Summer Breeze Kisses

by Addison Moore

  If Lake Avalanche had an opposite persona to its laid-back, casual, family-friendly atmosphere, Mirror Lake in all its stately pretentiousness would be it. After six deliveries for Sprinkles Cupcakes, that actually required six different highways, lots of death-defying merging and hostile lane changes, Rex and I load up on four boxes of Auntie’s glazed donuts. I figured what we couldn’t stuff our faces with we’d shove in the freezer and live off of for the rest of the week. Rex and I each went home to pack a bag after meeting up on the lawn. But that phone call of my mother’s has ricocheted in my head like an unwanted echo ever since.

  “Wow,” I marvel at the long line of luxury vehicles in front of us as we make our way through the double arch enwreathed in antlers reading Welcome to Mirror Lake, where friends and family become one! “They know us well.”

  Both Rex and I share a nervous laugh. There’s an official chalet, and an entire row of pricey boutique stores that would have Daisy begging to stop for a quick look-see. Lake Avalanche is more Piggly Wiggly to this William Sonoma atmosphere. I remember my mother once lamenting about the fact they should have bought a cabin at Mirror Lake instead, and now I see why. It’s much more to her liking. Even though my father is well-to-do, my mother had her hopes pined on much higher tax brackets, and to her credit, she’s landed in them.

  Rex drives us up a back road that leads to a sweeping estate fashioned of thick, fat, honey-colored pine trunks. As much as it looks as if a five-year-old armed with a tub of Lincoln Logs could have pieced it together, the giant wraparound deck, the oversized bay windows, and the ten-foot high wrought iron doors beg to differ.

  Rex grabs both of our bags. “Last one up has to do the dishes.” He bolts for the door, but I beat him by a hair.

  “I win!” I pant through a smile. “God knows my hands can’t be submerged for any length of time. My delicate skin has a tendency to chafe when doused in hard water.”

  “I promise to be gentle to your delicate skin.” He pumps out a crooked grin. “I’d do dishes for you every day of the week.” He pulls me in by the back of the neck and lands a searing hot kiss over my lips. Rex fumbles with the keys as the donut boxes bounce between us, and I catch them as he lets us into the overgrown home.

  The old me struggles to the surface as I take in Lynette’s grand masterpiece. The Toberman home is full of regrettable décor choices. White canvas seating? Sure, it looks pristine, but Ding Dongs and coffee happen. Just one look at this place and I’m surprised my father didn’t run for the hills. Vases in the shape of shards of glass. The entire back wall of the living room is plastered with red, white, and blue seagulls in an arresting pattern. It’s a patriotic bundle of nerves guaranteed to sponsor a seizure. A bloated shag rug takes up a majority of the living space, making it both a challenge and a hazard to navigate with heels. And can you really vacuum that? I bet if you dug deep enough you’d find a small pet hiding out in there.

  I’m quick to submerge the older, far more bitter version of myself. Of course, my father didn’t run for the hills. He’s in love. And Lynette is free to decorate her family getaway any way she likes. In fact, the entire birds of America theme is growing on me.

  “How many platoons bunk here?”

  “Just the Toberman infantry.” He gives a quick wink, takes the boxes from me, and I follow him into a kitchen that rivals any top restaurant in size and appliances.

  “Holy wow,” I marvel, bumping my fingers along the stainless steel. “I’ve died and gone to Viking heaven. The damage I could do here would stun your taste buds. Please tell me we have an open invite to come back whenever we want.”

  “Are you kidding?” Rex picks me up and lands me on the counter, bringing my face to his sweetly for a kiss. “We can live here all summer.”

  “Except for the tiny details of my job and your football practice, it would totally work.”

  “We work. That’s all I care about.” Rex takes me by the hand and offers up a quick tour of the palatial estate. Lined against the hall are a series of family pictures, and I pause, taking them all in. So many happy faces stare back at me. So many memories encapsulated in print. A large candid portrait of the Tobermans catches my eye—it’s their wedding portrait. Mr. and Mrs. Toberman look longingly out at us with his large toothy grin, her heavily squinted smile. They look so happy framed in the middle of the family boneyard. Another large portrait sits to its right. This time with the entire Toberman crew. There they all are, outfitted in the latest skiing fashions. Lynette has her arm draped around her then-husband’s shoulder, a seemingly happy grin on her face. Knox and Trixie are about half their sizes, but Rex looks as boyishly sexy as ever.

