“It’s my fault,” I say interrupting her. “I’m a slow learner. You were there all along, but you were my best friend’s little sister. I knew you’d grow up to be a very special young woman one day, but I just never…I…now I’m the one lying to myself.” I exhale hard. “There was a reason I was never with anyone. My subconscious was always working in the background, telling me to wait. The deepest parts of me knew that one day the two of us would be together even though my mind didn’t at the time…at least the functioning part of my day to day brain.” I stop and shake my head. “Sorry, I’m going all Freud on you. It’s that analytical finance side of my brain that has to process through everything and reason through everything. But with you I don’t need a single reason other than that I want you like I’ve never wanted anything before in the whole world. And that want has to be filled. It’s not even a want…that’s totally the wrong word. It’s a need so deep it’s been driving me all my life, I just never knew it. It’s why I pursued finance, so I could get enough money so that we could start a life together…so that we could bring a child into this world with all the opportunities afforded to that baby possible. It’s why I was so focused. Yeah, I told your brother long ago I was focused on sports and studying and I was…but now I know the real reason was you. I was keeping my body in shape so I could make the best baby possible. Our baby. And I was making money for the reasons I already said. And now look at where we are,” I say briefly taking my eyes off her and scanning the room before bringing them back to meet hers quickly. I hate not looking at her. Looking at the sunset over the Pacific pales in comparison to her beauty.
“Here we are together. Building this house together…building a life together.”
“I want that,” she says.
“I want it too…and tomorrow it begins.”
CHAPTER 6
Summer
I lie in bed as the cool ocean breeze blows through my open window.
There aren’t even mosquitos here so I can leave the window completely open. I’m literally in paradise, but right now it feels like hell.
Hell, because he’s down the hall in the other room.
Hell, because I know what we both want now…and it’s very clearly each other.
But not tonight. He got me worked up but I’m not complaining. I saw how worked up he was and I wanted to grab his cock myself and give him the release that we both needed.
And I wanted that release to happen inside me.
I’ve been so focused on college and getting clients that I forgot about what’s most important…what I always wanted.
Him.
He was always there on the front of my mind through college down in Georgia, but after I graduated I had other things to worry about. I mean I was sleeping on a guy’s couch I went to school with last night.
And now here I am in my ultimate crush’s home, feeling the ocean breeze that I swear has a light scent of him mixed in.
But he’s not just my crush anymore. He’s mine. Or very soon to be mine.
This is all so real and happening so fast I should be happy for the anticipation that’s going to build in the next less than twenty-four hours.
But it only makes things worse. It’s like I have to keep pinching myself to believe this is real and I want him so bad because somewhere in the back of my mind I think I’m in wonderland about to wake up at any minute and all of this is going to be one amazing dream…that turns out to be a nightmare.
But it’s not. Even though I know it’s not I have no patience.
And when I hear his bed squeak I know he’s tossing and turning too.
Why does it have to be like this? Why oh why? Why does he have to be so perfect and make things so special?
I know I’ll thank him years later, but right now I just want to yell his name. I’m not one to use much bad language, but damn! I don’t know if I want to curse him or use that word in another way…as in, “Please Sebastian fuck me now!”
Because that’s all I can think of. Him entering and exiting me as I roll onto my left side, then my back, and then my right before finally laying flat on my face. But the movement somehow causes the mattress to rub against me in a way that only heightens my arousal.
But I won’t touch myself. No way. I won’t settle. Only the real thing. Only him.
And sometime tomorrow night that’s exactly what I’ll get and he’ll get the gift I’ve been saving for him.
Wait? Did he say tomorrow night or just tomorrow?
I don’t know if that question has made matters better or worse. Now I’m thinking of all the ways he might surprise me in the morning, or the daytime, or my original thought at night.
There’s an endless array of possibilities and there’s one thing for sure….all of them are perfect.
Why?
Because all of them involve him. His feelings for me. And my love for him.
This is far from a crush anymore. This isn’t some helpless romantic wishing any longer.
This is real…and so is my love.
I love him. I know this for sure.
But what I don’t know is how I’m going to make it through this night…without him.
CHAPTER 7
Sebastian
The next evening
As we lie on the blanket together on the sandy shore just in front of my house I wonder how life can get better than this.
I just had the best day of my life and as day turns into night I get to enjoy the sunset with her in my arms.
Thankfully low tide is right about now so we can sit far forward on the beach which we have all to ourselves.
