Those Summer Nights

by Ivy Smoak

  “She said to stop fucking touching her.” J.J. stepped through the crowd and shoved the guy who had his hand on my shoulder.

  Before anyone else could react, J.J. grabbed my hand and pulled me away from them and through the crowd of people.

  "J.J."

  He didn't say anything. He just kept leading me away from the party.

  "J.J.!"

  He ignored me again.

  When we were well past all the spectators, I pulled my hand away from him. "What the hell are you doing?"

  He turned around. "What the hell am I doing? What the hell are you doing?!" He grabbed my hand again. "I'm taking you home. You're drunk."

  "I'm not drunk!" Maybe I was, but that wasn't why I had entered the contest. I just wanted him to notice me. "You’re acting like you’ve never seen me in a bikini before. News flash…half the people at that party were just in their bikinis.”

  He ignored me.

  “What, you can just go around flirting with everyone, but if I do it, you get upset? You're such a hypocrite." I pulled my hand away from him again and walked past him.

  "I'm not flirting with anyone else."

  "You flirt with everyone, J.J.!" I yelled and turned around. "You keep leading me on and then pushing me away."

  "That's not true." His blues eyes were smoldering.

  "Being just friends was your idea. I told you I wanted more. So you don't get to be jealous if I talk to someone else!"

  "You think I'm jealous that you had your hands all over Reggie? Who’s a fucking prick by the way. He was clearly hitting on your friend too. And you think I'm jealous that a hundred guys were watching you do a fucking strip show on stage? I’m not jealous. I’m protective of you. There’s a huge difference.”

  Protective. Like an older brother. I felt like he’d punched me in the gut. I couldn’t do this anymore. “Goodnight, J.J.”

  He stepped closer to me before I could turn away from him. “What do you think would have happened if I hadn’t pulled you away?”

  “Nothing. There were hundreds of people around.”

  “Don’t be so naïve, Mila. I just saved you from getting taken advantage of.” He threw my clothes that he had caught during my performance at me.

  I let them fall into the sand. “Taken advantage of? I can take care of myself. I don’t need a knight in shining armor who doesn’t even like me. If you don’t like the way I act, tough luck. Deal with it. Either you want me or you don't. And obviously you don't. You don't need to take me home. Go back to the party."

  He gripped my wrist. "That's not fair, Mila, and you know it."

  "Life isn't fair, J.J. Look, I get it, okay. I know why you don't want to be with me." I could feel tears prickling my eyes. "I'm not like that girl you were dancing with. I get it. I'm not your type."

  "I don't fucking like Jenn. I was dancing with her because you invited some other guy to this party. You should have come with me."

  "You didn't invite me!"

  "Because you were avoiding me."

  "Because I like you, okay! I like you as more than a friend. I can't help it. And every time we hang out, I like you more and more. So do me a favor and stop talking to me. I can't do this anymore. I can't be your friend. Because it hurts like hell that you don't feel the same way."

  "Damn it, Mila. You're leaving in less than two months."

  "Right, there’s no point in starting something. You've already told me that. So let's just stop whatever this is now and save each other the trouble. Go be with Jenn or whatever you said her name was. Go have meaningless sex, because that's what you like, right? You just want an escape from whatever it is you're so worried about with your job? I'm not stopping you. I don't want any part of that."

  "That's low. I made some mistakes, but you have no fucking right to judge me. You dated some asshole for over two years just so you wouldn't be alone in California. That's pathetic. And then you came crawling back home to escape from him when things went south. You're hiding from your problems too. More than I am. And you think a new relationship will fix whatever self-doubt you have going on? Well it won't."

  I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. Shit. "Thanks for finally telling me how you really feel about me." I shook out of his grip. "Have a nice life, asshole." I turned around and started to walk away.

