“Ready to go?””
With excitement in her eyes, she nodded to indicate that she was.
4
The evening weather was comfortable in the high 70’s as the Maui sun was beginning its descent for the day. They had been walking for about 15 minutes, making small talk along the way.
At one point, Berkleigh took off her pretty sandals, carried them in her right hand as she playfully splashed in ankle deep water, laughing as the ocean crashed against her polished toes and beautiful feet. Amidst her smoldering sexiness, there was also a sweet innocence about her. Jack observed how tranquil she seemed and before his eyes, she became even more beautiful to him.
I didn’t think that was possible, God Berkleigh, what are you doing to me? He smiled adoringly at her.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you since I didn’t see you this morning,” Berkleigh interrupted his thoughts; “I booked us a tee time for 7:53 tomorrow morning at the Emerald Course.”
“Perfect! Looking forward to it!” he exclaimed.
“I am too. I’m not sure if we are paired with anyone yet,” she stated.
“It’s golf in Maui. I am pretty certain, we’ll get paired up with another two-some,” he answered matter-of-factly.
He recalled his phone call to the golf course that took place prior to the cocktail reception today, “The Wailea Emerald Course, how may I help you?” the course attendant politely asked.
“Yes, I am wondering if a tee time has been booked under the name Berkleigh Woods for tomorrow?” Jack asked the course employee.
“I can say for certain, Sir, a tee time was booked earlier this morning as I vividly recall what a cool name she had! Let’s see 7:53 am,” the employee responded.
Jack asked, “Excellent, are they paired up with anyone?”
“Not yet, sir, would you like to reserve that time?”
“Yes, please book me for two. Last name is Turner,” Jack said.
“You got it, Mr. Turner, we will see you in the morning.”
Jack smiled to himself knowing that he had guaranteed there would not be anyone paired with them while golfing tomorrow.
Berkleigh jolted Jack from his thoughts, “That cloud looks like a Longhorn, see?”
He looked up at the cloud she was referring to and laughed. He put his hand up, with his index and pinky fingers sticking up and said, “Hook ‘em horns.” He pointed just ahead of them down the beach a little further and said, “That’s the spot I had in mind.” He grabbed her hand and held it the rest of the way, sending electric pulses throughout her body.
The beach area was privately secluded bathed in fine, soft, white sand, surrounded with an exorbitant amount of brightly colored, tropical flowers that were native to Hawaii. The waves appeared gentler in this area as they met up with the sand.
“Oh my God, it’s picture perfect. Like something you would see in a postcard. This is absolutely breathtaking!” she exclaimed.
He smiled proudly, “It’s one of my favorite spots here in Maui.”
Setting the beach bag down, he pulled out the over-sized beach blanket and spread it out along the sand that reminded him of sugar.
“After you,” he motioned. As she made herself comfortable, he sat down next to her on her.
“Thank you! Do you always travel with a super-sized beach blanket?” she teased.
Chuckling, “No, when you accepted my invitation I went downstairs and got the items that I thought we would need from the hotel shop.”
He removed the bottle of wine from the beach bag and she noticed the label, Grange. An expensive Australian Cabernet/Syrah blend.
“Grange is one of my favorite wines,” she informed him.
“Mine, too,” he broke the foil and removed the cork with a cork screw.
“You came prepared,” she laughed.
“I’m always prepared, Berkleigh,” he teased.
She wondered if his comment contained some hidden sexual banter. Her head felt drunk with emotion as she watched him pour her a glass.
He is beautiful, masculine, and a protector, I could easily fall for this guy, shocking herself at this revelation since she had been determined to write off men before meeting Jack.
The perfect amount of dark scruff on his face combined made him more attractive. She imagined how the one-day growth would feel against her skin as his lips caressed her neck, slowly making his way down to her hardened nipples. Just thinking about his touch caused a warming sensation inside of her that made her heartbeat fast and her sexy, black panties wet.
He propped back supporting himself on his elbows in a very casual-like manner holding his glass of wine in his left hand and gazed out thoughtfully at the vast blue sea.
“The ocean is so peaceful to look at and yet can rip you to shreds in its fury, if you think about it. One moment everything can be fine, the next it can cause complete terror.” Jack said, clearly conflicted about something.
“Hmmm,” she pondered what he said thoughtfully, “That’s pretty deep. What brought that on?” Berkleigh inquired curiously as she leaned back in similar fashion.
The sun was beginning to set and turned a deeper hue of orange by the minute, the mood was nothing but romantic.
“Sometimes life is not always what it presents itself to be, is all,” he replied. She understood all too well what he was saying.
A tranquil breeze blew, and Jack caught the aroma of her perfume. He set his glass of wine down in the sand beside the blanket.
Changing subjects, he asked with thickness in his voice, “I have to ask you what perfume you wear? It smells amazing on you.”
“Thank you, it’s Acqua di Gio.”
“Get out!” he exclaimed somewhat excitedly.
She laughed, motioned with her hand as if she was being sworn in and said, “I’m serious. Why?”
“I wear the men’s version of that.” Just another thing we have in common.
They both glanced at the sliver of sun just above the horizon as it leisurely descended out of sight.
