Delia Bay

by Lauren Cooper

  REID SUCCESSFULLY SIDETRACKED me with his wicked mouth and stupendous cock and we didn’t hit the beach until much, much later. The water was busier hence the lunch time hour, but I couldn’t really complain. The orgasms made it worth it.

  Reid helped me zip up the back of my wetsuit, a welcome change to the struggle I usually endure trying to get the damned thing up. The wet sand beneath my toes feels like a welcome home matt and with my gorgeous Blackbird at my back I couldn’t have felt happier. Dressed in a pair of dark shorts with a matching black T, he looked delicious.

  “Come on” I snatch my board up from the upright position it was holding in the sand, swinging it under my arm and stepping into the salt water.

  “I’ll stay here” he says from behind me, forcing me to turn to face him. The sea breeze swooshes his hair around his gorgeous face, the promenade at his back busy and bustling with life. Reid looks good in Delia, it suits him.

  “Come on Blackbird. I’m teaching you” I turn back to the water, lifting my knees higher as I wade through the current before placing my board down on the surface.

  “I’m good” he mumbles, the soft crash of the waves against the sand hushing him even more.

  “Reid. Get in the water” I demand without looking back at him. I want Reid to surf, or at least try so he gets the sense of freedom it brings with it. I want it to help him without it coming across that I’m directly shoving it in his face. I’ve seen the way he longingly looks at the boards at the shop, I know deep down that the teenage boy inside him wishes he would just give in and do it.

  “Blackbird?” he asks, wading into the water after pulling off his boots.

  “Yep. You’re my blackbird”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing” I smile at him briefly before straddling my board and paddling in the water. I don’t want to tell him what I read recently about Blackbirds and how they just sum him up to a T. I’d just been flicking through one of the many magazines I get each month when I stumbled across the article. Apparently, Blackbirds symbolize freedom and some cultures even believe they are the symbol of eternal life and they consider the bird the link between heaven and earth. I’d thought of him the minute I’d read it, I so badly wanted him to be able to visit heaven, Aurora even just for a little while to put his aching heart at ease. Instead, I’d have to settle on the nickname and hope that one day he would understand. Reid was my blackbird because he was dark, inside and out but with all good intentions he wouldn’t let anyone but me see. Besides, the inky black bird he had tattooed over his toned shin only further proved my theory.

  I moved further into the current before hoping on my board, my legs dangling beneath the water before I turned back to Reid. The man, the dying, the hollow, the lover. The best god damned thing to ever pass through Delia, through me. I don’t know what I’d do without him now and it had only been a few weeks since he’d moved here. I always wondered what I would be doing now if Reid had never come here, but I always shut that thought up and locked it away before swallowing the key. With his partly wet shorts, his T-shirt speckled with sea-drops, the long hair atop his head damp with the odd splashes that would hit him, he wades through the water, defying the current the same way he walks through life. Step after step he follows me into the deep. Footstep after Footstep he moves further away from his past and towards his future, towards me. Stride after stride, he forces himself through the current working against him and comes out the other side taller, stronger and mine.

  “You can do it Blackbird” I smile softly, my words having more of a meaning that intended.

  “Gimme’ that board little dove” he reaches for the pretty little thing between my legs, and I don’t mean the usual thing he likes reaching for. In less than a second he has my board from under me and I’m in the water, flaring my arms out and kicking my legs to stay afloat.

  “Reid!”

  “What? You wanted to teach me, so teach little one” he smirks, swinging his leg over my waxed board and looking just as much at home as a bird does in a nest. Reid belongs here, in the sea, on my board and in my heart. Regardless of his past, of Aurora, I’m sure she’d want him to be happy. Call it my sixth sense or something but the girl is talking to me. I need him to be happy just as much as she does. Unfortunately, I’m the only one who can accomplish that. I spent the rest of the day with Reid in the water, the waves crashing against our skin until we turned to prunes, until the salt in the air clung to our skin like another layer and until I was sure Reid was going to be a professional surfer competing in Bondi next year. The smiles and laughter I’d dragged out of him today had set my world on fire, the sound was almost as good as hearing a Bocelli song played live at the Teatro di Silencio...not that I’d ever get that far away from Delia of course, especially with Reid here. It was Nana’s love of classical music that would always inspire me to listen to it some more, but I just never got around it. The amount of Sunday afternoons I’d spend with her baking in the kitchen with the loud symphonies blaring through her radio were endless.

