It’s becoming ever so clear that this group of twenty-one and twenty-two year olds believe that the proper order of life is marriage immediately following college. I don’t think any of them have ever been single a day in their lives. Squeezing my eyes shut under my sunglasses, I try to block out their voices until they address me directly.
“Jules, you’re twenty-four, right?” Nikki asks in her condescending tone that she’s perfected.
“Mmhmm,” I respond, hoping she’ll drop the subject, but she doesn’t.
“So why aren’t you married yet?”
Letting out a long sigh, I sit up and face her. Honestly, marriage has never been on my radar. Sure, I’ve dated here and there, but most of them have been real “winners” like Kevin. The kind to pass the time and have fun, not really to have and to hold ‘til death do us part. I don’t need a man to complete me. I can do everything myself and when I can’t, Paulie takes care of it for me.
Pushing my glasses up, they rest on top of my head, holding my brown hair out of my face. I narrow my eyes as I respond to her. “Because I don’t need a man to fulfill my life.”
Nikki gives a wicked grin and looks over her shoulder at her posse. “Maybe she’s just not into guys,” she says and they all laugh along with her.
Laughing with them, I nod and raise my eyebrow. “Is that an offer, Nikki?”
Her faces turns bright red as her smile fades and mine grows. Her comment was dumb, but her response to mine really shows her ignorance. A soft hand touches my bare shoulder and I look up to see Bri has rejoined us from inside her parents’ lake house we’re staying at.
“Bentley and some of his friends are down on the dock. Want to go for a boat ride, Jules?”
The butterflies dancing in my stomach don’t really surprise me when I hear his name. It’s been almost two months since we hung out at the Cards’ game, but it wasn’t the last time we’ve been in contact. After exchanging numbers, random texts from him have been brightening my days ever since. The texts are anything from funny stories about his day to this or that questions about which I like more, plain or peanut M&Ms. Obviously, the answer to that is peanut butter.
“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” I answer and she grabs my hand, pulling me to the dock before I can snag anything other than my flip flops. Behind me, Nikki lets out a disgusted sigh, which satisfies me.
“It’s his new motor boat. He’ll take us water skiing or tubing if we want. It’s him and his two friends, Jason and Adam,” Bri explains and my stomach sinks at the thought of water skiing. Hopefully, I’ll be able to be an innocent bystander and watch everyone else.
When we get to the dock, Bentley has his back to us. My pace picks up when I see him shirtless and wearing a pair of red and white plaid board shorts. It’s the first time I’ve seen him without a shirt and I’m a bit shocked to see how toned his back is. Bri calls to him and he slowly turns his tanned back away from us, giving us both a welcoming wave and stepping off the boat to come greet us.
My heart races as I see that his pecs and abs match his well-defined back. Suddenly, I feel almost naked on the swaying dock in just my navy and white chevron bikini and sunglasses. Looking at Bri in her swimsuit cover, jealousy hits me and I wonder if she’d let me borrow it. I stand there awkwardly as Bentley meets us, his eyes hidden by his Mizzou visor and Oakleys. He pulls both Bri and I into a bear hug and squeezes us tight.
Pulling away, his lips are almost on my ear when he says, “Good to see you again, Jules.”
His rough hand delicately slides from my hip to the small of my back as he turns and guides us back to the boat. I glance up at him from under my sunglasses as he nods at his sister now a few steps ahead of us. She fills him in on the remodeling their parents have done to the lake house.
I don’t know too much about boats but from the other ones at the dock, I can tell Bentley’s is brand new and decked out with all the tricks. It’s not surprising knowing his background. However, the more we’ve chatted over the past month, I know that Bentley now runs his family’s landscaping business, but he’s been buying it from his dad since he retired so he can actually call it his own.
Taking my hand to help me on board, Bentley gives it a squeeze and shows me his dimple. His woodsy, mulchy scent is distracting me until his deep voice says in a low voice so only I can hear him, “No, Daddy didn’t buy this for me.”
My cheeks blush a bright red, but I shake my head laughing. “You won’t let it go, will you?”
