What Happens Over Spring Break: A Short Story Anthology

by Anthology

Reeling, I gaped at him. “What did you say?”

  He drew me down to the sand. “I’ve had a massive crush on you for almost eight years, Fin.”

  “Since Professor Morris’ calc class?” He nodded. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

  “I wanted to, but I didn’t think you were interested. And despite what you might have thought, I wasn’t exactly confident in high school. It was a lot of fake it ‘til you make it bullshit.”

  “You seem pretty confident now.” He’d certainly had no trouble pursuing me.

  “Not confident. Stubborn and persistent.” A grin quirked the corner of his mouth, and my eyes were drawn to his lips—pink against his tanned skin, just the right amount of plump, kissable. When I looked into his eyes again, the fading light reflected more obviously, which told me that his pupils had dilated, and probably not due to the lighting.

  My wants wrestled with what I was afraid would happen, and I listened to the devil who said to leave. Reid squeezed my hand, which he’d been holding the whole time. “Please don’t go, Fin,” he pleaded. “I’m sorry if I'm aggressive.”

  The begging got to me. Colin never acted like it mattered whether I was around or not, and that should have been my first clue about who he really was. But Reid kept trying, even when I resisted this magnetic attraction between us.

  Instead of fighting it, I climbed onto Reid’s lap. “I’m scared,” I admitted in a whisper.

  “Me, too,” he said, his forehead resting against mine. His hands shifted to my hips with the tips of his fingers playing with my shorts hem absentmindedly. “But I want you more than I’m afraid.”

  “Why would you be worried? You’re Reid Watson.”

  He huffed a laugh. “Because you’re Finley Powell, and I’ve wanted this for a long damn time.”

  That did it. I dove at him the way I had at the bar, without inhibitions or reservations. This time, he didn’t hesitate. His mouth melded with mine in an electric dance of lips and tongues. When his hands slid around my butt and drove my pelvis into his, I moaned at the friction of the hard ridge in his pants rubbing against me. My hips undulated for more, and the sexiest noise erupted from his throat.

  He broke the kiss. “Can we go inside? I want to be respectful to you, but it’s hard if you know what I mean.”

  I chuckled. “Oh, I know what you mean.” For effect, I moved over him again. God, that felt so right.

  “Fin,” he groaned against my throat. “You’re killing me.”

  Not one to be cruel, I stood and clasped his hand so that he’d follow me into the house. Over my shoulder, I looked at him, and the expression of happiness on his face nearly undid me. Somehow, I couldn’t give a shit about that nagging, cautious Fin in the back of my mind.

  Inside the house, with the door locked, he pressed me against it and kissed me hard. Sweet Reid was great, but alpha Reid revved my engine.

  “Are you sure you want this?” he asked. The uncertainty in his voice settled even guarded Fin.

  To show him how positive I was, I ran my hand down his shirt, across his chest and ripped abs, over his shorts, and I groped him through his clothes. “Does that answer your question?” I asked before I kissed him again and stroked.

  He backed away from the door, but he didn’t break the kiss. Instead, he fumbled with the button on his shorts, then kicked them off as he slid his hand up my shirt and palmed my breast. When his mouth left mine, it was so that he could divest me of my tank top. The lust on his face exhilarated me.

  “You look good in lace.” His fingers traced the edge of my breast and teased my nipples until they ached.

  Thrilled that he seemed okay with my B-cup, I shoved my shorts over my hips, revealing the matching, barely-there hip-huggers. “How’s this?”

  Reid growled. “Only one thing could be better.” Not that I wore much, but I got the picture. He’d tented his underwear, and I couldn’t agree more; I wanted to see what was hiding behind the cotton.

  “I think you need fewer clothes.”

  He grinned and whipped his shirt over his head in that hot-guy movement, baring his torso to my sight so that I could drool over the vee at his hips, the eight-pack abs, and the just-defined pecs.

  “Damn,” I muttered. “Fantasy comes to life.”

  “You didn’t fantasize about me,” he said, disbelief in his voice. Once again, the shy-guy routine slayed me.