  “You still have that outfit lying around?” I tease, trying to wipe some of the trauma off the situation. “I can strip it off you with my teeth later if you like.”

  “Nope. Nothing in that picture is around anymore unless you count the people as individuals.”

  I wrap my arms around him, as the air grows serious around us. “You and your brother and sister still have each other.”

  “I guess. But Knox and I still have a long way to go. My dad and I are still close.”

  “Have you talked to your mom recently?” I duck as the words come out because the last thing I want is for our parents to get in the way of our perfectly romantic getaway. And the logical side of me won’t even try to grapple with all of the bad karma I might have inflicted on the two of us. It’s pretty obvious Rex and I have gotten off to a rocky start.

  “No. Is something wrong?”

  “No. I just, you know, wondered.” I shrug it off as if it were nothing. “So, why did she and your dad split?” I look at the picture with a little more scrutiny. “He looks like a really nice guy. Like, literally if there was a picture of the term nice guy in the dictionary, he might even win my own father out for the spot.”

  “He is a nice guy.” Rex shakes his head. “But as far as he and my mom go, it’s a long, horrible story. I guess it’s not that important at this point.”

  And we leave it at that.

  Rex takes me to the extra large suite that is precisely the size of the entire student union, and I gawk, slack-jawed, at the oversized bed, the showy Persian rug, and meticulously crafted tapestry depicting a herd of elk in a forest that sits framed against the entire north wall. It looks more like a museum than a bedroom. A part of me does a quick sweep of the vicinity for velvet ropes and a well-dressed docent ready to lead us through the rest of the Toberman exhibit. For the life of me, I can’t envision getting down and dirty on the bed Lynette once soiled with her husband. I’m pretty sure this room is a no-go.

  “Not here,” Rex says as if reading my mind and leads me down the hall. He swoops in and picks me up off my feet, leading me into another oversized room. Although markedly smaller than the Taj, it has a sweeping view of the lake that expands forever.

  “In here?” I ask, perpetuating our secret Morse code for love shack.

  “This would be the place.” Rex lands me on a queen-sized bed with its bulky patchwork quilt and a mattress that feels as if it were made to mold to the shape of our bodies.

  “Oh, this is heaven. I could fall asleep right now. I’ve never felt a bed so comfortable in all my life.”

  “You could totally sleep.” Rex holds up a hand as if conceding to the idea that some shut-eye might in fact take place.

  “And I will.” I bite back a smile. “In approximately three days, when you wear me out.”

  “Three days? Try a solid week.” Rex takes a playful bite from the side of my neck. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you for what?”

  “For being so sweet and beautiful.” The moment grows serious. “I meant it about the new bow. It’s yours. Hope you like it.”

  “So, that wasn’t just a lure to get me to the lake?”

  Rex growls as he runs a soft line down my chest. “You’re the lure. You got me hook, line, and sinker.”

  “I like that.” My face catches fire, an
d for a moment, I’m convinced I see flames. “I have a confession. You had me hook, line, and sinker as far back as last summer. Remember that Chinese place in Jepson? The big intro where our parents brought us together for the very first time?” He gives a somber nod. “I knew that day I would never be able to get you out of my head. But with everything in me I wanted to. I genuinely gave it that old college try my entire sophomore year. It was impossible. You were everywhere I looked, starring on the football field, bumping into me at the Black Bear. I wanted to know you even then, but something in me put on the brakes, and I ran in the opposite direction.”

  Rex pulls my hand to his lips and kisses it. “You just outlined the entire last year of my life perfectly.” He swallows hard. “And, while we’re swimming in the deep end, you’re a pretty brave, kick ass girl, and I’ve wondered if there’s a thing in this world that you’re afraid of.”

