by C. A. Harms
I reached out and placed my hand over hers. She offered me a reassuring squeeze before lifting her hand to place her sunglasses back over her eyes. I was sure it was more to hide the sadness than to block the sun.
Chloe, Grace, and I remained where we were, enjoying the heat of the sun on the dock by the lake. That was until the guys decided to do cannonballs by running and jumping over our bodies to ensure we received the best possible splash. I remembered a story Aunt Kori told us about Maria climbing out onto the tree branch and her bikini bottoms getting stuck causing her to dangle in midair. This lake was one that held so many memories. And lately it was becoming a place Mike and I settled at often.
I sat back, watching him tread through the water, his hair now growing out and doing that sexy flip thing it did when it got longer. The water only added to the crazy and caused it to stick out in a million different directions.
He didn’t know I was watching him, or if he did, he didn’t bring attention to it. Instead, he swam around, roughhousing with the guys, and when he laughed, it did something to me. It made me feel this deep ache inside, a good ache. I absolutely loved his laugh, that deep husky way of it. Often, I would close my eyes when I heard it and tune out everything else around me. I could live on his laughter and smiles alone.
For so many years, I would lie in the darkness of my room at night and wonder what exactly he was doing at that very second. The fears I held over the years, especially during the times he was deployed, would keep me awake for hours.
Now that he was home safe and we’d found each other in a way we never had before, I finally felt like everything I had ever felt when he was near made sense.
We’d always had this unexplainable connection, this longing toward one another. Being kids, it was simply the kind of friendship where we couldn’t go a day without seeing each other, but what we had now had been budding and brewing for years.
I jumped in surprise when I felt a cool hand touch my heated skin. I had drifted off into my own head and I hadn’t even noticed Mike climbing out of the water and onto the deck at my side.
“Hey, pretty girl.” I loved when he called me that. It made my heart race. “Mind if I steal myself a kiss or two?”
He said this while crawling over me and in the process dripping even more cool water onto my skin. Chills covered my arms and legs when he lowered his body completely over mine and pressed his lips to mine. Apparently, he had absolutely no intention of waiting for me to say yes or even deny him what he’d just asked.
It hadn’t escaped me that this was, in fact, the first time we’d shown an ounce of affection toward one another in the presence of others. It all still felt a little strange.
A few catcalls rang out around us, and I felt Mike smile against my lips, but it didn’t stop him. Instead, he deepened the kiss, teasing my lips with the tip of his tongue.
“You plan on taking care of what you’re starting, or is this just a teasing game?”
“I have every intention of taking care of whatever you need me to,” he assured me, pulling back to look me in the eyes. The mischievous look on his face excited me. “Do I ever not take care of you?”
I thought about taunting him and leading him to believe otherwise, but unfortunately, my eyes deceived me.
“That’s what I thought,” Mike said with a cocky, arrogant smile that should have triggered me to battle it out with him, only I couldn’t. I had found that I loved this side of him. For so long after he came back, we danced around one another, creating more and more tension between us. I didn’t ever want any of that back. I wanted this version of us, the relaxed one where we found our comfortable.
“I’m just gonna lay right here for a few minutes.” I cocked my head to the side, trying to figure him out, when he slowly slid off me but remained at my side. Face down, might I add. “Maybe the cool water would help calm me down, but then in order to get into said water, I would have to move.” Again, I was confused. “Babe, my flagpole seems to be a full mast right now, and forgive me, but not everyone here needs to know about my inability to control my needs whenever I’m around you.”
With this, I laughed, and what did he do? He smiled proudly.
Lord help me. Oh, how I love this man.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mike
We’d spent the day by the lake, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so relaxed. I only wished Rhett and AJ could have joined us, but Blake had been fighting an ear infection, so maybe next time.
Layne brought the beers, and Terrance and Chris brought the burgers. I brought Maddison, and in my eyes, she was without a doubt the best fucking part of the day.
I stood at the back of my truck, staring out as she gathered her towel and whatever else she had scattered around her. She placed each item into the bag she’d brought before sliding her shorts over her feet and shimmying her hips as she pulled them up over her wet, sticky skin. I had to fight against my urges before I embarrassed myself again.
There was silence around me when there should have been the sounds of everyone packing up. I looked left and then I looked right to find every single one of the guys staring in the same direction I had been.
Layne had his sunglasses pulled low as he stared up over them. Only his eyes were currently moving up and down, and I saw, after seeing the girls once more, that it was Chloe he was watching.
Terrance too seemed to be focused on someone other than Maddison, who had just slipped her tank top over her head and pulled it to cover her body. No, he was definitely not watching Mad, and when I pinned the point of his interest, I felt a spark of irritation hit me before I carefully tied it. I’d let Rhett handle the fact that his friend was obviously lusting after his little sister. The guy truly was a fucking idiot if he thought that shit would fly.
But Chris, the little asshole, was most definitely watching my girl. Without thinking, I reached out and slapped the back of his head, causing him to jerk in surprise. “What?”
“Really.” I pointed toward Maddison and held his stare. Did I for a second worry about Maddison and him? Hell no. But I felt like getting a little territorial about my girl. It was all in good fun.
