He pulled my legs up higher around him and plunged into me, deeper and harder until I thought I couldn’t take anymore—until I couldn’t help but scream out his name.
He shuddered, finding his release moments after mine. We lay there with him on top of me for several minutes, not wanting to break the connection. “Can’t you just stay right where you are forever?”
He smiled, brushing away some hair from my face. “I plan to spend a lot of my time in exactly this position, babe. I did promise you sex on the beach every night, didn’t I?”
“I prefer this beach. It’s soft and private.”
“And you can’t just walk away.”
“Nope. No fuck and run this time.”
He laughed and rolled off me. “I still can’t believe I got so lucky. Who gets to meet the girl of his dreams twice?”
I smiled and ran a hand down his chest. “I guess it was fate.”
“You believe in fate now?”
“Fate, luck, divine intervention. Whatever it was that brought us together again is high on my list.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter. We’re together. That’s all we can ask for.”
“Well, I do need to ask one more thing.”
“Oh?” He kissed my neck.
“Will you go to my sorority formal with me?”
He moved his lips lower. “Of course. I’ll try to blend in for you.”
“But I don’t want you to blend in. I want you to be your weird sexy self.”
“In that case, no problem. Oh, I have to ask you something too.”
“What’s that?”
“Want to go to the lake house with my family when you finish exams?”
“What?” I started to sit up, but his lips had me pinned down.
“Just for two nights then we’re doing something just the two of us.”
“Is that what you really want?”
“Yes. The thing is, seeing your ex with someone doesn’t hurt when you’re bringing the most amazing girl with you. I realized something a few weeks ago. I want her to be happy. I want her to be happy because I owe her for seeing what I couldn’t at first. For giving me the chance to find the girl I was actually meant to be with.”
I kissed him. I’d kissed him a lot that day, but I needed his lips more. He responded again at first, but then stopped suddenly.
“On the topic of favors and questions, I have one more.” He gave me his puppy dog face. “Any chance you’d do some of the Sinister Summer tour with me?”
I smiled, ready to let him in on my own surprise. “I have my press pass ready. I’m covering the tour for a local music blog my professor told me about. The tour was more than willing to give me a spot since I already had my own lodging and transportation.”
“Oh yeah, you think someone’s going to let you stay with them?”
“I know he is.”
He kissed me gently. “I love this confidence.”
“Me too.” I moved on top of him. “And you can play the lake house song again. I see it for what it was.”
“It doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I’m just going to play Forever Girl at every show.”
“Forever Girl? Is that what it’s called?”
“Yes, fitting name, isn’t it?”
“I want it to be.”
“It is.” He wrapped his arms around me. “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. And I’m going to make sure you stay there.”
I brushed my lips against his. “So am I.”
Looking back, I never imagined that one night of steamy sex on the beach could change my life forever, but it did. Sometimes it’s the risks we take that lead us to exactly the place we need to be. For me, that place was in Chase’s arms. I’d never felt safer or stronger anywhere else before, and I knew it was a place I never wanted to leave.
Want more Hazards? Juliet and Reed’s story, The Hazards of Skinny Dipping is available now!
The Hazards of Skinny Dipping
This isn't a deep book about first loves or self-discovery. If you want a book like that, I'd be happy to recommend one, but I don't have that kind of story to tell. Instead my story is about rash decisions and finding out that your dream guy is bad in bed. It's the story of when I finally went skinny dipping, and how my life was never the same again. Oh, and it's also the story of my freshman year of college and realizing Mr. Right might have been there all along.
Keep reading for a preview of Mallory and Colton’s story: The Hazards of a One Night Stand
For more information about Alyssa Rose Ivy’s books, please visit her online at:
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The Hazards of a One Night Stand
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Book Description:
One small town boy, one girl who wants more, one roll in the hay…
Hooking up with your high school crush is a bad idea, a really bad idea. It was only supposed to be one night, one brief departure from my real life, but nothing ever works out exactly the way you plan.
Colton Waters was everything from my past that didn't fit into my present, so why did he have to show up at my college and pledge the one frat I couldn't avoid?
Because nothing is ever meant to happen just once. At least not the life changing things that mean the difference between falling apart and falling in love.
Chapter One
Field parties are about as much fun as they sound. It’s just a bunch of kids getting wasted in the middle of nowhere as a way to pass the time. They were lame in high school and even lamer after a year spent away at college. Yet there I was, drinking my third Smirnoff (it was that or crappy beer) waiting for my friend to finish messing around with her boyfriend so she could drive me home.
I sighed, turning my back on the line of cars illuminating the pasture that was, thankfully, devoid of cows at the moment. Someone was blaring really bad music that I knew would be stuck in my head for a week.
“Hey, sorry!” Annie, my best friend since childhood, grabbed my arm. “I didn’t mean to run off on you like that.” Her face was flushed, and I knew my earlier assumption about her whereabouts was spot on. She and her boyfriend still lived with their parents, so they used whatever alone time they could find.
