“What are you thinking about, baby?”
“I’m thinking about you, pretty girl. I’m always thinking about you,” I say. Her eyes go soft, and she bites down on her lip. I pull on it, wiping her gloss away. She does that cute pout.
“I need to put more gloss on now.”
“You don’t need that stuff, baby. Your lips always shine bright.”
“That’s because I always have my gloss, silly.”
“I thought it was chapstick,” I tell her, confused.
“Chapstick, gloss… I wear both.”
“Whatever it is, you always smell like summer.” We smile at each other.
“You always smell good, too.”
“What do I smell like?”
She giggles and says, “You just smell like my boy.”
I pull her into me.” Give me your lips, baby, before you put on all that gloss again. I want to taste you.” I kiss her nice and slow, taking in this moment with her before I have to share her. When we break away, Jules walks up to us.
“Don’t you two look nice?” she says.
“Thanks, Jules.” Shay moves closer to her. “Hey, hold my purse so I can get my gloss out.”
The girl’s eyes practically bug out of her head. “Shay! How many times do I have to tell you? It’s a handbag, not a purse, especially when it’s so small. I mean, technically that’s a clutch, but definitely not a purse. Seriously, I’m going to have to replace you with a gay best friend. You have to know these things.” She pushes her hair back off her shoulder and totally changes her tune. “That dress is to die for! Shay, it looks so perfect on you. Have you seen Brett? I leave him for a minute, and he’s gone. That’s why I don’t like having to deal with boys our age. They just don’t understand etiquette. You never leave your date.” She looks away. “Here he comes. God, I can’t wait to go to college where there are actual intelligent, respectful guys.”
Jules cracks me up. If she weren’t Shay’s best friend, she probably would annoy me, but if Shay loves her, I know she has good intentions. She just comes off as high maintenance and, damn, she can talk fast.
Everywhere we turn someone is calling out Shay’s name. I can’t believe all the different activities she’s a part of. How does she have time for all this stuff?
This whole thing looks like a scene straight of a movie where all the kids are rich and good-looking. The guys look like cocky jerks, while the girls just look like they’re trying too damn hard to be noticed. Shay looks like an angel in a sea of make-believe wannabes.
Someone is bound to rub me the wrong way. I turn my attention quickly at the familiar voice that makes my blood boil.
“Hey, don’t you look sexy? Come here and give me a hug, baby.”
Yep, definitely rubbed the wrong way.
Before Shay can even say a word, I’m ready to bitch slap this guy. Who the hell does he think he is, talking to my girl like that? Is this what goes on when I’m not around?
“Excuse me,” I say. This guy does everything to get under my skin.
Shay gives me a soft smile, trying to put the fire out that I’m ready to start. Cole looks me up and down with a sly smile on his face. “What’s up, Jace?” He puts his hand out to shake mine.
I don’t shake it. I don’t like his humor, and I don’t like anyone talking to Shay the way he just did. I stare at Cole until Shay tightens her grip on my hand. I know she’s reassuring me, but I’m not having it.
“Jace,” she says, trying to get me to reciprocate. I don’t take my eyes off him. I want him to know that I’m not one of these punk-ass pretty boys that will let him say or do what they want.
Not with me, motherfucker. You don’t intimidate me.
“You love to piss me off, don’t you?” I ask, swallowing hard, feeling my adrenaline kick in. “Bro, you need to back off. You don’t call my girl baby…” I start zoning in on him until Shay’s sweet voice shines through the thick air surrounding us.
“Baby, please don’t let him bother us. Cole is just being a jerk.” I look down into her big blue eyes. She looks so pretty that I can’t stand the thought of upsetting her, so I breathe in deep and will myself to let it go.
A bunch of girls call Shay over to take a picture with them. “Go,” I tell her, seeing the hesitation in her eyes.
“Be right back,” she says. I kiss her check, and when she walks away, I take the moment to let this asshole know what’s up.
“You’re not bent out of shape about those text messages, are you? I was just fucking with you.”
