Love is a Beach: a romantic comedy

by Lilliana Anderson

  “But now I want it off.” I pout. This is one of those moments where something that was normal a few moments ago suddenly bothers me. Like when you’re going about your day feeling just fine then you look in the mirror and find out you have this massive zit on your chin and after that moment the zit is all you can think about until you can get home and pop it. My wedding ring is that zit.

  Pressing his lips together momentarily, Leo lifts my finger to his mouth then sucks on it, moving his tongue around and around in a way that makes my body tingle all the way down to my toes. Then he places his teeth at the base of the ring and shifts his jaw back and forth until the ring pops free. When he removes my finger from his mouth, he’s holding the ring between his teeth. I regret the zit analogy now, because it messed with the sexiness of the act. It was still bloody hot from where I’m standing, though.

  Holding my hand in his, he flattens out my palm and drops the ring inside it. “Thank you,” he says, meaning it. Never have two simple words meant so much. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for caring that the symbol be removed. Thank you for wanting me.

  I close my hand around the band and take a deep breath. It’s a big thing, removing one’s wedding ring. A symbolic moment where you recognise that your marriage is over and you don’t need the symbol of it any more. “It’s OK. I don’t need it any more.” Mind you, my finger feels weird now. It’s been a long time since it had no ring on it, but at the same time, it feels as though one of those shackles Nana spoke about has been removed. I really don’t need it any more.

  I open my hand and let the ring fall, watching it slide through the water, side to side until it hits the bottom of the pool.

  When I look up, I’m met with warm appreciative eyes followed by soft lips and a heated a tongue.

  “You have a skilled mouth,” I whisper when we come up for air, impressed by his kissing abilities and his ring removal technique.

  “Get your arse into that sauna and I’ll show you just how skilled it is.”

  Turned on, I’m anxious for him to do exactly that. “You had me at hello.” I grin, I’ve always wanted to use that line.

  He chuckles and pulls me closer, kissing me deeper, clutching me tighter. Then he releases me and I push away, gliding through the water until I reach the pool ladder.

  Remaining in the centre of the pool, he watches as I climb out and collect my towel, wrapping it around my body before I unclip the top of my swimsuit and pull it free, swinging it over my head before I pull open the sauna door.

  “Holy shit.” I yelp.

  As the steam billows out the door of the small room, I’m confronted by the familiar sight of a half-naked elderly man.

  “George?” Thankfully he’s got a towel over his crown jewels, but the rest of his body is on full display—which is probably why I recognised him so fast. That image is burned on my retinas forever.

  “Oh, Darcy. Hello there. Long time no see. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll add some more steam?” He picks up the ladle in the water bucket and pours it over the heated rocks. They hiss and sizzle.

  Leo appears behind me, placing his hands protectively on my upper arms as he lets out a relieved sigh upon seeing George soaking up the steam. “G’day, George,” he says over my shoulder.

  “Nice day for a sauna, Leo,” George says.

  “Sure is,” Leo agrees as George shifts to the side.

  “Come on in. Take a seat. There’s plenty of room. And steam.” He adds another ladle of water.

  Not wanting to appear conspicuous, Leo and I step into the small area, only really big enough for four people. But with Leo’s size, three feels like a squeeze.

  With my towel tight across my chest and my hands placed on my knees, I’m trying not to start giggling over the misery plaguing Leo’s expression. George happily explains how his joints play up whenever it rains and he can’t sleep. He finds the heat of the sauna to be a great help. Leo looks like he wants to beat his head against the wall. I think he wanted to experience a different type of heat…

  Catching my eyes, Leo sees my struggle, letting his mouth quirk a little as his eyes drop to where my towel is covering my naked chest. Then he shrugs and stretches out as the steam surrounds us and George continues to talk. He tells us all about his ailments—the click in his hip and the fact he has to get up and pee about thirty times a night—for another ten minutes before the heat gets a bit too much for me and I excuse myself to use the showers. This morning tryst of Leo’s and mine is an obvious bust. But it was fun nonetheless. At the very least, we learned the pool isn’t as unused as we thought it was.

  Smiling to myself over the whole George disaster, I turn on the rainfall shower in the ladies’ room and hold my hand beneath the falling spray, getting the temperature just right before I hang my towel on the hook and strip off my swimsuit. Just as I step under the gentle warmth, a light knock raps against the door.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  LEO

  “She yours, son?” George asks once Darcy has left the sauna.

  I take a breath and nod slowly. “Partially.”

  “What the hell does partially mean?” he responds. “You’re either together or you aren’t.”

  “It’s complicated. She’s newly separated.”

  “Her ex still sniffing around?”

  “Nah. He’s fallen off the face of the earth. It’s her kids. Well, one in particular. She’s not taking the break-up well.”

  “So, you’re sneaking around like a couple of teenagers?” He chuckles and I nod. “I don’t envy you that.”

  I shrug. “It is what it is.”

  George smiles to himself then chuckles again. “I suppose my being here threw a spanner in your works.”

  “It’s OK, mate. I’ve got a hand and a good imagination.”

