“I didn’t say I didn’t want to hang out with you, just give me a second.”
“Easton, it’s cool, you looked like a deer caught in the headlights when I asked. We don’t have to hang out.”
“Ugh, you’re such a girl. We just fucked. I’ve barely stopped twitching, and you’re already dressed.”
I was over here huffing around and grabbing clothes like a mad man; however, she was sitting on the table bare-ass naked swinging her legs back and forth and still glowing from her orgasm.
I scrubbed my hands down my face and took a deep breath. “This is harder than I thought it would be.” I took another deep breath in and blew it out. “I know I’m leaving soon, and we’re just having fun, but what you don’t understand is that I don’t do this.” I motioned between us. “I don’t sleep around, so although that was amazing, I’ve only ever slept with someone that I’ve been in a relationship with, had an actual connection with. Although I don’t know you at all, I’ve felt that connection since the moment I laid eyes on you.”
She looked like she was about to interrupt, so I put my hand up to stop her.
“Now, before you freak the fuck out, I am far from stupid and know what this is. But you do, too, so whether I was to fall madly in love with you by week’s end, at least you can rest assured that you never have to see me again after I leave.”
Easton looked away.
I reached out and took her chin to force her to look at me. “What’s going on in that head of yours? I may not know much about you, but I can see the wheels turning.” I gave her an unyielding look, hoping she’d open up even if just a little.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I don’t know, but if we’re going to do any talking, I need to get some clothes on, and ice cream would help.” She smirked.
“Ice cream I can do. Get dressed and lead the way.”
She jumped up and quickly put on her clothes before we turned off the lights and left the store. It didn’t take us long to get to the ice cream place since it was just down the beach. We took it to-go and went to sit on some relatively secluded rocks.
“I love this place, I’m not sure how it’s not always occupied, but I’m grateful that it’s still a fairly well-kept secret.”
“It seems like a great place to sit and think.” I turned to look at her. “Or talk.”
She gave me a pointed look, clearly not looking to have this conversation, but she sighed and turned her body toward me. “Let’s get it over with.”
The breeze caught her hair, and the sun hit her face just right. “You’re stunning,” I whispered the words, hoping they got lost in the air between us.
She looked down at her ice cream cone. “Listen, I don’t know how to do this. Even temporarily. It’s a completely foreign concept to me.”
“Easton, you don’t have to do anything. Just be you and get out of your head. When your mind starts going a million miles a minute, you panic and see this as something it’s not.”
She looked back up at me questioningly.
“We have an expiration date, and although that sucks, and honestly, I’m going to be a mess when I have to say goodbye, but from what I know—” I pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and ran my thumb down her cheek—“the high of being with you will be worth every low I experience after. You’re worth it.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just stop thinking about it. Let’s do what we’ve been doing without overthinking. No more awkward talks.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I’m not a fan of this talking shit.”
“I figured.” I couldn’t help but lean in and kiss her softly before pulling back and drawing her to my side.
Her body relaxing into mine spoke volumes. I just hoped that she could get out of her head and enjoy the time we had together.
“So, what’s your plan for tonight?” I figured small talk was my best option.
“The guys want to go night surfing. We haven’t been in a while, so I’m pretty stoked.”
“Sounds like fun…well for someone like you, for me, not so much. The thought of a dark ocean with sharks lurking below kind of has me wanting to throw up.”
Her body bounced with her laughter. “Fucking Canadia, we’ve got to get you out on a board. What are you doing tomorrow? We could go for a run and then head out.”
“I think that sounds amazing.” Truthfully, I was scared shitless, but I’d push down the fear to spend time with her. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.
The butterflies floating around in my stomach hadn’t stopped since roughly two this morning. I’d had the worst sleep. Although I’d set both my phone and the hotel alarm along with ordering a wakeup call, I still worried I would sleep the day away and miss out on spending time with Easton.
I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I wasn’t usually this crazy over a girl, especially when nothing could happen. We lived in different countries for Christ’s sake.
It was now five o’clock, and I wasn’t supposed to meet her until six-thirty. My nervous energy had me feeling like I was going to bounce off the walls—no caffeine for me today.
Finally deciding that I should get out of bed, I tidied up a little and took a shower before sitting out on the balcony with a little breakfast to take in the beautiful view.
When the time finally came that I could leave and be acceptably early without looking like a complete loser, I did, showing up only fifteen minutes early. I texted her as I walked up the driveway like she’d asked me to so we didn’t wake her roommates. Easton popped up around the side of the house in her sports bra and tiny little shorts with a huge smile on her face. She waved me over, and my body moved without thinking. I’d most likely do anything she asked of me.
“Good morning.” She greeted me with a kiss to the cheek, taking me off guard.
“Aren’t you chipper this morning.” I smiled and gave her a quick peck.
She shrugged. “I’m not usually a morning person, but I don’t normally have anyone to share the sunrise with, so I’m excited. You ready?”
