by Ciana Stone
Excited at how surprised he would be, she got on the phone to try to find a hotel with a vacancy. The only thing she could find was about 40 miles south of where Max was staying with his friends.
It was going to take her a bit to pay off what she charged on her credit card to rent the ocean front house. She was lucky she’d found a vacancy on such short notice and only lucked into it because someone canceled due to a family illness.
Since they only accepted weekly rentals, she decided she’d pack for a week. Maybe some time at the beach would be a good change for her. She’d spend Saturday with Max and then have a week to herself to decide what she wanted to do.
She was sure that she didn’t want to stay in Cotton Creek after Max left. The studio would be too much of a reminder. She needed to step up her efforts to find a job. Maybe she’d take stuff with her to the beach and work on her portfolio.
With her mind made up, she got to the task of packing.
The Present
Olivia came back to the present and on impulse grabbed her cell phone and texted Max two words. Lighthouse Beach. She wondered if he would respond. Would he think of that time and if so, would his memories fall along the same line as hers?
She pulled a soft throw off the back of the sofa and curled up, closing her eyes, to remember.
Max looked at his phone as it chimed to alert him of an incoming text. He was making progress on the script now and hated to stop. He’d just reached the point in the story where the main character was at the beach after his high school graduation. It was probably the most important part of the story. He didn’t want to deal with his agent, producer, or editor. He just wanted to write.
But curiosity had him lifting the phone to look at it. It was a text from Livi. A little bolt of shock ran through him as he read the words on the screen. Lighthouse Beach.
She was thinking about that time, too. And she wanted him to know. Why? He turned and stared out of the window, the script forgotten, and events of his eighteenth birthday playing on the film screen of his mind.
*****
Max rolled over and stared at the ceiling of the hotel room. Today he was eighteen. Legal. No longer a minor. And he was alone.
That wasn’t entirely true. Derrick and Jason were both passed out on the other bed in the room, sleeping off the alcohol of the night before. Max was sure they would be calling him a pussy today. He’d had a few beers, but not enough to get drunk. He wasn’t having all that great of a time, to be honest. His friends were all about drinking and hitting on girls, trying to score.
Max could only think of Livi, back in Cotton Creek. Was she missing him? And why had she let him down? When she showed up at graduation, he was sure she was going to tell him she’d changed her mind and would accept his invitation to go to the beach with him.
Maybe he was as stupid a jerk as Derrick said, thinking he had something going with Livi. She was almost thirty. Why was he so hung up on someone that old? Derrick didn’t understand. He didn’t know how it was with Max and Livi, how they could talk for hours, the way they worked together like they’d been doing it for years. Or the way she could look into his eyes and he could feel her in his mind.
Or could he? She hadn’t come. Maybe he had imagined all that. The cell phone his parents gave him for graduation rang. Max reached over and picked it up from the nightstand. It was probably his Mom, checking up on him. He got up and walked outside to answer. Damn, it was bright. It must be noon already.
“Hello?” He squinted against the light and turned to face the wall.
“Happy Birthday, Max.”
His heart leapt. “Livi?”
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I was awake.”
“Okay. So, what do you have planned for today?”
“Nothing really. Hanging out.”
“Could I talk you into driving to the South end of Lighthouse Beach?”
“Why?”
“So we can spend your birthday together. I’ve rented a house here.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously. You interested?”
“Yeah. Absolutely.”
“Great. You have something to write on? I’ll give you directions.”
“Hold on. I’ll find something. Don’t hang up.”
“I won’t.”
Max hurried into the hotel room and found a stationary pad stamped with the hotel’s name. After a minute of ransacking the room, he located a pen. “Okay, I’m ready.”
She gave him directions and the address.
“I’ll be there in an hour,” Max promised.
“I’ll be waiting. Bye.”
The gloom that had enveloped him a few minutes ago was gone. Livi had come. He wasn’t wrong. She did care. And he was no longer a minor. Today everything changed.
Max hurried to brush his teeth, and shoved everything into his bag. Derrick raised his head as Max opened the door to leave. “What’s up, dude? You going out?”
“Yeah.”
“When will you be back?”
“Don’t know.”
“Girl?”
Max wasn’t about to clue Derrick in on the truth, so he grinned and lied through his teeth. “Yeah.”
“Go get em’, Max,” Derrick raised one hand in the thumbs up position.
“I intend to,” Max replied and hurried to his car, his mind already running through possible scenarios of how he would greet Livi.
Max had to force himself to go the speed limit. The highway was moving along without problems, but not nearly as fast as he would have liked. Every minute seemed like ten. But forty-three minutes after he’d left the hotel, he turned into the drive of a wooden beach house on stilts and parked behind Livi’s car.
Max got out of the car and saw her standing on the wrap around porch, leaning on the rail. Dressed in a pair of short cutoff jeans that rode low on her hips and a tight white tank top, her hair was loose, blowing around her face. He was sure he’d never seen a sexier woman in his life. She smiled down at him, waved, and turned, running for the stairs. Max met her halfway up the steep wooden stairs. She stopped one step above him and threw her arms around his shoulders to hug him tightly. “Happy Birthday,” she whispered.
