Catch My Breath

by Wendy L. Wilson

  As soon as I pull into the small gravel lot between Piper’s family cabin and Evan’s grandpa’s, I hop out of the jeep.

  “Thanks Abby,” I holler out as I sprint back to the cabin.

  “What no thanks to me?” Tristan calls out, but then his attention quickly turns to Abby. “Keep shooting me down, baby, but you know you want me … I just haven’t worn you down yet ….”

  I shake my head at my brother’s faith in his own never failing skills at picking up women and race off to get to Alyssa. My lungs burn from the run and I suck in a swarm of hot air like it’s water. Shoving the door open, I look up and see her sitting on the edge of my bed. Her hair is all ruffled up from sleeping, she doesn’t have an ounce of makeup on and the look she is giving me says more than either of us could express in words. She’s gorgeous.

  “Did I wake you?” I ask as I take wide strides across the room.

  She nods her head and flashes a smile that could brighten anyone’s day.

  “I was hoping I made it back before you got up, so you could wake up in my arms,” I tell her, silently praying that she doesn’t ask where I was as I squat down in front of her and pull her forward so I can look into her eyes.

  She instinctively places her hands on my shoulders, slowly moving them side-to-side in a slow caress that drives me crazy. Her hands run up my neck to my face and she plants a small kiss on my lips that leaves me wanting more.

  “Good morning.”

  I snicker at her assumption of time, “Morning? Lyssa, it’s a little before 1:00. We slept most of the morning.”

  My eyes focus on the way she puckers her lips into a pout and I want nothing more than to suck her lip into my mouth and taste her. Sighing, I force myself away from those thoughts and sweep a few hairs out of her face. Looking into her eyes, I find myself completely mesmerized by the crystal blue shade and her thick, dark black lashes that ark up towards her eyebrows and down to her high cheek bones, making them seem even brighter.

  “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

  Her nose crinkles and I have to laugh. Clasping both her hands in mine, I stand and easily pull her small frame into my arms and off the ground. The warm center of her body presses into my waist and her thighs quickly lock around me as if that is where they have always belonged. Her feet brush against the back of my legs and I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, filled with exhilaration from the movement. I can’t help but wonder if every part of our body will fit together so perfectly.

  She lays her forehead to mine and I instantly open my eyes, looking directly into hers. Biting down on her lips, she curves them into a smile as mine do the same.

  “I have a surprise for us tonight,” I say, turning in a slow circle with complete happiness and joy flowing through my veins.

  I wish so badly that I could blink my eyes and make the day fade away. I want to have her all to myself; across the lake; with no interruption; with no Evan; with a king sized bed and whipped cream … Shit, I have to stop this or we won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

  “What are you up to?”

  I place a soft tender kiss against her mouth and smile, excitement raging inside of me.

  “You’ll just have to wait and see.” I lower her to the ground and pull her hand to my mouth for a small peck across her knuckles. “Come on. Let’s go find Evan and see if we can get the keys to the jet skis,” I suggest, hoping that the adrenaline rush from racing across the water may keep my mind off of activities that could possibly be awaiting me later in the night.

  “Ok, that sounds fun.” She bounces up and down on her toes.

  We rush out of the cabin, hand-in-hand as usual. Not even ten paces out the door and we run into Evan.

  “Hey guys.” He sweeps his hand across his forehead and his eyes widen. “Thank God. I was really thinking I was going to walk in on something.”

  Alyssa laughs beside me, hiding her smile behind her hand.

  “Is that why you came this way, ya ole’ perv?”

  “You betcha … if that’s the only way I’m going to see a naked chick this summer, then so be it,” Evan winks.

  “I don’t think so!” I spit out, knowing he is kidding but still determined to put out into the universe that looking at my girlfriend is off limits to anyone.

  “I gotta get my thrills some way.” He quirks his brows and quickly adds, “So what are you two up to?”

  “We were coming to find you. Do you have the keys to the jet skis down at the boat house?” I ask, hoping he has them with him to save on time.

