by Cassie Cross
He considers that for a moment, then says, “If it makes you feel better, go brush and then get the hell back here.”
I laugh, and he swats at my ass as I climb over him to get to the bathroom, which we discovered last night came stocked with a whole bunch of necessities. I make quick work of it, smiling at my crazy sex hair in the mirror as I brush.
On my way back into the room, I pause in the doorway to take a mental picture of River, all muscly and relaxed, the sheet barely covering him. He smiles at me when he realizes I’m back, and I pounce, smothering him with kisses.
“Mmmm,” he says, brushing his nose against mine before kissing me again. “Minty. To be honest your breath wasn’t even bad, I just wanted to get a good look at you while you walked away.”
I playfully swat at his chest. “You can see me naked anytime you want, you know,” I say, kissing down his chest.
“I plan on it.” He looks down at me, eyes half lidded and muscles taut. “Someone’s gonna come and get us soon.”
I kiss along his abs, down to his belly button. “I know.”
“We don’t have any more condoms.”
I nod my head and grin at the thick hiss he sucks between his teeth as I take him in my hand. “I know.”
I bend my head and lick a long strip down the length of him, making him gather up the sheets in his clenched fist.
“We don’t need condoms for this.”
A man on a boat comes for us around 11. We’re both caffeinated and hungry, but completely sated and happy. He drops us off at the dock in front of the house, and it turns out that River and I can’t keep our hands off each other.
We’re dressed in yesterday’s swimsuits with dopey, lovesick smiles on our faces. We somehow kiss through them, only parting to make our way up the stairs to the deck, where we find Casey sitting with a sheepish look on her face.
“Are you pissed at me?”
River gives me another kiss, then goes and hugs his sister. “No. I’m not even gonna make you pay to replace the boat that you ruined.”
She breathes a sigh of relief. “Good, because…uh…there’s something you need to see.”
She pulls out a tablet I hadn’t noticed before and hands it to me. My least favorite gossip site is pulled up and there’s a headline in bold on the top of the page:
Ship-Wrecked?!
Below is a pretty good shot of River and I yelling at each other on the dock yesterday next to our sinking boat, with a clickthrough link promising more.
“Oh no.”
“Yeah,” Casey says, wringing her hands together. “Claudia’s pissed. It’s my fault.”
River and I both look up and say “No,” in unison.
“No it’s not,” I continue. “They wouldn’t have gotten good pictures yesterday even if you hadn’t messed with the boat. And that’s not your fault.”
River wraps his arms around my waist and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “I can call and take the heat for both of us.”
I sit down next to Casey and pull my phone out of my bag. “No, let me do it.”
I scroll to her number and press call. She picks up on the first ring.
“Claudia,” I say, reaching for River’s hand. He squeezes it in encouragement. “Listen, we need to talk.”
Chapter Eleven
River and I negotiate with Claudia to end our agreement. She’s a pain in the ass about it, but finally relents after we allow one more photoshoot of us, just to clean up the Ship-Wrecked! mess.
We went to this nice family-owned restaurant and ate outside, then danced to the live music on this rickety old wooden verandah with string lights and streamers. I’m a terrible dancer, but River’s a great lead, and I will reluctantly admit that the paps got some great pics of us that night. I even swallowed my pride an reached out to Claudia to see if she could get the original of one snapshot of River dipping me, the two of us laughing and happy.
It’s framed on one of our bookshelves at home. River moved in about a month after we got back to LA. Some people thought we were moving kinda fast, but when it’s right, it’s right. We had to do a little rearranging to make room for his movie collection. I had to get rid of some of my lip gloss collection to make room for his things, but I figure that’s more than an even trade.
The interest in our relationship doesn’t fade, but we don’t seek out the attention. Sometimes we’ll get spotted and photographed, but to be honest, it’s not terrible. I just try to enjoy the pictures they get and move on (except for the one that was posted of me mid-lick with a giant ice cream cone in front of my face. River teases me about that one relentlessly).