  “You’re like a fish to water” I smile smugly as he carries my board back to the promenade. The clothes he has on are well and truly soaked, Reid gave it his all out there today and I was somewhat proud.

  One raised eyebrow in my direction has me rolling my lips shut, the grump obviously doesn’t want to talk about it. We reach the promenade, the wood beneath our feet cold in comparison to the sand.

  “The cabin?” I offer, hoping that my making the decision will have Reid smiling again.

  “Sure” he shrugs but I know he feels comfortable there. He’s home and that’s what I want him to feel. I pull my wetsuit down around my hips, the same as I always do, hoping that the cold, end of summer air will dry me somewhat before we reach his place. The front was quiet tonight, but you could guarantee it would be bustling tomorrow. I had major plans to get Reid involved, whether he liked it or not.

  I was full out living in the moment when it came to Reid. If something felt right then I did it, if it felt like it needed saying then I’d say it. What I didn’t do however, was push him. I didn’t ask the obvious questions that burned at the tip of my tongue each time I brushed my lips against his. I didn’t push him in the deepest, darkest times of the night when he thrashed about in his sleep what his nightmares included. I was merely there. To hold him while he calmed down, something I’m sure he’d never had before, or at least had in a long while. I’d just wrap my arms around him and hold him tightly while he shuddered against me, the unanswered questions going ignored in the morning and for the rest of the day. Maybe they’d go unanswered for the rest of time, but I was okay with that. Reid was alive and beautifully breathing, that was all I could ask for. His smile lit up the entire bay, his soul thumped around us to the rhythm of his guitar, his darkness made us all appreciate what we had and to cherish every moment we had with one another.

  Reid was a fallen angel, even if he didn’t realize it. He’d flown high and crashed hard, never having fully recovered he was sent to us in Delia to teach us a valuable life lesson, one I’d realized the moment I set my eyes on him. Reid would be my biggest challenge yet, one I was adamant to win, to woo, to love and to keep.

  I wasn’t overjoyed when he said he’d loved me. I was fucking ecstatic. I didn’t know what to say or do. It was all so fast. My subconscious had battled with itself for a second or two.... did I love him?

  Yes. Of course, I did. Every goddamned broken piece of him, I loved.

  I wasn’t the type of girl who needed diamonds and picket fences. All I needed was a surf board and log cabins.

  Preferably a cabin with Reid in it. Obviously. I loved him, unconditionally, unintentionally and whole heartedly. I just wished he’d see it.

  I knew it would take time for him to realize that he was allowed to love again, it was almost ten years, so he says to the anniversary of Aurora’s death, and he’d beaten himself up long enough.

  We showered and changed into dryer
clothes, much to Reid’s disappointment but the sun was quickly setting on our day and I wanted to catch the Fireflies coming out for the night.

  Reid would have been happy staying indoors and keeping me naked, but there was more to life than sex.... even if it was sex with Reid Archer, and his cock was amazing....

  Savages & Bonfires

  I DON’T KNOW WHAT WAS happening, but when I woke up this morning my entire body felt lighter. Like all the little snippets that I’d suddenly felt better about had turned into something bigger, stronger than me and getting out of bed this morning didn’t feel like I had the weight of a wrecking ball on my chest. I pulled myself from bed, deciding the least Luna deserved was a coffee considering the amount of effort she’d put in for me recently. The living room slash kitchen is soaked in early morning sunlight, the beams bouncing off the polished wood floor. I busy myself in the kitchen making us both a coffee when I turn around and lean my ass against the counter, waiting for the pot to finish boiling.