“It is now.” He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet.
She laughed and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Max was stunned. Happy but stunned. He’d never heard that laugh, or that tone in her voice. Not to mention the fact that she’d climbed on him. This was a side of Livi he’d never seen, but he wasn’t about to question it. It made him too happy.
He carried her up the stairs and she slid down his body as they reached the deck but did not move her arms from around his neck. Max looped his arms around her, pulling her lower body against his. “I didn’t think you were going to come.”
She smiled up at him. “How could I not? It’s your birthday.”
“I’m eighteen,” he said, searching her eyes as he spoke to see if she got the meaning behind his words.
“Yes.” What he saw in her eyes made emotion swell in his chest because it was all he’d dreamed of for six months.
“Livi.”
“Yes, Max.” she replied softly.
“Yes?” He didn’t want to seem dumb, but a sudden moment of insecurity had him needing to hear her say what he wanted to hear.
“Yes, Max. I want you. I always have.”
His dream was real. This time when he put his hand behind her head and guided her to his lips she didn't resist. She met him. He thought their last kiss had been good, but it was nothing compared to this one. If it was possible to make love with lips and tongue, then this was making love at its best. Her lips moved from his to his face and neck, her hands alternating between tightening in his hair and roaming over his face, shoulders and chest, touching and caressing.
Livi’s body strained against his. He could feel her nipples, hard against his chest
like little buds of fire branding him. She quivered when his hands moved down her back and cupped her ass to pull her more firmly against him and the little moan she breathed into his mouth was the single most erotic moment of his life.
He lost track of time, of how long they were there. A voice from the beach startled him with the yell, “Damn dude, get a room!”
They broke apart and Livi laughed and waved at the young man on the beach walking his dog. She took Max’s hand and led him over to the edge of the deck that overlooked the beach. There were not a lot of people on the beach yet. The sunlight sent shards of light dancing off the water as the surf pounded in.
“So, what do you want to do?” She turned and leaned against the rail, looking up at him.
He smiled and reached for her. Livi laughed and evaded his grasp. “Plenty of time for that, stud. How ‘bout we go swimming?”
Stud? He’d been called a lot of things, geek, dork, and dweeb – never stud. “Okay.” He agreed.
She grabbed his hand and started for the back stairs. Together they ran to the beach, him peeling off his shoes and shirt and her wiggling out of her shorts. Max thought it curious that she left her tank top on, but didn’t mention it. He was too happy just to be with her. They raced to the water, diving in.
Livi surfaced after he did, and the sight of her took his breath. The white tank top was all but transparent, clinging to her like a second skin. It was a wet t-shirt fantasy come to life. Her eyes fixed on his and held as she waded toward him. She reached for him and he thought she was about to kiss him. Instead, she pounced on him, pushing him backwards.
The pseudo-fight was on. Laughing and splashing, they battled, their maneuvers interspersed with long passionate kisses, and quick fondles. It was heaven. When she finally called uncle, they waded to shore, hand-in-hand. Livi flopped down on the bare sand. Max sat down beside her and she lay back, smiling up at him. Max lay down on his side, running his hand over her torso in slow circles.
Livi rolled onto her side and into his arms. Their lips met and once more Max fell into sensations that threatened to send him into total overload. He had to remind himself they were on a public beach. When she pushed him back and straddled his body, he had to fight back a groan. She smiled down knowingly at him. There was no way she could miss the raging hard-on he was sporting. She was sitting right on top of it.
“Time for another swim,” she said and jumped up, offering her hand.
The afternoon passed in a haze of happiness and passion that was rising faster than the temperature, threatening every bit of control he had. The beach started to empty. They stayed for a while longer, taking a long swim that was comprised far more of kissing and caressing than swimming. When Livi announced that she was starting to prune and pulled him toward shore, he didn't argue.
They stopped at the bottom of the stairs of the rental house and rinsed off in the outdoor shower, then went upstairs. Livi grabbed a towel from a stack on a bench near the door, tossed him one, then took one for herself and started to dry. She raked her fingers through her hair and grimaced. “Ugh, I definitely need a shower.”
Max didn’t comment. Was she telling him she was going to shower or was it an invitation? He didn’t know and sure didn’t want to make a jerk of himself by guessing wrong.
“Well?” she asked.
“What?” Damn, that sounded stupid.
“You want to take a shower?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.”
She laughed and held out his hand. “Come on. I promise not to bite. Well, not hard anyway.”
It would have taken a battalion of armed men, tanks and at least several rockets to stop him from taking her hand and accompanying her inside.
Olivia started the shower, then peeled off her tank top and shimmied out of her bikini bottom. Max had just reached for the button of his jean shorts and froze. He’d imagined her naked a thousand times, but nothing in his imaginings measured up to the real thing.
Her breasts were not overly large, but firm, high and adorned with nipples perfect in shape and size, drawn tight now in what he hoped was excitement. She was not a big woman and carried no extra weight. Lean was an apt description.
