Some college guy saw the eye candy first and wasted no time approaching the threesome to play a game of volleyball with his buddies. The girls were flattered and willing – little arm twisting was needed. They dropped their boards and rounded out the teams much to the delight and hoots of the other male players who patted their buddy on the back, congratulating him on his success at snaring such hot women for their beach game.
The girls were asked not just because they were cute chicks, but because the guys liked watching the bouncing boobs as much as they enjoyed the bouncing ball. The guys also enjoyed frolicking in the sand and showing off for the girls as they razzed their buddies in camaraderie. When Quinn appear on the scene, it was obvious to big brother that it was more like foreplay if anyone had asked Quinn’s thoughts on the proposition of volley ball. Without a doubt, it was camouflaged as an innocent game of hit and run for the bouncing ball and boobs.
As Quinn approached the sand, he immediately spotted the twins with Lily right in the thick of things. They weren’t too difficult to spot as they had acquired a following of spectators, all young horny men who encouraged the girls to spike the ball and win the point. All the while, the boys hooted and clapped, giving points of encouragement at the bounce of the ball and bounce of their body parts.
Quinn’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets once he got a load of Lily and her newly developed figure. He immediately knew he was in for a shitty weekend. She definitely had changed all right – she had arrived all woman! The promised curves at thirteen had developed to their potential and there was definitely nothing childlike about her now. It didn’t help that she had on this short tight little t-shirt that could have been renamed short little tease-shirt, which accentuated her newly sweet blossomed mammary glands – a nice load for each hand. What was he thinking? He looked around – the same thing every other guy was thinking when they weren’t looking at Jade or Jasmine. Crap!
Lily’s dark red hair, filled with blond sun streaks, now curled down her back almost to her waist. It swirled around her in all directions as she leaped and jumped for the ball simultaneous with the “wolfy” college kid. As they collided, the kid twisted so Lily landed halfway on top of him. It was a thoughtful thing to have done except Quinn knew thoughtfulness had nothing to do with it.
Quinn stomped over to the couple rolling around in the sand. Lily’s laughter was cut short the minute she heard his sharp voice say her name. “Lily!” She shaded her eyes and squinted up at his voice thinking, Yip. That was Quinn all right. The same killjoy I remember!
To add insult to injury, the young male looked at Lily and asked, “Is that your dad?”
Of course, the twins thought that was hilarious! They called him “Dad” for the rest of the afternoon much to Quinn’s chagrin and irritation. It didn’t help his mood either when the spectators booed him as he rounded up his fillies and left.
As soon as Quinn could herd his responsibilities from the volleyball mob, he hiked his wards down from the bouncing boob’s activity and away from the center of things as far as he could get. The girls followed in sullen silence. As soon as he indicated that this was a good spot for surfing, however, the girls forgot about the volleyball game from which they had been interrupted and excitedly started to strip down to their bikinis. They hadn’t worn their wetsuits as it was a hot day in the Pacific, which was about as warm as it ever gets any time of year. So, little was left to the imagination as the three of them peeled off their tight little t-shirts and short shorts that showed nothing, but promised a lot.
Each of the girls had bikinis with bottoms that showed a hunk of their thighs and smooth flat tummies. They were not allowed to wear string bikinis – thank Dad for that! Jade, however, wore a hot pink bikini that had two little strings on the side of her smooth thighs as close as she could get to skimpy without disobeying Father. Jasmine in her neon yellow, who also liked to push the boundaries, wore a silver belly button ring that he’d bet his little pinky, Mom and Dad didn’t know about either. The twin’s tops looked like they had a little push up to their boobs. Lily, on the other hand looked like she needed no such enhancement as her turquoise suit drew the attention of even the seagulls. If there had been any burkas around, he would have thrown them over Lily’s head and his sisters. His only strategy at this point was to get them in the water as soon as possible, but not before he prayed to the swim gods that none of them lost their tops or bottoms in the process.