Annie had made plenty of time for me while I was home, but I sensed that I was getting in the way of the new life she’d created since I’d left the previous fall. I never planned to go back to Gasden that summer. I wanted to find something to do in Charleston, but it didn’t happen. I needed a paycheck and a roof over my head, so I took my old job lifeguarding at the town pool for the fourth summer in a row.
“It’s fine. Where’s Greg?” I searched around the dense crowd for her boyfriend. Generally, he stayed pretty close to Annie when there were other men around. If Greg had a major fault, it was his over protectiveness.
“He ran into Jason.” She brushed some of her long light brown hair behind her ear. My hair was about three shades darker, the darkest brown you could get before you called it black.
I groaned. “He’s not going to bring him over here, is he?”
“I don’t think so. But he’s really not so bad. Didn’t you guys have fun at the movies?” Her tone was light but excited. She was still on a high from her stolen time with Greg.
“No. I already told you he spent the whole time bragging about how cool his frat was.” And going on about how many girls he’d been with. Why would that have made him seem more appealing to me?
“Maybe he’s just intimidated by you. Guys sometimes brag like that when they feel insecure.” Annie smiled sweetly. That was the problem. It was impossible to be angry with a girl who smiled that way. Her whole personality was sweet as sugar. I tried to come off that way, but generally my true colors shone through. Th
ey weren’t as sparkly as hers. “And you’re in a sorority. Maybe he thought talking about his frat would impress you.”
“It didn’t work.” All his talk did was make me miss college more. I’d almost survived the summer, only one week remained before I got to go back to campus for rush. I was dying to move into my sorority house.
“He’s Greg’s friend, and I got to know him much better this—” She stopped suddenly.
I sighed, taking another huge swig of my drink.
“Hey, girls!” The president of our graduating class, Becky, hugged us like she hadn’t just seen us a few days before. She was just one of many people present at the party that I’d had no desire to see again after graduation. “How are you?”
“We’re doing well.” Annie smiled. Once again, she was the polite one.
“Have you heard from Jack at all?” Becky turned her attention to me, bringing up my ex-boyfriend like she was discussing the weather. Her low cut top left little to the imagination, and I wasn’t sure why she felt the need to annoy us.
I fought down the real answer I wanted to give and put on the biggest smile I could muster. I’d found that the more enthusiastic you were, the less likely a mean person was to strike against you again. You took away their fun that way. “No. Not recently.”
“Oh that’s too bad. He was always such a cutie.” She fluttered her eyelashes. I’m not kidding, she actually did that. “Ta ta, ladies. See you later.”
Annie put a hand on my arm as soon as Becky walked away. “Don’t let her get to you.”
“I’m trying not to.” I ignored the tightness in my chest that always developed when someone mentioned Jack’s name. Despite all the good times we had, those memories were overshadowed by the way he dumped me. Being told you aren’t good enough is the kind of experience you never forget.
Annie smiled sympathetically. “She’s just jealous, and you know it.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” I said the words Annie wanted to hear. After a year and a half, she was probably getting tired of me reacting so infantile every time Jack’s name came up in conversation. Too bad time didn’t seem to make the hurt and humiliation go away.
“Okay, and keep that positive thinking right now.”
“Why?” I followed her gaze. Greg and Jason were on their way over. Thankfully, at the last moment, Becky grabbed Jason’s arm and Greg continued on without him. The triumphant smile Becky shot us made me grin. She thought she was stealing a guy I liked. Too bad she was actually doing me a favor.
“Some of the guys are setting up a bonfire down on the other side of the property. We should probably make sure it doesn’t get out of hand, babe.” Greg put his arm around Annie.
“Yeah, sounds like a good idea.” She kissed him on the cheek.
“I think I’ll stay here.” I assumed the bonfire wasn’t just cover to go hook up again, but either way, I was tired of being a third wheel.
“Really?” Annie asked me skeptically.
“Yeah. I might try to find a ride home.”
“No. You can’t leave yet! I can’t have a party without you here.” Annie’s uncle owned the farm we were on, so in theory she was throwing the party. In reality, Greg was doing it all.
“All right. I’ll hang out for a while.”
“Yay! Text me if you need me.” She squeezed my hand before walking away.
“Fantastic.” I stood there by myself once again. The crowd had thinned down some, thanks to the bonfire, but luckily everyone was too drunk or too busy to notice me.
“Hey, pumpkin,” a low and warm voice whispered in my ear.
I jumped, spilling my Smirnoff down the front of my navy tank top. “Damn it, Colton!”
“Good to see you too, babe.” He picked me up and swung me around like I was a little kid or something.
I stepped back from him, taking in his muscular form. He was bigger than I remembered, but that sun tanned face and those killer blue eyes were exactly the same. Other than running into him over the holidays once, I hadn’t seen him since graduating. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be staying with your cousins this summer?”
