I despised his father. He was a horrid, cruel man. Linc was nothing like him. He was protective, sweet, and kind. He tried to look after not only me, but my mom and sisters, which made me love him more.
I pictured our life together once we were able to get away from this town and the influence of his father. Linc assured me more than once, when he was nineteen, it would happen. He said he had money from his mother he could get to at that point, and we had to hold on until then.
I would wait for him for as long as it took.
“Sunny!” Cindy’s voice broke into my thoughts. “The timer’s going off, girl. Get your biscuits out before they burn.”
I shook my head and pulled out the tray of biscuits. They were puffy, golden brown, and smelled delicious. I brushed the tops of them with honey butter, thinking how much Linc would enjoy them. Biscuits with butter and jam were his favorites.
As if he knew, he appeared in the doorway, taking my breath away.
The boy I loved was slowly turning into a man. He was tall, his shoulders beginning to widen. All the work he was doing made his chest broader and his muscles tight. His light-brown hair was golden from his days in the sun, and his blue eyes were bright in his face as he smiled at me. His teeth were straight and white against the brown of his tan. He looked sexy, his T-shirt tighter than before and his shorts hanging low on his hips.
I felt my cheeks grow warm as I thought of the way I had gripped his hips as I sucked his dick.
He had loved it.
Cindy laughed behind me. “How is it you always know when the biscuits are ready?”
He sauntered in, his gait relaxed, his eyes lit with mischief. He had both hands behind his back as he approached, his smile getting bigger.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he denied, pulling his hands out in front of him and holding out two small bunches of wild flowers. “I happened to be walking by with flowers for my two favorite girls.”
Cindy scoffed. “Little rake, you are.” She nudged me. “Go on, then. Get your boy a biscuit and jam.” She accepted the flowers from Linc. “Make it two. He looks hungry.”
I chuckled and slipped two onto a plate, slicing them open and adding butter and jam. I handed Linc the plate, taking my bunch of flowers with a smile.
He winked and came closer forward. “I am hungry. For biscuits—” he glanced to make sure Cindy was out of earshot “—and you.” Then he took the plate and kissed me quickly, leaving me longing for more.
The biscuits disappeared in fast mouthfuls. He sighed. “Promise me you’ll make these for me every weekend for the rest of our lives.”
My heart stuttered at his words.
Our lives. I was going to get to spend my entire life with this boy.
“Yes.”
“Out of the kitchen now, you!” Cindy shooed him away. “We have lunch and dinner to get done.”
I laughed as she handed him another biscuit. “Be gone with you.”
He left, throwing me a wink and a kiss.
She smiled. “He’s got it bad for you, girl. I remember love like that. Young, passionate, and all-encompassing.” She chortled. “Then real life sets in. Enjoy it while you can.”
I couldn’t respond. I was too busy basking in it.
In him.
* * *
I didn’t go in for dinner. Instead, I ate in the kitchen and finished my tasks. I couldn’t go into the dining room. It was too loud, with too many people. I was sure anyone looking at me would know what was going to happen later. I couldn’t sit next to Linc and act casual. Every time I saw him today, I felt his stare. His intense gaze locked on me.
So, like a coward, I hid.
When I was done, I slipped out the back and went to my cabin, which was deserted. I had looked forward to sharing it with girls my age but found them standoffish. I was the new girl in their midst—and not welcome. I kept to myself, preferring to spend time with Linc or visit Emily and Hayley. My roommates never bothered to ask where I was, and we chose to respect one another’s boundaries.
I grabbed a fast shower, the cool water welcome on the heat of my skin. I shaved and shampooed, the whole time my stomach in knots.
Linc had told me he was a virgin as well. He’d promised he’d waited for me the same way I had waited for him and we’d discover it all together.
But what if I was awful at it?
What if it hurt as much as I had heard girls whisper in school? I had seen the size of his cock, and considering how small I was compared to him, I had no idea how I would fit that inside me.
I was still fretting when a soft knock on the cabin door made me look up. Linc was framed in the doorway, leaning on his shoulder, regarding me with a gentle expression.
“Hey.”
“May I come in?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Of course,” I babbled.
He stepped in. “I missed you at dinner.”
“Oh, well, ah, I had stuff. You know…I had to get ready, for, ah, later. Yeah, later.”
Wordlessly, he held out his hand. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat and walked to him, placing my hand in his.
He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Later is whatever we want it to be, Sunny. No pressure. I just want you and me alone.” He dropped another kiss to my skin. “I’ll wait for you. I’ll always wait for you.”
My nerves dissipated with his quiet declaration. I had to laugh at myself. It was Linc. My Linc. He would never do anything to hurt me.
I glanced up, lifting my shoulder. “Sorry, I’m being silly.”
He shook his head. “No. You’re being you.” He smiled. “And I adore everything about you. Silly or not.”
Our gazes held and I relaxed, all my worries gone. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “How about a walk? We can sit by the fire with everyone if you want after?”
“The walk sounds nice.” I picked up the bag I carried with me. It was full this time. “Maybe we could drop this off first?”