  Like I had before, I ran my nails down his bare chest, but this time, I snaked my hand inside his boxer briefs, and he sucked air through his teeth. Silk and heat in my palm. “Don’t tell me what I didn’t dream about.”

  “Fuck me,” he breathed as a curse, but I turned it around.

  “Oh, I intend to do just that.”

  “God, Fin, I need to be inside you, but I want to do a million other things to you first.”

  “Better get started then,” I said.

  “Pretty sure I’m in heaven,” he replied with a sigh.

  After raiding Stef’s generous supply of condoms, we made our way to my guest room. My bra landed somewhere near the kitchen, and Reid’s boxers dropped outside the bedroom door. When he flung my panties, they hit the lamp.

  Once he’d shown me how magical his mouth was between my thighs—to great effect of the sort that makes a girl see stars—he rolled on a condom and took his time appreciating me in several positions. When he finally made a sexy grunt, he murmured my name in my ear.

  I’d never had an orgasm during sex, so the fact that I’d had one before he did was more than enough for me. But as he lay there on top of me, nuzzling my neck while I wrapped myself around his body, he said, “I’ll do better next time.”

  I laughed. “You think there’s a next time?”

  Reid’s head lifted so quickly, I snorted. “You’re so mean,” he said. “You were kidding.”

  “Of course, I was kidding. How many times do you think we can do it again before Stef notices his condom stash is getting low?”

  It was Reid’s turn to burst out laughing. “You’re something else, Fin.” He caressed my cheek, his thumb running over my lip. His eyes heated again, and he nipped and sucked me into a frenzy instantly.

  “Reid,” I breathed. “I need more.”

  “As much as you want,” he panted. “Whatever you want.” He shook his head. “I am so glad you kissed me last night.”

  “Same here,” I admitted. “Will you be around all week?” I hated how my voice sounded less sure than before. I’d taken control and had allowed myself to be in charge instead of vulnerable, which was the position I preferred.

  He eased my fears with his answer. “I’m yours.”

  After a week of trading places with Stef and Ryan—they’d had more than a little fun on their impromptu date—I hated the idea of saying goodbye to the man who was no longer just my former crush. He’d grown beyond that guy I kissed in the bar to erase Colin or even my fabulous spring break fling. Reid Watson had become the one person I wanted more than anything, both in my bed and as my friend. In all the years I’d known him before, I never understood him until now.

  My investment in him scared me to death.

  When we were getting ready to leave on our last day in Destin, Reid begged me to stay.

  “Kovac is a big boy. He can fly alone. And I’m sure your parents will give you more time. I’ll pay to switch your ticket. And you can stay with me. Ryan is leaving.”

  He begged for all of this while wearing his birthday suit. Did I mention that he was kissing every inch of my skin between arguments about why I should listen? Every inch.

  It’s damn hard to say no when someone is doing that to you. Quite skillfully, I might add.

  The last plea came just as I did. “Yes,” I panted. “If you promise to keep doing that, a million times, yes.”

  Reid kissed me, hard. “You won’t regret it, Fin.”

  Like a sated cat, I stretched and maybe even mewled. “Mmm.”

&
nbsp; He slapped my ass. Playfully, of course. “Get packed. You can move in with me when Kovac leaves.”

  Move in? “Uh…”

  “Just for the week. Calm down, Ms. Bolt.”

  He’d taken to calling me that nickname—after my initial tendency to run away, not because he thought I was speedy, even though I usually beat him on our daily runs. “Haha. If you’d stop giving me orgasms, I could function, you know.”

  At that, he kissed me again and started the process all over. This time, it ended in mutual satisfaction. We were getting better at that all the time. But he finally stood and began to dress. I frowned at his rapidly-disappearing torso.

  “Don’t give me that sad face. Get your ass ready to leave, and we can do it again when you walk next door.” Yes, as it turned out, Reid’s family was Vince’s neighbor.

  “Are you sure we can’t do it now?” I teased, touching myself, cupping my breast.

  Reid groaned. “You’re killin’ me, smalls.”