“Is that what you find humorous? Texting someone’s boyfriend to get a rise out of them?”
“That’s right,” Cole says sarcastically.
“Well, Cole, you and I don’t share the same humor. Keep your fucking hands off my girl.”
“Whatever,” he says in a condescending tone. He begins to walk away, but not before throwing me a jab. “She’ll eventually take the trash out. Until then, have fun with her.”
It takes everything in my power not to fuck this guy up right now. Where I come from, no one talks with such disrespect without getting their ass beat. I clench my jaw, trying to calm down. Damn, I’m so hot under the collar; I don’t know if it’s because this shirt is a little too tight or if it’s because I’m ready to fucking go crazy on this guy. Screw it. This guy can’t get away with talking to me like that.
As I start walking toward Cole, Shay comes back from her circle of friends and gives me a kiss on my cheek. “Sorry, once one person starts taking pictures, everyone else needs one on their phone, too.” She wraps her arms around me. For a second, she calms me down, but as soon as I look into her eyes, I’m ready to hurt that fucker. “You know how handsome you look all dressed up? I forgot to tell you. You are so handsome, baby.”
Everyone falls away.
I take her face in my hands and look at her, just stare into that face. The face I want to look at forever. “You’re the prettiest girl here, baby,” is all I say, because when I look at her, she’s all that matters.
WHEN WE FINALLY walk into the dance, it looks like something right out of a Disney movie. All sparkly with white twinkling lights that you’d see on a Christmas tree and filled with guys that look like Prince Charming with their very own Cinderella on their arms. I look at Shay, and she’s the Belle of the Ball. I’m really feeling like the one that gets to look the part for a few hours, just to turn back into the toad at midnight. “You are so handsome.” She brushes her lips against my neck.
All my insecurities rush out of me by the touch of her perfect lips. “I love you, Shay.” I push away the loose strands of hair that have made their home on her glossed lips. She smiles at me with tenderness. We just look at each other, unfazed by everyone around us.
“So, Prince Charming does exist? Aren’t you going to introduce us to your boyfriend, Shay?” a girl says, ruining our moment. Glancing over, I can tell right away the kind of girl she is.
Entitled.
She’s got her blonde hair in a twisty thing on top of her head, trying to look like a princess.
She’s not.
I don’t like her tone with Shay. I try to be polite when Shay introduces her to me, but the way she is looking at me while licking her lips is disrespectful to my girl. Shay turns to me with her delicate voice. “Don’t do that with your eyes, baby.”
My gaze softens when I look at her. “Do what with my eyes?”
“Go all squinty like you’re thinking or upset.”
“I am upset,” I say. She gives me a questioning look. “I don’t like the way she talked to you. She seems like a mean girl, and I don’t like the thought of someone being mean to my girl.”
“She’s not mean, baby. That’s just her way.”
“Well, I don’t like her way.”
She pulls me into her. When she does, I hold on a little too tight, wanting all her friends to see she is mine. “By the way, when you squint your eyes like that, you look so sexy,” she says into my ear.
I pull back and look at her. ”You think I’m sexy?”
She reaches up—even in her heels she has to reach for me— and puts her sweet mouth on mine and says, “The sexiest,” I moan into her mouth when she slips her tongue inside mine, letting me taste her. All I can think about is how happy she’s going to be tonight and how things are going to change for us. I’m going to make her mine tonight. “Take me dancing, baby. I want to see your moves.”
I laugh. “You’re not going to see my moves.”
“Why?” She pouts.
Raising my eyebrows, I lower my voice. “You’re going to feel them.” Her smile returns. She thought I wasn’t planning on dancing with her. “It’s all about the feels tonight, pretty girl. You in my arms and me pulling those sexy hips against mine in a slow rhythm.”
“That sounds nice,” she says.
“Good, that will give you an idea of what it’s going to feel like later when we’re alone.” Her eyes go wide. “Yeah, baby.” I run my lips along her cheek, across her jaw before landing on her lips. “Give me your lips.” With labored breaths, she gives me her mouth where I kiss her slowly and lovingly, letting her know that’s exactly what I will be doing to her later. She trembles against me. “I love you.”