  “Afraid of, huh? This really is the deep end.” I dig my fingers into his ribs, and he bucks with a laugh. “You first.”

  “My biggest fear is being tickle tortured by you.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “That and having to come to terms with the fact my family will never return to normal.”

  “All ye children of divorce abandon all hope.” I land a sloppy kiss to his cheek. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

  “Okay, so we share the same big fear. Makes sense. We’re practically the same person in that sense. How about you give me one more? Something goofy. I told you about my tickle torture. And that’s a very real thing by the way. Now it’s your turn.” His fingers strum over my sides, and now it’s me bucking with a laugh. “And you can’t say tickle torture.”

  “Okay. Actually, there is something equally as goofy.” I cover my eyes with my fingers before peering between them. “I’m terrified of driving on the highway.” I bury my face in the pillow a moment.

  “What?” Rex tosses the pillow across the room and pulls me closer to him. “Is that what all those fractured foot, low tire, a bear might eat me excuses were about?”

  “You figured me out. I’m just a big baby who’s terrified to pack eight thousand pounds of steel at sixty miles an hour.”

  “Anytime you need a ride, you know where to find me. No excuses needed.” He tucks a kiss just under my ear.

  My phone goes off in my pocket.

  “And we owe this interruption to”—I pluck out my phone. “My father.” I shrink a little in his arms.

  “Why don’t you take that, and I’ll haul up those donuts you owe me?”

  I say a breathless hello just as Rex leaves the room.

  “Hey, Batter Bits, just wanted to see what you were up to. I thought maybe we could grab a quick bite. That is, if you don’t have any plans.”

  “Actually, I do have plans. I’m with Rex up at Mirror Lake.” My face heats. Why the hell did I say that? Am I going to fess up to the fact I’m about to gift him my virginity over a patchwork quilt? That a very fair exchange has been made for a shiny new compound bow? I think not. I hope not. God knows my mouth has had a mind of its own for the past few weeks.

  “With Rex? Are Lynette and the twins with you? What a wonderful time you’ll have.” His voice lifts with hope as he rounds out his thoughts.

  “Um, no, not exactly.” This oh-so comfy mattress suddenly feels like a bed of nails, sharp and hard as the truth I’ve just shoved in my poor father’s face.

  “Oh, I see. Uh-huh,” he grunts out a few unintelligible words. Probably something only fathers who are faced with the fact their daughter is about to turn in her V-card understand.

  “Isn’t Lynette with you?” Another foolish thing to fly from my mouth because it’s pretty obvious at this point.

  “No, actually—she’s, well, I don’t know exactly where she is. We haven’t spoken in a week. I’m afraid it’s over.”

  “What!” I sit up straight, startled by my own voice. “You have to find her. Talk to her. She makes you happy. And if she’s able to bring that much joy to your life, then that’s someone I want you with for a very long time.” A trail of hot tears trickles over my cheeks. The bed depresses, and I look up to find Rex beside me, wiping down my tears with a grievous nod. “Look, we’ll get together some other time, but I promise you, everything will work out with Lynette. It will. I know this.”

  “I wish I had your assurance.” We say our goodbyes, and Rex pulls me over his body and holds me a very long time before either one of us says anything.

  “You think we can undo the damage we’ve done?”

  I press my face into the warmth of his neck. Not only is Rex gorgeous, but his heart is the size of the planet.

  “You were never really all for pulling them apart, were you?”

  “You thought it was a good idea.” He dots my nose with a kiss. “I might have, too, in the beginning.”

  “I can’t believe how childish I was. I was just determined to find something disturbing about your poor mother. I’m sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

  Rex opens his mouth and stagnates on what to say next. “There’s nothing to forgive. How about we focus on us for now? We can resume Operation Wedding Bells once we get back.”

  A dull laugh ripples through me. “It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come.” My fingers slip into the front of his jeans. “In every capacity.”

  “Here’s to progress.” Rex reaches back and holds a donut between us. We devour that glazed confection in less than a few bites before we move on to far sweeter pastures, each other. A tug-of-war of clothes ensues as we evict every last stitch between us, a first for me. The sun sets over the lake, illuminating the room with its salmon glow, masking the fact I’m blushing from head to toe.