  “I still can’t believe you’ve watched that movie as many times as I have.” Dad had always wished I’d played baseball—his favorite sport—and he’d done his best to encourage me. The first time we’d moved, The Sandlot had been his enticement to joining Little League to make friends. I loved the movie, but I never played America’s Favorite Pastime.

  “If you’re good, I’ll watch it with you naked.”

  “I don’t know, that might be a little too kinky.”

  “You won’t be watching the movie.” He winked, and I laughed.

  “Oh? And what, pray tell, might I be doing, Magic Man?”

  “I can think of many things.” I loved how his eyes heated.

  Sighing, I rose from the bed and wandered toward the en-suite bath for a shower. “Join me?”

  “Later. I promise.” He pressed his lips to mine, this time more gently, reverently. “So lucky you kissed me that night,” he murmured. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  With a smack on the lips and a whack across his ass—to make up for the tap he’d given me earlier—I waved and went into the bath.

  Two hours later, showered and packed, I wandered into the living room.

  Stef frowned. “I’m so jealous. I wish I could stay. Not that it matters; Ryan is meeting his parents for a cruise.”

  “Will you see him again?” In the limited time that we’d spent with Stef and Ry, they seemed to get along well.

  “Oh, who knows? It was a fabulous week, regardless.”

  “It sure was,” I mused.

  “Yeah, yeah, Miss Happiness-leaking-from-every-pore.”

  “I’ll see you when I get back?” Opening my arms, I hugged him tightly.

  “Just text me your flight change info.”

  Nodding, I stepped out the front door and walked with my rolling suitcase along the sidewalk to Reid’s. When I saw an unfamiliar Honda Accord with Vermont plates in the driveway, I paused. A high-end car could mean family, but that wasn’t the case.

  The doorknob turned without effort—he’d left it unlocked for me. From the living room, voices echoed. I heard Reid’s, but when an all-too-familiar woman’s voice followed, my heart dropped into my gut.

  “We said we’d drive back together,” Kelsey whined.

  “We didn’t say anything. You said that. I told you it was over, and you know why.”

  “Oh, Reid, why are you such a drama queen? We were already on a break. But you know it was only temporary.”

  “No, I didn’t. Not until…”

  “Do you want me to blow you to make up for it?” she interrupted. “Or maybe let you feast? I know you love that.”

  I was pretty sure I might puke if I had anything in my stomach. Unwilling to hear more, I dropped the handle of my bag, and it hit the floor with a CLUNK. It got their attention. Then I whipped out my phone and sent a text to Stef.

  In front of Reid’s with the car, pronto. No questions. Be ready to leave ASAP.

  k

  Looking up from my phone, I saw my lover’s pale face. “Fin, this is not what it looks like.” The begging had endeared him to me in the past, but now, it made me angry. I wouldn’t let him—or her, especially—see how it affected me to witness this between them. I’d vomit later.

  “I’m not sure what you mean. It seems your girlfriend came to spend her second week of break with you. How sweet.” Yeah, okay, my voice wobbled a little at the end.

  “Finley Powell,” Kelsey crooned. “What brings you here?”

  “Just saying my goodbyes.”

  “Oh?” Kelsey trilled. “Is there something you should tell me, Reid?” She looked at her boyfriend. Or whatever.

  “Nothing that’s your business.”

  “Well, given the situation, it seems it should be.”

  “Well, it’s not,” Reid bit. He turned to me. “Fin, can you give me a few minutes? I need to deal with… this.” He gestured to Kelsey. “Then, we can resume our plans.”

  “I’m heading home, so I guess we’ll have to cancel.”

  “Am I interrupting something?” Kelsey asked.

  I said, “No.”

  Reid simultaneously said, “Yes.”

  “Unless… the two of you weren’t planning some sort of liaison?” Kelsey said with a knowing smirk.

  Despite the knot that had formed in my stomach, I chuckled and gave her my best hostess smile. “Of course not. We’re old classmates. Acquaintances, at best.”

