by Eden Finley
“Well, that was easier than the original plan,” I said, holding out the door to the gate.
Sara looked around as if she were trying to find someone watching us, waiting to pounce if we stepped over the threshold.
Adorable wasn’t enough of a word to describe the quick steps she took to get through the gate.
I reached for her hand, interlacing her fingers with mine, as we descended the ramp and walked past the rows of boats to get to the end.
“So now what?” she asked. We arrived at the empty floating pontoon where temporary boating visitors could dock.
“Well, it may not be a pier, and it may not be the ocean, but this canal leads to the ocean. That counts for something, right? It’s a good substitute for diving into shark-infested waters and a high swell. I don’t know about you, but I’m no Ian Thorpe, and I kinda don’t want to drown.”
She smiled. “You know there are sharks in these canals, right? Bull sharks. They like to mung on pet dogs.”
“Don’t tell me you’re chickening out again? Need I remind you this was your idea? We’ve already knocked one thing off the list.”
“Oh, I’m not chickening out. I was wondering if you’d still be so keen to jump in there with all the dog-eating sharks.”
She was right. I wasn’t looking forward to that part. “We’d only have to swim to that embankment over there to get back to the main road.” I pointed to the left, about two hundred metres away where there was a clearing of beach before a traffic bridge leading to the island off to our right. “I’m sure I could outswim a shark that far … maybe.” Probably not.
“Pretty sure models need all of their limbs, Calvin.”
“I’m calling bullshit. You just don’t want to do it. For a girl who wanted to be wild, you’re pretty uptight.” I knew I was goading her, but I thought it was the only way to get her to take the leap.
She pulled her hand from mine. Brushing her fingers through her long, thick locks, she pulled a band off her wrist and tied her hair into a messy bun.
“Oh, shit just got serious,” I mocked.
“Shut up, pretty boy, we doing this or what?”
“I think I preferred the name Calvin.”
Reaching behind me, I pulled off my shirt and tucked in into the waistband of my jeans.
Sara bent down and took off her shoes. Without her giant heels, she was even shorter than I was expecting.
“You’re like a gorgeous Oompa-Loompa,” I said, patting the top of her head.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re making fun of my spray tan more than my height?”
I laughed. “I’m not really one to make fun of a spray tan when I have to get them for work all the time. Besides, you don’t look too orange.”
She punched me in my shoulder and then took a step closer to the edge of the pontoon.
Sneaking up behind her, I grabbed her around her waist as if to throw her in, scaring the crap out of her.
Even though she screamed in my ear, making me wince, the rest of my body reacted immediately. When I pulled her against me, the smell of her coconut shampoo went straight to my head. The feel of her back against my front … my pants were tightening from just getting close to this girl.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered and wrapped my arms around her tighter.
“Ass,” she said, swatting at my hands and pulling away from me. “I thought you were going to push me in.”
Before I could tell her that was my point, flashing lights on the wharf caught my eye. “Ah, babe?”
“You really have to stop with the whole babe thi …” she trailed off when I turned her in the opposite direction and she saw what I was looking at. “Shit. Security.”
“It’s now or never, ba— sweetness.”
“I don’t know if sweetness is any better, Calvin, but—”
“They’re coming.” Under the wharf lights, I could make out the security golf cart at the top of the ramp with two security guys climbing out.
Without thinking, I jumped into the water. The loud splash attracted security’s attention and flashlight beams lit up the dock.
“Sara, jump.”
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” she murmured, shuffling her weight from one foot to the other.
“Stop where you are,” a demanding voice came from the top of the ramp. The gate clanged, and the flashlights were getting closer, but in the dark, I couldn’t see the people holding them anymore.
“Did I happen to mention I have a morals clause in my new contract?” I said to a panicking Sara. She had frozen, standing unmoving on the pontoon while I treaded water around me. “There are multi-million dollar boats docked here. If you don’t get in this water right now, we’ll get arrested. Attempted grand larceny is not something I want to be thrown away for. Not only will your future as a lawyer be over, but so will my two-hundred-thousand-dollar Calvin Klein campaign. I’m not an asshole, so I’m not leaving here without you. You have to jump.”
That got her moving. She hit the water with an impossibly loud splash—even louder than mine. “Shit, that’s cold.”
I had to laugh at her. I thought it was quite refreshing.
We took off swimming in the direction of the embankment on the other side of the canal, but the voices of the security guys travelled over the water. “Fucking teenagers.”
“Did you hear that?” I whispered to Sara. “We’re teenagers.”
She laughed while paddling towards our destination. “Well, in my case, it’s actually true.”
“Right. I already forgot about that.”
She seemed older somehow—in looks and demeanour.
My limbs were already tired from treading water while wearing my jeans and shoes, and swimming was making everything even heavier. The water was adamant on pulling me down, but we didn’t have far to go. I was sure I could make it.
Sara took to the water like a fish, and soon the two figures on the dock staring after us were small specks.
About two-thirds of the way across the channel, Sara slowed and waited for me to catch up to her. “Whose idea was this again?” she asked while gasping for air.
