by Marta Brown
“Hmmm,” I say, covering her hands with mine then gliding them down past her wrists and across her thin forearms, causing her skin to explode in goosebumps. “I think I’m gonna need another clue.” I slowly turn around, so she’s still covering my eyes and run my hands down the length of her torso to her waist, pulling her into me until we’re flush with one another. “Nope, still not sure,” I tease. “Maybe I need just one more little clue.” I lean down and kiss the side of her neck, letting my lips linger and causing her to drop her hands from my eyes.
“Hi,” she whispers, smiling up at me when I finally pull myself away from kissing her soft skin. Which is no easy feat.
“This is a surprise. I didn’t think I’d get to see you until tomorrow.”
“I couldn’t stay away. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Of course I don’t mind.” I glance at my watch. “How long do I have you for?”
“As long as you want.” She smiles and bats her lashes.
Man this girl has my number. How about forever?
“Really, no curfew?” I ask skeptically, considering I’ve had her home by midnight all week long.
“My parents were exhausted after sailing all day, so Andrew and I grabbed a late dinner here and then I told him I’d get a ride home with you.” Ashley bites her lip. “So, technically my parents didn’t say when I needed to be home…” she trails off.
Ahhh, a loop hole. No arguments here. “Well, I won’t keep you out too long. I wouldn’t want you getting in trouble because of me,” I say with a wink.
“Oh, I think I might already be in trouble when it comes to you,” she says, giving me a flirty smile that makes me hotter under the collar than the humid night air.
“Come on, you,” I say, taking her by the hand and leading her down the stone path to the pool. The cool water will be a welcome relief against the late night heat.
“Lane, are we even allowed to be in here right now?” she asks, looking over her shoulder at the main club house and then back to me.
“There’s practically no one left in side except the janitorial crew. We’re fine. And you’re a member, so you have every right to be here if you want.”
“Yeah, during the day.” She looks nervous. “And we don’t even have bathing suits.”
I untuck my shirt then peel it off over my head and let it drop to the ground. “No, you’re right. We should go,” I say, starting to unbutton my pants as Ashley’s eyes go wide.
She glances around the darkness then slowly shakes her head. “What in the world has gotten into me?” she says under her breath, but I think it’s a rhetorical question so I don’t answer except to smile.
She slips off the wide straps of her form fitting dress, then wiggles it down until it pools at her feet. She crosses her arms self-consciously around her waist and pulls at the bottom of the cute little purple boy shorts she’s wearing, matching bra included.
She looks so innocent and sexy at the same time I have to tear my eyes away so I don’t make her uncomfortable, although she’s wearing more than most girls do at the beach. But she’s not like most girls.
“Come on,” I say, taking her hand and running with her to the edge of the pool then jumping in cannonball style. We both break through the surface of the water laughing.
“Wow, this feels so nice,” she says, treading water.
I wrap my arms around her waist and move us from the deep end to the middle where I can stand. Ashley surprises me by wrapping her legs around my torso and it feels completely natural to have her so close.
“Yeah it does,” I say, taking her in. The way the moonlight makes her green eyes look even brighter and how the water glistens off her suntanned skin, flawless, except for a small oval scar on the side of her arm.
I brush my thumb across it.” What happened?”
“Oh, that.” She looks at the scar. “I dropped my flat iron, burned myself pretty bad.”
I lean down and kiss the pink skin. “But your hair’s already straight,” I say.
She looks slightly uncomfortable as she runs her palm over her drenched hair. “It’s not actually straight. It’s naturally curly.”
“Why do you always wear it straight?’ I ask. “I bet it’s pretty all curly.”
She shrugs and I sense she feels self conscious. Girls.
“Okay, so you have naturally curly hair, what else?” I say, spinning us around in a circle making the water ripple out.
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me something else I don’t know about you.” Like…if you’re as crazy about me as I am about you. I shrug casually. “It doesn’t have to be your deepest darkest secret or anything, just something I don’t know yet.”
