It’s been a crazy eight months. Some days it feels like we were all together just yesterday, and then other days are hard to get through. It feels like it’s been an eternity since we were with the men who stole our hearts in Myrtle Beach.
My friends call me crazy for doing a long distance relationship, but for me there’s no one else out there who compares to him. He’s worth the tears, the struggle of getting through months apart with nothing but text messages, phone calls and random FaceTime chats.
When the thought that life would be easier if I was dating someone on campus crosses my mind I think of Parker. There’s been no one else who makes me feel the way he does. The thought of me being with someone else or him with another girl makes me sick to my stomach and want to be violent when I’m not a violent person.
I still can’t believe one random summer road trip to Myrtle Beach brought this amazing man into my life. Same for Ashlynn, but with her and Chase seems to be coasting in their relationship. They’re together but not together.
They agreed to date openly and lord knows Chase has. It kills me every time I see Ashlynn torturing herself reading the shit these gossip magazines publish about him and his many conquests. She keeps dating too, but I never seen her go home with anyone or vice versa besides one time when we first came home. I feel bad for her because I know she wants more than what he’s giving her.
I’m lucky that Parker is such an amazing man. We discussed where things would go with us once we went back to our normal lives. We both brought up the idea of casual dating like Chase and Ashlynn have, but after talking more we agreed that we both wanted to be exclusive with one another.
It sounds insane and way too fast, especially seeing as in eight months we’ve only really spent maybe thirty or so days together—but I feel it deep in my heart that I’m in love with him.
I wanted to tell him on Valentine’s Day but thought it would be too cliché. Plus, he didn’t make any attempts to say it to me so I chickened out.
But I plan on telling him this week. Plus, I have another big secret to tell him that I know is going to shake the very fragile foundation we are already attempting to build our lives on. I’ve only told Ashlynn and she has sworn herself to secrecy, promising me that she wouldn’t breathe a word of it to anyone.
Especially Chase.
I know guys hate to admit it, but they gossip just as much as girls do. I know if she told him he wouldn’t be able to keep his big mouth shut. I want to break the news to Parker myself.
I’m terrified of how he’s going to react, but I can only hope that he loves me as much as I love him, and won’t freak out too much when I finally break the news to him.
“I just heard a car pull in!” Ashlynn squeals with excitement as she jumps up off the lawn chair she’s sitting in beside me.
We’re waiting on the deck of the beach house we rented for the week with a group of friends from college for the guys to get here.
Parker and Vance flew in on Parker’s father’s jet and waited at the airport for Chase to fly in from Las Vegas. He had a race in Vegas Sunday but has the entire week off to spend with Ashlynn. So we’ve been waiting here on the deck for the last twenty minutes since they texted us saying they were on their way.
It’s going to be a week we’ll never forget as the whole gang gets together again.
The sound of car doors shutting makes my heart jump in my chest and my stomach flip flop as we run down the tall wooden stairs leading down to the beach below.
Turning, we run towards the large driveway filled with cars from all of our friends carpooling to Daytona, and spot a SUV with rental plates along with three men climbing out of it.
“Oh my God! You’re here!” We scream in unison as we run into the arms of the men who’ve had our hearts with them for these last eight months.
I leap into Parker’s arms wrapping my arms around his neck and beam down at him with the biggest, cheek aching smile. “I’m so happy you’re finally here!” I say before crashing my lips to his.
I don’t give him a second to respond. I’ve missed him too much to waste time talking. The feeling of his lips pressing against mine makes my heart flutter in my chest and butterflies invade my stomach as I open my mouth eagerly excepting his tongue.
“Thanks for making me feel like chopped liver,” Vance says jokingly beside us breaking our moment.
Jumping down from Parker’s arms I spin around and pull Vance in for a hug laughing, “Sorry, Vance. We missed you too.” Releasing him I step back grinning as Ashlynn breaks away from Chase and gives Vance a hug too.
“Is Vance feeling left out?” Ashlynn teases. “Luckily for you we have a lot of hot single friends who we’ve told them all about you and they can’t wait to meet you.”
A cocky smile appears on his lips as he looks from Ashlynn to me. “That definitely is making this trip sound a whole lot better.” Walking ahead of us towards the stairs he yells over his shoulder, “What are we all standing around here for? Let’s get this party started and introduce me to all these hot college chicks.”
It may be a different beach—but it feels like the same goofy group all over again.
“Everyone’s down on the beach tanning and surfing. So I suggest you turn your direction towards the water and not the deck unless you plan on partying alone,” I shout to him as I leave Chase and Ashlynn to catch up for a few minutes alone.
Parker laces his fingers with mine and pulls me once again into his arms as our feet hit the sand.
“I’ve missed the hell out of you,” He says pressing a kiss to my very welcoming lips. It’s a short and sweet kiss but I’ll take anything I can get.
“I’ve missed you too. It sucks we only have a week, but we’ll make the most of it.”
He kisses me one more time and then tells me, “Jump up onto my back. I’ll carry you down to the water, baby.”
Jumping up onto his back I snuggle tightly against him and squeal with excitement as he takes off sprinting down the jam packed beach laughing as he blows past Vance.