  "Mila. I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

  I turned back around. “I didn't want a relationship with you to fix my problems. I wanted one because I like you. I didn't want to miss out on whatever time we had to be together. But everything that's happened between us all makes a lot more sense now. I'm glad you don't want to be with me." I swallowed hard. He was looking at me so intently. No one had ever looked at me like that before. Like he wanted to devour me and strangle me at the same time.

  “Mila.”

  I took another step back. “You don’t know me at all. I’m not pathetic. I know myself better now than I did before this summer started. I’m not hiding out here. I’m figuring out what I want out of life, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe you should take some time to do the same.”

  He closed the distance between us. "You clearly don't know me as well as you think you do." He grabbed both sides of my face and kissed me hard.

  Fuck. I laced my fingers in his hair as his tongue collided with mine. I should have been pushing him away instead of drawing him closer. But I had been dreaming of kissing him again for what felt like forever. And he tasted even better than I remembered. I didn’t realize that anger could taste so sweet.

  His hands slid down my back as he grabbed my ass and lifted my legs around him. I clung to him, hoping I could hold on to whatever momentary peace treaty this was forever. His words stung. But the thought of actually walking away from him stung a thousand times worse.

  He knelt down and pushed my back against the sand. "I've wanted you ever since I first laid eyes on you." He spread my thighs and kissed one of the spots where I'd been stung.

  "J.J.," I panted.

  He pushed my bathing suit bottom to the side. "You've been driving me fucking crazy." He thrust a finger deep inside of me.

  "Oh God." I tilted my head back.

  "And now I'm going to return the favor." He curved his finger, hitting me in a spot I didn't even know existed.

  I arched my back and moaned.

  He pulled hard on my bathing suit bottom, making the strings on either side untie. "I've been waiting a lifetime to taste you."

  Taste me? "J.J., someone's going to see us."

  He bent down and placed a long, slow stroke against my aching pussy.

  Holy shit! I no longer cared that there were people in the distance. I just wanted more. I wanted all of him.

  He spread my thighs even farther apart and thrust his tongue deep inside of me.

  I moaned again. I didn't care that we were close to the party. All I could focus on was his breath between my thighs.

  His tongue swirled around my wetness, massaging me in the most intimate way. I began to climb higher and higher as his tongue continued its torturous rhythm.

  I grabbed the back of his head so he'd go even deeper. He responded by rubbing his nose against my clit.

  "J.J.," I moaned.

  He placed one last stroke against my wetness and moved his head to my stomach.

  "No," I groaned. "I'm so close."

  He kissed my stomach gently, leaving a trail of kisses up between my breasts. "It's my turn to drive you crazy, Mila." He tugged on my bathing suit top and pulled it down, exposing my hard nipples. He placed his lips around my nipple and sucked hard.

  I felt my back arch again. I needed him deep inside of me. "Please. Please, J.J."

  I could feel him smile against my breast. He took my other nipple between his fingers and squeezed it as he continued to suck on the other one.

  "J.J.," I panted.

  "I love when you moan my name." His hand slid down my stomach and his fingers brushed against my clit before plunging deep insid
e me again.

  Fuck. I turned my head, pressing my cheek into the sand.

  He moved his hand fast, making me climb again. I was going to come any second. I felt myself begin to clench around him.

  He quickly removed his fingers.

  "J.J. Please. Please, I need you."

  He looked down at me as he slid his fingers into his mouth, sucking off my juices. “I need you too.”

  Holy shit.

  He slowly pulled off his shirt, revealing his perfectly sculpted torso. He was so sexy. I watched him unbutton his shorts and push down his boxers. His erection sprung free. He had the biggest cock I had ever seen. I wanted to know what he felt like inside of me.

  "I want you," he said as he looked down at me. "I've wanted you for so long."

  "I want you too." I could feel my heart racing. I couldn't believe this was actually happening.

  He pulled a condom out of his wallet and slowly slid it onto his length. I could hear myself panting in anticipation. He grabbed my ass, lifted my lower back off the sand, and thrust his cock deep inside of me.

  "Fuck, you're so tight," he moaned. He slowly slid his length in and out of me as he lowered my back onto the sand.