  “They’re in the camper, but I can go grab them real quick.” Evan points over his shoulder toward the camper that is parked between his grandpa’s cabin and the second cabin on the property.

  I look over at Alyssa, hoping she is ok with what I’m about to suggest; after all with Evan around I’ll definitely be able to keep my excitement under wraps.

  “You want to join us? I figured we would take the jet skis out for a few hours before we’re supposed to meet up for the barbeque. Alyssa and I can hop on one and you can take the other.”

  Evan looks back and forth between us and laughs. “What, you think I’m desperate for something to do lately or something?”

  I pause at his seriousness, wondering for a second if he is really taking me that way. “No! I didn’t …” I start as Alyssa chimes in with a sympathetic tone.

  “I think Judd just meant …”

  “Hell yeah, I will … I’ve been bored to tears since Jake busted out of here. Bout time you two decide to be a little social,” he says shoving me. “I’ll run and get the keys and meet you at the boat house.” Evan takes off before we can say another word.

  I look down and shake my head; I have been pretty preoccupied. Two weeks ago, it was usually Jake, me and Evan heading out to go fishing every night while the others headed to the other side of the lake. In a way it really sucks that in less than a month I will be heading hundreds of miles away from everything I’ve ever known and the people that I love. With that thought I look over at Alyssa. Damn, leaving to go to college later this summer is going to be hard. That is something I did not feel weeks ago; I was desperate to leave.

  “You ok?”

  “Yeah, come on.” I nudge her along beside me and we both take off to the dock. Right now all I care about is being with her. I’ll worry about leaving when that time comes.

  I run a few feet behind Alyssa the whole way, not because I can’t beat her but more for the sake of a great view. The way her body bounces underneath her thin shorts have me thinking X-rated thoughts. As soon as she gets to the edge of the dock, she bends over with her hands on her knees, breathing heavy from our hike. I step up beside her and run my hand along her back, still lost in my imagination.

  “I really need to take up running like Abby,” she laughs while standing up and turning to face me.

  “Come here.” I pull her against me in one swift motion and immediately the heat radiating off of her skin has my pulse racing. That and the sheer thought of what happened last time we were at this dock knocks my heart into overtime.

  I run my hands down the bare skin of her back, an onslaught of goose bumps forming under my touch. My hands reach the soft fabric of her waist band and I slowly tuck my fingertips below it, continuing in my pursuit of roaming every inch of her skin. Rising up onto her toes suddenly, my hands thrust further beneath her shorts, cupping in every bit of her that I can. Her lips find mine and I dine on their sweetness, devouring each of her breaths along the way. My tongue grazes hers as she whimpers through a soft sigh. Instantly aroused, my fingertips tense up and I clamp down on a handful of the supple, smooth skin of her ass. Pulling her up, her legs worm around my waist and I have visions of our activities in the shower house. Holy shit, I can’t control myself around her.

  My hands tense and I squeeze and massage her skin, desperately wanting to have her bare. I gulp down a breath then move my lips along the contours of her jaw, swiping my tongue out to ta
ste her. She whines again and my shorts instantly border on constricting.

  I stumble around, holding my hand out and looking over her shoulder to make sure we don’t take a dip right into the lake. My hand finds the small partition between two of the bays and I carefully press her body against the wall, using one hand to brace us. Her hips move against me and I drop my head back, not able to think or focus on anything except the incredible and intense pressure that she is pulling from my core.

  “… wait! Do you …”

  I’m breathing so hard and my mind is going a million miles an hour that I only hear clips of her voice, but then I notice the fire I felt from her just seconds ago is dwindling.

  “Do I what?” I breathe out as if I just ran a marathon.

  I struggle to zoom in on what she hears, but all I hear is the kicked up pace of my hammering heartbeat. But then … I hear it. Shit, of course. Before I can even get my left hand out of the back of her shorts, Evan rounds the corner whistling an out of tune song. He comes to a dead stop as I hastily rip my hand out of Alyssa’s shorts and lower her to the ground simultaneously. I put my hands at her waist, while she reaches around and looks as though she is adjusting her shorts back over her ass.

