One More Summer

by Burke, Dez

  “You were always very much a gentleman,” she says. “Until our teenage hormones burst into flames, then neither of us could keep our hands off each other.”

  “That was a long time ago. I can’t believe we’re sitting here in the high school parking lot again. How many mornings of our life did we spend sitting in this exact spot waiting for the first bell to ring?” I ask. “That was the worst part of every day for me. Knowing we’d be separated in different classes until three pm.”

  “You could’ve signed up for Chemistry and Trigonometry too,” she points out.

  “Or you could’ve joined the shop class with me and the boys. It never hurt anyone to learn how to do a little bit of mechanical work. You might need to know how to repair a car one day if you break down on the side of the road.”

  “I belong to the AAA Auto Club now,” she says. “If I need to do car repairs, I’m in deep trouble.”

  “Are you ready to continue on with the Monroe memory tour?” I ask, turning the key in the ignition.

  “Sure! Where else do you want to go?”

  “There’s one last place I want to see.”

  “Levi, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Annie asks with a twinkle in her eyes.

  “Maybe so,” I say. “I’ve got supplies for a picnic in the bed of the truck in case we get hungry.”

  I pull the truck back onto the highway and point it towards Brasstown Point. Thirty minutes of fast driving along country roads later, I slow to a stop, shocked by what I see before us.

  “What the hell is this bullshit?” I say, pointing up ahead.

  The road to Brasstown Point, our secret and special spot, now has a big red “POSTED: NO TRESPASSING” sign attached to a sturdy metal gate.

  I slam a frustrated hand down on the steering wheel. “I can’t believe someone has blocked the road with a gate. Who does that? We came here for years without any problems.”

  Annie frowns. “Maybe that’s why they put up the gate? Other teenagers might’ve found this place too.”

  “It’s out in the middle of nowhere,” I say. “There’s not a damn thing on this land. We’ve walked it a million times together. There’s nothing but big old Georgia pine trees. Why would they put up a sign? It’s not as if we’d be hurting anything or tearing up someone’s property to drive onto it. This pisses me off.”

  “I’ve heard talk of wealthy investors buying up big tracts of land in the county to turn them into hunting reserves,” she says. “The locals are selling off the land they’ve owned for generations for cash.”

  “A hunting reserve for what?” I ask. “Deer?”

  “I guess.”

  I swing open the door of the truck and step out. Walking over to the gate, I check to see if it’s locked or if the sign alone is meant to scare people off. Finding the gate unlocked, I unhook the latch and swing the gate open wide enough for us to drive through.

  “Levi!” Annie calls out the window. “What are you doing?”

  “Trespassing,” I say simply.

  27

  Annie

  Levi swings the metal gate open wide and motions for me to slide behind the wheel and drive the truck through. Once I’m past the gate, he shuts it securely behind us then hops back into the truck.

  “They’ll never know we were here,” he says. “I don’t see any recent tire tracks. I bet it’s been months since anyone has come onto this property. If it’s a hunting reserve, it might’ve been during hunting season last fall. Or maybe the posted signs are to keep hunters off the land. Who knows?”

  “Are sure this is okay?” I ask because I’m beginning to have doubts. “The signs are there for a reason.”

  “Yeah,” he says, giving my leg a reassuring pat. “I’m sure. It’s no big deal.”

  We drive along the bumpy, rough road, swerving around deep ruts and rocks. Soon the road begins a steep incline and the rugged path is barely visible under a deep layer of leaves.

  “Time to put this baby in four-wheel drive,” he says, letting my leg loose to reach down to shift gears. “The road would be almost impassable without it. See why I rented a truck?”

  Levi grins as he expertly maneuvers the truck around a big boulder and through a dried-up creek bed.

  “Are you having fun?” I ask while we bump along the rough road.

  “A blast,” he replies with a chuckle. “I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed being out in the woods, screwing around and doing nothing. All I do now is ride around in buses.”