  I had never felt anything so good in my life. I ran my hands down his strong back and grabbed his ass. Even his ass was muscular. "Harder," I moaned.

  "You're a fucking miracle, Mila." He grabbed my thighs and thrust himself deep inside of me. He moved his hips faster and faster. "Is this what you want?"

  "Yes!" I moaned. God, yes.

  His fingers dug into my skin as he moved even faster. They burned even more than the sand against my back, in the best way possible.

  I didn't want this to end. I still didn't know what he wanted between us. But I was going to come any second. I couldn't control it. Sex had never felt this amazing before. Normally I’d be analyzing every single touch. Every single groan from his mouth. But all I could think about was how right this felt. And how perfectly our bodies seemed to fit together.

  A loud bang sounded in the distance. I could feel myself clench around him.

  J.J. groaned in response.

  Fireworks lit up the night sky.

  One of J.J.'s hands slipped to my ass as he leaned down to kiss me. He squeezed my ass hard and thrust his length even deeper inside of me.

  Oh God.

  "Come for me, Mila." He lightly bit my lip.

  And I shattered. Hard. "J.J.," I moaned. My toes curled. With each bang of the fireworks it felt like another wave of release washed over me.

  J.J. groaned as he found his own release.

  And then we just stared at each other, our chests rising and falling with our rapid breaths, his cock still deep inside of me. I couldn’t read him at all. Was that regret in his eyes? Something else?

  He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, before pulling out of me and collapsing beside me in the sand. The silence stretched even longer.

  "I don't want to play games anymore,” he finally said.

  I looked over at him. He was staring up at the fireworks in the sky. “Me either.”

  He turned his head to look at me again. "I'm really sorry about what I said. I was upset, I didn't mean it."

  "I'm sorry too. But it led to what just happened and that was kind of…”

  “Amazing.”

  I smiled. “Yeah. Amazing.”

  He slowly sat up. “We should get dressed before we get caught. He pulled on his shorts and V-neck t-shirt and then looked around for where my clothes had fallen. When he found them a few feet away, he tossed them to me. "Geez, I feel like there's sand all over me,” he said.

  I laughed as I retied the strings of my bikini and pulled on my clothes. "Well, we did just roll around in it."

  He pulled me back down into the sand, making me laugh again. I adjusted myself so that I was sitting between his legs, my back resting against his torso. I was finally exactly where I wanted to be.

  He pushed my hair to the side and kissed the back of my neck as he wrapped his arms around me. The fireworks lit up the sky.

  Chapter 19

  Tuesday

  I had never woken up smiling to a hangover. But the pain in my head didn't even compare to the butterflies in my stomach. Just thinking about my lifeguard left me breathless. I ran my fingers across my lips where he had kissed me. I had never been so excited to see someone again in my life. And I couldn’t even contain my excitement. “Kristen!” I yelled as I sat up. “You won’t believe what happened last night!”

  But there was no response. I glanced over to her empty bed. My smile couldn’t possibly get any bigger. If she hadn’t come back, that meant that she and Reggie had actually hit it off. Which meant…yesterday had kind of been the perfect day.

  I grabbed my phone to see if she had texted me. I did have one waiting from…crap. Aiden. As I was staring at the unread message icon, debating whether or not to even open it, his name lit up on my screen. He was calling me. Again.

  I dropped my phone on the bed and pulled my legs into my chest. Shit. I took a deep breath. The butterflies in my stomach were replaced by knots. Why was he still calling me? I closed my eyes until the buzzing stopped.

  As soon as the silence returned, I opened my eyes again. I had finally given my number to J.J. and I was hoping he’d be the one calling me this morning. Part of me wanted to answer my phone when Aiden called so that I could tell him that I was seeing someone else. That would feel so satisfying. I wanted to tell him off. But I couldn't do that. My lifeguard and I hadn't talked about what we were now. All I knew was that we were more than friends. We were clearly more than friends. I smiled to myself.