“I was just looking.” He shrugged and backed away before I could hit him again. “You can blame a guy for that.”
“Eyes off, asshole.” I turned to face him, hearing Terrance chuckle as his friend carefully began to back away.
“Never bothered you before. We all did it. You can’t expect a guy not to appreciate the way she wears a bikini.”
“Dude, shut up.” Terrance tried to shut his friend up, but the guy didn’t seem to know any better.
“What, tell me you didn’t look, too.” I glanced at Terrance to find him shaking his head with his hand covering his face. “She has a killer ass, and in those bottoms, it’s even harder to look away.”
“Do you want to die today?” Layne chuckled, and by this time, the girls had started to walk our way, each one watching the situation closely as if trying to figure it all out without asking the questions.
“Okay, damn, fine.” Chris held his hands up in surrender. “I won’t look anymore.”
“Look at what?” Maddison asked, stepping up to my side.
“Your killer ass,” Terrance said with a chuckle. I didn’t miss the hurt look that took over Grace’s face, and apparently, Terrance didn’t, either. “I didn’t say it. He did.” He pointed to Chris, who at this point looked like he might puke or shit himself, I wasn’t entirely sure which.
“So you’re gonna beat him up for looking at my ass?”
No, I wasn’t gonna beat him up. “Just scare him a little.” I tried to hide my smile when she gave me that sweet grin of hers.
“Well, baby, mission accomplished.” Why the fuck did hearing her call me baby make it feel like I’d been punched in the chest? “He looks scared.”
She was right; he did. And at this point, I no longer cared. Hearing Mad call me some cute pet name shouldn’t
turn me on. I mean, come on, why would it? But sure as the sky was blue, it flared something inside of me, and it was running out of control.
“Come on.” I hooked her waist and hurried her toward my truck. Once we reached the driver’s side, I grabbed her by the hips and hoisted her up, making her squeal. “That tickled, you big knucklehead.” She swatted at my hands, and I laughed, smacking her ass.
“Get your ass up in the truck, woman.” She glared back at me. “You heard me. Now get going.”
I grabbed the bar and pulled myself up, now balancing on the running boards alongside her. “What’s the hurry anyway?”
“Because I wanna kiss ya, and I can’t do that when all these assholes are watching.” Her scowl softened. “You know what kissing you does to me, and I’ve already—”
“Flown your flag today?”
I laughed when she mentioned my earlier explanation for my erection. “Yeah.” I nudged her up into the cab of my truck, watching her ass the entire way. “He is right about one thing, though.” Maddison cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. “You do have a killer ass.”
Without any further delay, I climbed up into the cab of my truck, and instead of remaining on my side, I sat in the middle, pulling her over onto my lap. The others slowly gathered, climbing into their vehicles and driving away, leaving us there by the lake alone.
“Wanna know a secret?” I gripped her hips and pulled her in closer, feeling my already growing erection pressing against her. She obviously felt it too, as she lightly rocked against me. “When you called me baby just now…” She wrinkled her brows as if she didn’t remember she’d even done it. “You did,” she shrugged, “and I loved it. I won’t lie, it turned me on.”
“Oh, really?” Again, she shifted against me. “How much?”
“Can’t you feel how much?”
“Is it enough to make you wanna fix it right here,” another shift, “and right now?”
Nodding my head, I glided my hands upward and cupped her breasts, giving them an appreciative squeeze.
“So much that you’re even willing to set aside your weird phobias?”
It was my turn to grow confused. “What phobias are we talking about here?”
“The one you have about having sex in your truck?”
And with that, the moment was lost. I could instantly feel my pal grow limp. Shivers raked through my body, making Maddison laugh. “Honestly?” Did she have to go and remind me that, in this very truck, most likely in the same fucking spot and position we were in, my brother was most likely conceived? “Damn it, woman.” I tossed her off me and moved over behind the wheel. I drove out of that field and hit the dirt road, all while she laughed at my side. The woman was evil.
“You should know that, when I get you back to your place,” I looked over at her and she glowed with satisfaction, “I place on making up for this cruel scenario.”
“Oh yeah, and how do you plan on doing that?”
“I’m gonna start just inside the front door. I can think of a few surfaces that will be useful to us.” The change in her expression was satisfaction enough. I was getting to her already. “We do, however, need to take a shower before I do some of the other things I want to do to you. Lake water and all.” For emphasis, I licked along my lower lip and watched as her gaze fell to my lips. “But first, and most importantly,” her eyes grew with excitement as she waited to hear the rest, “we need to get something to eat, because I’m starving.”
Her mouth gaped open as she stared at me. I could practically feel the daggers she was beaming at the side of my head. Her silence made me fully aware that I had in fact gotten the best of her.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Maddison
I thought I was so sly, so in control when I decided to pay Mike back for torturing me. But it backfired, and he challenged me, told me that he could wear me down, and being the smartass that I was, I played it cool. But on the inside, I was crumbling, and I was falling fast.
What girl in her right mind would hold back sex to prove a point when she had a man like Mike who’s offering up whatever her heart desired? That would be me, yep, dumbass right here.