  Granted when I moved here I thought I’d be spending hell ‘ova lot of time here in the Cabin. The living room is just as clean as it was the day I moved in, the rest of the place much the same because I haven’t really been here. It’s either been the bar or Luna’s apartment.

  The light dances around the room, hitting various pieces of furniture as the shadows from the too-big tree outside blow in the breeze. My eyes land on Aurora, placed neatly on her stand in the corner and my heart doesn’t squeeze the same way it usually does. Sure, it still feels like my ribs have been splintered into too many pieces to ever put back together again, but with Luna in the next room it’s almost like she’s a balm across my wounds. Soothing the pain, a little.

  No one will ever be able to stitch me back up whole again, I know that. Luna makes it all seem so easy when in reality it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Sometimes I’m genuinely happy until the guilt kicks in and then I have to force the smallest of smiles or the dullest of laughs.

  It happens. Life fucking happens.

  The soft groan that comes from my bedroom has me looking that way, the doorway still bare, the room dark owing to the drawn curtains but the sound beckoning to my selfish mind and greedy cock. I finish making our drinks before grabbing the two steaming mugs and walking back to the sleeping beauty who could either save me or kill me.

  “Good morning little dove” I place her mug on the table beside her before climbing into my side against the wall. There’s no side table on my side because the room is too small, but I love it. The curtains cover up the wide window that gives way to the gorgeous view over the meadow and the road down to the promenade, the sea just visible over the incline of the grassy hill. I could lay here for hours just looking out at it.

  “Mhmmm” Luna rolls over, the sheet covering her beautiful breasts falling away and revealing gorgeous pink nipples just screaming for me to suck. I refrain, instead shuffling myself up the bed to lean back on the upholstered headboard. I know she’d kill me if I made her late on today of all days, I’ll just have to get twice as good later.

  Bright blue eyes spring open, wide with wonder and dreamy with sleep, her long lashes fan out across her high cheeks making me smile just from her pretty face alone.

  “Good morning” she grumbles, stretching her limbs out, spreading more of her scent over my sheets. That’s not a complaint, her floral, innocent smell helps me sleep. It subdues my nightmares and I find myself hugging her pillow whenever she’s not here which thankfully is becoming less and less frequent.

  “Ready for a beach day?” I ask, tearing my eyes away from her gorgeous, curvy body that’s only partially covered with the thin sheet. That’s right, I distract myself with the thin piece of fabric draped across the most precious thing I’ve had in forever instead of the filthy things I could be doing to her. Today is big for Luna and I know she needs me on my A-game too. That reminds me I’ll need to invest in some new covers before winter hits, there’s only so much heat the log burner can provide, and I’d preferably like to keep my balls through the winter. And Luna in my bed obviously.

  “Is it raining?” she mumbles, her head buried in the pillow. I chuckle, no matter how adamant she is that she’s a morning person, Luna is far from it. I know that she needs food and at least three coffees, or in lieu of the caffeine, the sea, before she can function.

  “Nope. It’s beautiful out” I take another sip of my coffee, glancing at the sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains, the beams landing right on Luna’s taught, tanned skin on her legs and sending my already hard cock into a jittering, pre-cum mess.

  I’ve never seen any other woman as innocently beautiful before, the string of women who I’d used over the past few years probably were, but I’d never taken the time to notice. I didn’t care back then. Not until Luna came in and broke down every damned barrier I’d put up to protect myself from another Aurora.

  “Mhmmm” she hums, stretching her arms above her, her small fingers brushing the headboard. “And you brought me coffee” she tilts her head, a soft smile dancing across her beautiful plump lips. “I could get used to this” she shuffles up the bed, joining me at the top with her bare back against the head board before she wraps her hands around the steaming mug of life.

  “So, what’s on the agenda for today?” I ask, distracting myself from the very naked woman in my bed, the same one that was screaming my name into the depths of my eardrum late last night.