His hand still on my back, he shakes his head no as he steps into the boat behind me. Bri grabs my hand and pulls me to sit at the front of the boat with her. Glancing over my shoulder, I see Bentley untying the boat from the dock as Jason and Adam help. My goodness, someone tell me how I ended up on this boat full of hotties.
I pull my hair up into a high bowtie bun as I turn my attention to Bri who begins to tell me about the last time they came to the lake and water patrol stopped them for not having enough life jackets on board. Glancing around, I count six life jackets in sight so we should be good today.
My neck, sun-kissed and warm, is suddenly hit with a chill and I jump at the shock of the cold beer bottle on my skin. Spinning around, Bentley smiles above me, offering a Corona. With his sideways grin, he pops the top as he hands it to me.
“You girls sit back and have fun,” he says, giving me a wink as he moves behind the wheel and starts the engine.
Bri lifts her eyebrows at me and smiles. “Trust me, this will be a much better time than hanging out with Nikki.”
I laugh and nod, surprised by her comment. “So why are you friends with her?”
Bri shrugs as the boat roars to life and Bentley drives us into the center of the lake, water spraying back on us. Bri yells over the engine, “Our moms have been friends forever, therefore, making us friends forever, too.”
Somehow knowing that Bri feels the same way I do about Nikki, makes me like her just a little bit more. Bri flips her hair over her shoulder and leans back to catch some more rays. I take a long pull from the beer bottle, enjoying the speed of the boat while at the same time being totally relaxed.
The sun mixed with the alcohol and I’m almost enjoying a little siesta when the boat slows. Bentley parks the boat on single dock along the bank and announces, “Fishing time, ladies!”
Bri groans beside me, but I lean up, remembering the last time we fished together. Turning my head in his direction, our eyes immediately lock and he grins as he reaches into the small compartment behind the steering wheel.
“Come on, Jules, I got you special bait.”
Standing up, but I shake my head and protest, “I am not touching any worms.”
He laughs and holds out his hand, which I gladly accept as we step out of the boat. With two fishing poles in hand and me holding the tackle box, we walk hand in hand to the bank where he sets down our equipment. Reaching into the tackle box, he messes around with something as I stand there awkwardly in my bikini and flip flops.
Squatting below me, he looks up and smiles, holding a fake worm in his hand. “Got these special for ‘ya,” he says and dangles one above his mouth as though he’s going to eat it.
My stomach drops as he does this. “Ew! Don’t do that!” I screech and bat the worm away from him.
Laughing, he grabs my hand. “It’s a gummy worm, Jules. Brianna would never touch real worms either so she always fished with gummy worms. She found that the red worms draw the biggest fish.”
It’s exactly something Paulie would do for me as well. Like the time we went to our great aunt’s birthday party, Paulie knew they’d be serving German chocolate cake. I hate coconut with a passion, reminds me of toenails. When the dessert was served, one piece of regular chocolate cake magically appeared.
I roll my eyes. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“More fun to watch you squirm,” he replies as he baits my hook.
The wind blows through the trees around us and even though there’s hundreds of
people on the lake, Bentley’s found the one spot that no one knows about. He gets our lines ready and casts the first one. Facing me, he reaches out and his thumb runs over the small tattoo on my collarbone. “Cute.”
My skin tingles under his touch which lingers for a second longer. Swallowing hard, I nod and mumble thanks. He swipes his thumb across it again and our eyes meet. My heart pounds loudly in my ears, wondering if we’ll catch any fish. Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m thinking.
“Catch anything yet?” Bri’s voice breaks the moment and at the time I’m thankful for it.
Bentley turns to her and holds up his rod. “Here sis, take mine and I’ll go join the guys.”
He winks with his dimpled smile as he walks off and for a second, my disdain for Bri returns. She turns to me with a matching smile to her brother’s and asks, “So what’s going on between you two?”
I feel my cheeks get warm, but not from the sun. I shrug and stare at the water, winding my line. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
In the highest pitch voice that I’m surprised doesn’t have all the fish floating on top of the water, she shrieks, “Come on, Jules! My brother is totally into you!”