  “Your hair.” Rex buries his face in it a moment. “It glows like fire in the light.”

  “You make me burn.” It would have been a cheesy sentiment if I hadn’t meant it with so much conviction. Rex takes me in with those speckled eyes in one long sweep, and I feel the heat of his scorching stare right down to my feet. His mouth finds mine, and we explode like tinder, his hands holding my arms open wide. His skin adheres to mine, and we groan at the same time. Rex’s hot flesh melts against me, and my skin quivers as if drinking him down. It feels as if time had given up, simply ceased in honor of what the two of us are experiencing.

  I pull back and clear my throat. “I might have a donut stashed somewhere creative.” I swallow hard. “Maybe you should do a thorough search and see what you come up with.”

  A dark laugh strums through him, and he thrusts himself back up to my lips to offer up a kiss. “That’s why I love you.”

  “You do not either.” A laugh gets caught in my throat, and my entire body singes at the prospect of Rex having such strong feelings about me.

  “I do.” A strangled moment drifts by as our eyes lock, and we try to work out with our hearts what the words really mean. “You don’t have to believe me.” He gives a little wink. “It’s true.” Rex sinks back down on the mattress, landing his hot mouth over that tense knot that’s been building in me all day for him. A cry gets lost in my throat as Rex does a thorough and heated search for any hidden contraband. Rex kisses every last inch of me until I’m clawing at the sheets, at his shoulders. Rex lands his mouth over mine, kissing me slowly.

  “I do love you,” he says it in a searing whisper right over my lips. “Was that good?”

  “Yes.” I bury my face in his neck a moment. My heart lets out a few baritone thumps. I pull back and get lost in Rex Toberman’s eyes. This is it. The moment I’ve been thinking about nonstop for the last few weeks solid.

  From seemingly nowhere, he holds up a condom for me to see. “Are you okay with this?”

  “Yes.” I sit up on my elbows and watch as he rolls it on over his long, hard protrusion. My body pounds with a heady level of excitement that I’m pretty sure could kill me if it wanted to. For a brief moment, I try to remember all of the tricks and seemingly dangerous positions those articles suggested. I’ve memori
zed Cosmo’s kinky suggestions like they were Bible verses, poured over hours of perverse footage as if grad school depended on it. But this is the real deal. God, I should have made Cassidy and Piper give me a play-by-play of what this would feel like. Obviously, Daisy was no help. Her advice to me was so banal my mother could have spouted it. Do what comes naturally. That might be a nice sentiment to stitch on a pillow, but there’s nothing natural looking about that glistening ribbed condom strapped over Rex’s throbbing fifth limb.

  “I’ll try not to hurt you.” He presses a kiss to my ear.

  “I’ll try not to bleed so much.” Words every guy longs to hear.

  “Okay.” he grunts with a quick laugh. Rex guides himself to the entry of my body while I stare up at the wall of his chest. I’m not sure why I thought his face would be right here next to mine, experiencing this entire horror with me. I claw at his firm abs a moment like a nervous child. “Is it in yet?”

  Rex swoops down until his eyes are just a little over mine. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Yes, totally.” I give his thigh a swat. “You’re just taking forever, that’s all.” Crap. I’m pretty sure bitching at a guy before he deflowers you is never a good idea. Tears start to come to our little pornographic party, and I blink them away. What kind of idiot cries her first time?

  Rex glides down again and lands a sweet molten kiss to my lips. His lashes flutter over my cheek, making me giggle, and I turn my face away.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Making you laugh so you can relax.” Rex pulls me in close until our naked stomachs touch, and my skin swims in the sensation. “If you want, we can stop.” He grimaces. “I’ll jack off in the shower, and if you’re good, I’ll let you watch.”

  “Don’t make me spank you. I want you in me now, Toberman.” I lie on my back and part my knees, bracing myself as if I’m about to be hacked in two by a power tool. “I’m ready.” My gaze stiffens over the ceiling.