  “A lot” she huffs, her chest deflating, the fabric of the sheet she’d pulled up and over her chest slipping slightly. It had been less than eight hours since I’d been buried inside her wetness, but my cock was weeping for more already. I was a needy bastard when it came to this girl.

  “Where are you starting?” I ask, tilting my head in her direction, my too long hair falling over my forehead. Reaching out with her small hand, her dexterous fingers push the stray locks back, her touch sending sparks over my face straight down to my balls and back again.

  “I have to help them set up the games for the kids, make sure we keep the bambinos occupied while the parents enjoy themselves” she laughs, taking another sip of her drink.

  “Then, I have to help them set up the food and drink, which you’ll be helping with of course”

  “Sure thing. Austin’s got the canoe ready for us, I just need to fill it with Ice and beer” I shrug, the job sounding easy enough.

  “You’ve got it easy” she tuts, shaking her head from side to side as she cradles the ecstasy that is caffeine between her palms. We get dressed, ignoring the magnetic tug between us to fall back into bed and put things in places they should only be.... well, when it feels right I suppose. I’m not religious, sex shouldn’t be saved for marriage in my eyes. Sex is normal, natural. An experience we all share, awkwardly, lovingly, painfully and beautifully. Sex is a part of who we are, and I’ll be damned if I ever admit to not loving it.

  Reluctantly, I shoved my ripped jeans on from the spot I’d grabbed them from the floor before pulling a T-shirt over my head. Luna looked as fresh as she always did, having showered and spritzed herself in my aftershave. I loved the fact that she would go about her day smelling of me, constantly reminded of the fact that I was on her skin, beneath her skin in the darkest, deepest parts of her.

  We finished our coffees before heading out the door, the sun beating down on our backs almost instantly.

  “Are you excited about today?” she asks, swinging her arms out around her and twirling around like a little girl. Luna is so goddamned care free I envy her. A small-town girl who’s never known the harshness of life, living hers too freely and whole heartedly.

  “I guess” I answer honestly, never having thought I’d be at a beach BBQ with a bunch of people I don’t know and faking a smile for the sake of everybody else. I didn’t entirely know that I was faking it today either and that was...odd.

  “It’s okay to be happy Reid” she says quietly, her words weighing heavy on my shoulders and turning my m
ood a little darker. We hit the promenade, the place bustling with life already as we continue the walk-in total silence.

  “I’ll come and find you later” I say reluctantly, the words feel like lead in my stomach as she turns towards me. The lace cardigan she has draped over her shoulders looks too big for her, but Luna could make a bin liner look good.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you” she smiles softly before reaching up on her toes and silencing my reply with a kiss.

  “I love you” she mumbles, pulling away and fluttering her eyelashes up at me.

  “Love you” is all I can muster back, the whirlpool of feelings turning to a grey goop in my stomach. Guilt, love, uneasiness, excitement. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be feeling right now and I feel like I’m going to throw up at any second. I stand stupidly on the front stoop of the bar watching as Luna crosses the street to the beach, her wild blonde locks blowing around her in the breeze.

  Luna is summer personified, she’s unique, bright and beautiful.

  “Fallen hard I see” Gus’ hand lands on my shoulder, snapping me out of my Luna trance just as she steps down onto the sand, the one place I know she feels most at home. I turn towards the bar, grunting at the old man making him chuckle. I haven’t admitted it to myself yet, I don’t know that I ever will, so I certainly am not admitting it to the biggest, chattiest, old man known to mankind. Those three words seemed to pass through my lips with such ease that I was damned sure I felt them deep in my heart, in my core. But now? I loved Luna, but could I ever really love her? The way she deserved?

  I busied myself helping Gus and Wyatt hang up banners and bunting across the front of the bar this morning, the rest of the promenade doing much the same. A lot of folks from up in the town had already ventured down and started gathering up supplies for the BBQ. Luna had been down on the sand helping Austin set up the volleyball nets while a few others set up tables and chairs, floor cushions and a bonfire. I was snatching glances at her all damned day, my head turning in her direction whenever her scent washed up the shore, or her laugh carried its way to me on the wind.