Suddenly, I felt nervous. I’d seen her body before, but I was just noticing how distinct her abs were and the definition of her arm and leg muscles—she was ripped. “I guess?”
“Was that a question?” She laughed and slapped my stomach with the back of her hand. “Let’s do this.” She took off down the beach, and I ran after her. “I usually go out a little later after I watch the sunrise from the front porch, but I figured we could stop and watch it from my spot that I showed you yesterday.”
I nodded, trying to conserve my lungs as I could already feel this was going to kill me. I worked out regularly, but I wasn’t into cardio, especially running. I wasn’t sure I’d be doing much talking this morning.
We ran in silence for what felt like forever before reaching her spot. I couldn’t have been more thankful to see those rocks. I basically fell down the moment I saw them.
Easton stood over me, clearly not as dead as I was. “Are you all right?” The smirk on her face told me she was amused—at my expense.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her down, rolling us onto her back to hover above her. “I’m just fine.”
“Are you sure? Your breathing tells me otherwise.” She smirked.
I looked down the length of her body, “The shortness of breath has more to do with that outfit. If you had put on more clothes, then I could breathe properly.”
“Wow! I’m shocked. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a guy complain and suggest I put on more clothes.” She cocked a brow.
“Oh, baby, I’m in no way complaining.” I leaned down and took her mouth in a bruising kiss that quickly turned us both breathless. When I pulled back, the mewl that escaped her throat had my dick twitching in my shorts. And as much as I would’ve loved to take her right there on the beach, some people were milling about, and I wasn’t about to expose her to them. I sat up and pulled her with me, positioning her between my
legs for us to face the water. She giggled in front of me.
“What’s so funny?”
“Umm…this is California, which is on the west coast. The sun rises in the east; we need to turn around to watch the sunrise.” She turned around and kissed my cheek. “Easy mistake, Canadia.”
I scooped her up from behind her knees and swung us around to face the right way. “Better?”
“Perfect,” she said as she leaned into me.
I completely agreed, although I was sure for different reasons.
Seven
Surf’s Up…Sort Of
Easton
Being in Tanner’s arms made me feel safe, and that was saying something. Usually, the feeling of someone holding me made me claustrophobic. I tried not to overanalyze the feelings I was having and decided to make a conscious effort just to enjoy it and live in the moment while I could.
The moment the sun began to creep up over the palm trees, Tanner held me tighter. I knew that feeling. The sunrise was one of my favorite things, and I saw it practically every day, so for him to see it like this for the first time, it had to feel pretty special.
“I’m falling in love…” His voice trailed off as he took it in.
“It’s pretty incredible, isn’t it?” I said as I angled my head to look up at him.
“It really is, this whole place is amazing. You’re fortunate to live somewhere like this.”
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything, I might not have a lot in terms of tangible items, but I love everything about my life here.” It was true, Pahokee was my world, and I couldn’t see myself living anywhere else.
“I can see why; it’s so laid back. It makes me never want to leave.”
“Well, Canadia, that’s illegal.”
He laughed. “I’m aware, and don’t panic your pretty little head. I’m not moving here.” He kissed the top of my head. “You’ll be getting rid of me in less than a week.” He chuckled softly.
“I wasn’t worried, you ass.” I reached back to smack his arm.
“Sure, you weren’t.” I needed to change the subject, so I jumped up. “Ready to run back and grab the boards to get out into the water?”
His face said all I needed to know; he wasn’t ready for another run. “If you can’t hack it, I can run back and grab the boards and meet you back here.” I put my hand on my hip, daring him to get up and run.
“Like fuck. I can handle it.”
I slowly started jogging backward. “All right then. What are you waiting for, Canadia? Let’s do this.”
He got up sluggishly with a groan and bent over, stretching and then took off after me. We tore down the beach as fast as we could and didn’t let up until we got back to my place. I finally slowed down as we approached the house, but he didn’t. He grabbed me by the waist and tackled me to the ground.
“I let you win.” He could barely get out the words as he was so winded from running.
“You’re kidding, right? You can barely talk. Are you going to have a heart attack?” Is that what I have to look forward to at the ripe old age of twenty-one?”
He pulled back, looking at me in mock horror. “I’m not old; I’m barely legal to drink in this country.”
“Yeah, yeah, you keep telling yourself that Grandpa.”
The sound of someone clearing their voice had us both craning our necks to see who it was.
Rhian stood there with a smirk on her face. “Are you two having fun over there, rolling around in the sand?”
Tanner stood and put out his hand for me to take before pulling me up.
Rhian walked over, still smirking. God, she was never going to let this go. I don’t think she’d ever seen me with a guy outside of picking one up.
She turned toward the house and called out, “Sade, come on out here and meet East’s new friend.”
Sadie burst through the door, and the moment she saw Tanner, her face lit up. She practically ran over to us.
Tanner had one hand on the small of my back as he reached out to shake their hands and introduce himself. My mind told me to pull away, but my body wouldn’t cooperate—it wanted his touch. I guessed I’d just deal with their Spanish inquisition later.