We do things that normal couples do, like host movie nights and dinners. Casey and Kendall are frequent visitors…we do owe our relationship to them, after all. Gigi is over the moon with River’s constant presence, although the shine has worn off of him a little bit. He and I often vie to earn the title of her favorite human.
It’s a toss-up most days.
River gets a relatively big role on a highly-anticipated period drama. It’s completely out of his wheelhouse, and the internet is cruel about his casting, but he’s just amazing for the part. He’s gonna knock their socks off, and I can’t wait to see it.
I’m living with him in England while he shoots. He runs lines with me at night as I prepare for my next movie. He’ll be coming with me to Chicago when filming starts.
For now, I’m just spending the day in the kitchen of our rental, trying to perfect his favorite stew. His days are long and it’s freezing and dreary here, so I figure the least I could do is welcome him with a home-cooked meal. It makes up for all the nights we order takeout, at least.
I’m just finishing up when he walks through the door, and Gigi attacks him as per usual. He scoops her up and gives her scratches, then walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. He pushes the hair away from my neck to press a kiss there.
“That smells amazing,” he says as I stir.
“Hopefully it tastes better than it did last time.”
He hums against my skin. “It wasn’t that bad.”
I laugh, because he’s being generous. “Yes, but I’d like it to actually taste good, you see. That’s how it’s supposed to work.” I turn in his arms so I can give him a proper kiss. “I’m going to be really disappointed if it’s awful, because I cut myself.”
I hold up my bandaged finger, looking for sympathy. River loves me, so of course I get it.
“I appreciate you giving blood to the cause,” he says, pressing a soft kiss on my fingertip.
I run my fingers through his hair and he lets out a weary sigh. “How was your day?”
“Long. Worth it.”
“I watched some of the dailies before I left the set. You’re doing amazing, babe.”
He shrugs, always so critical of himself. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel amazing.”
“Yeah, well, it will when we go to the premiere and everyone gives you a standing ovation and you book ten more films.”
He smiles. “Optimistic, are we?”
I play with the collar of his shirt, tickling his skin while I’m at it. “It’s my job to be your biggest fan, and you make it pretty easy.”
River lifts me up onto the counter, and settles into the space between my legs. He kisses me soft and slow. “I love you, Skye.”
I kiss him back. “I love you, too.”
“When your shoot is over, we need to go somewhere with a warmer climate. I’ve been dying to see you in a bikini again.”
Ah, memories. I remind him, “You see me naked every night.”
“I know, but there’s something about the two of us on a beach, you in a skimpy thing that’s just begging to be ripped off…which is why I asked Keith if we could use the bungalow again.”
That perks me up. “You did?”
A short, quick peck. “I did. We have it for a week after your shoot’s over.”
“Mmmm. You, me, our own island with nothing to do but ea
ch other. Sounds like a good spot for a honeymoon, too.”
He grins and gives me a soft kiss, then plays with the diamond on my left ring finger.
“I like that you’re planning the honeymoon before you announce the wedding.”
He asked three weeks ago, and so far the only people who know are our friends and family. Claudia wants us to do an interview and an exclusive photoshoot, but I don’t want something that impersonal.
“I don’t want some big Hollywood thing with a press release. I want normal. I want to do what other couples do.”
“And what’s that?”
“How about this?”
It’s impulsive, I know, and Claudia will probably kill me. I fish my phone out of my pocket and hold my hand out, then snap a pic of the ring shining in the light.
One of my nails is a little chipped, but that’s okay.
River says, “I like it. Claudia and Keith are gonna go nuts.”
“All the more reason to do it this way, I say.”
Turns out I don’t hate social media that much when I have something I want to shout from the rooftops.
I pull up my Instagram, load up the picture and type the caption.
I said yes!
Coming Soon!
Read more about Kendall and Jordan in The Lucky Ones, the seventh and final book in the Love Is… series!