  “Well hell! I wasn’t even gone ten minutes. Seriously, is it going to be like this all day with you two?” Evan scoffs, shaking his head on an amused chuckle.

  “I …” I can’t even think of anything to say, partially because all the blood in my body is currently rushing to one area, leaving me a little dumbfounded. Well, maybe just dumb at this particular moment.

  I continue to stand braced against Alyssa, hoping to steer away any strange looks from Evan. Alyssa giggles and buries her head in my chest as I look at the wall behind her in embarrassment. Why does this always happen. Someday … someday, I will get him back for this.

  “Oh, aaaa … do I need to go away and give you two a few more minutes? I totally can if there are things that need to be taken care of.”

  Even though I cannot look at him, I can hear the shitty ass grin in his voice. I shake my head, wanting to laugh; maybe cry. The pain flaring up between my legs right now definitely has me wanting to agree that he should leave, but I don’t.

  “It's fine, Evan. We were just …”

  Alyssa’s laughter turns into snorts and I can feel her shaking against me from it. I chuckle and look over my shoulder.

  “Seriously dude. You should put that away before you hurt someone.”

  “I’m working on it, but it’s not like I have a whole hell of a lot of control over it,” I reply back, leaning toward Alyssa for more concealment, yet careful to not graze my body against hers anymore than need be.

  Evan busts out laughing then wiggles the keys in front of him. “Once you get him in park, I have your keys. Don’t come near me until you do though.”

  “Sorry,” I whisper into Alyssa’s ear as she tries desperately to control her giddiness. “Are you ok?” I laugh painfully.

  “Mmmhhm … I’m fine,” she hums.

  She looks up at me and her eyes are watering. I smile and decide to lean down for a small kiss.

  “Ok, I am here. The party can officially begin,” Skylar’s voice calls out from the entrance of the boat house.

  We all look over at her and she smiles.

  “Oh yeah, some of the others are renting jet skis, too, so Skylar is going to hop on with me.” Evan turns to where I can only see his face. His eyebrows quirk up and down as he bites down on his tongue in a deliberate effort, which tells me I’m not the only one with my mind in the gutter.

  He tosses me a key and I step aside, my body finally relaxed enough that I can walk around without waving a red flag to my state of excitement. Unfortunately, a throbbing pain still serves as a reminder of what didn’t happen.

  Hanging onto the partition between the bays, I lean out and grab the handle of one of the jet skis and pull it closer to the dock so Alyssa can jump on. Once I have one foot placed on the ski, I take her hand and help her on then climb on in front of her.

  Evan and Skylar settle onto the other jet ski and we both fire them up to head out for some fun.

  Tristan and Jessie fly past us a couple times and it actually surprises me. I figured he would be rolling around in the sheets with one of those girls across the lake by now or aggravating the crap out of Abby. Evan and Skylar stick around for a few hours but then wave their goodbyes before heading back to the boat dock. I guess he gave in and decided to take a break from his pining over Piper.

  Thankfully, the few hours we have before we need to meet up with the others flies by. I thought spending the day out on the lake would keep my mind occupied and off of the cabin that is screaming my name across the lake, but I was wrong.

  The constant mayhem of boats, skis, wave runners and other jet skis zooming by did nothing to the adrenaline rush I get from being near Alyssa. Every wave we crash over, her thighs tighten on my hips like a vice grip and all I could think about is how I want them wrapped around me later tonight. However, as bad as I hope we take our relationship to the next level, I am going to leave that decision in her hands. There is not a doubt in my mind about how I feel for her so even though nothing about us has ever been slow, I am willing to wait. I just know if she decides we need to, I will be in utter agony.

  We call it quits and make it back to the beach before sundown. The savory aroma of grilled meat reaches my nostrils and my stomach rumbles in response. One of the beachside picnic tables is filled with a spread of food and my mouth begins to water. With the craziness of the day it didn’t even occur to me that neither I nor Alyssa has had a bite to eat. Doing our best to remain civilized, we all form a semi-single file line and start dishing up.