She looks up with curious eyes. “I love you, too, Jace.”
“You know how much you mean to me, Shay?”
“Yes,” she answers.
I’ve never really danced before, and I don’t feel like learning in front of all the eyes on us right now. Jules walks up to us. “Have you seen Devin’s dress?” Shay shakes her head no. “Well, let’s just say des-prate.” I laugh to myself. She’s that friend that tells it like it is. At least that’s what Shay tells me, and whenever I see Jules, she pretty much says what she wants without thought. “So, the DJ kind of sucks, the decorations are fabulous because we did them, but, yeah, Devin looks like a slut.” Shay looks up and smiles and me. “Well, you two lovebirds have fun. I’m going to go make fun of people. Shay, seriously, I need to dress everyone here. They just have fashion all wrong.”
“She’s a character, baby,” I say directly into Shay’s ear since the music is loud.
“I know, but I love her,” she yells back.
The music slows as the speakers fill the room with one of Shay’s favorite songs. “I want to dance with you,” I tell her.
She bites her lip in anticipation. Dropping all my dancing insecurities, I take her hand in mine and lead her to the empty dance floor. I put one hand to her long, soft neck and the other on her hip and begin singing the song into her ear quietly. I do what I told her I was going to do.
I hold her in my arms, pulling her sexy hips against me, nice and slow.
MY NEED FOR Shay is becoming unbearable as I hold her through every song. From the first moment I led her to the dance floor, I’ve been picturing her beneath me under the moonlit sky. I feel myself ready to explode. “I want you, baby.”
She giggles against my neck. “You have me.”
“No, baby, can we please get out of here?”
She raises her head from my shoulder, and our gazes meet. The longing is there, so strong that I can feel her desire, just as strong as I know she can feel mine. “I’m ready,” she says.
“No more waiting. I need to be inside you.” She smiles and takes my hand as I lead her off the dance floor. Friends try to talk to her, but I don’t stop. She’s mine. We get close to the exit and Jules waves.
“We’re leaving,” Shay yells over to her.
Jules gestures with her hand and yells back, “Me, too.”
I lead my girl out into the parking lot. She hands me her car keys, and I open her door, kissing her lightly on her plump lips before she gets inside. After putting her seatbelt on, I shut her door. I don’t say a word as I drive us to our beach. When we get there, she grabs her door handle, but I stop her from opening the door. “I will open your door, Shay.” I walk around, bringing my girl in my arms as I shut the car door behind us.
“Did you have fun?” she asks.
“I always have fun when I’m with you.” I crash my lips onto hers. As I slip my tongue into her mouth, she melds against me. My whole body heats up as she swirls her tongue against mine. I surrender everything I am to her. Right at this very moment, as we pretty much make love to each other with merely our mouths, she breathes life into me. I haven’t even been inside her yet, and I know I will never get enough. I will never be worthy of her. I feel like she is a treasured gift, the most precious stone. Like I shouldn’t open her open and ruin what is so pure and real and good, but I can’t help myself.
As I slow down the kiss, we both moan. This feels different, not like our normal make-out sessions or our fun banter and teasing ways to make each other crazy. No, this is different.
I break our kiss, so she can catch her breath. Our gazes lock, and I see so much emotion in her eyes. Inhaling a sharp breath of air, I take in her intoxicating smell. When I exhale, I exhale love.
Shay grabs my hand, pulling me through the sandy shore. I yell, ”Wait!” When she turns around, her soft wavy hair falls in front of her face as her pretty pink dress sways in the ocean breeze. She laughs. “Let me grab our beach bag, baby.” I run back to the car and grab the bag. Holding hands, we start running again, only to trip through the loose sand. Her laughter fills me as the moonlight surrounds us.