“Cheers,” I say raising my lemonade glass to hers and we clink.
“Is this lemonade from the same recipe you used when you set up that lemonade stand in middle school when you were practicing your entrepreneurial skills?” she asks me. “The recipe you were going to use to get rich?” She must have heard the story from her brother. He likes telling it all the time to try and embarrass me, but secretly I find it funny too.
“Same secret recipe.”
“Will you ever share it with me?”
“I’ll share anything and everything with you…especially my life.”
“Aww,” she says and cuddles up to me before she takes a sip. She’s careful not to spill her cool drink which I picked for a reason.
One, who doesn’t love lemonade on a hot summer day?
Two, I wanted her to be totally cognizant and aware of what was happening today and tonight. Last night we drank alcohol and although we were far from drunk alcohol does impair judgment. I want us both to be one hundred percent clear of mind tonight so our decision to do what we’re going to do is ours, and not a spur of the moment choice with the help of some Mexican beers, or any alcohol for that matter.
Three, and most importantly, I don’t want us to dull our senses in the slightest. I want to feel everything. I want to experience the goose bumps, the wave of heat pulsing through my veins and the cool chills I get. I want to feel the slightest of her touches and I want her to feel it when I run my fingertips over her scalp and down her spine, and when I turn my hand over and glide the back of my fingertips up and down her arms. It’s a strange thing I learned years ago, but it provides an extreme sensation and I want her to sense everything tonight. And me too.
“How did you enjoy your day?” I ask.
“It was amazing,” she says. “Thank you.”
“It was my pleasure and all the thanks goes to you.” I take a sip. “What was your favorite part?”
“There were so many. The way the sea kissed my skin leaving that faint trace of sand on my body and in my hair all day. The salt from the water making my skin feel so fresh and clear. The feeling of sand between my toes. The ice cream cones. The people walking their dogs along the beach. Summer just feels so free and so perfect.”
“You’re perfect,” I say tapping her lightly on the nose with my finger. “But you’ll never be free.”
She makes
a pouty face.
“Oh, you’ll be free to do all the things you’ve wanted to do in life and you’ll have my undivided support and attention, but you won’t be free in the sense that you’ll be mine forever.”
“And I’ll treasure every minute of it,” she says.
“Speaking of treasure, I think it’s time,” I say as the last of the sun fades off into the horizon.
“Time for?”
I stand up and help her to her feet. I carefully shake out the blanket a few feet from her and then fold it. I take our drinks and hide all our things behind a rock.
But it’s not this rock where the most important thing tonight is hidden.
“Where are you taking me?” she asks as I take her by the hand and walk her along the beach.
“You said treasure so I’m taking you to a place that’s literally called Treasure Island Beach.”
“Oh! That sounds really nice.”
“And it’s appropriately named as you are my ultimate treasure.”
She smiles, then pauses as we approach a rocky point on the beach. “But even with low tide it looks like we can’t walk around that.”
“We’re not going to,” I say. “Come with me.”
I bend down and she jumps on my back and I carry her piggy back up and over the rocks. She’s light as a feather so it’s practically like she’s not even on my back, not that I’d ever forget though.
With her there this is perfect, romantic, the way summer should be.
Without her I’d be just a guy on the beach by himself.
But those days are over.
As we descend the rock I hear her say, “Wow! Is that for us.”
“It’s for you, and I’m your captain this evening,” I say helping her into the rowboat.
“It looks almost exactly like the one from The Notebook,” she says.
“It is the one from The Notebook,” I say. “A friend of mine works in Hollywood for the studio and he gave it to me as a present when I bought the summer house.”
It’s vintage, white, and has a brown trim and oars.
“Wow,” she says. It’s my new favorite word of hers, because it means I surprised her in a good way…a big way. And that’s what I want to keep on doing for the rest of our lives.
But while Ryan Gosling may have surprised Rachel McAdams by rowing her through a beautiful flock of American Pekin ducks, I’ve got my own surprise for Summer.
CHAPTER 8
Summer
I had no idea this little cove even existed and I certainly didn’t expect he’d have a boat tucked in here…and the boat from The Notebook at that.
It’s my favorite movie of all time although I had no idea Sebastian knew that. Then again I now realize he was listening more carefully than I thought all those years.
He begins rowing the boat out and around the rocks, keeping us close enough to the shore that we can see everything fine and so that I feel safe. But I’d always feel safe by his side no matter where we go together.