  “Oh, that’s such a relief,” she feigned, though I questioned whether she cared more about winning than she did about Reid. Had she ever felt a damn thing for her supposed high school sweetheart? Or did she just hope to marry a doctor? If he had told her his plans for grad school, I suspect she’d have dropped him for real.

  It didn’t matter; Reid had broken my trust by failing to mention he’d been on this Ross-and-Rachel break from his long-term relationship with Kelsey. Even if he hadn’t known she was my mortal enemy in high school, he should have been honest with me about his relationship status.

  The very thought of never seeing him again shattered my heart into a mosaic of bloody brilliant reds. After this week, I wasn’t sure the damn organ would function correctly, but I sure as hell wasn’t taking any chances. I didn’t want Reid in my life. Period. It would kill me to watch him with the insipid, phony Kelsey. Better to not see him at all.

  “Good luck in grad school,” I said in passing as I lifted my bag from the foyer floor.

  “You mean med school,” Kelsey said to my back.

  As I closed the door, I turned, and Reid’s jaw bobbed up and down, his mouth working like a suffocating fish.

  “Sure,” I drawled and huffed a laugh.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  Waving, I said, “Not my monkeys or my circus. He’s all yours. Good luck with that perfect life you wanted.” And with that, the carved wood clicked shut.

  Kelsey’s high-pitched, worried voice traveled through the door, barely muffled by the thick cypress. “What is she talking about, Reid?”

  Suppressing a smile became impossible. My heart might be macerated on the floor back there, but I wouldn’t let that bitch win. The only thing left to do was to bust my ass these last few weeks of college, and then I’d throw myself into assuming the role of innkeeper so that my parents could finally retire. I didn’t need a man, and I sure as hell didn’t need Reid Watson.

  Outside, Stef had the car parked, engine running and facing toward the street so that we could speed away. I tossed my bag in the trunk and jumped into the front seat. “Drive,” I commanded.

  He obeyed. After a few minutes, he said, “You’re going to tell me what happened.”

  “Eventually. Let’s just say your experiment worked. I had a memorable spring break, and Colin has been erased.”

  “But?”

  I shook my head, and the tears welled. “But nothing,” I whispered and stared out the window. Stef’s hand s
queezed mine. I looked at him. “Guess I’m a typical college girl now.”

  “Honey, you’ll never be typical anything.”

  “Back to reality. It was fun while it lasted.”

  Ignoring Kels, I reached for the door, but it was too late. Fin’s rental sped into the street before I shouted her name.

  “Why aren’t you listening to me?” Kels stomped her foot. When I turned, she was pouting. I hated her childish crap.

  Not that I owed her an explanation after what she pulled during our supposed break—revenge because I’d told her that I thought we needed to take some time to evaluate what we wanted. I’d dumped her ass immediately.

  I didn’t want her in my life any longer, but there was only one way to make that happen. She’d walk away for good once she realized I’d never make her a doctor’s wife. “I’m not going to med school. I didn’t even apply.”

  “How is that possible? Your parents can’t have agreed to that?” Her shrill tone told me that my instincts had been right all along—she’d only wanted what I could give her.

  Unlike Fin, who’d only wanted me. And us. Fuck. How could I fix this?

  “Reid, I’m talking to you!”

  “I don’t care. It was over last month when you let me catch you fucking my roommate.”

  “No, it’s not. You have time. You can still apply. You might not get your first choice, but your grades are excellent. You’ll be desirable. Besides, your dad can—”

  “No,” I barked. She was so damn focused on my career and what she could gain from it. “You don’t get it! I never wanted to be a doctor. I want to be a programmer.”

  “You cannot be serious.” Her deadpan would have been amusing if it wasn’t annoying as hell.

  “Does it matter? What I do with my life isn’t your concern. I don’t want to be with you any longer.”

  “Is this because of that Halle Berry wannabe?”

  She’d stepped on my last nerve. “Keep your mouth shut when it comes to Fin, or I’ll tell everyone about your nose job.” It was a low blow, but damn it, Fin did not deserve to be bullied by this woman ever again.

  “You wouldn’t dare.”