Both of my best friends were googly-eyed over him. I was trying to avoid eye contact, but I could see them checking out his hand on my back. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but they knew me, and the wheels in their heads were spinning.
I rolled my eyes internally; I liked the guy, so sue me. “All right, you nosey bitches. What do you want?”
Tanner turned to look at me questioningly.
“What? They’re just out here because I’m with a guy.” I threw my hands toward them. “Both of you are standing there, smirking and dying to ask me a million questions. Do you want to do it right now with Tanner standing here? Maybe you have some questions for him, too?”
Sadie smacked her lips. “That was rude. We just wanted to meet your handsome friend.”
I scoffed. “Like fuck, that’s all you’re doing. Don’t forget, I’ve known you since middle school.”
“Anyways…” Rhian turned her attention back to Tanner. “So, what are you two love birds up to today?”
Something equivalent to a growl escaped my throat, but before I could chew Rhian’s ass out, Tanner pulled me in closer and started rubbing small circles on my back to soothe me. It worked, which was a miracle with how bad of a temper I had.
“Easton is going to take me surfing. I’ve never been. Do you guys surf?”
I decided to let him do the talking to avoid any further outbursts from myself. I wasn’t angry; I just had my back up. I knew I’d have to face their questioning and either lie to my best friends or say the truth out loud. And although the latter scared the shit out of me, lying to them wasn’t an option.
Sadie eyed me again. “That sounds like fun. Well, we won’t keep you. We just wanted to come to introduce ourselves. Easton’s a great teacher, so you’re in good hands.”
“Nice to meet you,” my friends said in unison.
“You too.” Tanner smiled at them then turned toward me. As soon as they turned around, he kissed me, and the last bit of tension melted away. “What was that all about?”
Debating between the truth or not, I huffed and decided on the truth. “Remember when I mentioned I don’t do relationships?”
He nodded.
“Well, I wasn’t exaggerating. I truly don’t. They’re probably inside watching through the window and squealing like little girls. I don’t think they’ve ever seen me with a guy in this manner.” I shrugged like it was no big deal because it wasn’t; I just had never done it before.
“What do you mean by this manner?” he questioned.
“Ummm…” I wasn’t sure how to explain this without sounding like a complete whore. “I don’t hang out with guys; we just kind of hook up.” I looked down suddenly feeling ashamed but clarified, “I don’t sleep around, I just—”
He lifted my chin to meet his stare. “I didn’t think you did, and how you live your life is none of my business anyway. I enjoy spending time with you, and I feel kind of special that you seem to enjoy spending time with me as well.” He smirked.
“Well, you should feel special because this is definitely new to me. You Canadians must have magic powers or some shit because I’m way out of my comfort zone with you.”
Most likely recognizing my uneasiness with the conversation, he kissed me senseless, taking away my breath. When he pulled back, I kept my eyes closed and my head still tilted up toward him, smiling like a lunatic.
I opened my eyes to find him smiling back at me. “How do you do that to me?”
“You feel it, too? You know what, don’t answer that. It’s not important.” He stepped back and looked around. “So, we going to surf or what?”
Thank God he changed the subject as that one word yes was on the tip of my tongue, and now, I was glad that it wasn’t going to come out. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me, but I did
n’t need to have more talks.
I walked over and grabbed my board and showed him which one he could use, taking into account that he had never surfed before.
We headed down the beach, where I had him set down his board so we could go over the basics from paddling out to getting up.
“Seriously? That’s it? I’ve got this.” His confidence was humorous, to say the least; I couldn’t wait to see him wipe out.
“You think so? Strap up big boy let’s see what you got.”
Tanner gripped his shirt between his shoulders and pulled it over his head, revealing his washboard abs. His stomach glistened with perspiration from the morning heat.
“You have a little something right there.” He reached out and swiped at the corner of my mouth with his thumb.
“What?” I wiped at it, too.
He smirked and bit his lip. “You have a little drool there.” He lost control of his grin and burst out laughing.
I slapped his hand away from my face, fighting a smile of my own. “Fucker!”
“It’s okay, Easton. You can check me out any day.” He grabbed me by the waist, pressing us together.
“No shame here. I was totally checking you out.” I reached out and ran my hand down his chest and didn’t stop until I gripped his cock through his swim shorts.”
He dropped his head to mine. “You’re going to be the death of me, woman.” He let out a loud breath. “We’re never going to get in that water if you keep that up.”
I chuckled and slowly pulled away my hand. “All right, let’s see what you got.” I kissed him quickly before turning around and bending over to attach the leash to my ankle. I stood up to find he’d been staring at my ass while I was bent over, and he hadn’t moved. “I thought we were heading out?”
He shook his head. “Fuck.” He scrubbed his hands down his face, scratching at his scruff before he finally bent down to put on his leash. “I’m ready now, I promise.”
I smiled and led the way into the surf.
Caught Inside Page 5