Waves of Romance: Contemporary Romance (Holidays Beach Read Book 2)

by Lori Ann Mitchell

  She wondered what other plans she had for the week: Drunken parties with her high school buds, getting in their last shots before most of them went off to college. How many guys would she bed before it was all over? And how stupid would he be not to be one of them?

  Oddly, the thought of Colby wanting more than him was a relief to Derek. At least it wasn’t personal. At least it wasn’t love, or even lust, just… a right of passage on her way to adulthood. “Sleep with an older man,” something a sexy, confident young high school grad would scrawl on her bucket list, eager to check it off, no matter who that older man was.

  When he turned from the fridge, Colby had stood and risen from the patio. Derek saw her, leaning provocatively in the door frame. The gray light behind her accentuated every curve, nook, cranny and inch of her supple young skin. He licked his lips and held out her beer.

  She took it, slowly, fingers dragging along his own until she held the bottle. She drank, long and slow, watching him watch her. “It’s real easy,” she said, putting her beer down on a nearby table and reaching for his hand. “You’re here, I’m here. No one will ever know, Derek. That is, unless you want them to.”

  “I don’t have anything to hide,” he said, as if trying to convince himself. Sipping his beer, he tried to drink his inhibitions, his conscience, away. Then again, he wanted to be there, and fully present, for every moment he might have with her.

  “Then what are you so afraid of?” she asked, turning around to pad on bare feet away from the living room. He followed, as if in a trance, watching how the thong disappeared between the two soft, flexing globes of her flawless young ass. Somehow they had wandered into her bedroom, spacious and sleek, done in pink and blues but as much white as everywhere else in the condo. Her bed was large and looked soft, unmade and inviting.

  “I’m not afraid,” he said, leaning in the doorway and sipping his beer. “I’m just… haven’t you ever been in love before, Colby?”

  She shrugged. “Once or twice, Derek, but… it never lasts.”

  “I thought this would,” he said, and realized he meant it.

  “If it was love, Derek,” she teased, reaching behind her to tug at her bikini top. “Would you be standing here, three beers later, nice and hard and watching me undress in my bedroom?”

  He looked down, blushing, to find himself straining against his baggies. When he looked back up at her, Colby was holding her bikini top in front of her bare breasts, their white sides glistening in the dim light drifting through her closed curtains.

  “I don’t want love, Derek,” she said, dropping the bikini top to reveal rouged areolas, dark and round, her nipples stiffening even as she spoke. “I just want to spend a lazy summer day fucking your brains out that’s all.”

  As if for emphasis, she shimmied out of her bikini bottom, revealing a shaved pussy already glistening with moisture as she sat, legs spread on the couch.

  Derek nodded, absently putting his beer down on top of her nightstand. “That… that sounds good,” he mumbled.

  “So what are you still doing all the way over there?” she asked, lying back on the bed so that her long body lay, splayed out before him.

  “I have no idea,” he mumbled, tugging his baggies off, the velcro zipper scratching against his balls as he tugged them from his narrow hips. He lay down beside her, both of them on their sides, as she leaned in to hungrily kiss him.

  Her hand reached to tenderly tug at his cock, so hard and swollen it already glistened with anticipation. She used the slick juices to coat him and, soon, he was richly lathered between her tender fingers. He panted and the room grew warm, both of them sweating as at last, she bent to enrobe him between her warm, melting lips. He sank into her mouth, rolling over onto his back as she knelt beside him, making it her mission to ease every inch of him inside of her wet, molten mouth.

  He moaned and writhed beneath her, reaching to tenderly tease at her nipples as she grunted and groaned around his meat between her lips. He tweaked and teased her stiffened peak until she could take it no longer and, sliding him from her lips, winked and lay on her back, legs spread and tender lips splayed out for his benefit.

