by Nikki Ash
And that’s what we spend the day doing. We surf and talk and surf some more. We paddle out together, talking about nothing of consequence, but it’s nice. We agree to keep it light. Well, I request to keep it light, but Bentley and Kaden go along with it. Bentley tells me about his friends and how he loves to work out and fight. I tell him about being a cheerleader in high school and about all the trouble I’ve gotten Liz and me into over the years. Kaden doesn’t really say much. He just laughs and joins in occasionally.
Our competitive sides show as we playfully banter back and forth throughout the day over who can surf better. However, when I hit the last wave just right and ride that bitch like I own it, they both agree I’m the better out of the three of us. In another life, Bentley and I could effortlessly be friends. It’s just so easy with him, and if I’m truthful with myself, if given the chance we could probably be more than friends. Last night was about sex, but today has been about so much more than that. I’ve never just hung out with a guy since Jake—and if we’re being honest, his immature ass doesn’t compare to Bentley—and it’s rather refreshing.
Dusk approaches and Kaden takes off to meet up with a couple of friends including their friend Caleb. Bentley tells him we aren’t going to join, and then comes up with the idea for us to sleep under the stars on the beach. Bentley mentioned where they live has no beach nearby and where they’re about to move to doesn’t either. His love of surfing came from his trips with his parents over the years.
We go to a local store and pick up a large sleeping bag, some blankets, snacks, and a bottle of vodka. We make our way down and find a secluded spot to build a small bonfire.
We spread a blanket out and use another one to wrap ourselves up with me between Bentley’s legs. It’s spring in Florida, but the ocean breeze adds a bit of a chill so we’re snuggling close. We don’t say anything, just watch the small fire crackle and the waves crash. It’s a comfortable silence, though. I’ve never felt so at ease with anybody except Liz before. Being in Bentley’s arms feels so natural like he was made with the sole purpose to hold me.
He moves my hair off my neck and begins to trail open mouth kisses from my earlobe working his way down to my collarbone. His soft kisses give me goose bumps and cause me to visibly shiver. He moves his hands underneath the blanket to my tank top and pulls my top down, releasing my breasts. His mouth goes from kissing to sucking and nipping. Using his thumbs and middle fingers he pinches my nipples making them peak, and using his forefingers he rubs them over the top of my nipples causing them to get hard. The sensation hits my core instantly and I can’t help but moan as he continues his sexual assault on me.
I take my hand and move it to the back of his head, pushing his mouth into my neck to show him I need more. He sucks harder, then bites the side of my neck, moving back up to my earlobe to bite it as well. He removes one hand from my breast and taps my legs for me to spread them open. I like him behind me, but I want to see him.
I turn around on my knees—keeping the blanket around us in case anybody wanders by—and go up high enough so his face is right in front of my breasts. I grab him by the back of his head and pull his face to me. He knows exactly what I want because his lips wrap right around my nipple and he sucks hard, tugging on it until it pops out, and then he moves to the other one to give it the same attention.
His hand goes into my shorts and under my bikini bottoms, straight toward my clit. He rubs it for a few seconds and then moves his hand lower to gather up the juices that are already flowing down there.
“Jesus woman, you’re dripping wet.” I push his head back to my breasts and he chuckles, but immediately goes back to sucking and licking each one. I need to be in control tonight. I feel like I’m losing all control and that doesn’t sit well with me at all.
His fingers, full of my wetness, move back to my clit and he starts rubbing it up and down and in circles causing me to squirm a little. It’s insane how he knows exactly how to get me off. He should give classes on how to give a woman an orgasm. I know quite a few guys who would benefit from this.
“C’mon baby, let go for me,” he murmurs. I want to, but I want him in me when I do. Taking his swim shorts in my hands, I pull them down and then push him onto his back.
“Do you have a condom?” I ask.
He nods and takes it out of his pocket. He must have grabbed it when we stopped by the hotel earlier to grab our stuff. Knowing we would be sleeping here and he would be leaving early, we took our stuff from the room so we wouldn’t have to go back there in the morning.
I take it from him, rip it open, and roll it onto his hard length. I lift and then sink down onto him in one fluid motion, both of us moaning as he fills me. He looks into my eyes as he takes my hands in his, holding me steady, and I begin to ride him up and down. His dick hits the inside of me just right causing an unbelievable amount of pleasure. After a few minutes, he places my hands on his chest and I start to pick up speed. He’s in me so deep it feels like we’re one. He moves his finger back to my clit and rubs circles against the sensitive nub.
Between his dick hitting the inside of me and the friction of his finger on my clit, I know I’m about to lose it, and he knows it too.
“C’mon, woman. Give it to me. Come for me. I want to feel you come all over my dick.”
His words throw me over the edge. My body spasms and my legs shake, and at one point I’m not even sure I’ll be able to keep riding him so he can find his own release. But the one thing I’ve learned about Bentley is even though he’s only known me for twenty-four hours he still knows me. Once I’ve ridden out my orgasm, he grabs my hips, holding me down, and begins to pump up into me from the bottom. His thrusts get faster and deeper and I feel another orgasm coming on.
“Oh, my God, Bentley. Please don’t stop,” I beg. And this time we find our release together.