Finally, everyone was in the water. The waves were fun without being overly challenging. Quinn watched as he hovered from his surf board in the near distance among the barking seals. The girls seemed to be having a good time. All three actually handled the surfing quite well, even Lily; although, he wouldn’t mind giving her a few pointers just to be able to ride behind her on the same surfboard with his hand on her tummy guiding her and trying to keep his hands from dipping lower. He wondered if her hair still smelled like strawberries. To this day, he couldn’t see the succulent fruit without reminding him of her.
After a couple of hours and near drowning’s, the girls drew tired and the three of them headed to the sandy hot beach to get a little summer sun and nap. By this time, the waves had begun to get a little higher and a little rougher signaling danger to the inexperienced. For Quinn, it was just the kind of waves he enjoyed. They were ones that contained a challenged – like his women. Besides, it gave him a chance to practice for his SEAL testing. He went under the water holding his breath and exploding for air only at the last possible moment as he barely skimmed the surface. He enjoyed the thrill of the underwater sights and the churning foaming water that he battled. The near danger always gave him a rush. He liked that kind of high. It would be what would make him a great SEAL.
Lily had been sitting on her beach towel for a while, peering out of her white rimmed sunglasses at the Pacific, nibbling on her lower lip. She had already mentioned to the twins that she hadn’t seen Quinn for quite a long time. They just mumbled that he always disappeared under the water for long periods at a time as they rolled over on their tummies totally unconcerned, but Lily was worried. So much so, that she quietly grabbed her surfboard, threw down her sunglasses, and headed out to sea, oblivious to the darkened rough waters that had changed the dynamics of recreational surfing.
Quinn was not too far from the shoreline practicing his maneuvers when he came up for a breather. Out of the corner of his eye, he picked up a flash of turquoise with flowing red hair. “What the hell?” He squinted his eyes. “Doesn’t she know that she has no business being in this water?” he muttered to himself. He glanced around for the twins. They were parked securely and safely on the beach relaxing under the rays of the summer sun as they should be. At least, he didn’t have to be concerned about them.
Quinn’s head swiveled back to Lily. He knew she was in trouble before she did as he watched the rogue wave crawling menacingly towards her. Not taking his eyes off her, he immediately started for her with strong powerful strokes. When she went under, so did he, praying all the while that he would get to her in time.
Lily, suddenly, knew she had not made a good decision. It was a mighty big ocean. How did she ever think she was going to find Quinn? For the life of her, she had no idea what had come over her. Why was she so concerned about Quinn anyway? He’d never treated her any other way then like a step sister and one that he didn’t particularly like at that.
Lily just began to realize just how rough the waves had gotten. If she hadn’t been so distraught and worried, she might have noticed just how dark and dangerous it had become as well. She was about to turn around and go back to the beach when this mammoth foaming wave just came out of nowhere and swallowed her up like some giant whale. She felt herself being pulled and tugged under the surface even though she was struggling to go skyward. She fought and kicked viciously, but to no avail. She tried not to panic, but at that moment she just knew for sure that she was going to Davy Jones Locker, exactly like Quinn said she would if she didn’
t use good judgment. Just as the last bit of her strength was about to give out, a familiar pair of very strong and powerful arms encircled her waist and plucked her from the ocean floor. He began to drag her upwards towards the top where the gray daylight of the hazy sun welcomed her with open arms.
Quinn could feel Lily beginning to go limp about half way to the surface. Realizing that she was probably about out of air, he put his lips on hers and gave her the last of his air as he made a finally push to the surface. Lily greedily sucked the oxygen from Quinn’s lungs before he tore his mouth away and broke from hers as he inhaled the wonderful air at the top.