I give her a sideways glance then look over at the boys on the boat. They totally ignored her shrieking, completely unfazed by her voice.
“He’s fun, we get along, that’s it.”
“Don’t give me that, Julianna, I haven’t seen him act like this around a girl in a long time,” she says and immediately apologizes when I give her the look regarding the usage of my proper name.
There’s a tug on my line and I shout, “I got something!”
Saved by the line, I silently thank the fishing gods. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Bentley jogging toward us as Bri jumps up and down like a fishing cheerleader. Bentley moves behind me and I nestle into his body as he puts his hands on top of mine, whispering directions in my ear like last time. I’m really growing quite fond of fishing.
Bentley jerks our rod up and out pops a teeny, tiny crappie. Bri lets out the loudest squeal as though it’s the best fish she’s ever seen while Bentley and I both laugh at the slightly larger than a minnow catch. He starts to take it off the line and I stop him.
“I got this.”
With raised eyebrows, he nods. “By all means, do the honors.”
Biting my lip in deep concentration, it takes me a minute, but I finally get the little sucker off the hook.
“Smile!” Bri calls out as she snaps a picture of me with the baby fish.
Bentley takes the fish from me and tosses it back in the water after I give my approval. He stays close by as we fish for another half-hour. Then he starts to pick up the tackle box and poles. He looks at us and asks, “You girls ready to ski?”
Bri nods excitedly and runs back to the boat. I stand there, shoulders dropped, disappointed at not fishing any longer and trying to avoid skiing. Bentley’s finger runs under my chin and he lifts my face up to him.
“What’s wrong?” he ask, his eyes full of concern, which actually makes me smile.
I shrug. “I’d rather fish.”
He grins. “So I’ve turned you into an angular, good. I fish every Sunday afternoon at my parents’, consider yourself permanently invited.” And with that he takes my hand again and walks us back to the boat.
As we walk, I stare at our hands and how easily they fit together. Not to mention how turned on I am by his simple touch. Thinking about Bri’s words, I wonder what she means, but there’s no way I’m about to broach that topic again.
***
I hold on to Jules’ hand as though if I let go she’ll disappear. It’s been two long months without seeing her but life got in the way and I didn’t have a choice. I thought the worst of things were over but I was so far wrong. The random texts with Jules were the one thing that has kept me grounded, the only positive in my life right now. She’s done more for me than she knows but I don’t plan on telling her that anytime soon.
Actually having her here, hand in hand with me is even better than I remembered. The one day we spent together at the baseball game has been the best date I’ve had in a long time. However, I don’t even think it was actually considered a date although our bodies were in contact in some way, shape, or form the entire time, much like today. If it had been up to me, we would’ve been seeing a lot more of each other before now. I still owe her a date so I can see that new dress of hers, although I’m definitely enjoying her attire today.
Unable to pull myself away from her, I nod at Jason to drive as I take a seat beside her at the bow of the boat. Without permission or care about what my friends or sister thinks, I sit beside her and mindlessly brush my lips across her bare shoulder. She tenses beside me but I don’t pull away. My hands move to her hips and I pull her back against me, letting my arms encircle her and rest on her taut stomach and I feel her relax into me. I’ve never been this forward with a woman before, but then again my ex and I had been together since high school. I’m not going to move too fast with Jules because I don’t want to lose her, but I’m not going to hide that I want her either.
Chapter 10
The day is shaping up to be almost perfect. The cool breeze blowing off the lake is the perfect contrast to the hot sun rays shining down. Jason turns the boat in a circle as Bri skies behind it expertly. Bentley’s arm is hanging over my shoulder as we sit at the front of the boat, his finger lazily dragging back and forth along my collarbone. His touch makes me feel warm inside, but gives me goosebumps on my skin and I snuggle closer to him to warm up.
He nods toward the back of the boat. “You’re up next, Jules.”
My arm tightens around his torso as I shake my head. “Um, I don’t think so.”
He raises his eyebrow and immediately I know it’s his mission to get me to ski.