I see her wheels turning, and when she makes eye contact with me again, I’m surprised to find her looking slightly shy. “Um…well…I wish I was a dancer,” she says quietly.
I wrap my arms tighter around her waist. “But, you said you’ve been doing ballet for years.” I smile because I’ve imagined her in those little skirts and leotards. A few times.
“No, I mean…I wish I could dance, professionally.” She looks at the water, clearly unsure of herself.
“Why can’t you?” I ask. She’s been dancing for over ten years; she has to be good, probably great.
She lets out a tight laugh. “Right, like I could ever tell my parents that I’d rather go to a dance conservatory than Yale. And that I want to dance contemporary and not ballet. They would never allow it. Anyway, it’s just a silly dream since I’ve actually never danced in that style, in front of anyone before.”
“Dance for me.”
“What? No…no…I can’t.” She shakes her head as her whole body stiffens. “Anyway, it’s my turn, tell me something I don’t know about you,” she says, trying to change the subject.
“Dance for me,” I ask again, this time in a whisper, brushing my thumb across her cheek.
She shuts her eyes and leans into my touch. “Lane, I can’t.”
“What are you worried about?”
“It won’t be perfect,” she admits, opening her eyes and looking truly vulnerable for the first time.
Watching her, so unsure of herself, I wish she could see herself through my eyes. To me, she is perfect. “Baby, if it’s something you love to do,” I lean in and give her a small kiss, “I want to see it, regardless if it’s perfect or not.”
“I can’t,” Ashley says, unwrapping her legs from around my waist and swimming to the edge of the pool.
I swim to her side and rest my arms along the pebbly lip of the pool, my chin propped up on my hands. “I bet you can, and I bet you’re amazing. Will you? For me?” In her eyes, I see the war she’s fighting with herself. “Okay, how about we make it a real wager?” I offer.
“Haven’t you had enough betting?” she asks and she’s probably right, but I want to know everything there is to know about her and I feel like watching her dance might just be the door to her soul.
“Different stakes, different rewards.” I shrug smiling, and I can see her armor break when she finally smiles back.
She lets out a deep sigh. “What’s the wager?”
“I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.”
“Lane!” Ashley says, splashing water at me, and even in the dark I can see her blushing.
I laugh, shaking the water droplets from my face. “That’s not what I meant…exactly. You show me something that scares you, and I’ll show you something that scares me,” I proposition, wrapping my arms around Ashley’s body.
“So? You in?”
Chapter 12
Ashley
Am I in?
My eyes lock with Lane’s as I search my heart for the answer. I want to say yes, I want to show him every part of me. Maybe for the first time in my entire life. Perfect or not.
I nod my head slowly, still unsure, but willing to take the chance. Or ‘roll the dice’ as Andrew would say.
“Yes?” Lane asks, and I can
see the excitement in his eyes.
“Yes, I’ll dance. For you.” The moment I say the words out loud all of my doubts and fears slam back into me. What if I’m not good enough?
As if Lane can sense I want to backtrack, he cups my face in his hands and kisses me so soundly all my worries fall away. I don’t want to hide myself from him. I want to be silly and unrestrained with him. Hopeful and romantic, scared and vulnerable. Me. I just want to be me with him.
“Wait, where am I supposed to dance? And I have no music. And Lane…I’m in my underwear,” I whisper like it’s a secret. Maybe I should rethink this.
Lane lets out a deep laugh, then lifts himself from the pool. He reaches back and plucks me out of the water with ease and pulls me into his chest.
“Baby, you can dance wherever you feel comfortable,” he says, kissing my forehead. He let’s go of me and picks up his pants from the ground and starts to dig in the pockets. He fishes out his phone and begins to scroll through his playlists. “See, music.” He waves the phone at me. “And I’ve seen those dance shows on TV, and you’re wearing way more than some of the contestants I’ve seen wear before,” Lane points out as I glance down at my matching bra and panties. “But baby, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.” Lane tips my chin up so our eyes meet, and I can tell how sincere he is. There’s no pressure. “You know, I could probably come up with something else we could do if you really don’t want to dance.” Lane winks, making me laugh. I bet he could. So could I.