His eyes traveled down her body, taking in the slight curve of belly and the tight wet curls that topped her sex, neatly trimmed to accommodate the tiny bikini bottom she’d worn.
His eyes moved back up and he saw her smile when he reached her face. “You going to shower in your shorts?”
A sudden bout of nervousness gripped him. He’d never been naked in front of her. What if she thought he was gross? Or what if his package wasn’t what she’d hoped?
She seemed to sense his nervousness and stepped up close, her fingers going to the button of his shorts, but her eyes glued to his. In seconds, his shorts were sliding down his hips, then his legs.
Livi smiled up at him, ran her right hand over his hip to his stomach, and then lower. When she took him in her hand, his knees almost went weak.
“Ready for that shower?” She asked softly, rising on tiptoes to nip his chin.
“Yeah.” His response was a hoarse croak.
She didn’t release him, but put her free hand on his hip and stepped backward into the walk-in shower, pulling him with her.
Hot water cascaded over them, rivulets running across her shoulders and down over her breasts. She smiled up at him and released him to pick up a bar of soap. She smiled up at him and began to soap the front of his body.
Extra attention was paid to his genitals and all the while, she kept her eyes glued to his. It was wonderful and horrifying at the same time. He was going to come at any moment. “You need to stop,” he put one hand on hers to stay her motion.
“Not yet,” she argued and turned him toward the water. When he was rinsed, she turned him to face her and knelt in front of him.
Max had to reach for the side walls when she took him in her mouth. She worked her tongue against the head of his erection, taking him deep inside her mouth then pulling back. Over and again, one sublime stroke after another.
When her left hand came up and her fingers stroked over the bottom of his balls, he had to bite back a groan. He could feel an orgasm coming, like a big train barreling down the tracks ready to sweep him away. And he could do nothing to stop it except shudder and hang on as it overcame him.
Livi stood and leaned in as if to kiss him. He embarrassed himself by pulling back. She just smiled. “Can’t quite get into the idea of tasting yourself on me? That’s okay.”
She stuck her hand between her legs and inserted two fingers into her vagina. His eyes glued to the motion of her hands and his penis experienced a sudden resurgence of life. She removed her fingers and pressed them against his lips.
He opened his mouth and took her fingers into it. One taste and he reached up to take her hand, licking each finger from tip to the knuckle of her hand. Her eyes watched, the blue of her irises deepening to the color of twilight and the pupils enlarging.
Max pulled her to him and kissed her. It was a unique experience, her taste combining with his. She reached between them to the thickening length of his erection and gave an appreciative little moan.
Suddenly the heat of the water started to diminish and Max realized that she still had sand in her hair. “My turn,” he said and picked up the shampoo. “We might have to hurry. We’re running out of hot water.”
“Don’t hurry,” she replied. “You can keep me warm.”
“I’ll do my best.”
While he soaped her hair, she stroked him, kissing his chest, running her tongue over and around his nipples. It was not an easy task to keep his mind on what he was doing, but he managed to wash the sand from her hair.
He soaped his hands and ran them over her shoulders. She raised her arms and leaned back against the shower wall, submitting to his touch. He worked up to her fingers and trapped her hands against the wall with his own, pressing against her to capture her lips. She accepted the kiss eagerly.
Max ended the kiss and moved his hands slowly down her arms to the sides of her breasts, then in to track over them, feeling the hard nipples against his palms. She gave a breathy little moan and thrust her breasts forward more into his hands.
He cupped her breasts, running his thumbs around the tightened skin of the areola then the nipple. Her breathing quickened and a flush rose on her skin. “Slow,” she whispered. “Soft.”
Max followed her desire, seeing on her face that he was giving her pleasure. When the soap on his hands started to deplete, he directed her into the water, then turned her again to face him and began to soap her stomach.
His hands moved over her hips and back up, then down, over the tight curls of her sex and into the junction of her thighs. Her sex was plump and wet and when he cupped it, felt hot in his hand.
Livi moaned when he worked his middle finger inside her and pressed against his hand. “Yes. Yes.”
Her whisper brought him to full erection again. He pulled her against him, felt her writhe against him, riding his hand. When his thumb brushed over her clit, she gasped. “Oh god. Max.”
Max understood the tone. It filled him with a kind of excitement he’d never known. He was the one making her come. He could take her over the edge. Or, he could prolong it. He opted for drawing it out and removed his hand.
“Awww, it’s so wrong to leave a girl hanging like that,” she protested teasingly.
“I won’t leave you hanging,” he promised and turned her to rinse then turned off the water.
He grabbed a towel and dried her. She took another towel and tried to dry him and it ended up a hit and miss endeavor that had him snatching both towels, chucking them to the floor and sweeping her up in his arms.
Max carried her to the bed and placed her beside it. He stripped back the bedcovers then pressed her back onto the bed, spreading her legs to kneel between them. Livi looked up at him. “Tell me what you want, Max.”