  He sank between her thighs, hands scooping beneath her tender rump to gently lift her glistening, pink labia to his eager tongue. He’d never been with a shaved girl before and found it glorious to slid his tongue along her bare, sweaty pelvis, feeling her tremble and hearing her sigh with passion above him. It took little effort to tease her pink, ripe bud to a glistening quiver and, between sucking it gently and rasping his tongue back and forth across it slowly, she soon moaned, quivered, bucked and came, gloriously, in a wash of musky heat and drizzling juices, he quickly lapped up before teasing another half-dozen orgasms from between her ripe and willing thighs.

  When at last he could take the temptation no more, he rose and began to mount her. Desperately she rose to kiss him, licking her own juices from his lips as she laughed greedily and helped guide him inside of her. They were both so wet and hard, it happened easily and soon he was riding her with wild abandon, wincing as she cried out his name and followed it with desperate cries until he slid from her and, sliding himself against her bald pelvis, spurted his juices onto her quivering belly before collapsing by her side, both of them sweaty and sticky, but only one of them regretful.

  Derek sighed, heavily, rolling onto his back with every intention of standing and walking from the room, never to return. But Colby eased against him, her thigh warm and sticky against his, the curves of her ripe flesh enticing even as his body grew heavy and he dozed, lightly, next to her.

  He’d already slept with her once, he thought to himself as exhaustion finally dragged him back to sleep. Why not once – or twice – more?

  Chapter 6:

  Sage

  Sage watched the door, waiting in vain for Colby to show up for her afternoon shift. It wasn’t that she was needed, necessarily. Summer evenings were notoriously slow, the surfer crowd preferring cold beers at Shuckers to warm coffee at Sequels. Still, it wasn’t like the ambitious Colby to miss a work shift, even if it was just to flaunt her juicy young curves and short frilly skirts.

  The phone rang a few minutes before her shift and, somehow, Sage knew it would be Colby, either running late or calling off altogether. “Sequels Bookstore and Café,” Sage said, brightly, on the off chance she was wrong. She wasn’t.

  “Sage?” Colby asked, sounding hoarse and far away. “It’s Colby.”

  “Colby,” Sage said, concern replacing doubt as she stood from behind the pastry counter. “What’s wrong? You sound horrible.”

  “Just a nasty summer cold,” she said, pausing to cough and making Sage wince at the sound. “It came out of nowhere. I thought…” More coughing before she continued, “I thought I’d get better, but… I’m not well enough to come in for my shift tonight. Can you… can you find someone to cover?”

  “No honey,” Sage said, voice full of concern. “It’s slow here and I’ve got to do inventory later anyway, so… I’ll just double up on some Surfer’s Blend and stick it out myself. You take care of yourself. Do you need anything?”

  Colby chuckled and, over another voice in the background said, huskily, “That’s okay, Sage, I’ve got everything I need right here. Thanks for being so understanding. I’ll be in tomorrow, for sure.”

  “Well, take all the time you need,” Sage said, but to a dial tone. Colby had already run off. She sighed and poured herself that cup of fresh Surfer’s Brew, drinking it black and hot after the long morning and afternoon she’d already worked.

  She didn’t mind the extra shift. Back in the day, before Derek, she’d worked mostly double shifts, preferring to stick around and either supervise her mostly school-age part-time employees or, during finals or prom or any other special events, relieve them altogether.

  In fact, it was a relief not to have Colby around, sighing and twirling her perfect blond hair as Sage did inventory. Her constant flirting with Derek aside, Colby ju
st wasn’t a very good employee. Forgetful and moody, it was all she could do to make it through a daily shift without a dozen “void” tickets at the cash register and nearly as many dissatisfied customers stomping off in frustration.

  She’d been thinking lately of finding a replacement but now that it was clear Colby had a thing for Derek, Sage didn’t want her to think she was being fired because of that. She sighed, realizing the irony of her dilemma: Not only had she lost her boyfriend over the little tramp but now, Sage couldn’t even fire her for fear of looking petty, jealous and spiteful.

  She chuckled to herself and opened up her iPad, calling up her inventory list and using a small scanner app to begin updating her files. Midway through, the door flew open and Maggie Grace burst in, still wearing her Suds & Duds apron.

