Ryan pointed to our pile of things he’d dug out. The beach was beginning to fill with people.
Zach chucked the ball to Ryan. “I’m outta here, bro.” He jogged away.
“Dude. She can come out here and watch,” Ryan complained.
“We’ll see. I gotta help her down the stairs.”
Ryan flung the ball in the air and caught it. “Whatever…you whipped dog,” Ryan laughed. “She made it down fine yesterday.”
Zach glanced up at me as he ran inside and winked.
The crowd seemed larger than normal but that could have been because we got a later start and most people were already on the beach. The day was a perfect day for Cannon. It wasn’t cloudless but close.
Ryan had drawn out a pathetically weak plan for our project, which included a bucket of beer with ice. I rolled my eyes as he showed me the detailed drawing—predicting the looks I would get as the judges or tourists moseyed past.
Zach was a first timer, so we walked him through it as he pretended to be Grant. Seth sat in a lawn chair watching us, but Austin and Grant hadn’t made it. One bonus, we were used to the sand and how it handled. We were well practiced in making sand castles; we just never did it except on this occasion. It was the Guitar Hero scheme last year. The year before, we pulled off a very detailed football field including goal posts, yard markings and an Oregon Ducks logo midfield. The judges sized up the six under-aged guys hanging out drinking beer, by-passing me, and dismissed our field with a smile.
The year before that wasn’t any more successful. No beer…but we got real creative with an X-box 360 console, controllers, video chairs and a big screen T.V. that crumbled while the judges considered it. So, at this point we were 0 for three. And our decision this summer…a bucket of beer. Nice.
I was shocked when we were done; amazed at the detail of the ice pieces, the indentions around the pail and the ridges Zach had etched into the bottle lids. We each stood back smiling at each other. I still hadn’t seen Austin. I didn’t like that. Grant was a no-show. Fine by me!
As tourists passed our section they gave us a—college-boys-typical-sandcastle-look. I held my head high proud of our creation. The only real promising looks we got were from the young girls checking out, not our castle, but the guys.
In the end, we didn’t place, but all of us agreed that it was our best year yet. I tried to pressure the guys into a SpongeBob theme for next year but no promises were made. By the time tide washed in, we were back at the house eating barbequed chicken from the grill, my dad’s contribution to the day.
The beach was warmer tonight though a sweatshirt was still a must. Grant was absent from the circle, which made for a more peaceful evening. I took my position on Zach’s lap, nuzzled between his legs on the chair. We forgot our blanket, so his arms wrapped snug around me.
Things were uneventful tonight, with only a few tourists passing by. A boy with a Duke Blue Devils sweatshirt walked past and Ryan and I started laughing.
“What so funny?” Zach asked.
“One summer, Ryan and I tried to see how many colleges we could count on sweatshirts and we had counted tons and never saw a Duke or Temple…or?”
“I remember we never saw Clemson…” Ryan shook his head unable to recall.
“That was fun,” I said. “That was before my brother officially became a man ‘ho.” I crinkled up my nose.
Ryan shrugged. “Runt, when you’re a beast and the ladies want you…you have to give them what they want.” He flexed his right bicep—it was grotesquely large.
I rolled my eyes as Zach laughed. “Maybe you should try and play hard to get just once. My best friend is still madly in love with you, you know.”
Guilt clouded his face. “When we get back, I’m going to talk to her.”
“You mean, break up with her.”
“Ali is sweet,” Ryan said with narrowed eyes. “She deserves better.” He suddenly got up from his chair and headed toward the ocean. “I don’t know how you do it Zach,” he murmured under his breath.
I shifted around to see Zach’s eyes. “Is it that tough to stay true to someone?”
He readjusted his posture. “Don’t turn this on me…this was between you and him.” He pointed out to Ryan who strolled through the water.
“I’m serious. Why is it so hard?”
“Why did you kiss Grant the other night?” He fired back and I wasn’t ready for it. His words stung. I tried to hide the hurt by nervously laughing, but his tone held no indication of a joke. His eyes were serious and he didn’t blink.
I began to get up and his hand on my shoulder forced me back down as tears betrayed me again. He didn’t say anything, waiting patiently as I arranged my thoughts.
I lowered my head. “I don’t know why I kissed Grant and I’m so sorry about that too.”
He pecked my lips. “Baby. I know you love me and I don’t doubt that for a second. I’m not worried about Grant…well…a little worried.” He held up an inch between his index finger and thumb.
“Don’t be,” I assured him.
“I just want you to see that even when you love someone…cheating is easy…the relationship is what takes the work. It’s simple to make someone feel good and tempt them…he did that to you. And I’m not saying that to make you feel bad…at all. I’m saying it to help you understand…it doesn’t make you a bad person. Now, what Ryan and Grant do…it’s a little twisted. But who am I to act as judge and jury in that.” He was referring to the website that he and his buddies set up documenting the girls they’d slept with. Something painful to remember…something that broke us up.
Everything he said made sense to me. He could tell me that a unicorn flew overhead and I think I’d believe him. He was more reasonable than I was and I envied that.
“Can I ask you something?”
He slowly nodded.