* * *
We’re lying wrapped up in the sleeping bag with Bentley spooning me from behind when he quietly says, “I don’t want to let you go.”
My entire body stills. I don’t even know how to respond to that. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking the same thing, but at the same time I already know how this type of story ends. Boy meets girl, boy makes girl fall for him, girl falls, and boy doesn’t catch her. Girl hits the ground face first. Splat! The End.
“I just want a chance to get to know you more,” he continues. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I know you feel what I’m feeling.”
I take a second to get control of my emotions and then I say, “I’m not at a place in my life to give you anything more. I don’t do more. I’m sorry.”
He grabs my hips and rolls me over to face him. I keep my eyes down, but he lifts my chin so I’m forced to look at him.
“Kayla, do you believe in soulmates?” Oh, boy, here we go. Why did I have to pick the guy who doesn’t want a one-night stand?
Figuring it’s probably best to put him out of his misery, I tell him the truth. “No, I don’t. I don’t believe in love, or soulmates, or happily ever after.”
He makes a pained expression like I just ran over his puppy, and it makes me want to take it all back just to see him smile again, but I’m doing what I have to do. I don’t want to lead him on and I need to protect myself.
“Who hurt you, baby?” he asks, trailing his knuckles down the side of my cheek softly.
“It doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is that my mom warned me love wasn’t real, but like any teenager I had to experience it for myself, and I learned the hard way she was right.”
He thinks about what I said for a few seconds then asks, “Are your parents still married?”
“Yeah, they have a business relationship. They are both divorce attorneys who watch people destroy their lives as well as their children’s lives every day. They have been married for over twenty years, though. When my mom gave me advice on relationships, at first I thought she was a cynic. She told me love is an emotion and emot
ions aren’t concrete so they don’t last. It took me having my heart broken to realize she was right. And on top of that, I disappointed her and embarrassed myself.”
I don’t ask him to give me his opinions because I don’t want to know how he feels. Feelings only hurt. He waits a beat and when he sees I’m not going to say anything else he decides to give me his opinion anyway.
“Well, my parents married for love, and they have been married for over twenty years as well. They spent so much time all over each other while I was growing up I thought that’s how all parents were, until I got old enough to go to other kids houses and saw that not every parental unit is like mine. I believe in love and soulmates”—he pulls me closer to him until he’s so close I could kiss him without moving—“and I believe you very well could be my soulmate. I just want a chance, Kayla. One chance to prove to you that love is real.”
I hate how determined he looks and I can’t stand to hurt him, so I say, “I’ll think about it.”
He accepts that answer and we fall asleep with my head on his chest as he rubs circles on my back.
I wake up and it’s still dark outside. The small fire has gone out and Bentley is still fast asleep. He looks so peaceful with just a hint of a smile on his face. I would like to think I put that smile there. I check my phone and see it’s only three in the morning. I gather up my stuff and carefully slip out of the sleeping bag leaving Bentley sleeping by himself. It’s just easier this way.
Three
Bentley
Present Day
Sometimes there are people and situations in life that we just can’t control. No matter how much we try, it’s out of our hands and we have to learn to accept that it’s out of our hands. Kayla is the person in my life and her refusing to allow me to show her what love is, is the situation that is completely out of my control. I’ve loved this girl from the day I met her six years ago at the club in Miami. I know what you’re thinking, so for argument’s sake, let’s just agree to disagree. I know what I felt and I know how I feel. Unfortunately, the woman I fell in love with is incapable of letting somebody in, so none of it really matters at this point.
However, what does matter is that at this moment I’m standing in front of said girl staring at her adorable pregnant belly while she’s rocking a tiny string bikini that makes me want to devour her while I’m currently holding hands with my girlfriend, and the only thing I can think of is, is the baby mine?
Everybody around us goes silent and I realize I just asked the question out loud. Kayla opens her mouth to respond, but Sophia, my girlfriend of three months, cuts in. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Jesus, when did her voice get so damn whiny?
“Isn’t this the bitch from your apartment?” she asks. “Why the fuck would she be carrying your baby? We have been together for months, Bentley.” She draws out my name and it sounds like nails to a chalkboard.
I go to respond, but Kayla beats me to it. “Bitch? Who are you calling a bitch? Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass back to wherever you came from. You don’t know shit about what Bentley and I have done.”
Sophia turns to me, glaring. “Bentley, what the hell is she talking about? Is it possible this baby is yours?”
Ah, hell. Shit just got real.
* * *
Six Months Ago
The crowd is chanting “Rage. Rage. Rage. Rage.” I’m standing in the corner, watching the announcer declare Cooper the winner of the fight, which means that in February he’ll be going head-to-head for the title at the MGM Grand arena. I’m so fucking proud of him. He busts his ass every day at the gym and has been putting up with his dad for the last several years just to get to where he is. I honestly don’t know how the hell he does it. Yeah, I work out at the same training facility as him, but I don’t have his piece-of-shit father breathing down my neck like he does. If I did, I would have quit years ago.
Before Cooper leaves the octagon to head back to the changing area, he nods for me to come over to him. “Look straight out, four rows back.”