  “Let me see that iPad,” Maggie gushed, face flushed and hands trembling.

  “But, I’m in the middle of inventory,” Sage chuckled, knowing she’d auto-saved her progress thus far. “And besides, what’s gotten into you?”

  “You’ll see,” Maggie said, tapping furiously at the tablet’s flat, glowing screen with a determined look on her face.

  “And who’s minding the store?” Sage wondered, knowing Maggie was notorious for working alone and saving money by not keeping her part-time employees after dark.

  “Here we go,” she said, handing the tablet back to Sage.

  “What am I looking at here?” Sage saw a screen littered with selfies, Technicolor moments from some young girl’s life. Some young blond girl’s life. A very familiar blond girl’s life. “Is this… is that… Colby?”

  “It’s her Facebook page,” Maggie said with a gloating tone.

  Sage paused from staring at snapshots of Colby’s young, beautiful life to peer at Maggie. “You’re friends with Colby?”

  “God no,” Maggie said. “But one of my part-timers is and besides, these are all public photos on her timeline, so anything in her feed is fair game.”

  “I don’t know what half of those words mean,” Sage snorted, and Maggie chuckled.

  “Honey, you don’t have to, just… brace yourself and scroll down the page.”

  Sage paused, looking from Maggie to the glowing screen. As she peered at the first photo, Maggie slid behind the counter and poured two cups of coffee. Sage hardly noticed the sound of stirring spoons and clinking plates as Maggie dished them up a scone or two.

  She was entranced by the picture on the screen, a stunning photo of Colby in a string bikini. She looked glistening and wet in the sun, hair fresh and unkempt, smile crooked and leering. There was a pool behind her and, upon closer inspection, a young man, tall and lean, in a pair of baggies.

  A pair of… red baggies, with brown stripes. Sage slumped into a chair and tapped the next photo, which was a better picture of the young couple, frolicking by the pool. To his credit, at least Derek looked chagrined to be so shamelessly photographed, in and out of Colby’s arms.

  They looked good together, so good she was almost happy she’d broken up with him. Which didn’t necessarily jibe with the blurry vision caused by fresh tears, or the trembling hands that barely managed to slide the tablet onto the bakery counter before it fell, shattering to the floor.

  “Why?” Sage asked, peering at her friend as she wiped her eyes with a paper Sequels napkin. “Why would she take those? And why would he pose for them? And when were these taken, I mean… we only broke up a few days ago.”

  “You broke up?” Maggie asked, coffee cup halfway to her lips.

  Sage shrugged. “Well, I broke up,” she harrumphed, pinching the end off a scone and sliding it in her mouth. “Derek insisted he didn’t want to, but… obviously his little head had other intentions.”

  Maggie put her hand on top of Sage’s and said, “Honey, I had no idea. I mean, I guess… maybe in retrospect, I shouldn’t have shown you those pictures.”

  “No,” Sage sighed, “I’m glad I saw them. Well, not glad, but…”

  Her voice trailed off, raw and quivering, as if she might cry again. “I know what you mean, honey…” Maggie sounded distracted and Sage looked up to find her tapping the iPad screen once more. “Wow, it looks… looks like these pictures were taken today, like… hours ago.”

  Sage blinked, rapidly, mind reeling. “Are you sure?” When Maggie nodded, Sage clucked her tongue. “That little witch told me she was sick as a dog.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Less than three hours ago,” Sage confirmed, shaking her head.

  “Good,” Maggie proclaimed with a satisfied tone.

  “Good?”

  “Now you can fire her ass!”

  They chuckled, but Sage had other plans. “I dunno,” she mused, reaching for her coffee cup. “I think… I think I’ll let Colby dig her own grave.”

  “How do you mean?” Maggie asked, pinching off a wedge of the scone for herself.

  “I’ve seen girls like Colby before,” Sage reasoned. “If I fire her, that will only make me look bitter and jealous. But if I keep her on, and act like I could care less, I guarantee you she’ll lose interest in Derek and Sequels, and I’ll be rid of her fair and square.”