  “Dig in guys,” Piper announces as we all fill our plates. “There is more than enough for seconds and thirds and …” her voice fades off, forcing me to look up.

  “I’m freaking starving,” Tyler belts out beside Piper.

  She is stone still and looking past us. I glance over my shoulder and see Skylar and Evan walking hand in hand towards the beach. What the hell? When did that happen?

  Evan smiles and immediately drops Skylar’s hand, but she doesn’t seem to mind in the least.

  “Save some for me,” she calls out, running up to the table to fix her plate.

  “Hey, what did I miss?”

  “What’s up with you and Skylar?” I ask instead of answering his question as he strides up to my side.

  “What do you mean? Nothing’s up.” He cocks his head back and furrows his brows into a pissed off glare. “I’m just messing around, man. Isn’t everyone else?”

  “Yeah, I guess …” I pause, “but you know Piper saw you and Skylar, right?”

  “Whatever. I’m over it and I’m hungry!” Evan glares across the table at Piper and the conversation is closed.

  The last hours of daylight fade away as we all cram our faces with food and make casual conversation. Alyssa and I make ourselves comfortable around the fire, sitting side-by-side. She shoves a large bite of burger in her mouth and I have to smile. Usually I wouldn’t watch a girl eat out of fear that I would get slapped or she may freak out and start eating lettuce, but something about watching her eat is sexy as hell. She doesn’t just take little nibbles like a lot of girls I’ve met and she sure doesn’t hold back, throwing a few twigs of broccoli on her plate. Rather, she goes for a greasy burger and takes some huge ass, monstrous bites. Her mouth opens wide as she shoves in more food and I notice a splash of ketchup drip onto her chest. The saliva glands in my mouth immediately go nuts and all I want to do is lick it off.

  “You have ketchup right there.” I lean forward, hungry for her, but instead of going in for it with my tongue, I use my finger to swipe it off.

  As soon as I slip my finger into my mouth and lick the tangy tomatoey sauce off, she stops chewing. I stare into her wide eyes and snicker, aware that she was just as affected by that as I was. Come on time, move faster.


  “What?” I laugh, my arm sliding around her to get closer. “I was actually going to …”

  “Hey, come help me for a second.” Tristan interrupts my thoughts, motioning for me as he steps towards the parking lot.

  “I’ll be back,” I tell Alyssa then jump up and sprint after my brother.

  We walk up to Evan’s jeep and Tristan grabs a huge bag of fireworks. He tosses me the bag and reaches in to grab the other. I follow him silently back to the beach, not really having a whole lot to say. He glances over at me periodically as if he has something on his mind, but I keep my mouth shut.

  Once our feet sink back into the sandy beach, he drops his bag to the ground, leveling me with a familiar kiddish smirk. I scrunch up my face, confused by why he is staring at me, but before I can ask, everyone is gathered around the bags, picking and choosing their favorite noise-makers.

  Tristan darts off towards the bonfire then returns holding out several punks with fiery red tips. Handing them all out, he stares at me with the same mischievous look as before. He holds a handful of fireworks in one hand and a single punk in the other. Hastily shoving the unlit fireworks into his pocket he leaves one between his fingertips, slowly bringing the glowing end of it to the wick as he looks directly at me.

  “Arm yourself for battle, boys and girls.”

  The look in his eyes tells me that he is remembering our conversation at the firework stand but his words take me back. For only a second, I see him as a kid again shouting a warning to me, Jake, Mom and Dad, before a full on war begins. The gleam in his eyes intensifies as he tosses the fire cracker right at my feet. Whoops and hollers sound around me as everyone scrambles to grab their own loot. Jumping back, my head snaps up to look at my brother and I return his smirk right before the firecracker explodes. Oh, it is on!

  AFTER A VIGOROUS HOUR or so of running and tossing sizzling grenades until my arm is about to fall off, I am more than ready for the end of the night. Dripping with sweat from avoiding the possibility of getting my ass lit on fire has me opting for a dip in the lake. It doesn’t take long for the cool waters to revive my tired limbs and calm the adrenaline rush brought on from our firework battle.