I shake my head no. “I want to…dance for you.”
I can feel my heart race as I walk to the edge of the stone patio, lined with lounge chairs, to a grassy area just beyond it. Lane presses play and the soft tinkling of piano chords drifts in the air. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and let my body move.
I envision myself as nothing but a tiny bird, gliding in the wind, diving into the mist coming off the early morning ocean waves, then flying throughout the day, twisting and turning, and swooping and sailing until finally sweeping across the night sky at soaring heights. Free.
I hesitate opening my eyes when the music stops as my chest rises and falls. I’m no longer free like a bird, but grounded with apprehension. My eyes flutter open, for just a moment, then close again when Lane takes me in his arms, and kisses me with so much passion my skin feels like August. I’m left panting when he eventually murmurs against my lips. “You are breathtaking.”
“Ashley? Ashley Whitmore, is that you?” A shrill voice calls my name. I tense. I’d know that voice anywhere. Hailey’s mom, Kiki Newhall, the biggest gossip at the club.
Lane keeps his arms tight around my body covering me, but Mrs. Newhall looks positively scandalized.
“Hello, Mrs. Newhall. Kiki,” I say, trying to remain calm. It’s not all that late, and from this distance I’m sure it looks like I’m wearing bikini, nothing salacious here. Although, if she just saw me and Lane kissing…well…that was hot.
“What are you kids doing out here so late?” she asks, lifting up on her toes, I imagine to get a better look at Lane.
“Just went for a night swim, it was hot today. Don’t you agree?” I ask lightly, like I’ve done nothing wrong.
“Well, yes, I guess you’re right, it was quite stifling. However, I spent most of my day inside preparing for the auction.” The auction, of course. Kiki, as she insists all the kids call her, I think to make her feel young, heads up the silent auction every year; I just hope the auction isn’t the only thing that stays silent. But the odds are not in my favor.
“Yes, Mother is looking forward to it,” I offer politely. “Well, it was nice to see you. Goodnight.”
She clears her throat. “Nice to see you too, Ashley. Please let your mother know I look forward to seeing her tomorrow.” Great.
Lane keeps me folded in his arms until we no longer hear her high heels clicking against the pavement. He scoops up our clothes and takes my hand. I’m in a fit of giggles by the time we reach his car.
“I cannot believe we just got caught,” I say, trying to catch my breath.
“By a woman named Kiki.” He laughs.
I slip my dress over my head as Lane throws on his pants. “Do you think she saw us kissing?” I ask as he puts back on his shirt and I already miss his abs. “Even worse, do you think she knows I was in my underwear?”
Lane opens the car door for me. “Nah, I think it was too dark to tell it wasn’t a bathing suit.”
“Let’s hope so, for my sake.”
I can still feel the tingling left behind on my lips from Lane’s kiss as he rests his arm over the back of my seat, wearing a comfortable smile on his face. We pull out of the parking lot and onto the road that runs along the coastline, and I feel free like a bird again. Free from the weight of expectations and responsibility, able to fly as the wind whips my hair in all directions. Happy.
I let the feeling bubble up in me until I can no longer contain it. I raise my arms into the night air and let out a small squeal as he drives us down the beach road. Lane laughs, and then, before I can get embarrassed by my behavior, throws his head back and yells into the quiet night.
When we get home, Lane parks underneath the branches of the weeping willow tree just outside my house and it feels like we’re in our own little world. Hidden away from everyone and everything except the fireflies, who glow and twinkle all around us.
“You really are breathtaking,” Lane says so softly it’s almost a whisper before brushing a curl from my face and tucking it behind my ear. He plays with the ends of my hair, running his thumb around the spirals of my natural curls, and for the first time I think they’re beautiful. “Thank you for dancing for me tonight.”