He doesn’t say a word and he doesn’t have to. Just the sound of the oars moving and their light splashes as they enter and exit the water is so beautiful.
And what’s even more beautiful is the way he looks at me. He can’t take his eyes off of me and even though he probably should be focusing on where he’s taking us he doesn’t, but it doesn’t seem to matter. We just glide along the top of the water and I start to wonder where this mythical Treasure Island Beach is.
And as much as I’m loving this moment and I’m loving him something equally as important hits me too.
He loves me. To do all this for me? His actions speak louder than words ever could. I still want to hear the words from his mouth as he kisses me, and I hope I will, but that would just be icing on the cake.
He motions with his head up to the sky, but keeps his eyes on me.
I grab the side of the boat and turn up and back looking at the moon. It’s full, of course. Could this night, and the day that preceded it, get any more perfect?
Impossible.
After about twenty or thirty minutes, I really don’t know because I’ve completely lost track of time, he starts to row us towards shore. Not more than five minutes later he’s pulled the boat up on the sand and he’s offering me his hand helping me out of the boat.
We walk along the beach there still not saying a word, just enjoying the moment and each other’s company. The sound of the small tide gently lapping against the sandy shore is the most beautiful music to my ears until I hear the only words that could be more incredible.
Suddenly he stops and gets down on one knee, revealing a black velvet box from his free hand like a magician. He opens it and inside is a huge pink diamond ring like none I’ve ever seen even in the fanciest magazines.
“Beautiful, when you know you know. And I know that I want you as mine forever and always. Today has been perfect…just as perfect as I know every day will be with you by my side, and that’s why I need you there forever and always…to walk with me at sunset. To be my one and only passenger in my boat when we take our nightly journey just offshore. That is until we fill that boat full of children…children that will become our family. But it all starts with you…right here, right now. I’m already the happiest man in the entire world, and only you can make me happier…by saying yes. Will you marry me?”
My hands shoot up to my face and I’m at a complete loss for words, but luckily I only need one.
“Yes,” I say as I nod my head, and my dream continues. My dream of a life with him, but it’s not a dream anymore.
He slides the ring on my finger and stands up straight lifting me up into the sky and spinning me around.
I feel like the queen of the world. His queen…forever.
Then he slowly lowers my feet back to the ground and he leans in close to me. I can feel the heat from his skin and I rise up on my tiptoes trying to get my face even closer to his.
But he doesn’t make me wait as his head moves forward completely removing any and all distance between us and the lips of this big, strong man gently and softly meet mine and I melt into his arms.
CHAPTER 9
Summer
We spend the next thirty minutes kissing, cuddling and just enjoying the moment. I even shed more than a few tears of joy and all I can think about is how much I want this night to continue on forever while at the same time how I want it to speed up so we can get started on that family he was talking about.
As the moon continues across the sky he takes my hand and guides me back to the boat, helping me inside before rowing us back out so we can clear the rocky faces that jet into the ocean.
But this time he goes out just a bit more. The ocean is so calm and peaceful and I’m still not scared.
And then I learn why he went out farther.
He stands and moves toward the middle “seat” in the boat, extending his hand toward mine.
I carefully stand making sure to steady myself and take his hand. He’s such a big guy his mass and size are like an anchor as I move in closer to him.
He kisses me under the moonlight and pulls me in close. I feel his desire for me pressing through his pants and onto my stomach and I can’t help but wonder if now is the time.
But there’s no more wondering when he takes one hand from my body and slowly begins unbuttoning his white cotton shirt, making sure to steady me with his other hand and keeping his eyes locked on mine at all times.
I follow his lead and lift my shirt up and over my head and then unhook my bra freeing my breasts for him for the first time.
I watch as his eyes open wide at the sight of them and then his pupils dilate as a hunger takes over his face.
“You’re perfect,” he says and it makes me feel more self-assured about myself and more beautiful than he’s already made me feel…which is a whole, whole lot.
He unbuckles his belt and carefully steps out of his pants.
“We better sit down now,” he says. I slide out of my own
pants and then carefully remove my panties as he slides out of his underwear.
We’re both completely nude on a rowboat in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Southern California.
If you would have told me this would be happening two days ago, even last night, I would have told you you’re crazy.
And if you would have told me it was with him I would have really known you were nuts.
Summer Romanced: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 65) Page 4