“We’re almost there.”
“I know this is totes a girly thing to say, but this water is so gross.” She was laughing through her words, so I didn’t know how gross she truly thought it was. “Oh my God, what was that?” she shrieked and thrashed around for a second.
“I think it was my leg. Sorry.”
“I hope it was your leg and not a shark in the mood for human.”
“So, being wild isn’t what it’s cracked up to be?” I hated that the strain in my voice was apparent. I should’ve been a lot fitter than that, but we were swimming against the tide. It was exhausting.
“I’m starting to think this was more stupid than wild.”
“Stupid and wild are often one and the same.”
She laughed but took in a gulp of water when she did so. She spluttered and coughed, and it seemed like she was struggling to stay afloat.
An extra boost of energy found me as I swam my way to her. We were near the bank now, and I was tall enough to reach the sandy river bottom but barely. She would have no hope.
Pulling her into my arms, I dragged her towards the embankment, and once I could sink my feet into the sand properly, I lifted her to carry her ashore.
“I’m fine,” she coughed out. “I just swallowed too much.”
“Talking dirty to me right now is probably not the highest priority.”
She snorted a laugh before almost choking to death again. “Joke all you want. It’s not like I’m drowning or anything.” She smiled up at me.
Any self-control I had towards her broke. As soon as we hit the beach, I laid her down on the sand and blanketed her body with mine.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
“Fucking finally,” she replied, laughing.
I crashed my lips to hers and lost myself into oblivion.
2
- SA
RA -
FOUR YEARS AGO
Holy hell. The things this man was doing with his tongue … his body. He tasted of saltwater and scotch. Not a combination I thought could be sexy, but somehow it was.
An involuntary moan escaped me as his tongue parted my lips. I’d wanted him to kiss me back at the bar, in the cab, on the dock … I’d been fantasising about his damn lips since I met him, even if my attitude didn’t exactly show it.
There was something wrong with me; I’d never been apt at social situations. Yeah, I was one of the “pretty girls” in school and hung out with the popular crowd, but that didn’t mean I was confident. People liked the way I looked, but that didn’t mean they automatically liked
me . If you’re one of the popular kids and someone doesn’t like you, guess what? It’s because your personality sucks. So how did I make it through without showing anyone who I really was? I deflected with sarcasm and jokes. They couldn’t judge the real me if they didn’t know who I was. It’d become a habit I couldn’t break.
Ryan seemed to take my humour in stride, but I was wondering if he could see straight through my act. There was something about him that made me feel I couldn’t bullshit with him. Perhaps it was that I didn’t want to.
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed him before his brother approached me. The way they walked into the bar, both clean-shaven pretty boys with perfect quiff hairstyles, wide shoulders, and toned arms, I was pretty sure every girl in the room noticed them. On that fact alone, I was going to dismiss Garrett as soon as he started talking to me, but there was something in the way Ryan was staring at me that made me go along with it. He may’ve been staring, but it didn’t feel like ogling. It was as if I were a puzzle piece he was trying to solve. Or maybe he was trying to telepathically tell us to bring him his drink, and the scotch was making me read into things.
Now that Ryan and I were out of the water, the humidity wasn’t enough to keep me warm, and the summer breeze had kicked up, causing goose bumps to break out all over my skin. Or perhaps it was his hand trailing over my body that was doing that.
His hips ground against mine, slowly, purposefully. I’d fooled around with guys in high school, but I hadn’t felt anything close to the need that was growing inside of me.
“You know what else would be considered wild?” he murmured against my lips. “Sex in a public place.”
I laughed and hoped my nervousness didn’t come through. “There you go trying to fuck me again.”
He rose up on his elbows, his eyes boring into mine. “I know you want it. It’s written all over your flushed face.”
He’s got me there.
Lowering his head, he whispered in my ear, “If I was to reach into your panties right now, I know you’d be wet for me.”
Normally, a line like that would make me laugh. Then again, no one had ever said shit like that to me. Who the hell says that kind of stuff? But with Ryan, he pulled it off, making me shiver and my underwear damper—even though that was probably physically impossible at that point.
“That’s because we just went for a swim, dumbass.” There you go deflecting again.
He lowered his head to my shoulder and his lips skimmed kisses along my collarbone. “You sure about that?” His voice was deep and husky, laced with assured cockiness.
“Yup,” I said with confidence I didn’t feel.
“Say the word and I’ll climb off you.”
That was the moment. I’d been there so many times before, doing the will-I-wont’-I dance. It wasn’t like I was holding onto my V-card for marriage, or even love. I just hadn’t found the guy who made me want to get naked. Until him.
Did it matter I’d only known the guy for a few hours? My mother would say yes, but I wasn’t sure. It was just sex. “Make good choices,” Mum’s voice echoed in my head. How about I make hot choices instead?
It was probably a mistake to go through with it, and maybe I’d regret it for years to come, but that’s what this year was meant to be about. Making mistakes and having regrets; being young and stupid. Losing my virginity was definitely on the list of things I wanted to accomplish this year, but I didn’t think it was going to be one of the first things to go.