With a tender look, he took it from my hand. “Yeah, Sunny. We can do that.”
* * *
We walked along the shore, hearing the campers around the fire in the distance. The water swirled around our feet. Linc had his hand wrapped around mine, protective and warm. We sat on the rocks, watching the sun begin its descent in the distance, casting burnished rays on the water.
Linc lifted a strand of my hair. “Sunsets remind me of your hair. The muted reds and gold.”
I laughed quietly. “Being romantic, Linc?”
He chuckled. “Trying.”
“Shut your eyes.”
He did as I asked, and I fastened the thick, black, woven leather cuff I had seen in a secondhand shop while waiting for him to get one of the orders we were picking up. I had polished the silver clasp and cleaned the leather. I thought he would like how it looked.
“Okay,” I whispered.
He opened his eyes, looking at his wrist. He turned and admired the clasp. “I fucking love it. I’ll always wear it.”
I grinned in delight at his reaction, cuss word and all.
He winked, then slipped a small box into my hand. “My turn.”
I opened the box, a delicate necklace cushioned on black velvet making me gasp.
“It’s not much,” he whispered. “But I bought it with my own money, not his. Someday, I’ll buy you something better. It says what I can’t, though.” He huffed out a long breath of air. “My heart is yours, Sunny.”
I traced the two hearts woven together, the silver catching the last of the light.
I looked up at him, tears glimmering in my eyes. “I don’t need something better, Linc. This is perfect.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I turned, lifting my hair. “Put it on me?”
He slipped it around my neck, making me giggle as he cursed, trying to get it to catch. Finally, he brushed a kiss to the juncture of my neck. “Done.”
I faced him and slipped my hands around his ne
ck. “Thank you.”
He kissed me, his lips tender against mine. I pulled him closer, sliding my tongue along his bottom lip, loving how he groaned and opened for me, slanting his mouth, and moving his tongue with mine in lazy strokes. I whimpered as his hand slid up my rib cage, cupping my breast and circling my nipple. He loved breasts. My breasts in particular, he informed me, although he referred to them as tits. I loved him touching them.
The kiss intensified, becoming hot, wet, and passionate. He pulled me onto his lap, delving his hand under my shirt and stroking my back. I felt his erection pressing on me, and suddenly, I wasn’t scared anymore. There was only him. Me. Us. I wanted him.
“Your room,” I pleaded. “Now.”
He stood, taking me with him. I giggled as he began walking toward the trees.
“Put me down.”
“No. I know a shortcut, and those little legs of yours are not going to be able to keep up. Hold tight, Sunny-girl.”
So, I did.
* * *
His room was dim and quiet. He lit a candle on his small dresser then turned to me, his chest moving with his rapid breaths, his eyes dark with lust.
“Are you sure?”
I gripped the bottom of my shirt and yanked it over my head, then pushed down my shorts before I could get cold feet. I stood before him in the lacy bra and underwear I had bought the day before. They were pink and sheer, and I found them on sale, so I could afford them. I wanted to look pretty for this. For him.
He stepped forward, tracing a finger over the lace, my nipple hardening under his touch.
“This is pretty.” He glanced up. “But nowhere near as beautiful as the girl wearing it.”
I launched myself at him. In seconds, we were on his bed, all tongues, fingers, and lips. His mouth licked and bit at my skin as his hands roamed everywhere. Touching, stroking, caressing me until I was nothing but a mass of need. I yanked off his shirt, pushing his shorts down his hips with my feet. He had my pretty lingerie on the floor in seconds, his mouth on my breasts, lapping and sucking until I thought I would go mad.
Skin to skin with him, I relished the way our bodies fit together. He felt like a protective blanket draped over me, holding his weight on his elbows as he kissed me. We explored each other. I discovered he was ticklish and whimpered every time I stroked the sensitive skin of his pelvis. He learned every time he brushed his fingers up my thigh, I shivered. He held my feet, kissing the arch, then slowly making his way up my leg. I grabbed his shoulder as he reached my apex, nerves once again kicking in, and I tried to shut my legs.
“I’ve never… No one has ever…” My voice trailed off at his gentle gaze.
“Me either, but I want to try. Please?”
I relaxed, letting him in. He trailed his fingers over me, teasing my clit with his finger. I shut my eyes at the wave of pleasure. I felt his tongue slide along my folds, and I cried out at the intense sensation. He met my eyes, his gaze narrowed.
“Tell me it’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay,” I gasped.
“Good. Because I think it’s fucking awesome.” He lowered his head, learning and finding what I liked. What he liked. My legs began to tremble, an orgasm close.
“Lincoln,” I begged. “Oh god, Linc.”
My body tensed and I came, whimpering his name and gripping the thick blanket on his bed with one hand, my other buried in his hair, never wanting him to stop.
He pulled back, a satisfied smirk on his face. He kissed the inside of my leg, resting his hands on my thighs, stroking them gently. “Okay, Sunny?”