  We reach the crest of the hill where the road comes to a dead end. Down below us an open green field with tall grass and wild daisies stretching wide.

  “Well I’ll be damned, we made it,” he says, cutting off the ignition. “Can you believe it? Our spot is exactly the same too. Nothing has changed.”

  “I’m glad,” I say. “What a disappointment it would’ve been if we’d driven all the way up here to find someone else’s pre-fabricated cabin built in our special spot.”

  “That would’ve sucked and ruined my plans for the evening. Did you ever come back up here?”

  “Without you?” I ask in surprise. “Of course not. How depressing that would’ve been. Why would I do that? I would never come up here without you, Levi. This was our spot.”

  “I guess that was a dumb question,” he says.

  He steps out and reaches over into the bed of the truck. He picks up the Styrofoam cooler and motions for me to grab the grocery bags filled with food.

  “What’s happening here?” I ask. “What’s the plan? If that’s food in those bags, you have enough for ten people.”

  “The plan is to have a quiet picnic in peace away from adoring fans,” he replies. “There’s a little blanket in one of those bags too. Sorry I’m not better prepared. It was a last-minute thing. I probably forgot something important.”

  “I’m sure we’ll survive if you did,” I say. “Where are we heading to?”

  “Let’s find a good spot to spread the blanket out, and we’ll have ourselves a picnic.”

  I follow behind him until he locates a level spot in the tall grass. He places the cooler onto the ground and reaches for the bags I’m holding. After searching through them, he tosses me the picnic blanket.

  “Spread this out and I’ll start unloading the food,” he says.

  I grab the blue-and-white checked blanket and spread it out carefully while Levi opens the bottle of wine and pours me a full glass. He opens a beer and sits it beside my wine glass on the ground beside us. After a moment, I notice he is staring intently at me.

  “What?” I ask, glancing up from my task. “Is something wrong? Are there bugs in my hair?”

  He shakes his head slowly. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything is about as right as it could be.”

  Reaching over, he takes my hand and tugs me down gently onto the blanket beside him.

  “Unless you’re about to die from starvation, the food can wait,” he says. “Because I can’t wait any longer to do this. I’ve been craving you since the day I arrived back in town.”

  He places both hands on the side of my face and grabs my lips in a deep, searching kiss that I feel from my toes to the top of my head.

  “I’m not hungry,” I whisper when he breaks the kiss. “Not for food.”

  Carefully he lowers us both to the picnic blanket and places me on my back with his muscled body sprawled over me. When I gaze up at the blue sky and the pine trees waving in the soft breeze above us, a strong feeling of déjà vu washes over me.

  We’ve been in this exact spot, doing the exact same thing before. Even the white puffy clouds floating above us feel familiar.

  Are we meant to keep repeating scenes from our life over and over until we finally get it right?

  Levi doesn’t touch me right away. Instead, he leans his arms on either side of my body so that his weight doesn’t crush me. The solid weight of his muscled body holds me down and keeps me from moving.

  Not that I would ever
want to go anywhere else.

  Inhaling deeply, I can smell the delicious slight scent of aftershave on his warm skin.

  Without tearing his eyes from mine, he says, “If you don’t want this or if you’re not ready, say the word and I’ll stop. I’d give up everything I own to make love to you right now. There’s nothing I want or need in this world more than to be with you. But I don’t want there to be any doubts on your part. If we’re together, you need to want it as much as I do. It’s the only way.”

  I shiver at the familiar intense heat in his green eyes. For a moment, I feel self-conscious. How many women have there been with Levi since me? Gorgeous, worldly, experienced women who know how to please a man better than I do. What if I’m a huge disappointment to him now? I couldn’t bear it.

  Levi sees the conflicting emotions on my face and misunderstands. “It’s okay, Annie, if you’re not comfortable,” he says, gently pushing a strand of hair back from my forehead. “I’m about to explode with wanting you, but I’m willing to wait until you’re ready. As long as it takes, I swear. I’ve waited all these years, so I can hang on a little longer. It hasn’t killed me yet.” He smiles down at me. “With the emphasis being on the word ‘yet.’”