And it had only been two days. I was dying here, crumpling at the seams.
I sat in my Jeep, staring ahead at the barn like I was staring at a hot fudge sundae smothered in strawberry sauce and whipped cream. Wait, I kind of was.
I’d stopped by Gran’s to pick up a box of tomatoes from my mom, and what was the first thing I was faced with when I slowed to a stop? Mike, wearing nothing but a low-riding pair of jeans, a cowboy hat, and his big ole’ messy boots.
Did I mention he was shirtless?
As in completely nude from the waist up. Showing off every ripple and groove, flashing those sexy tattoos and those little dips at his waist. I was lusting, and by the look on his face when he looked up to see me sitting there, he knew. Which fully explained why he was now sauntering in my direction, flashing the sinful dimple of his, while staring at me with his damn sultry eyes.
“Surprised to see you here, pretty girl.” He rested his arms on my door and leaned in through the open window. “Your cheeks are a little red. Are you hot?”
Smartass.
“Nope, I’m fine.” I would not show weakness.
“That you are.” Leaning in a little further, he grabbed the back of my head and pulled me in close for a kiss. “Cherry,” he whispered, pulling back and licking his lips. It took me a second to realize he was talking about my lip gloss.
“I came to get tomatoes from Gran.” I squared my shoulders, ignoring the way my body wanted to react to him after his taunting kiss. “Then I’m off to help in the shop.” Somehow spending the day chopping wood, running it through planers, and then shooting nails through it sounded like a great way to relieve some of the tension I felt. Tension I had brought on myself and could relieve at any time if I would stop being so damned stubborn.
“Well, don’t let me hold ya up.” He backed up and allowed me to climb out of my Jeep. The second my feet hit the gravel and I tried to hurry away, he grabbed me around the waist and spun me around. Quickly, my back was pressed to the side of my Jeep and he completely shielded me. “On second thought, I feel like holding you up just a bit.” Then his lips were on mine. Not just any old kiss, this was a mind-blowing, consuming kiss. It was a reminder of what I was missing, as he rolled his tongue over mine and even went as far as sucking on my lips lightly like he did in other areas.
And I melted.
“I love cherry,” he whispered before going back for more. My head was spinning. “I’ll be at your place, with dinner at six. Wear this lip gloss.” And then he was gone.
Thankfully, the Jeep was at my back; otherwise, I would have tumbled to the ground. I was so in over my head.
***
I spent the day sawing shit. Lots and lots of shit. My dad just put me in a corner and gave me a pile of wood, telling me to cut them into eight-by-eight squares. I didn’t ask why—frankly, I didn’t care. I just wanted to cut something.
No one asked me any questions. I guessed my face told them all they needed to know. I was frustrated, only they didn’t know it was sexually. They also didn’t know that I was the dumbass that caused it.
But it gave me time to reflect, time to remind myself that I had a challenge to win and I was going to win it.
I’d gone home, taken a shower, and because I had to be prepared to face Mike later, I took matters into my own hands. As in I wasn't alone in that shower that I took for close to forty-five minutes, no, I certainly was not. I had the guy that had never, not once in the last four years, let me down.
He and I played around in the hot shower, he made me moan out a few times, and now that gorgeous organic king was tucked safely back into the drawer of my nightstand.
I was satisfied now and confident that I could get through the night without caving and riding Mike like a raging bull.
Flashbacks of us on his couch, me wi
th my head thrown back and him gripping my hips hard and thrusting upward over and over. I grabbed the edge of the countertop and hung my head, mentally counting to ten. What in the hell was I doing?
The doorbell ringing made me jump, and I hurried around the island and then slid to a stop. Looking around my apartment, I realized what I had done.
The lights were dimmed, soft music played, and then I looked down. I was wearing the tiniest pair of shorts I owned and a tank top with no bra. I’d meant to get dressed, but then time just got away from me and—
The doorbell rang again.
Searching around, I found my old ratty robe on the back of the couch, and I grabbed it quickly, wrapping it around my body. It wasn’t sexy by any means. It was worn, huge, and long enough to cover my legs down to my ankles. The sleeves were also so long that it only showed a small fraction of my hands sticking out of the ends.
I tied it tight, ran around the couch, flipped off the radio, and then on my way to the door, I threw on every single light I passed.
When I opened the door, Mike squinted.
“Damn,” he complained as he stepped inside, “why is it so bright in here?”
I looked around too, and I might have gone a little overboard. But before I could come up with a good excuse as to why my apartment was glowing, he took in my appearance, and a slow smile covered his lips.
“What?”
“Are you cold?” No, it was hotter than hell outside; I knew that. But I also couldn’t give him the true reason as to why I was dressed like an Eskimo in the middle of a heat wave. “Because I could warm you up.”
“No,” I said, holding up my hand as I started to back away. “I’m fine.” I was a nut job, but that was beside the point. “You just remain over there, and I’ll stay here. That’s close enough.”
“But I want a kiss.” I could read him like a book. He knew exactly what was going on here. “Maybe a hug.”