Chapter Three
Parker
We’ve been in Daytona twenty four hours and already the guilt of not confiding in Becca months ago is eating at me. I tried to tell her after we went to bed last night and finally had a moment alone. But seeing the excitement on her face and the contentment from us being back together stopped the words in my throat.
She’s seemed a little off too as if she has something at the tip of her tongue she wants to confide in me about. But whenever I try to ask her if anything is wrong, she brushes it off saying it’s nothing.
For now I’ve decided I’ll push my worries into the back of my mind and focus on nothing but spending as much time with her as I can before the end of the week gets here and we have to leave each other again.
Right now we’re all loading up into a speedboat that came with the beach house rental. It feels like old times watching the girls lather on their suntan lotion and sprawl on the front of the boat while us guys get the wakeboard and tube ready for some hot summer fun.
Becca’s sorority sisters Nikki and Tamara came along on the spring break getaway too. Last summer I had noticed Nikki flirting a lot with Vance, but he was too preoccupied with that Reagan chick. But now that he’s single he’s been flirting back a whole hell of a lot more.
Right now he’s rubbing lotion on her back and getting that same mischievous spark in his eyes that he had every time he was around Reagan. I think the Gigolo of Daytona might decide to retire and spend the week chasing only one girl in particular.
Setting the cooler down I grab myself a beer and shout to the girls asking, “What would you ladies like to drink?”
“I’ll have a water,” Becca says, flashing me a small smile.
The rest of the girls ask for water too, claiming it’s too hot to drink alcohol just yet.
They’re all nineteen besides Becca who turned twenty at the end of February. The only way they can drink when we go out is by u
sing the fake I.D’s they got back in Myrtle Beach.
Since we weren’t able to celebrate Becca’s birthday a few weeks ago because we were both in college, I’m planning a birthday celebration with everyone tomorrow night at the restaurant on the pier.
Everyone knows about it but her. I can’t wait to surprise her.
Grabbing a handful of waters out of the cooler, I climb up to the front of the boat handing out the bottles of water before sitting down beside Becca. “Hand me the bottle of lotion and I’ll make sure that there isn’t an inch of your backside that isn’t covered with it.”
She bites on her lip as she hands me the lotion. “Are you sure about that because unless you forgot, we’re going to be out on this boat for probably quite a few hours,” her voice is soft and low, laced with desire as I rub my hands together and begin rubbing lotion all over her back.
“It’ll be hard—but I’ll manage,” I murmur into her ear and press a kiss to her shoulder before running my hands over the smooth, golden skin.
She’s wearing a tiny, barely there chevron black and white bikini that’s making all kinds of dirty thoughts flood my brain.
Every curve of her perfect body is beckoning me to run my hands over it and that’s exactly what I intend to do…every single day that we’re together.
She looks so relaxed and carefree as she lays out with her aviators on and her brown hair that’s now streaked with bright purple highlights up on top on her head in a messy bun.
There’s not a drop of makeup on her face, and right now under the bright Florida sun she’s absolutely breathtaking.
“It’s hard alright,” she snickers as she twists the top off of her water bottle.
Her smart ass mouth only makes my dick harder in my board shorts.
“It sure is Darlin’.” I press my erection against her ass as I lean over her, rubbing lotion along her back. “For you it always is,” I tell her as I squirt more lotion into the palm of my hands and rub it around the swells of her ass.
Chase yelling my name snaps me out my Becca haze. “Parker! Your ass going first?” he asks as he gets the wakeboard and tosses it into the water before starting up the engine of the boat.
Cold water sounds like the perfect remedy for my aching balls at the moment.
“You know it,” I say as I will my dick to go back down and wipe my hands on a beach towel.
“I’ll come back and sit with you in a bit.” I lean over her shoulder giving her a chaste kiss before climbing to my feet.
I slap Becca on the ass as she peers up at me with her sunglasses covered eyes, “Go show them how it’s done, babe.”
I flash her a panty melting grin before leaping into the back of the boat and get to work putting on my life jacket.
“What do I get if I manage to stay on my feet the entire time?” I ask raising my eyebrows up at her.
Tapping her chin she pretends to think for a few seconds. “Whatever you want—because I know for certain you’ll never do it. No matter how awesome you are.”
Climbing up on to the back of the boat before jumping off into the water, I shout to her, “Just watch Darlin’. Now that I know I’ll get whatever I want, I’m going to try my damnedest to make these waves my bitch.”
Chapter Four
Becca
“Have you told Parker yet?” Ashlynn asks as she walks into the en-suite to the room Parker and I are in.
I’m leaning over the sink brushing my teeth as I try to brush the taste of vomit from my mouth.
I shake my head ‘no’ as I rinse out my mouth and then dab it with a wash cloth. Spinning around I prop myself against the sink and bring my eyes to Ashlynn’s who’s staring back at me with a sympathetic look.
“I haven’t found the right moment to. I’m going to try and tell him tonight. If I don’t he’ll find out eventually on his own. It’s not like it’s easy to hide. Pretty much every smell makes me want to hurl my brains out.”