I want to tell him thank you back, for upping the ante and pushing me to be…me. Instead, I lean in and kiss him. Tomorrow I’ll be prim and proper again, but tonight I want to be as wild as my hair.
My lips are swollen, and I’m panting when we finally pull apart. Every inch of me is buzzing with desire, his pull on me like a riptide. “I wish I didn’t have to go,” I say, glancing at the time.
Lane sighs, running both hands through his hair. “You have no idea.”
I think I do.
“If it gets any later it’ll be hard to explain what I’ve been up to if my parents wake up and catch me. And I think Andrew’s even home already.”
“Are you sure you have to go?” Lane says, leaning in and capturing my lips one more time. Oh, he’s good.
I let him bury his hands deep in my hair until I’m about to let the cards fall where they may and never go home again.
“I…I have to…” I say, my resolve weakening by the second as Lane kisses down my neck.
“Alright, if you must,” Lane finally says when I unball my fists, letting go of his shirt.
“I must.” Reluctantly, I give him a peck goodnight then reach for the door handle but stop short when I remember I’m forgetting something. “Wait. I almost forgot.”
“What is it, baby?” Lane asks, looking around the car for my forgotten item.
“Our wager…if I showed you mine, you’d show me yours. Something that scares you.” I say. “A bet’s a bet.”
Lane pauses. His smile fades into something more serious, still content and happy, but there’s an intensity in the way he’s looking at me now. He takes my hand in his and brushes his thumb across my skin before placing it against his chest, letting me feel his heart beat beneath my palm. It’s pounding, and it makes my pulse race too. His eyes never waver from mine, and I’m desperate to know him, to know what it means when he’s looking at me like he is.
“What scares you, Lane?” I breathe in the small space between us.
“How fast I’m falling in love with you.”
Chapter 13
Lane
“Hey, you,” Ashley says, crossing the parking lot in a cute little yellow dress. Her hair is stick straight, and I’m secretly disappointed it’s not down and curly like it was last night. It was so
beautiful. I’m also disappointed she’s not still wearing her tennis skirt. I mentally slap myself and my one-track mind, but Ashley isn’t making it very easy on me.
I wrap my arms around her tiny frame and kiss her hello. I’m weirdly nervous and not because Ashley’s about to meet my family for the first time, but because we haven’t actually spoken since I told her I was falling in love with her last night. I hope I didn’t freak her out.
“You look amazing,” I say, opening the car door and helping her in.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” She winks when I hop in the car, and I wonder if I’m not the only one with a one-track mind around here, by the way she’s staring at me.
I reach over and put my hand on her tanned knee, my fingers grazing the edge of her skirt, causing Ashley’s cheeks to flush soft pink. “We better get outta here before I change my mind and take you to that dark theater and not let you watch a minute of that movie.”
“You know that’s not a half bad idea,” Ashley says before kissing my cheek. “But I’m actually looking forward to meeting your family, so we should probably put this,” she kisses my lips, “on hold until after dinner.”
I shake my head to clear it. Damn. This girl is turning me inside out.
“If you insist,” I say, whipping out of the parking lot and heading up the coast. “Are you nervous?” I ask as we drive, my hand still resting on her knee.
She fidgets with her hair and then her dress before looking at me with a tentative smile. “A little. Is that silly?”
“Nah, but you have nothing to be nervous about. They’re gonna love you.” I hope. I’m not at all worried about Grandpa liking Ashley, but Mom might be another story.
I pull into my neighborhood, or the Campground as it’s known to both locals and Stays, and enjoy the look of surprise on Ashley’s face.
“You live here?” she says, her eyes wide and sparkling. “It’s so… magical.”
Each small house looks like a colorful gingerbread cottage right out of a fairytale. It’s hard to see it as anything but home, since I’ve lived here for so long, but even I have to admit during the light festival it really does look cool.