I do what he tells me to do and then I spot them. More importantly, I spot her, the girl who left me on the beach all those years ago. The girl I knew was my soulmate but wouldn’t let her guard down long enough to give me a real chance. Well I’ll be damned.
“I need you to make sure Liz is at the after-party.”
I give them a smirk when I see they’re both looking my way, and nod. I know Cooper feels the same way about Liz that I do about Kayla.
Once Cooper and everyone with him make their way out of the octagon, I approach the girls.
“Well, God damn. If it isn’t the girl who got away… And her best friend.” I direct my statement at Liz so Kayla doesn’t know how much that shit hurt to wake up on the beach by myself in Miami five years ago after she told me she would think about giving us a chance. When I get done looking at Liz, I turn to Kayla and fuck if she doesn’t look even more beautiful than she did all those years ago. She still has the same long blonde hair with captivating blue eyes. Her body is still thin and toned, but she’s matured. “Never thought we would see you two again.”
I wait for Kayla to respond. Most girls would look remorseful when approached after dipping out on a guy after spending the weekend with him, but not Kayla. She puts her hands on her hips, lifts her chin and makes it clear where she stands. Well, we’ll just have to see about that.
“Looks like you were wrong because here we are.”
“So, I take it you two are UFC fans?”
She laughs at my question. “Ummm… No. I’m a fan of hot guys in no shirts fighting and getting all sweaty, and Liz is along for the ride. Our best friend Hayley got us tickets to the fight and invited us to the party that is going on afterward.”
I’ll have to thank Hayley when I see her. She’s our on-site medic at the gym. I lean in close to Kayla, just enough to invade her personal space but without touching her. “Well, you’re in luck because I’m one of those fighters and I’ll gladly take my shirt off and get sweaty with you any day.”
Kayla’s laugh deepens, like she isn’t affected at all by me, but I can see her thighs rubbing together—she’s putting on a front. I’m going to let it go… for now.
“So, that means we’ll see you at Kaden’s for the after-party?”
“I didn’t know it’s at Kaden’s. Hayley just sent me an address, but yes, we’ll be there. Whether you see us is up in the air.”
If it’s possible, I swear that woman has gotten even sassier since the last time I saw her, and if I’m honest, I love it. What I would give to kiss the fuck out of that girl just to shut her up, but I need to formulate a plan. I never imagined seeing her again, but now that I have another chance, I need to do this right. I nod to both of them and head to the back to meet up with the guys.
Cooper, Caleb, and I arrive to Kaden’s house and the party is already in full swing. I take a look at Kaden’s home and the land he’s sitting on and I can’t help but feel a little nostalgic. I miss the days when we were all roommates. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for Kaden and Cooper each getting his own place. Kaden has worked his ass off as a trainer to purchase this home on his own. It’s a decent-sized house on probably a half-acre of land. Nothing huge, but he’s put his heart and soul into making it a home. Back in Boulder we were all roommates minus Caleb. I can afford my own place, but I hate living on my own. It gets lonely. Growing up, my parents and I were very close and when I moved out of their home I moved right in with Cooper and Kaden. I like having my own space but I enjoy the company of others as well.
It’s a little different living with Caleb. He’s more of a loner. He’s an amazing friend and will have your back without question, but something fucked up happened to him. I can see it in his eyes. The problem is, he doesn’t talk about it. He has a passion for fighting like the rest of us, but for him it’s more like he’s fighting something within him. He also works a lot of hours as a bouncer at a club on the strip. I mig
ht as well be living on my own, to be honest.
As soon as I see the overflow of people everywhere I immediately start looking for my little firecracker. I don’t see her, but I do see a couple friends from the gym, so I bullshit with them for a few minutes before continuing my search. When I finally find her she’s making herself a drink in the kitchen. Her phone is on the counter and before she sees me coming I snatch it up. Luckily, it’s not locked.
“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she screams, thinking her phone is being stolen. When she sees me, she simmers down, but then her face morphs into the cutest glare I’ve ever seen. Before I answer her, I type in my number and call myself. She realizes what I’m doing and tries to snatch her phone back.
I turn around so my back is facing her and she jumps onto my back to try to get to it. I hear my phone ring and know I got her number. Her ass isn’t getting away a second time.
I grab her body off my back and put her onto the counter, spreading her legs and positioning myself between them. I think she’s in shock at how easily I could fling her around because for the first time she’s speechless.
I hand her back her phone. “Now I have your number. There’ll be no getting away from me this time,” I say with a wink.
She snatches her phone back and huffs out in annoyance. I must be a sick guy because the more pissed she gets, the more turned on I get. She shoves me back and jumps off the counter, grabbing her drink and walking away without saying a word. I follow her outside to the bonfire, and once we’re away from the loud noise, I grab her by her arm and spin her around.
“Woman, please stop walking away from me.”
She lifts one brow in defiance, and I tug her over to me. For a brief second, she melts into my touch, lowering that impenetrable wall. But before I can jump across, she realizes what she’s done, and it shoots back up, blocking me on my side.
“I’m pretty sure I can walk wherever I want, including away from you, and I’m not particularly fond of guys who take my number without asking.”