She lets out a soft sigh as she walks over to me and stands beside me at the sink. “I’m here if you need me. I know it’s hard, but I know Parker will support you and this baby. He’s not like those irresponsible douchebags who duck out when things get tough. I know for certain if he even let the thought cross his mind for even one second that Chase would knock some sense into him.”
I suddenly find myself feeling queasy again as I begin to freak out trying to think of how the hell I’m going to break the news to him that we’re going to be parents come November.
A knock at the door causes us both to jump and let out a scream. “Who is it?” I ask between giggles.
Ashlynn and I both stare at each other, laughing at our foolishness.
“Parker. I just wanted to see how much longer you girls were going to be? We have a reservation for seven o’clock at a Crabby Joe’s.”
My wedged sandals click clack as I walk toward the bathroom door. Grabbing the doorknob I let out a shaky breath before pulling it open.
“We’re all ready to go,” I tell him as I slip my hand around his waist and walk towards the stairs with Ashlynn following behind.
I glance nervously back at her before walking into the living room where everyone is waiting for us.
“Finally! Let’s get out of here before I end up eating my damn arm off,” Vance says as he quickly yanks open the front door and disappears outside.
We all opt to walk down the boardwalk to the pier that Crabby Joe’s is at, instead of trying to find parking for all of us once we get there.
It’s a gorgeous night tonight with a cool gentle breeze. So we decide to eat outside on the pier at the picnic tables. The sky is a beautiful array of colors as the sun slowly sets in the horizon, slowly disappearing into the ocean off in the distance. It’s the perfect view as we all dine together.
We’re all finishing up our meals—I of course have spent the entire time trying to find excuses not to drink and trying to find something to eat that won’t come back up as soon as I get it down. I settled on shrimp alfredo and a bowl of assorted fruit. Luckily for me and everyone else, so far so good.
“We have a little surprise for you,” Parker says with a mischievous grin playing on his lips as we wait for the waiter to come take our dessert orders.
I look around and see that everyone is mirroring his expression.
Huffing out a slight groan I bring my attention back to Parker. “What did you do?” I ask nervously.
As my words come out, I hear the sound of people singing Happy Birthday. My eyes grow large as I turn and see the wait staff making their way over to us holding a cake with lit candles burning all over it.
Everyone at our table joins in singing as the cake is set down in front of me.
Blushing, I cover my face with my hands trying to hide my embarrassment. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me from the other people dining outside too.
Parker wraps his arm around my waist pulling me tightly against his side as he sings Happy Birthday softly down in my ear. His big brown eyes are twinkling in the overhead lighting.
Laughing, I smile up at him, “I cannot believe you did this. My birthday was over a month ago!”
He squeezes me tighter and presses a kiss to my temple. “I know it’s not your birthday—but I hate that I missed it, so I wanted to make it up to you. I thought what better way to celebrate it than here with all of our friends. Now blow out your candles and make a wish.”
I gaze down at the beautiful cake that is covered in decorative sea shells and says ‘Happy Birthday Becca’ in blue frosting, before closing my eyes to make a wish.
Making my wish I blow out the candles. Everyone erupts in cheers as soon as the flames of the candles are out. I feel Parker’s hand coming to rest on the small of my back and instantly my body tingles from head to toe. I love the feeling I get when he’s near me or touches me.
I’m falling in love with this man and I hope he loves me in return. I plan on telling him tonight because I want to hear him say it back to me before he
knows about the baby. That way I know he truly loves me because of what he feels for me, not out of obligation.
We all enjoy a slice of cake and then head back to the beach house. As we’re walking back up Parker grabs my hand stopping me from following everyone up the sandy hill.
“Becca,” his voice is dark and rich, making goosebumps appear on my skin as I hear my name roll off of his tongue.
Turning back to him I take a step closer and wrap my arms around his waist, tilting my head back to gaze up him. I momentarily get lost in his eyes as the night sky twinkles above us and reflects in his gaze that’s staring straight back down at me.
“Yeah?” I say with a questionable tone.
I feel his hands roam slowly up and down my back, the heat burning through my thin long sleeve top. The breeze rolling off of the ocean causes me to shiver slightly as the scent of the ocean and wet sand whip past us. Instantly I feel my stomach flip flop and not in the good kind of way that I’m use to feeling while in his arms.
“I’m so happy that I’m here with you right now. Being apart has been harder than I ever imagined…but somehow we’ve made it work. I need to tell you something—I wanted to tell you when I was in Athens last month, but I couldn’t find the right time. I’ve spent all day stressing about it and keep playing over this moment in my head, and what I’ve come to realize is that all this time I’ve spent looking for the perfect moment and missed the fact that every moment with you is perfect.” He inhales deeply and lets out a nervous, shaky breath closing his eyes momentarily.
I’m breathing nervously too and not just because I’m nervous about what he’s trying to tell me, but also for the fact that I’m about to hurl my dinner and birthday cake all over the beach.
I squeeze the back of his biceps as I will him to keep going. “It’s okay, Parker. You don’t have to be nervous. You can tell me anything.” I lick my lips and breathe in another shaky breath before continuing, “I can’t agree more that every single moment with you is perfect. Every time we’re together it feels right—it feels like wherever you are is where I’m supposed to be.”