  My phone bleeped, letting me know I had a new unread text. I grabbed it and opened the texts from Aiden, ready to delete him out of my phone and my life.

  It was just the two: “Are you up yet?” and "I really need to see you."

  I deleted both messages and then found his name in my contact list. My finger hovered for a second. He wasn't allowed to need me. I wasn't his to need. He certainly hadn't needed me for the past few months. And he definitely hadn't wanted me. I was glad I was all the way across the country. If he had shown up to my dorm room, I'm sure I would have heard him out. I had been so weak for so long. I deleted him from my contacts and breathed a sigh of relief. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I was better without him.

  I jumped out of bed, grabbed two Tylenol, and downed them with a glass of water. Everything was different now. Just because Aiden didn't want me didn't mean there was anything wrong with me. He was just an asshole. The fight that my lifeguard and I had last night came back in my mind. I bit my lip. He had said I was pathetic for latching onto Aiden in the first place. Was he right? Honestly, he probably was. I left Cali for all the wrong reasons. Maybe I’d be staying in Delaware for all the right ones though. I glanced at my phone again. I hadn’t heard back from admissions yet, but I still needed to call my dad and tell him to hold off on tuition. But now was not that time. I wanted to just think about J.J. and how happy I was. All the crappy men in my life like my dad and Aiden could suck it.

  I opened a drawer and pulled out a sports bra and shorts. I may have been pathetic freshman year of college. But now? Hell no. And I certainly wasn't going to wait around all day for a text from J.J. to come through. I needed to make sure I didn't make the same mistakes I had when I was with Aiden. And just because Kristen was out shagging her new lifeguard, it didn’t mean I couldn’t go for a run.

  ***

  Even after my scalding hot shower, my body was still sore. I had run as far as I possibly could before collapsing in the sand. The walk home had taken forever, but it was relaxing staring out at the water. I wasn’t sure I had ever run so far in my life. Although, I was sore for more reasons than that. I felt my face flush, remembering last night. And I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d be repeating that anytime soon. Fingers crossed we would.

  I pulled my towel around myself
and walked out of the bathroom to see if Kristen was back. But after a quick glance, I knew she was still missing. I thought back to when she reprimanded me for not coming home one night and leaving her wondering if I was dead in a ditch. It was a two-way street. I picked up my phone to see if she’d messaged me and smiled. There was no word from her. But there was one from an unknown number. My lifeguard had finally texted me while I was in the shower. I added his number to my phone and then clicked on his message.

  “I’ll be picking you up after work. And you better not be planning on pretending you’re busy and running away from me. Or changing up your schedule again to try to ditch me.”

  I smiled. There was something sexy about him just telling me our plans instead of asking. And the fact that he didn’t even say it was J.J. He was just confident enough to know that he was the only man in my life. I typed out a response as I headed back into the bathroom. “I would never. What did you have in mind for tonight?” I grabbed my hairdryer and started to blow my hair dry. For some reason I was nervous to see him. I hoped he still felt the same way he had last night. When I switched the blow dryer off, I had another message from him.

  “Bring a bathing suit.”

  So much for drying my hair. But I didn’t even care. There was no better sight in the world than J.J. in his swim trunks.

  “Deal,” I wrote back. “I’ll see you at five.” Now all that stood in between me and J.J. was a boring shift at work. I quickly put on some waterproof mascara that I hoped would withstand whatever we’d be doing tonight, and pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. After tossing a bathing suit into my bag, I was out the door in less than a minute.

  The morning and afternoon did not go quite as quickly. First, I had been incredibly early for my shift because there was a pep in my step. And then I got paired up with Becca again who wouldn’t stop talking. I’d excused myself an hour ago to put my bathing suit on under my clothes. I was hoping J.J. might come save me early. But I knew his shift ended around the same time as mine. So no such luck. I never thought I’d miss my previous co-worker who liked to spend her whole shift talking to her boyfriend in the storage room.