. This might be playing with fire, but Maggie was gone and the house was too lonely for her. If she stayed cooped up here tonight, she’d be stuck looking for a movie to watch—alone.
“Ok. But I was about to take a shower. Can you give me a few minutes?”
Justyn bit down on his bottom lip and inhaled sharply. “Good God, girl, you really are trying to kill me.” He had looped his thumb under the string and with the other hand was making a line up Blair’s back.
“Um, ok, I’ll be right back. Thirty minutes?” She wiggled her way out of his loose entrapment and skipped up the stairs. She smiled to herself. This was going to be fun. Summer sex was back on. This time, she would be in control.
Six
Blair
Blair leaned back into the cushiony seat Justyn had affixed to the bow for her. Egrets, sleeping turtles, and the occasional jumping fish peeled past them as he steered the boat farther away from the marina. She peeked over her shoulder to see Justyn standing behind the steering wheel, eyes focused on the shallow waters in front of them.
The constant summer storms and drastic tidal shifts altered the channel and made boating in the Core Sound an adventure only to be tackled by those who understood the ways of the water.
Blair thought Justyn looked especially sexy with the wind whipping through his hair, with one hand on the wheel while his eyes searched for the subtle changes in the channel. She knew he had grown up on the island, but they didn’t talk much about their pasts. That seemed like serious relationship talk, and she was determined not to have a serious relationship. However, looking at him behind the wheel, chauffeuring her to his favorite spot, made her heart skip a tiny beat.
The boat slowed and Blair took in the little cove. The last light of setting sun dappled big orange rays on the green marsh grasses. Close to the shore, she thought she made out the white form of a heron nesting in scrubby oak. Behind her, the moon was rising higher in the sky.
“What do you think?” Justyn asked as he loosened the anchor from the side comp
artment box. He heaved it out into the water, and Blair watched the concentric circles spread from where the heavy metal sank to the bottom of the sound’s floor.
“It’s really pretty out here. And peaceful.”
The boat drifted closer to the shore until the anchor tugged at the sandy bottom and tethered them to a small radius of rope.
“This is my favorite spot on the whole island. I don’t get to come here as much as I’d like.” Justyn reached into the cooler and pulled out a bottle of wine.
“Wine? I thought you were a beer guy.” Blair stifled a laugh as she watched Justyn fight with the corkscrew.
“I am a beer guy, but you’re not.” He flashed her a wide grin that even in the dimming light she saw. “I even brought glasses.” He pointed to the bag on the other side of the cooler.
“How did you have time to put all this together?”
Blair was impressed Justyn had gone through so much trouble for their evening cruise. This day was actually turning around.
“I can’t give away all my secrets, can I?”
He steadied himself as the wake of an offshore boat passed by. Balancing one glass at a time against his chest, he poured brimming glasses of the chilled wine.
“No, I guess I can’t ask you to tell me all of your secrets.” Blair sipped the wine. “So, why don’t you come here that much if it’s your favorite place?”
“Work. It’s not like college life anymore, sweetheart. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid.”
Blair didn’t want to start sparring with him again. They seemed to fall into that habit too easily. “So, how did you and Reid decide to go into business together?”
Blair followed Justyn’s gaze as an egret took flight. “I think it was always supposed to happen this way. We grew up watching our dads work together in their family business, so it seemed like a good fit.”
“And you don’t argue about stuff?”