“So you did ask around about me.” He winked. “I’m back for a few weeks.”
“Great.” I fought to keep a smile from slipping out. I’d been friends with Colton my whole life, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was kind of glad to see him. He had one of those personalities that was perpetually upbeat. Generally, all it took was a few minutes with him to find myself in a better mood. I’d had a crush on him for years, but considering I spent half of high school dating his older brother, I never did anything with those feelings.
“Did you get the package I sent you?” He stuffed his hands in his back pockets and watched me expectantly.
“Yeah. I did.” I thought about the large box that showed up on my doorstep two weeks before. It was full of the most random stuff, including magazines, figurines, and jolly ranchers. I loved jolly ranchers, especially watermelon. The gift wasn’t a complete surprise. He’d been sending little care packages to me occasionally since we were kids. It all started when he drew my name in this secret Santa exchange we did with some friends in middle school. He’d put together this awesome package of goodies for me, and I jokingly told him he should give me gifts more often. The care packages became a long running inside joke.
I tried to hold onto our friendship when I left, but like with most of my friends, we’d drifted. I think the fact that he was a grade younger and still in high school made it even harder to stay connected. Of course, there was also the little detail of his brother breaking my heart into a million pieces. “Thanks.”
“I was thinking about you.” He tilted his head to the side slightly.
“Yeah?” I finished off the part of my drink that wasn’t currently soaking into my shirt. “That was sweet.”
“I know.” He grinned. “I’m going to grab a beer. You want another drink?”
“Sure. You are the one who made me spill this one.” I held up the empty bottle.
“I could help clean up your top if you want.” He arched an eyebrow.
“I’m going to have to have a lot more to drink if you think that’s happening.”
“What happened to my light weight?” Thankfully, he spared me from having to listen to him detail all the times I got wasted off one or two drinks in high school. You’d never believe how crazy our 4H parties could get sometimes.
“She spent a year in college.”
“Ah, I forgot. You’re the cool, sophisticated sorority girl now.”
“Shut up. I love Delta Mu.” Just the mention of my sorority was exciting. I couldn’t wait to get back to it.
“Sure you do. And I bet you love the frat guys just as much.” He smirked.
“I dated a few.” A few was a slight exaggeration. I’d spent nearly all of freshman year single.
“Spare me the details.”
“If you insist.” I watched Colton’s retreating figure. He looked way too good in his jeans. Maybe I’d had more to drink than I thought. I couldn’t think about Colton that way. I wasn’t into guys from Gasden anymore, especially not that one.
Drinks in hand, Colton joined me again. He twisted off the top of a bottle before handing it to me. “I’m not sure how you drink these things.”
“I don’t know either, but it’s better than the beer.”
“What did you drink in college?” He walked toward the edge of the woods, and I followed. I was ready to get away from the crowd while I waited for Annie. Tucked in the near darkness of the trees, we escaped the loud music.
“Better stuff than this.” I took a long sip of the sweet liquid.
“Oh yes. Sophisticated sorority girls drink far better things.”
I pushed his shoulder. “Lay off, Colt.”
“Where’s your other half?” He didn’t have to mention Annie’s name. I knew exactly who he was referring to.
“Annie’s off with Greg making sure no
one sets the field on fire.”
“She left you all alone to fend for yourself?” He took a big swig from his red plastic cup of beer.
“It looks like I’m not alone anymore… that is unless you’re here with someone.”
“I’ll tell my girlfriend to hit the road.”
“Girlfriend? I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”
“Is that jealousy I detect?” A smile lit up his face.
I shook my head. “Of course not.”
“I’m here alone. Geez, pumpkin. You still can’t take a joke.”
“Don’t call me pumpkin.” I grimaced.
“Why not?”
“Because I was eight when I won that competition. I’m nineteen now.” Even more than ten years later, the name made me squirm. Being named Little Miss Pumpkin of Johnson County wasn’t my shining moment. I blame my mother for signing me up for that one.
“You’ll always be my pumpkin.”
“Go bother someone else.” I looked around for Annie. She’d have to come back to look for me eventually.
Colt wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer. “No. I’d rather bother you.”
There was something kind of sexy about the motion, something more confident than his usual goofy flirting. His hand felt nice resting on my hip, so I let it stay. Was this really the same Colt? Since when did his touch have that kind of effect on me? “When did you get back to town?”
“About two hours ago.”
“You didn’t wait long to come out.” I took a big sip of the drink. It was starting to taste a lot better.
“I took time for a shower.”
“That was thoughtful of you.”
“Planning on getting close to me tonight?” He watched me intently.
“Maybe.” The flirtatious word flew out of my mouth without me realizing it. The alcohol and that smile of his was making me forget where I was. “Sorry.”
The Hazards of Sex on the Beach Page 21