Berkleigh turned back, looked into his soulful eyes and softly whispered, “And you wear it so well, Jack.”
He studied her for a second, slowly leaned over and very gently caressed her lips with his. As he went a little deeper into the kiss, Berkleigh closed her heavy eyelids fully. His mouth lightly pressured her lips to part, so his tongue could discover her wet, warm mouth. Berkleigh let out a low, throaty moan letting Jack know she completely approved of this romantic sunset moment. He tenderly lowered her to the blanket and embraced the side of her soft, beautiful face with both hands as his kiss became more urgent with desire. He aligned himself better on top of her tanned, toned body. Berkleigh, with the hand not holding her wine, reached out to stroke his face. The stubble was sexy, and the manly smell of his cologne ignited senses in her that have never been lit before causing her to moan again.
Berkleigh’s obvious hunger for Jack, made him rock hard in his Tommy Bahama shorts, he returned a moan. He pulled away from her lips and began to caress her neck with his mouth and stubble. She whimpered as the sensation produced goose bumps over her entire body. His hardness pressed into her upper, inner thigh, very close to her own wetness, both shielded by just a little bit of clothing. Berkleigh was relieved that she was not the only one being affected by the raw passion of the moment. Wrapping her free arm around him, she couldn’t get enough of the feeling of his mouth exploring her neck.
Her touch encouraged Jack to find her beautiful lips; his tongue consumed her mouth again. Both moaned simultaneously.
Jack, not really wanting the kiss to end, slowly pulled away, kissed the tip of her pretty nose and looked into her eyes. “I’m so happy you agreed to come with me on this walk,” he whispered.
She was breathless, her heart was pounding, and her entire body was buzzing, “I’m so happy you invited me.”
“You are so incredibly sexy, Berkleigh,” he groaned as he lay on his back on the blanket, placing his hand on his foreh
ead and running it through his hair.
“The feeling is mutual,” she purred gazing up at the stars.
She leaned back onto her elbows and took a sip of her wine.
Once the heated moment cooled, Jack sat up and reached into his beach bag. He pulled out something that looked like a wireless speaker and his iPhone.
He said in a low, deep voice trying to recover from their very passionate moment, “I know I promised to leave my phone in my room, but see” he turned it toward her, “I have it on airplane mode so we will not be interrupted. I thought maybe we could dance beneath the stars, what do you think?”
Her big, white smile lit up the dark night, and she stood up, “I’d like that.”
“How about a salsa first, it’s rare I find anyone who likes and knows how to salsa?” he inquired.
Salsa was fast but involved hip movement and close touching, something they were both looking forward to.
“Let’s do it,” she agreed, recalling how they discussed at Duo that they both love to salsa dance.
He turned on the first song, she grabbed his left hand with her right and placed her left hand on his shoulder. He counted out loud, “5,6,7,8” they both stepped out to her right, back to the center, then out to her left, and then back to the center. They repeated that step a couple more times, then moved their feet, front to back, then still holding hands, she released his shoulder, they parted, then came back together touching his shoulder again and repeated that, smiling the entire time. He then took her hand and spun her around in a turn sequence. She followed his lead quite well. They continued until the song ended.
Breathing slightly heavier, he complimented her, “You make a great dance partner.”
She hugged him and replied, “Ok! That was so much fun!!”
He picked up both glasses of wine and handed Berkleigh hers. They clinked glasses and took a sip.
A slow country song came on and Jack, with his arms out, romantically asked, “May I have this dance?”
They set their wine back down and he embraced Berkleigh so close that their entire bodies became one. Breathing in deep so he could smell her perfume, he was mindful of the feel of her breasts against his muscular chest.
Berkleigh couldn’t help but notice just how well they fit together and how safe she felt wrapped in his muscular arms.
She laid her head on his shoulder; her face toward his so her nose touched his wonderful-smelling neck, re-igniting all the passion inside of her that built up from his kiss.
A man’s voice sang slowly through the iPod player, “There’s something in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself, makes me wanna lose myself in your arms”, the woman singer of the duet chimed in, “There’s something in your voice, makes my heartbeat fast, hope this feeling lasts, for the rest of my life.”
Berkleigh felt intoxicated with desire for Jack. What a romantic song!
The duet sang in unison through the player, “Feels like home to me, feels like home to me, feels like I’m all the way back where I come from.”
Jack lightly touched Berkleigh’s chin causing her face to lift it up toward him.
He slowly lowered his mouth to hers where his tongue gently prodded her lips to part, so he could, once again, explore her mouth.
They kissed through the remainder of the song as both listened closely to the lyrics.
As the song ended, Jack pulled slightly away and looked into Berkleigh’s eyes. “You have captivated me, in one day,” he whispered, “If you only knew what you do to me.”
Filled with emotion and heat, she quietly replied near his ear, “If it’s anything like what you do to me, Jack ….” she trailed off.
He closed his eyes as she remained wrapped in his embrace, his internal conflict growing as deep as the ocean that was gently delivering the waves nearby.
5
Jack met Berkleigh for breakfast in the hotel’s buffet area bright and early prior to heading to the golf course.