That didn’t change the fact I wanted it. With Ryan on top of me, I’d never wanted anything more in my life.
“I don’t hear you telling me to stop,” he said, grinding against me harder.
Instead of the weak protest I was planning to put up, another loud moan escaped me. “Don’t.” The word was gargled and choked.
“Don’t what?” He stilled on top of me, his voice breathy.
“Don’t stop.”
“Thank fuck for that. I swear, my balls are about to explode.” He grinned before briefly touching his lips to mine again.
“How is a romantic like you still single?” And why are his uncharming words turning me on?
“Sorry. It’s just, you have no idea how much I want this.”
I lifted my hips and felt his hard length straining against his pants. “Pretty sure I do.”
“Goddammit, girl.”
His fingers moved to the hem of my dress, moving it up slowly as his hands skimmed my thighs.
The nerves started to build when the sound of his belt buckle loosening was louder than the heartbeat in my ears.
It was actually happening. After countless near misses and chickening out, it was really happening.
“Are you sure?” he asked with narrowed eyes.
I nodded and forced a smile. Knowing I should’ve told him the truth, that I’d never had sex before, I selfishly ignored the voice in my head screaming at me to tell him. It was embarrassing, and although I didn’t know Ryan well, he seemed like the type of guy who would stop if he found out the truth. I didn’t want him to treat me differently because I was inexperienced. I wanted him to treat me like a woman. He hadn’t looked at me like I was an eighteen-year-old straight out of high school all night, and I didn’t want him to start.
During all those sex ed classes in high school and all the advice I’d been given by my friends over the years, there were three things I knew I had to prepare myself for. One was to make sure he had a condom.
“Do you have a—”
“In my wallet.” He reached for the back pocket of his saturated jeans.
Condom, check.
Two was that I needed to be ready. Surely, the wetness from our swim counted for something … right? I really had no idea.
I didn’t have time to dwell on that because before I knew it, he was literally ripping my underwear off me. They tore like a sheet of paper, and he wasn’t even that forceful.
“Oops,” he said, holding them in his hand. “But seriously, you call this underwear?”
Before I could respond and tell him he tore twenty-five dollars’ worth of G-string, he had his latex-covered cock in his hand and was running it along my slit, from my entrance to my sensitive nub and back again. The feel of it made me shudder, and I no longer worried if I was ready or that he destroyed my most expensive pair of panties.
He crushed his lips to mine again and stroked my tongue with his as if he was a man possessed. My arms wound their way around his neck on reflex, and his moan filled my ears as I pulled him closer.
Reading romance novels, watching movies, I never understood the women who screamed their need to be filled. Phrases like “I need you inside me, like right now!” would always make me giggle. Yet here I was, biting my lip to prevent me from saying something equally embarrassing as he continued to torture me by getting close to my entrance and then moving away again.
“Ryan, please.” I cringed when I realised I was begging.
He froze on top of me, but I didn’t know why. He stared down at me and brushed my hair off my face with a sandy hand. “I love my name coming from your lips.”
He kissed me at the same time he pushed into me, and that’s when I felt the third thing I was told to expect. My best friend Lana said it was the most
painful thing she’d ever experienced. One of our other friends from school, Sam, said she didn’t even feel it. But when Ryan pushed through my virgin barrier, it was neither extremely painful, nor was it nothing. After a quick pinching sensation and slight discomfort, the stretching pain started subsiding.
When he was all the way inside me, he stopped moving completely. For a moment, I was worried he could feel it or he’d worked it out—what he just did. He was gritting his teeth, and I thought for sure I’d ruined everything by not telling him beforehand.
“Sorry. I just need a sec,” he said. “You’re tighter than a fucking vice, and I’m going to blow my load if I move right now.”
Relief filled me and I let out a loud breath that sounded like a laugh. “There you go with the romance again.” Despite my sarcasm, I was grateful he couldn’t move because I was still adjusting to his size—the stinging sensation slowly ebbing.
“You want me to tell you you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen? Or that I’ve never felt this good inside someone before? What if I said this feels so right, there’s no way I’m going to let you walk away from me in the morning.”
My breath caught in my throat, and my heart did a little jump, but I ignored it. I wasn’t that naïve to believe him. “I’d say that you’ve already gotten into my pants, so you can quit with the bullshit now.”
He smiled, but it was more knowing than amused. “Just wait. This date isn’t even over, but I know I want more of you.”
“This is a da—” I almost got the whole question out but was silenced by him pulling out of me slowly and then working his way back in.
The stinging sensation was there again but not as intense this time. He moaned as he continued to move in and out of me.
I squeezed my eyes shut. The pain from earlier was gone but was now replaced by a scraping feeling.
That can’t be normal, right?
Rolling his hips, he was able to go deeper. My back reflexively arched, and I grabbed onto his broad shoulders for leverage.
“Wrap your legs around my waist.” His voice was gravelly and animalistic. His thrusts were getting harder, faster.