“Have you ever been in love before?” I searched his eyes for the truth.
“No,” he said without hesitation. “Never.”
I smiled giddily rocking back and forth on the chair trying to keep myself warm. He glanced at me sideways. “Why are you laughing?”
“Because. You’ve been a first for me on so many levels and you’d experienced so much…there wasn’t a first to offer you. So I found your first,” I stated proudly.
He kissed me again. “You did and that one means so much more than anything else.”
“Can I ask you something else?”
He took a long slow breath. “Your questions make me nervous sometimes.” He winked.
“All those girls…” I started.
“That’s why,” he interrupted with his finger near my nose. “You’re too curious for your own good.”
I teasingly slapped his hand away. “Anyway…I’m not trying to be mean either. BUT…”
He sighed and raised his brows high.
“Did any of them mean anything to you or was it kind of like the Ryan and Grant thing.”
He fell backward onto his chair and grabbed handfuls of his hair. “Oh, Em. Isn’t it enough that I love you and that we’re together?” He propped back up on his elbows.
I crawled out of Ryan’s chair and sat on Zach’s thigh. “Was there one that you remember more than the other?”
“Absolutely,” he said rising up and hugging me. “Just touching you last night will go down in the history books.” He flipped me backward dipping me. “I love you,” he said as my hair dangled in the sand.
“Blood is rushing to my head and I’m going to pass out,” I teased.
“Good. Then I can have my way with you.”
“Please do,” I invited.”
As he raised me back up, his eyes turned serious. “Baby…,” his baby had a warning attached.
“Please. I know you have to leave tomorrow. Leave me with that.”
His eyes closed. He was chewing on it, I could tell. Playing unfairly, I straddled him in the chair and rotated my hips against him. His hungry eyes popped open. Uns
ure how close he was to surrendering; I guided his hand beneath my sweatshirt where I was braless.
“God Em,” he roughly whispered as his hand found my bare breast. “What am I gonna do with you?”
“Just be mine, only mine.”
Unexpectedly, he darted forward until his hot mouth mashed mine as his hand caressed me in a now familiar way. A way that drove me crazy. A way that I felt in my toes. A way that made me want him more. The arm holding me around the waist secured me in place as his hips pressed upward to meet my rotating ones.
“Ahhhh,” I moaned out loud, then covered my mouth with my hand.
The flame of the fire flickered in his eyes, and as he brought his hips upward again, my head involuntarily fell backward.
“Zaaaach.”
When his hand left my breast, smoothed over my sternum and descended over my abs to my waistband, I stared intently into his eyes. I wasn’t sure what he was doing. In one methodical movement, his hand slid into my panties and inside of me stealing the breath from my body.
“Oh my God,” he hissed as I lowered myself on his finger. Immediately he removed his hand and my brows came together in confusion. His fingers quickly smoothed the V between my eyes.
“Did I do something wrong?”
His single chuckle came first, then he stood. “Baby, you are so ready for me and I’m gonna take you right here if we don’t leave. I don’t want to do it right here.”
“But you do want to do it?”
“Lets walk up to the house. And if your mind doesn’t change between here and there Emma, I will without reservation take what you are willing to give to me. I will take what you can no longer give to another man. Do you understand what I am saying?”
Taking his hand in mine, I nodded and led him toward the house.
Chapter 9—Zach
There was no doubt that I couldn’t be more ready to be with her. In every way possible. Physically, at the moment, it made walking difficult. We didn’t speak as she guided me to the house. My only hesitation at this point was that when I drove south, she’d be left here with about five hormonal men who all found her attractive and vied for her attention. And, her brother’s protective instincts had been broken down. Opening this door to her sexual appetite was dangerous. I knew that from the beginning.
“Where are your folks?”
“At Roberts and Moe’s.”
She didn’t slow.
“When will they be home?”
She opened the back door to the house. “It’s early. We probably have about two hours.”
Walking up the stairs, anxiety took hold of my heart. She seemed to be the aggressor and though I had enjoyed that many times with older women, I didn’t need her to be sexually aggressive at all…not with me leaving. And what if, what if I wasn’t what she thought I’d be? What if I hurt her? What if once I broke that barrier, she wanted to try someone else? God, I wanted to vomit. My head hung as I ran my hand over my face.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said too quickly.
“Meet you on the balcony,” she said before she whipped into her room.
Once in Ryan’s room, I ran my hands through my hair. Damn Zach! Get ahold of yourself! Your girlfriend wants to have sex with you.
After brushing my teeth, I pulled the over-a-year-old condom from my wallet, smelled my pits, changed my clothes and took some long, slow, deep breaths. My body was already prepared for what it knew was coming, and I carried a sweatshirt in front of me to hide that embarrassment.
Emma was already in her chair with the comforter over her, I smiled. Her liquid blue eyes full of determination only a few minutes ago, now resembled a scared, abused puppy on one of those humane shelter commercials searching for love. My smile broadened. God, I loved this girl. Her conviction for life, for what she wanted, for what she believed in, only reinforced that.
“Hey,” she squeaked.
“Hey back, beautiful.” I sat next to her on the chair. “You look toasty warm.”