Breaking the earth’s surface between water and air, Quinn immediately headed for his surfboard that was being tossed and thrown with each passing wave, towing a limp Lily along with him. He shoved Lily aboard and crawled right behind her with half of his body covering hers. He wrapped his arms securely around her and the surfboard. Lacing them tightly together as one, Quinn maneuvered their lifeboat over the choppy water toward shore with the ease of a sailor in spite of the rough waters. As they glided to safety, Quinn nuzzled Lily’s soft cheek with his day old whiskers asking, “Are you all right?”
Lily didn’t answer immediately. Quinn’s stomach sank to the bottom of the ocean for the second time in the past few minutes.
Lily shook her head. Then, she began to tremble. By the time Quinn got her on shore, she was shaking so badly, he was afraid that she was going to go into hypothermia. He immediately gathered her into his arms trying to provide some warmth.
“Jade!” Quinn shouted. She jumped to attention like a firecracker had been lit under her, followed by Jasmine. Both of them immediately knew something was wrong by the tone of their brother’s voice. “Bring your towels!” They came running, surmising that Lily had gotten in water trouble. If his little sister’s hadn’t been there, he would have wrapped them both together as one with any available towels. As it was, he pried Lily’s hand from around his neck and began rapidly wrapping her up like he was swaddling a small child.
Picking Lily up and with the twins still hovering, he began to bark out orders. “Jade, run back to the house and get a hot shower going for Lily. Jasmine, go make some of your hot tea.” They both took off like jack rabbits with Quinn right behind them.
Quinn was in the bathroom with Lily almost as soon as the warm shower spray hit the walls. He stepped inside the shower still holding a quivering Lily in spite of two beach towels wrapped around her. He got under the hot shower with her, letting the towels soak up the warmth. Knowing that she would warm quicker without the towels, he started unwrapping his shaking package. As soon as he did so, he held her back against him as they showered together and he inhaled the smell of ripe strawberries. It was an intimate feeling.
Quinn had just finished reminding himself that Lily was only sixteen, when she suddenly turned in his arms enveloping him around the waist as she began to sob into his wet chest. Holding her, he started trying to calm her by rubbing circulation in her arms and over her back, hoping to comfort her. Suddenly, he was kissing her and she was kissing him back – like a woman. It happened so quickly that no thought was given to the mutual impulse. To this day, he wondered how far it would have gone had it not been for Jade sticking her head inside the bathroom saying, “How’s she doing?” Fortunately, it was too steamy to tell what had just happened.
“Fine,” Quinn croaked hoarsely, putting some distance between them, realizing that they had both warmed up more than necessary. “She needs to get out of her wet swimsuit,” he shouted back over the sound of the shower beating against the wall. “While you’re helping her, have Jasmine get a warm cotton t-shirt and flannel bottoms.” He stepped out of the showering sauna and Jade stepped in as he left for his own bedroom.
What was he thinking?! It was all he could do not to strip Lily down himself. She just needed some reassurance after a near death experience, not some prick putting the make on her when she was so vulnerable – and young. The kiss just seemed what she needed, he tried to convince himself. If he
were being honest with himself, it was exactly what he needed at the time as well. He was smart enough to know that it might have ended so differently and he was extremely grateful that it did not.
Quinn ran his hand through his wet hair. He suddenly realized that he would have been just as devastated if anything had happen to Lily, just like he would have if it had been Jade of Jasmine. He, however, would never have kissed them like that of course nor did he have any desire to do so. So, what had changed with Lily? Not wanting to examine that thought too closely, he stepped under the cold shower in his own room trying to put his thoughts in prospective with some difficulty.
Later that evening, after Lily drank some Jasmine tea and was sleeping quietly as though she were no longer thinking about her ordeal, Quinn asked Jade and Jasmine the question that had been eating at him since the accident, “Do either of you know why Lily went into the rough waters today?” Jade and Jasmine looked at each other communicating in silence like twins often do. “Spit it out,” he ordered.
“Well,” Jade nibbled on her lower lip like she was trying to figure out how to put into words what she was thinking.
Jasmine filled in and finished her sentence, “We think she was worried.”
