The Road To Price

by Justine Elvira

  Chapter Nine

  After we stop in a small town outside Miami for some sub sandwiches, we are back on the road. Sebastian is no longer holding my hand; his free hand is playing the drums on the steering wheel. He's humming along to the music and I'm content watching him.

  We pull off the main highway a little while later and head into a town called Hollywood Beach. It's a tourist attraction, but it's a lot less crowded than Miami. We follow along the beach until Sebastian pulls up to a stretch of beach a little less crowded.

  It is beautiful.

  I’ve never told Sebastian how I feel about the ocean. Him bringing me here just seems right and makes me think he knows me better than I do sometimes. I may be over thinking it, but I want to believe that he knows me.

  Sebastian puts the car in park, turns off the ignition and jumps out of his jeep. I start to unbuckle my seat belt in order to get out as well. Before I can open the door Sebastian is standing next to me, door open, holding his hand out for me to grab and climb out. He is such a gentleman. I gladly take his hand and climb out of the jeep.

  “So, the beach is your surprise? We could have gone to the beach in Miami.” While I am glad that I get to spend so much time with him, I can’t help but think what a waste of gas it is to drive this far for a beach.

  “You don’t say? I wasn’t aware Miami has a beach.” He looks at me wide eyed to see if I will say something snarky back. I keep my mouth shut; he can win this one.

  Sebastian grabs a duffle bag from the backseat of his jeep along with the paper bag that holds our subs. He shuts the passenger door and looks my way.

  “Mia, if you're done being sarcastic then I will tell you why I brought you here. I want to have a picnic with you on the beach. The beaches in Miami are crazy and I want us to have some privacy. Then I remembered this stretch of beach and decided I would take you here. It's stunning here and you can actually enjoy the sound of the ocean instead of the sound of the thousands of people around you.” He smirks at me while lifting his eyebrows, “Is that a good enough answer?”

  I'm speechless. He thought this day out. He wants to spend time with me on the beach… he wants us to have privacy. This man is constantly doing and saying the sweetest things. I guess I'll play along and spend the day his way.

  “So, what’s in the bag?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?" He flicks my nose with his finger and lowers his hand to grasp mine again. Then we are walking, hand in hand, to the beach. To an outsider we may even look like a couple in love. Man, I wish we could be a couple in love.

  I'm drawn out of my thoughts by Sebastian’s voice. “I’m kidding around, you know. I have a blanket, water, and some sodas in the duffle bag. That’s it.”

  We've stopped on a nice stretch of beach that's practically deserted. Since it's the middle of October there are less and less people coming out to the beaches.

  Sebastian opens his black duffle bag and pulls out a large flannel blanket. He lays it out on the sand and makes a gesture for me to sit. I happily sit while he pulls the water and soda out of the bag.

  “Which one would you prefer?” he asks me sweetly.

  “Water, please.”

  He hands me the water and keeps the soda for himself. When he sits down next to me on the blanket I'm hoping for some kind of physical contact again. It doesn’t happen. Sebastian keeps a couple inches between us and slowly sips his soda. We sit in a comfortable silence, just staring out into the deep blue ocean.

  It's breathtaking.

  There are some boats out in the water. A few are docked closer to the beach, but most are much further out. Occasionally, I'll see one of the beach goers step into the ocean, but most stay on the beach like us. The water is getting a little colder this time of year.

  After a few more minutes of silence Sebastian turns to me, staring at my profile while I'm still taking in the sight of the ocean. When I turn to meet his eyes he speaks.

  “You hungry?”

  “Not really,” I reply back, while taking in his blue eyes with mine.

  They are piercing. I don’t know if it's because they're on Sebastian or if they would look this way on anyone, but he has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.

  His gaze stays on mine as he leans in towards me.

  “Mia, I know I said I'd be your friend and I am your friend… but being your friend sucks.”

  “Excuse me?” I say with a bit of hurt in my voice.

  He looks frazzled at the sound of my voice and quickly explains. “No… I mean… I mean being your friend has been great but, Mia, I want to be more. I want to hold you, kiss you, fall asleep next to you at night and wake up with you by my side in the morning. I want you to be mine and I want to scream it from the rooftop.”

  He leans in closer to me and my breathing starts to get faster. My heart begins to race.

  He continues, “These past six weeks have been amazing, but they’ve also been torture. Every day I get to know you more and I fall deeper. I want to have a life with you, Mia.”

  His hand lifts to my face and cups the side of my cheek as he speaks softer. “I want… scratch that… I need to make love to you.” His face comes impossibly closer to mine. He brings his mouth to mine and stops as his lips graze mine.