Alone on the darkened beach, I roll on top of her, and we start kissing. She wraps her arms around me, gliding her fingers through my hair. I bring my cold lips to her soft neck and then whisper into her ear, “I just want to crash into you. Just like those waves break and roll onto the shore in perfect harmony. That’s what I want. I want to ride the waves and let the calm come over us as we break.” I kiss her softly as she shutters beneath me. “Are you ready to crash, baby?” I bring my eyes to my girl’s. Her big blue eyes look into my soul. The same big blue eyes that looked at me so long ago.
Taking a shaky breath, she closes her eyes and reaches up to me. Pressing her lips softly against mine, she whispers, “Yes.”
I try to swallow, but I’m overwhelmed. We’ve talked about it for a while, and I know that she’s made sure she’s protected so that there will be nothing between us. Lifting myself off her, I get up and wipe the sand off me. Shay lies there, looking up at the stars. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I know that I will do everything I can to ease her mind. She will never have to worry about me. I will always take care of her.
Walking over to our bag, I lay out the two blankets we have and then check out the beach again. We’re in a secluded part, and the dunes keep us hidden. I grab the little battery-operated candles she brought and put them around the blanket.
Turning around, I look down at her. She stands up quickly, shaking the sand off her. I walk over to her as she wraps her arms around her waist and looks out into the ocean. “There’s something so beautiful about the way the moonlight cascades its glow on the water,” she says as I wrap my arms around her from behind.
“Yes, it’s really beautiful,” I tell her, rubbing my hands up and down her arms to keep her warm. She looks up into the darkened sky that is completely lit with twinkling stars. This night couldn’t have been any more perfect. Turning to me, her delicate fingers caress my face.
“It’s a perfect night, Jace.”
“Yeah, baby, it is. You wanted the moon and the stars.” Her smile is bright, even though she’s nervous. “Come here,” I say, holding her tighter in my arms.
Her delicate feet kick up the sand as she takes a step away from me. When she lifts her face to mine, her eyes are wet. I don’t have to ask. I know there’s nothing wrong. She’s emotional. We’ve been together for six years. We’ve grown together from tweens—like she so adorably says—to teens to now on the verge of becoming adults. Adults ready to fully commit ourselves to each other.
Shay has always been my girl, and after tonight, she will be completely mine. She gave me her heart when she was twelve
, and now at eighteen, she is giving me her body. I don’t think we could have picked a better moment than this one. She wanted our first time to be under the moon and stars, and that’s what my girl is getting.
I step back into her, letting my lips graze the soft skin of her collarbone. “I’m going to make love to you, baby.”
Barely above a whisper, she says, “I love you, Jace James.” Then she presses her lips against my neck, causing chills to run down me. As she starts unbuttoning my shirt, I inhale her deeply. It’s so Shay—a mixture of the salty ocean breeze and her unique tropical scent.
Every button seems like eternity. When she undoes the last one, she opens my shirt, exposing my chest. She can probably see my heart beating through my skin. Sliding it off my shoulders, she realizes she forgot the buttons at my wrists. “Whoops.” She giggles.
She unbuttons them, tossing my shirt onto the sand. When she looks back up to me, I can’t hide the obvious rise and fall of my breathing. I’m so ready to be inside her. Memories come crashing into me, just as fast as the breaking waves hit the shore. Every moment I’ve ever had with her. When she gave me half of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, when I kissed her that very first time…
“I will never understand what I did to deserve you. All I know is I will take care of your heart for the rest of my life. You are a gift to me, Shay, and when I unwrap you, baby, you will be treasured every day of my life.”
Her hands go straight to my hair. When the breeze makes it fall forward, she pushes it back as we lock eyes. Taking off my pants, I step out of them and silently walk her hand in hand to our blanket. As I slide off my boxers, she looks at me. Holding her close to me, I find the zipper to her dress. I trail my hands up her back, and when I bring them back down, I slowly unzip her dress, letting it fall slowly to the ground. It pools around her feet, and she steps out of it, leaving her wearing only her sexy pink panties. My eyes never leave hers. She’s a mixture of both scared and curious. “Breathe, baby,” I say. She takes a breath, putting her hands to her face. I chuckle.
Labeled Love Page 23