  He has another chuckle before he goes quiet for a moment. “Those showers have locks on the doors. You could always pay your lady a visit.” His bushy eyebrows waggle suggestively. “Worst she can do is say no.”

  I get out of that sauna so fast the steam probably still has the outline of my body in it.

  The sound of a running shower tells me exactly which of the two stalls Darcy is in. I go hard just thinking about her in there, wet and naked.

  Trying not to groan, I tap lightly on the door. “Darce. Let me in.”

  The lock flicks almost immediately then the door cracks open and Darcy peeks through, grinning. “But this is the ladies’ room, Leo Murphy. I think you’ll find the men’s is next door.” Her eyes trail down the length of my body, stopping at my tented shorts before flicking back up to my face, that grin of hers turning wicked.

  My cock jumps, desperate to sink itself inside that gorgeous body of hers.

  I place my hand against the door and push my way in. “I don’t give a fuck,” I say, locking the door behind me. “I need you. I’m not waiting.” Hooking my thumbs in the waistband of my swim shorts, I drop them to the floor and kick them aside so I’m as naked as she is.

  With a heated grin, she reaches for me at the same time I reach for her, our mouths colliding as we move under the shower spray, kissing and touching in this tiny private space. My entire body aches for her.

  “You make me feel desperate,” I practically growl as I dig my fingers into the sexy curve of her hips and pull her flush against me, grinding my rock-solid cock against her stomach, showing her just how desperate I am.

  She moans and moves her body against me, the water gliding between us and smoothing out the friction. I need to be inside her. Now.

  “Do we need a condom?” she asks, reaching between us, her hand sliding along my length as she licks the water that runs off my chin. “I can’t get pregnant. My tubes are tied.”

  God, that feels good.

  “I’m clean,” I assure her, hissing as I slide my fingers into her wet hair before I take her mouth aggressively, my tongue exploring, taking over. I want to devour her.

  She releases this tiny sigh that sin
gs to my cock, throbbing in her grip. “I want you, Leo. Please.”

  “Hold on.” As I lean down, she releases me and grabs hold of my lats, digging her fingers in as I grip her thighs and lift, pinning her against the tiled wall with my torso and my thigh. It’s not the easiest position, but I want to watch her face as I pump into her, see the way her mouth falls open when she comes.

  Lining myself up with her opening, I push inside, almost losing focus as her warm soft walls tighten around me. “God, you feel good, Darce. So fucking good.” I have to force myself not to blow my load then and there. I need this to last me until I can get her alone again. Draw it out, Leo. Draw it out.

  I keep my hips still, dick buried deep as I take her mouth, kissing her with soft, slow strokes of my tongue. Every time she whimpers and rolls her hips, I almost blow, but then it passes and I’m ready to move again, drawing my shaft out then sliding it back in again. Slow at first then faster and harder as that hunger takes over, and Darcy’s cries spur me on. She’s so fucking hot, so fucking tight and wet. I’m dying here. I never want this to end. I want to stay just like this, frozen in time with Darcy in my arms.

  “Leo. Leo, please,” she begs, her nails biting into my skin as I tighten my grip on her thigh and pump harder.

  “Darcy. Fuck, I needed this. I need you. Hold on, angel. Come with me. Fuck.”

  “I’m close,” she gasps. “So close.”

  I pick up my pace, hips pivoting, our pelvises colliding, almost violent in our frenzied need for release. “Darcy.” I force her name through gritted teeth, her pussy tightening around me, pushing me over the edge. “Let go.”

  She drops her back against the tiled wall as she calls out my name, her body pulsing as I spill myself inside her, coming so hard my knees feel weak. Overcome, I whisper her name between kisses, telling her how beautiful and amazing she is.

  “Leo,” she gasps, pressing her lips to my shoulder as we stay joined, our bodies slowly returning to their normal state as our moment melts away and time starts moving again, the world calling, reminding us of our responsibilities. “We should get back.”

  “I hate that I have to hide my need to touch you,” I murmur, not wanting to let go. And that’s the crux of it really, the big fault in this beautiful attraction between us. We have to keep hiding it. And I don’t know how long for.

  “It’ll be easier when the kids are back at school,” she says, brushing her fingers through my hair as I withdraw from her body and lower her to the floor. “We’ll be working together so we can see each other during the day. Maybe I can sneak over to you some nights? Niall will be back at his mum’s so we won’t have to worry about waking him. It’ll get easier.”

  God, I hope so. Letting go of her feels so unbearable that I wrap her in my arms and bury my face in the curve of her neck. It’ll get easier. She holds me just as tight, and I know she’s struggling with this as much as I am. Because we’re falling, and we’re falling hard. It’ll get easier.

  Loosening my grip, I kiss her one last time, slow and tender before I step away and force myself to put some mental distance between us. When we dry off and get dressed, we leave the pool area ten minutes apart.

  It’ll get easier.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  DARCY

  I think we should download Snapchat, I text to Leo a couple of days later. Our pictures to each other are getting hotter and I’m starting to worry about the kids spotting one when the text alert lights up my phone.

  Snap what?

  I send him the link to the app in the App Store. A private way to send photos. Once you look at them they disappear.

  Why would I want your photos to disappear? I need them to keep me company on lonely nights