  “Can I kiss you?” he asks, his lips gently brushing against me as he speaks.

  I don’t answer with words. I close my mouth on his and bask in the beauty that is Sebastian’s lips. His kiss is soft, unrushed, like he's soaking in every part of my lips.

  I'm soaking in his, too.

  He slides the tip of his tongue along my bottom lip, asking for entrance. My mouth instantly opens and his tongue meets mine. His taste is like nothing I've experienced before. Every second, his kiss gets better.

  One of his hands slides to the small of my back while his other hand is gently holding my head to his. Sebastian starts moving us down until I am lying on my back on the blanket.

  I open my legs for him and his body slides between them. I have one hand on the back of his head, gripping the hair that's there. My other hand moves slowly down his back until I get to the hem of his shirt, then my hand slides under his shirt and makes its way back up, tracing and gripping his defined muscles.

  His body is insane.

  His lips move from my mouth as he slowly places open mouth kisses down my neck. It's sending tingling sensations throughout my body. I can feel the warmth in my lower region and my panties are wet.

  Sebastian’s hand slides from behind my back to my stomach. He slowly applies pressure while moving his hand to go under my tank top. The skin on his hand is a little rough and somehow makes me more turned on than before. His hand reaches my breasts and goes under the cup of my bra to play with them. He gently massages my breast and then he pulls on my nipple, continuing this a few times before switching to my other breast.

  His erection is pressing against me. He's grinding his hips in time with each wet kiss he leaves on my body.

  I am in bliss. This feels incredible.

  His mouth moves to my collarbone as he continues his efforts on my breasts. His erection is now sliding back and forth against my core, through my shorts.

  I need him now, but we are on a beach.

  The Beach!

  “Sebastian-” I moan out.

  It sounds like encouragement. Sebastian starts sucking on the top of my breasts. For a second I forget that I need him to stop. It feels too good. Luckily, my brain won’t let me forget we're on a public beach.

  “Sebastian, we need to stop.” This time my words come out stronger.

  Sebastian lifts his head from my breasts, panting and looking into my eyes. After his breathing starts to slow down he speaks.

  “I’m sorry. That was way too fast. I swear I was only trying to kiss you, but once my hands touched your body, I couldn’t stop.”

  I reach out to brush my fingertips across his upper arm. I feel exactly what he is saying; I need to touch him, to
o. So I'm going to reassure him with my words.

  “I’m not complaining, Sebastian. I want you to touch me. I want you to keep touching me, but we’re on a public beach.”

  Sebastian looks around us as if he is just now noticing where we are. He looks back at me with a huge grin on his face. “I guess we put on quite the show,” he winks at me. Sebastian raises himself off me and sits next to me on the blanket.

  While I am getting myself back up he speaks again. “Was that okay? I mean... did you enjoy kissing me? Do you want to continue kissing me?” He sounds so unsure of himself. It's adorable.

  “I enjoyed it and… I wouldn’t mind if it happened again.” I blush as I say that last part. I don’t know why I am being shy all of a sudden, but I guess I am unsure of myself, too.

  Sebastian reaches his hand out to grab mine. “Good, because it took everything out of me to stop kissing you. I'm ready to find some secluded area, strip you naked, and finally claim you as mine.”

  His words bring that familiar ache back to my core. I'm ready for him to claim me, too.

  “Sebastian, I… I want that, too,” I whisper to him. “Take me home.”

  He looks puzzled at my words so I continue, “Take me home and make love to me. I want you to make love to me.”

  His face shows a bunch of emotions, but shock wins out. I'm shocked, too. I have never imagined being comfortable enough with a man to trust him with my body, but I trust Sebastian.

  Completely.

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to rush you; especially after everything you've been through.”

  I look into his eyes and with a steady voice say, “I’m sure.”

  Sebastian leans into me and plants a sweet, slow kiss on my lips. It only lasts a couple seconds and then he's looking into my eyes again. “Let's eat our lunch and take a walk on the beach. Then we can head back home and see where it goes from there. How does that sound?”

  He is always so considerate. I have a hard time believing this is the same man I met back in August. He's a changed man and I can’t help but hope it's because of me.

  “That sounds perfect,” I answer him.

  He reaches for the paper bag next to him and pulls out our sub sandwiches. He hands me my Italian meat lover’s sub and another bottle of water. My mouth starts to water and I realize that our make-out session has actually made me hungry.

  I take my first bite and can’t help but think about the night ahead of me. Sebastian and I are going to sleep together.

  Sebastian is going to make love to me.

  I am going to trust a man for the first time in over seven years, and although that thought should scare me, it doesn’t. I'm ready to have sex. I just hope this time I enjoy it.