  “It’s not that,” I say, suddenly shy and unable to meet his gaze. “I just that I haven’t had much experience since being with you. I rarely dated and…”

  “Thank God,” he mutters hoarsely, covering my mouth hungrily with his. “Those are the best words I’ve ever heard. Because I lied to you. I don’t think I can wait another fucking second to be with you again. It’s been so damn long.” His voice is thick, tortured with need. “Too long to be without your sweet body wrapped around mine.”

  I slide my hands down his tattooed arms and feel the tension in his muscles as he fights to give me time.

  I know exactly how he feels.

  No way can I wait to be with him either.

  I’ve been dreaming of him since the first day he arrived back in Monroe. We’ve been hurtling full speed toward this moment since the day we laid eyes on each other again.

  “I’ll go slow…really slow,” he promises, leaning down closer to whisper in my ear. His hot breath sends a tremor through my body. “I want you to remember this always. Because I’ve sure as hell have never been able to forget you. Not a single day.”

  My skin is on fire for him and I can barely meet the heat in his gaze.

  “All those years when we were apart, I thought I was going insane,” he says. “I was in agony thinking about other men wanting you and touching you. At times it drove me mad with jealousy. There was a time when I drank too much to erase you from my mind, not that it helped. I kept wondering if other men were doing the same things to you that I’m doing now.”

  He shifts his weight to one elbow. Reaching lower with one hand, he begins to slowly unbutton my white cotton sundress, one agonizingly slow button at a time. When the dress is completely unbuttoned to the waist, he spreads the fabric wide open, exposing my full breasts clad in a white lacy bra.

  His sharp intake of breath tells me he loves what he sees, his gaze fixed on my heaving breasts, heavy now and filled with want for him. Lowering his head, he kisses the deep valley between my breasts then reaches up to undo the bra clasp to free them.

  “I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone else but me touching you,” he says. He stares at them in wonder before cupping each heavy globe in his hands and thumbing the nipples. “I always loved your breasts, full and heavy. And those nipples…damn.” Dipping his head, he captures a hardened pink nipple in his mouth and tugs gently. My fingers clench in his hair and I let out a low moan.

  He alternates between breasts, sucking and nipping, both teasing and tormenting me. I grasp his hair tighter. He captures one nipple in his mouth and rolls his tongue around on the nub. Gasping, I slide my hands down over his broad shoulders and back.

  “You still like that?” he whispers in a knowing voice, his breath hot against my skin.

  “Yes,” I say softly. “Oh, yes. So much.”

  I tug his t-shirt loose from the back of his pants and tug it upward. “Help me take off your shirt,” I urge. “I want to touch you.”

  He chuckles softly at my impatience, sending a deep rumble through his chest. “Hang on, girl.” Quickly he sits up and reaching with both hands, tugs his shirt over his head. One of the many things I would gladly watch him do over and over, never getting tired of the sight.

  I gaze up into his eyes and flatten my palms on his muscular chest. My hands slowly move from his pecs to his abs, touching every defined muscle that ripples beneath my fingers.

  Never will I get my fill of touching him.

  He carefully slides one hand down my stomach, not taking his eyes from mine. My breath shortens and quickens as he touches the lacy edge of my panties. Levi runs his fingers just beneath the edge then over the silky material between my thighs.

  His fingers slide under the silk panties, first one side and then the other, teasing and tormenting me by never touching my hot mound in between.

  I gasp, writhing underneath his hand, begging him with my body to touch me where I desperately want and need.

  “Annie, look at me,” he says, his voice hoarse with need. “Don’t close your eyes. I want to watch the expression in your beautiful eyes.”

  I open my eyes, not realizing I’d closed them, to find his intense green eyes locked with mine.

  He slides a finger inside the rim of my panties and up into me all the way to the knuckle. I hear him grunt softly as I instinctively grind against his hand, shocked and amazed by how delicious his finger feels.