“About what?” Quinn asked puzzled.
“About you?” Jade finished for Jasmine.
Surprised, Quinn raised his eyebrows, “Why would she be worried about me?”
“She hadn’t seen you in the water for a while. She asked us if we were concerned. We totally assured her that you were fine,” both Jade and Jasmine shook their heads up and down showing that they both agreed with that statement. Jade shrugged, “I guess, she didn’t want to take our word for it – apparently, she found you.”
“Not exactly,” replied Quinn grimly.
“We didn’t even know she was gone until you started shouting at us.” Jasmine looked directly at him.
“It could have been serious, couldn’t it?” Jade added, twisting her hands.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t. We were lucky – this time. I just happened to catch a flash of red hair before she went under a turbulent wave. I don’t think she could have battled the lethal water by herself.”
Quinn looked at his watch, “I think we should all go to bed and think about the day and how we can make sure it never happens to any of us again. By the way, I’ll be sleeping in Lily’s room tonight.” It was a statement and not a question asking for their approval. No one objected, they knew he’d do the same if it had been either of them and they were comforted by his statement.
Quinn turned out the lights. A subdued group went to their own bedroom thinking about how the day turned out and how it could have ended so differently. It wasn’t a pleasant thought to dwell upon.
CHAPTER 3
Quinn went into Lily’s bedroom and closed the door softly. He stood over her bed and looked down at the sleeping cherub with the mahogany curls that lay against the lacy blue pillow case, which matched her sky blue eyes that were feathered with a fringe of black spiky lashes. She looked like her head was resting on an ice blue fluffy cloud. He reached out to touch one of those corkscrew curls. On its own accord, it reached for his pinky finger pulling him closer like the tempting snake in the Garden of Eden, wending around his little finger and leading him where he should not be going.
Suddenly, Quinn felt like he was being sucked under the water with Lily again. Only this time, he was the one devoid of oxygen and unable to breathe. He looked down at her porcelain complexion, with her pink bow-like lips that began beckoning to him. He began to remember how soft they felt under his own – in the shower. He recalled how they had tempted him with no longer that of a child, but those of a fully grown woman. His mind began to lecture, reminding him that she wasn’t a grownup, not yet, but his body had thought differently when she had leaned into him asking for something his good sense told him not to give.
Besides, Quinn
knew her dad would cut off his balls if he stepped over that boundary – his dad would probably hand over the knife. Quinn’s hand drew back like it had been struck by lightning reminding himself once again not to go down that path at least until she was no longer a babe, but legally an old woman or more. He promised himself that he would come back for more of Lily then.
The windows were open on either side of Lily’s bed, letting in the cool ocean breeze of the Pacific where Lily lay sleeping peacefully. It was as if she knew angels were still standing guard over her as they had earlier today. Quinn tried not to think how he might have been standing over her in the morgue instead of over her in the bedroom. Rubbing the back of his neck, he walked over to the sliding glass door off the balcony and went outside. As he rested his elbows on the railing, he looked out over the rippling waves with the moonlight twinkling down, thinking how much fun he’d had growing up on the ocean. He’d surfed, swam, boated, and fished in and under the massive water almost every day of his life. In all that time, he’d never had a serious scare like this, not for his sisters nor for himself. Today, was just a good reminder to all of them, how lethal the ocean could be and that caution needed to be taken at all times as you are rarely lucky enough to get “do overs”.
The guest room of Lily’s was sandwiched between the twins. It used to be his room before he left home and Mom had redecorated it. Fortunately, it had two wing back light blue striped chairs on either side of the small fireplace that was lit only in winter. He dragged the chairs together as far from Lily’s bed that the room would allow and stretched out his legs with his laptop resting on them. He began sending an email to his dad letting him know the events of the day. He would pass that information onto Lily’s parents. He knew he could expect an interrogation by early tomorrow morning.
Forever Lovers Page 2