She was wearing a hot pink golf skirt that complimented her deep tan and a black golf top. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail through the hole of her black Callaway golf hat and her black golf shoes with hot pink stripes matched her skirt. She looked well-rested and ready for a beautiful day of golf in Maui.
Jack wore white golf shorts, a burnt orange Texas Longhorn golf shirt that accentuated his fit physique and a matching University of Texas golf hat. “Good morning, Berk,” Jack smiled appreciatively at her beauty as he approached the table she had reserved for the two of them.
He looked around and did not see any banking clients, so he leaned down and planted a sweet kiss on her lips.
“Good morning, how’d you sleep?” she inquired and blushed a little, recalling the intense beach scene in her mind.
He grinned, “Well… considering I had a rather fiery evening with a beautiful blonde on the beach…but we parted ways at our hotel rooms leaving me um…shall we say…frustrated? I’d say I had a fitful night of sleep.”
She flirted back, “Fiery evening, huh? Do you know what kind of state you left the blonde in?”
He tilted his head and teased, “I think she was happy, high with adoration, probably couldn’t wait for our date today.” He lifted his eyebrows as if to inquire about the accuracy of his guess.
“Frustrated also was more like it, Jack and yes…I was very much looking forward to golfing with you,” Berkleigh grabbed his hand, intertwined her fingers with his as they made their way to the buffet and said, “C’mon, let’s get some breakfast so we can get to the course.”
Jack grabbed some orange juice, scrambled eggs, a waffle, sausage and bacon, Berkleigh stuck to her egg white omelet with lean ham and veggies, wheat toast and a glass of orange juice.
“You have to promise not to distract me on the course, Berk,” Jack teased.
She smiled flirtatiously, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He reached under the table and touched her knee lightly and slowly slid his soft hand up to her inner, mid-thigh. She became instantly hot and flush.
“You look too sexy in that skirt, I’m going to have a hard time concentrating and keeping my hands off of you,” he said in a low, suggestive voice emphasizing the word ‘hard’.
“Really Jack? You’re worried about me distracting you?”
◆◆◆
Jack and Berkleigh checked in with the clubhouse at the course.
The attendant recognized Berkleigh’s name from the day before and stated, “Ah, yes, Ms. Woods, I remember you! You have a cool first name.”
“Thank you, that’s very sweet,” she kindly replied.
He seemed a little embarrassed as he undoubtedly realized her sexy name equally matched the person standing before him. Jack was amused that the young man didn’t know how to act in front of a stunning beauty, more appropriate responses usually came with age.
“You two are paired with a couple… the Turners,” he informed them.
Berkleigh tilted her head and looked at Jack, “I don’t know any Turners in the banking world, do you?” She felt relieved that were likely not paired with attendees of the conference.
“It doesn’t sound familiar.”
Berkleigh pulled out her credit card to pay for golf and the attendant put his hand out rejecting her card, “Sorry Ms. Woods, Mr. Ashford has already covered the green fees.”
Surprised, not knowing when he would have time since he was with her late last night and early this morning, she looked at him curiously.
He shrugged and smiled, “Bond, James Bond.”
“Thank you, but you are going to have to let me cover the cost of something here. You know I do have an expense account and my company will be suspicious if I submit ‘next to nothing’ expenses in Hawaii.”
He kissed her as he teased, “Fine, I’ll concede…lunch and beers can be on you.” She smiled returning his kiss. The attendant would have thought they have been together for years, their chemistry mixed so well.
They
went to the golf cart where their clubs had already been loaded. After warming up at the driving range, engaged in flirtatious behavior the entire time, they prepared to make their way to the first tee box.
Berkleigh laughed to herself as she couldn’t help but think, he’s worried about being distracted? This will likely be my worst round ever…but it will be sizzling! She wasn’t thinking about the weather either.
◆◆◆
The scheduled tee time approached but the Turners never showed.
“Looks like it will be just you and me,” Jack flirted with the familiar gleam in his eye.
“I have a feeling I’m in trouble, do I have to put a moratorium on you groping me through the duration of our round?” she teased.
Jack jokingly pouted, “What would be the fun in that?” As they made their way to hole one, Jack decided to let the mischievous behavior begin. He forced her hand to rub his stubble on his gorgeous face and said, “Imagine how this would feel gently exploring your entire body.”
“Oh geez, Jack, how the hell am I supposed to even remotely concentrate on golf?” she said as the intoxicated feeling, she was growing accustomed to experiencing when around him, overcame her. They arrived at the first hole. The men’s tee box boasted unbelievable views of the glistening blue Pacific Ocean.
“Wow, I have heard the views from this course are incredible. They are absolutely beautiful!” Berkleigh exclaimed.
Jack looked at her long, slender legs in her hot pink skirt, “View is beautiful from my vantage point, too.”
Berkleigh offered a white, brilliant smile and Jack proceeded to the tee box. He took a practice swing then approached his ball and drove the it 295 yards right down the center of the fairway.
“Nice shot,” She offered a quiet “golf clap”, genuinely impressed with his drive.
“Thank you,” he responded appreciatively, proud to have started his round off with a solid drive.
You and Only You Page 4