  “Oh my god,” I cry out, clutching onto his back. I moan softly when he slides a second finger in. My muscles instinctively tighten around his fingers, hungry for his touch.

  “Fuck,” he mutters. “You’re exactly the way I always dreamed about. Hot, tight, and dripping wet for me. You’ve always been my dream girl.”

  He begins to finger-fuck me with my panties still on, at first gently then more powerfully with each thrust. I grab onto his muscled arms and move my ass to meet his hand.

  Abruptly he removes his fingers and grips my panties with both hands. “These are coming off, now,” he says, pulling them down my legs and over my ankles. He tosses them over his shoulder, and I don’t notice where the silky fabric lands.

  Who cares?

  “Tell me what you want from me,” he says, running his lips along my throat and sending a delicious shiver down my spine. “Anything, just tell me.”

  Knowing I can show him faster than I can possibly say it, I reach for his big brass belt buckle. I hurriedly undo it, unzip his jeans, and slide my hand inside to wrap around his hard length. He groans and strains against my hand.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asks, nuzzling my neck. “If we’re going too fast, tell me now.”

  I nod and stroke my hand down the length of his cock as my answer.

  He quickly stands up to strip off his jeans and old leather boots. I’m speechless, gazing up at his muscled, tattooed body. The years have added weight and definition to his toned body, making him stronger and even sexier than before.

  Kneeling back down on the picnic blanket, he immediately covers my entire body with his. I close my eyes and slide my hands up and down his back.

  Damn!

  His muscular ass feels delicious underneath my palms.

  I’m in heaven.

  He covers my lips with a quick, urgent kiss before leaving a hot trail of kisses between my breasts and down my stomach. When he reaches my legs, he pauses and glances up at me with eyes clouded with desire.

  “Open your legs, sweetheart,” he coaxes, while gently tugging my legs apart. “I want to see you spread wide for me.”

  I don’t hesitate and do exactly as he asks while fighting to push down my shyness. I would never be able to do the sexual things with another man that I willingly do with Levi. Especially not right out in the open in a fi
eld.

  I trusted him to always know what I want and need.

  He’s never disappointed me, and I know he won’t now either.

  “What did I ever do to deserve this second chance with you?” he asks, before moving between my legs and placing the tip of his cock at the entrance to my pussy lips. “I’m the luckiest fucking bastard that ever lived.”

  In an instant, he penetrates me fully, leaving me gasping from sweet agony. With barely a pause, he sinks in deep to his balls.

  “Fuck! You are unbelievably tight,” he murmurs, lifting his face from my neck to gaze at me. “I could stay inside you forever. This feels fucking amazing.”

  Levi goes completely still, giving me time to adjust to his solid width. I pull him in deeper as he moves slightly and starts to withdraw.

  “Don’t stop,” I say. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “How do you want it?” he murmurs in my ear, beginning to move. “Slow and easy?”

  “Yes,” I whisper. “Or hard and fast, I don’t care.”

  Levi takes me shallow at first with a smooth, steady rhythm, allowing only a few inches of his cock to slide in and out until my body relaxes. He pumps in steady, long strokes, making me feel him deep inside.

  Leaning down, he kisses my lips again, then below my ear.

  “Goddamn…I’ve missed you,” he says. His hoarse voice breaks through my daze.

  I don’t trust my voice to speak, there are no words to describe how Levi makes me feel. I speak instead with my body, my legs locking around him tightly while my hips move beneath him, urging him on.

  He pulls out slightly again and then thrusts in more powerfully. Beads of sweat break out on his skin. He’s buried so deep inside me now. My fingertips rake down his tattooed back as the pressure begins to mount deep inside me. I’m writhing underneath him, impatient for more.

  “That’s it, baby,” he groans into my neck where he nibbles the soft skin.

  My whole body begins to spasm uncontrollably around his hard cock and I lose control of my contracting muscles.