I sigh. “I suck at skiing. I don’t have the arm strength to pull myself up.”
The boat slows and we turn our attention to Bri, who gracefully lets go of the pull rope and sinks into the water. Bentley gives her a thumbs up and turns back to me.
“She’s a show-off, been skiing since she was five. She even used to do ski shows with pyramids and everything out in Lake Saint Louis over her summers in high school.”
Paulie and I grew up right beside Lake Saint Louis, but we’d never heard of those ski shows. Then again, most of our summers were spent working with very little time to play, but I won’t mention that. I’ve already stuck my foot in my mouth one too many times about financial situations that aren’t my business.
Bentley stands up and takes my hand, pulling me up behind him.
“What are you doing?” I ask, a hint of nerves in my voice.
He grabs a life jacket and wraps it around my shoulders, pulling my arms through the holes. “We’re going to get you to water ski.”
I laugh and shake my head. “No, I don’t think so. I told you, I’m awful at it.”
A boat races past us, sending waves across the water causing me to lose my balance. Bentley grabs my hips as my hands land on his chest. His finger moves under my chin and he smiles. “I’ll be out there with you, Jules. I promise we’ll get you up.”
Bentley told me he always keeps his promises so we’ll see if he’s telling the truth. His fingers move to the zipper of the life vest and he pulls it up and tugs at the strap to make sure I’m secure. Reaching behind me, he grabs another life jacket he puts on himself and sets his visor and sunglasses on the dash of the steering wheel. Turning back to me, he asks, “You ready?”
Taking a deep breath, I nod, because what else is a girl supposed to do when a man flashes his sexy dimple at her. “Good,” he says and in one quick movement, he picks me up and tosses me overboard, jumping in right alongside of me.
The shock of the freezing cold water takes my breath away as I surface. Bentley’s right beside me laughing and I splash water in his direction.
“Not cool,” I say as I laugh and push my hair out of my ey
es.
“Sorry,” he apologizes, not sorry at all as he chuckles. “I always thought it was like a Band-Aid, just rip it off to avoid the slow torture.”
Bri, back in the boat, glides the skis out to us and Bentley grabs them. Both skis now in hand, he looks at me, laughter gone and completely serious. Seeing him so focused makes me smile.
He looks up and notices I’m staring. “What?”
Shaking my head, I grin. “You’re kind of cute when you’re so determined.”
He smirks. “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll do that more often,” he says with a wink and suddenly the freezing water isn’t so cold.
“Okay, Jules, now the secret is not to use your arms.”
I look at him like he’s insane. How are you supposed to water ski without using your arms?
He nods. “It sounds crazy, I know, but trust me. Just hold on to the rope, but it’s really all about your legs. So when the boat starts, just relax and let the boat pull you up. When you get up, act like you’re sitting and enjoy the ride.”
“You make it sound so easy,” I say as the skis make my legs spread apart in opposite directions.
Swimming behind me, Bentley pushes my legs together and his hands rest on the outside of my thighs under the water. I start to tingle between my legs with his hands in such close proximity. His beard tickles my cheek as he nuzzles his face against mine.
“Ready, Jules?” he whispers softly, but his tone makes me think he doesn’t just mean skiing.
Slightly turning my head to him, our eyes lock and my tongue runs over my lips, wondering if his small mustache would tickle my lip if he kissed me. Slowly, I mutter, “Yeah.”
Instead of getting to taste his thin lips that have been teasing me since the day we met, they brush across my cheek and his hands let go of my legs as he swims backwards and nods to Jason to start the boat.
I grip the rope handle tightly, but then remember Bentley’s words and relax. My arms hang loose. I let the boat pull me out of the water and after a couple seconds I’m steady on my feet. I’m actually skiing! My entire life I’ve tried to water ski but about five years ago, I’d finally given up, accepting the fact that I wasn’t meant to ever do it. Now here I am, squatting like I’m sitting on the toilet, but I’m being pulled behind a boat on water skis, something I’ve never even been close to before.
Spring Into Love Page 98