“I am. Want to join me?”
I nodded. “Yes. In a minute. I want to see the want in your eyes first.” I knew I was back in control.
“The want?”
I nodded again and slid my hand under the comforter, beneath her T-shirt, and to her breast. My cooler hands were the perfect stimulation and her breath caught in her throat. Instinctively, her eyes closed.
“I can’t see the want if your eyes are closed, baby.”
Slowly they opened and her teeth bit down on her full bottom lip. Damn that lip. Within a short second, my mouth was on hers, and though usually we started with a few pecks, both of our bodies were way past that. My tongue danced slowly with hers, and her moan when I touched her nipple nearly sent me over the edge. I pulled back and looked at her. Watching and gauging her reactions to my touch was the biggest turn on I’d ever experienced, and I’d experienced my fair share.
As my desire grew, I resolved in my head that tonight was the night. It was in her most favorite place in the world. Just in that moment of thought, her hand that was half the size of mine, curled around what I was trying to hide from her earlier. Her eyes slid open in such a seductive way. She had no idea what her eyes could do to a man. This time it was me who nearly growled and I felt myself losing a sense of control. I needed her.
“Do you still want me?” she asked.
I tilted my head sideways “I would think what you’re holding would be a pretty good indicator.” I smiled as the words came out.
Her eyes closed this time in embarrassment.
“Are you kidding me, Em? You’re driving me insane.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “Have I done something to lead you to believe that I don’t?”
She shook her head. “I want you to be with me.” Her eyes held a resolve that I hadn’t seen before. She remembered my vow to honor her request.
Moving from sitting to kneeling, I lifted her t-shirt and treated her breast to a barrage of kisses. Her fingers dragged through my hair and she held on as if she’d never let go. My other hand moved south to make sure she was ready. She was.
In one swift movement, I slid her T-shirt up and over her head, then she did the same with mine. Her little fingers raked over my chest in a way no one ever had before.
I hated to ask but I did, “Are you sure, Emma?”
“I’m nervous that it could…like hurt.”
I lifted her and moved her down to the ground. “Baby. I can’t promise you that it won’t. But I can promise you that I will be gentle.”
“I know. You know, my mom always says ‘why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free and I was wondering…”
I bit her ear lobe. “Emma Nichole,” I said roughly. “If you think for a second that I’m going anywhere you’re a fool.”
She nodded, clearly unable to respond verbally.
Her sweat shorts weren’t tied at the top and slid down easily. When I slid her underwear off, her brow furrowed just a bit.
“You OK?”
She nodded again.
The time had come…
Chapter 10—Finally
I leaned forward and started inching his sweat shorts down, trying hard not to look downward. He didn’t seem embarrassed though. I hated that my breathing sounded so broken. My heart searched but couldn’t find a normal rhythm as his hand traced down my side to my hip then around to the front. He liked if I could keep my eyes open, but when he touched me, I wasn’t sure I could. I braced myself.
Goose bumps spread across my body and I whimpered out loud when he finally did touch me. I don’t know why, but he almost always groaned when he touched me there. And the sound was even more distinct when his finger moved inside me, though my moan was definitely louder. At that moment, he reached for his shorts and retrieved a small foil package.
“What is that?” I asked.
“It’s a condom, Em.”
I stopped him from opening it. “I’m on the pill. I told you that.”
His brows pulled together in the center and he shook his head.
“No, we should do this. I’ve never…not.”
My hand cupped his cheek. I hated the look of concern on his face. I needed him to smile. “Zach,” I whispered. “Let me give you that first. I’ve never been with anyone. You’ve always used something. Please. Please.”
His eyes scanned my face as his mind processed this. Once he laid the condom down, I knew he’d decided. I smiled when his eyes found mine again.
When he positioned himself between my legs, just like I had pictured many times, he was there…right there and my heart beat so ferociously, it scared me. As he brushed the hair from my face and lightly kissed my lips, I closed my eyes and took a long deep breath.
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
“Are you trying to talk me out of it?” I grinned.
He leaned into me and placed his mouth on my breast stealing the breath in my lungs. After indulging me with a series of kisses, his face met mine again.
“Does that seem like I’m trying to talk you out of it?”
“I never want this moment to end,” I said softly.
“Without a condom, It’s probably gonna be way shorter than we want it to be.” He chuckled.
“What do you mean?”
He shook his head. “Nevermind. Just tell me you’re sure. Tell me you want this. Tell me you’ll never regret choosing me. Tell me you love me.”
My heart ached as much as my pelvis. “I love you, Zach. I love you. I love you.”
And with that, his hips spread mine just a little wider. Knowing he would want to see my eyes, I fought hard to keep them open. Then…the moment I waited 16 years for, the moment I dreamed about, the moment I feared just a bit, the moment I wondered if I’d truly surrender myself…was here. As he pushed the hair away from my face and brushed soft kisses over my lips, the pressure between my legs grew, until a twinge of pain robbed me of breath and my virginity.
When he rested at my side and my breathing returned to normal, I realized my heartbeat was stuck in a disjointed rhythm.
Finally...One Summer (Just One of the Guys) Page 7