  “You can really do that?” asked Maggie with an impressed look in her soft green eyes. “You can really stand around here for the next few weeks watching Colby flirt with Derek and not slap her around like a rag doll?”

  Sage nodded confidently. “It won’t be easy,” she confessed, “but if it means showing Derek who really loved him after all, it’ll be worth punching my pillow at night instead of Colby during the day.”

  “You’re a better woman than I am,” Maggie sighed, standing from her chair. “Just looking at her pretty little face makes me want to smash it in.”

  Sage stood and followed Maggie to the door. “I didn’t say I don’t want to smash her face in, I just said I won’t… unless absolutely necessary!”

  Chapter 7:

  Derek

  Derek woke, like clockwork, early the next morning. Colby snored beside him, sprawled out all sticky and naked in her twisted sheets. He stood, carefully, wanting for all the word to simply leave without another word.

  He felt bad enough about what they’d done, repeatedly, the day and night before. His tongue was sore, his neck was sore, his ribs were sore, his whole body was sore from the twisting and contorting they’d done in that very bed, and on the floor, and the couch, and… Jesus, he needed a quick getaway, but fast.

  It was a good thing she was a heavy sleeper, allowing Derek to grab his clothes and surfboard and still slip from the house, barely clothed, while she dozed in the bedroom.

  Once outside her closed door, Derek exhaled, slipping on his flip flops and tank top and dashing for the elevator before she could magically appear, hair tousled, lips pouty, enticing him back into bed. Downstairs, he walked to the nearest convenience store, grateful for the backpack over his shoulder and the surfboard rack outside the store!

  Inside he bought Toaster Pastries and two iced coffees and, like a junkie with his first hit of the day, huddled on a bench in front of the store to gobble them greedily.

  They’d never eaten – well, not food – the entire night. Those three beers – well, two and a half – were the only sustenance he’d had through another nine or ten hours of nonstop sexing and napping. The carbs, sugar and caffeine hit him like a freight train and he sat back on the bench, eyelids literally fluttering as dawn broke once more over the deserted streets of Seaside.

  As the rush of junk food sped through his system, Derek found his morning plans reshaping on a dime. He’d been planning on going home and sacking out in his own bed, bolting the doors so Colby couldn’t get in, and turning off every cell phone, tablet and electric appliance he owned so she couldn’t text, email or smoke signal him.

  Instead, he realized he had everything he needed to spend his morning the right way: His board, his backpack, baggies and the sea. After a quick pit stop at the men’s room next to his favorite beach access,
Derek was dropping his bag on the sand, stripping off his tank and kicking off his flip flops.

  He noticed the blue and white striped towel in his peripheral vision, the little brown hoodie and the mesh synch sack and winced: Sage. Looking past the fizzing white breakers, he spotted her, crouching on her board, gliding effortlessly across a small wave before slipping from her board as if she’d been surfing all her life.

  He smiled, despite his fear, and dipped his toes in the surf, splaying out his board and riding it under the crest of two more waves before spotting her again, this time riding her stick and watching his every move.

  She looked radiant in the early dawn light, the blue orange light casting her glistening skin in sexy shadows. She was no Colby, few women were, but she was something different: Sleek and radiant, smart and sexy, lean and mature, and warming his heart by the minute.

  He paddled out to join her, admiring the skeptical look on her face as she peered past him to the shoreline. “Colby’s not joining us?” she asked, sitting confidently aboard the stick he’d helped her pick out weeks earlier. It was brown and blue, like her mismatched bikini bottom and top.

  “Very funny,” he said, the very name making his balls shrivel.

  She screwed up her nose and continued to focus on the shoreline. “Did you move?” she asked shrewdly. “Because you weren’t coming from your cottage this morning, not that I was staring or anything…”

  “I went to the Corner Mart for breakfast,” he said, which was technically truthful.

  “Before that, I meant.”