I cupped his face, loving how he nuzzled into my hand. He was always so affectionate, and the thought that he’d had to go so long without any made me hold him tighter. “Yeah. More than okay.”
He winked, his eyes growing round as I grabbed a condom off the small table beside his bed.
“Are you sure?”
I slipped the package into his hand.
“Yes.”
The rest of the evening was a blur. Fragments of memories I held close after he walked me back to my cabin late into the night, kissing me long and sweet before I slipped inside.
The feel of him on top of me. The sensation of him carefully pressing inside me. Sinking in inch by inch until we were flush—our bodies so tightly meshed together, it was as if we were one. He kissed away my tears at the pinch of pain, waiting until I nodded before he started to move. We were awkward and unsure, then we found our rhythm. His movements became smoother, his body flowing into mine. He didn’t last long, but it didn’t matter. I was already sated, and the feel of him inside me was incredible.
“I’ll do better next time,” he promised.
I kissed him. We kissed for hours, it seemed. Until he was hard and inside me again. This time, we both found our release, and he lay beside me, a proud smile making him adorable and irresistible.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I murmured against his mouth.
“It is tomorrow. Come back with me now.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want one of the girls reporting I was out all night. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
He pouted but kissed and released me. He traced a finger over the necklace and smiled.
“See you soon.”
He waited until I walked in, then disappeared into the darkness.
* * *
Unable to sleep, no matter how hard I tried, I made my way to his room as the sun was rising. The door to the office was ajar, and I frowned as I entered the dim space.
“Linc?”
There was no answer, and I headed to his door down the hall. I froze in the doorway, confused.
His bed was made, his duffel bag gone. The entire room was empty aside from the one glass candle that sat on the top of the dresser. I picked it up and held it in my hand. The curled end of the wick was the only thing that assured me last night was real.
For some reason, I investigated the small bathroom. His toothbrush and shaving stuff had disappeared.
In fact, it looked as if Linc had disappeared.
A noise behind me made me spin around. “Linc, I was…” My voice trailed off at the sight of Gerry in the doorway.
“Where is he?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“He left a couple of hours ago. His father came to get him. He said it was an emergency.”
“Did he-did he leave anything?”
He handed me an envelope. “I found all this. Sorry, Sunny.”
I couldn’t speak, holding the thick envelope to my chest. Gerry left and I stumbled to the bed, tearing at the flap, knowing the explanation Linc left me inside of it would help calm the anxiety I was feeling.
Three things fell from the envelope. The cell phone that matched mine dropped into my lap, smashed to pieces, and my unease grew. A strip of the leather cuff I had given him followed next. I held up the frayed piece, confused. It had obviously been yanked off, and I wondered where the rest of it was. The last thing was an uneven, crumpled, torn piece of notepaper with Linc’s writing, dark and deeply imprinted into the fibers.
I’m sorry.
forget about me.
6
Linc
Ten years later
I adjusted my tie, frowning in the mirror as my hands shook. It was ridiculous to be nervous. Today was the last item to be checked off the list, and then my past would be locked away where it should be. The past.
I sat down at the island in my kitchen and picked up my coffee.
“Can I get you anything, Lincoln? A bagel or perhaps something more substantial?”
“No thanks, Mrs. Ellis. Coffee is fine.” I smiled at my housekeeper. She was still new and getting to know the place and me. “I rarely eat breakfast.”
She clucked, wiping down the counter. “At least you eat the meals I leave you—sometimes.”
I chuckled and held out my cup for a refill, then headed into my office. I looked out the window at the city below me, a strange ache in my chest pus
hing at me.
I glanced at my watch, knowing I had to go, and dreading it.
But it was time.
The last time I would ever face the memory of my father.
* * *
The streets were still quiet when I pulled my car into Mission Cove. I was early, my lawyer not arriving until ten, and without conscious thought, I drove to the east end of town, pulling up in front of a place that used to feel like home.
The small house was gone now, replaced as most of those in the neighborhood were, with newer, larger homes. Mission Cove had prospered in the past three years, and I had made sure all areas were developed. My father would roll over in his grave if he knew how his money was being used.
That thought alone was the one thing that brought a tight smile to my face.
I kept driving.
The deserted campground was now a playground for children, with a picnic area for families. It was well maintained, with safe equipment and a pool for the hot summers. It had been aptly named The Sunny Place. I blinked at the onslaught of emotions that threatened to engulf me as memories I kept locked away attempted to break through. I shook my head and pulled away, knowing the entire day was going to be the same.
One sad, aching reminder of all I had lost.
In town, the streets were clean, a few stores already open and getting ready for the day. Tourist season hadn’t hit yet, but as always, there would be some travelers around. Most of the old businesses were gone, replaced by newer ones. But the diner was still there, although it had been upgraded and modernized. The local dry cleaner was already open, the windows clean and bright. They had added a self-serve laundromat, which I was certain was very busy in the tourist season. It was a good addition. Around the corner, the animal shelter had a newer, larger building, completely subsidized by an anonymous donor. They never had to worry about it being shut down again.
The Summer of Us Page 4
