by SJ McCoy
She held up her hands, eyes wide. “Nooo, no tickle wars! I'll stop, I promise!”
Pete lunged to tickle her, but she was too fast and was down from her stool and gone. She ran to the far side of the pool and stood laughing, eyeing him to see what he would do. He followed her, adjusting his pants to accommodate his growing erection as he went, for some reason their childish games turned him on, in a big way.
She backed off as he approached. “No tickle wars, okay?”
He grinned and kept coming.
“No, Pete, you can't tickle me, you're too good at it!”
He laughed. “You shouldn't have provoked me then, should you?”
She was backing up to the loungers and had nowhere to escape.
He grinned. “I've got you now!”
“Nooo!”
“You could surrender?” Why did he want so badly for her to surrender to him?
“Never!” she shrieked as he made a grab for her. She managed to get both hands against his chest and gave an almighty shove. As Pete stepped back, he realized he was going into the pool. Just as he toppled, he managed to catch hold of her and take her with him. They made a huge splash as they disappeared under the water. As he surfaced, Holly's face emerged next to him, laughing and spluttering. Her hair was plastered to her head like a drowned rat. Even so, she'd never looked more beautiful than she did in that moment, so full of fun. He pulled her to him and kissed her, her arms came up around his neck as he crushed her to his chest. He stroked his hands down her legs and brought them up around his waist.
He'd thought this evening should follow a more traditional pattern, that they'd have dinner before taking it to the bedroom, but with her lips parted to allow his thrusting tongue inside and her legs wrapped around him, he knew that wasn't going to happen. He touched her breasts through the wet fabric of her dress and felt her quiver in his arms. He managed to unfasten his pants and get out of them without breaking the kiss. The feel of the water swirling around his cock heightened his desire. He wedged her against the side of the pool and pulled the skirt of her dress up to her waist. She clung tighter to his neck as he pushed her panties to one side and stroked her, tracing her folds then teasing her nub. When she moaned he guided himself to her opening and thrust deep. Her legs tightened around his waist as he moved inside her. He cupped her ass cheeks in his hands and held her wide open to receive him. He was so close, she must have sensed it because she dug her nails into his back. He let himself explode deep inside her, taking her with him. They came together, gasping in the water as their bodies strained as one, carrying each other through the waves of a climax that left them both panting, clinging to one another.
He rested his head on her shoulder. “What are you doing to me, lady?”
“I thought it was you doing it to me? Either way, I like it.”
“Me too.”
When the strength returned to his legs, they waded to the shallow end of the pool where he took her hand as they walked up the steps.
“You ever won any wet T shirt contests?” He loved the way her wet dress clung to her, showing off every contour of her body.
She laughed. “Not my style, Sweetie.”
He took a towel from the stock by the bar and began to dry her down.
“Hang on.” She peeled the dress off and wriggled out of her underwear.
Pete took in the beautiful naked body before him.
She laughed. “You can tell that guy to go back to sleep for now.”
Since he was wearing just his shirt, it was quite apparent that his cock was enjoying the view and getting ready for round two. He wrapped her in a fresh towel and hugged her to him. “Sorry about that, I think he likes you.”
She smiled. “I'm flattered, and I like him too.” Her stomach grumbled loudly. “But I'm starving and somebody promised me dinner.”
He pulled off his shirt and tied a towel around his waist. “Then let’s go find you something to wear and get you fed.”
******
Holly munched on her pizza and took a sip of wine, “Mmm, this is sooo good.”
“Isn't it? I probably eat too much pizza,” he patted his stomach.
She laughed. “There's not a scrap of fat on you. You're solid muscle.” And he was, she was enjoying the view. He was only wearing boxers so she was able to admire his solid frame. Strong shoulders and muscled chest above rock hard abs and that V that led down to… She licked her lips at the memory. He caught her looking and smiled. She didn't mind, she knew she was having the same effect on him. He'd given her a plain white button up shirt to wear and of course as soon as she had it on, he'd undone the top three buttons. She was naked underneath it, his eyes had hardly left her.
They were sitting on the sofa in the den, their legs entangled in the middle as they each leaned back against an arm facing one another. She felt so comfortable with him and, despite what she'd said earlier about not belonging in a house like this, she felt so at home here in his space.
“So, do you want to hear my ideas for the plaza?” she asked once they were done with the pizza.
“I do, if you've had time to come up with anything.”
“Not much yet. I've set aside time tomorrow night to go through the data you sent, but I did want to share the main idea that struck me.”
“What's that?”
“You said that you wanted to keep the retail in-house, but Ben thought it would be too much of a hassle. I came up with a hybrid where you could contract with independent retailers, but still have the in-house control you're looking for.”
“Tell me more.”
Holly launched into the details of what she had in mind, hoping it would make sense to him and that he wouldn't laugh at her. She detailed an option where the resort would keep control of staffing and store layout and independent retailers would manage the actual supply and stocking of merchandise. When she'd finished, she looked up at him, holding her breath, hoping he wasn't about to point out all the reasons it couldn't work that she wasn't smart enough to see. He looked at her for a long moment, the pulse working in his jaw. Oh no. He must think she was stupid!
“That's brilliant, Holly, sheer genius.”
She gasped. “You like it?”
“Like it? I only wish you'd come up with it years ago so we could have rolled it out as a solution to a couple of our projects that have struggled on the retail side.” He grinned. “We may have to negotiate you some kind of fee if we run with it. Think about it.” He took her foot and began to massage it between both hands. “I should warn you though, I negotiate hard.”
“That's not fair, you're asking me to think about something, something important and then you're, mmm, making it.... ooh... impossible to..” She couldn't think straight as he massaged his way up her calves. “That feels so good.”
“It gets better and better,” he grinned.
“I believe you, but you'll have to remind me later what I was supposed to think about.” As he worked his way up her legs, stroking and massaging, Holly lost herself in the feel of his warm hands on her skin, not caring anymore what else he wanted her to focus on. It was gone.
Chapter Eleven
Holly stared out of the window as they took off from the little airport at Summer Lake. She couldn't quite believe that for the fourth time in less than a week, she was flying around in a private jet. She looked across at Emma and Missy sitting opposite her.
“So, ladies, are you ready to shop?”
Missy grinned. “Ready, willing, and able!”
“Oh yes,” said Emma. “Look out San Francisco, here we come!”
“Where are we meeting Laura?” asked Holly.
“The car is picking her up first and bringing her to the airport,” said Emma.
“This is just so Pete,” laughed Missy.
“I know,” Emma smiled. “He and Jack went back and forth so much about a wedding gift they drove me nuts. They are so competitive. Jack didn't want Pete doing anything he could do himself. Since
Pete is my brother in all but blood and my parents are gone, he wanted to foot all the costs that the parents of the bride normally would. Of course Gramps wouldn't hear of it. Jack was pissed and I wasn't being heard above all the testosterone!”
Holly and Missy laughed.
“Then Pete came up with this, he'd take care of all the dresses and of course he has to fly us to San Francisco and lay on a car and driver.”
Holly smiled to herself. It really was such a very 'Pete' thing to do. She loved that she was part of it, but knew that, for her, this life would soon be over. With Emma living up at the lake now she'd be seeing much less of her friend too, as well as saying goodbye to Pete.
Missy looked over at her. “Are you going tell us what's going on between you two?”
Holly shook her head. “We're just having fun, I doubt it will last after the wedding.”
Missy wrinkled her nose. “I cry bullshit!”
Emma laughed. “Right there with you Miss. Have you seen them together?”
“I haven't seen them apart!” cried Missy. “They're inseparable. I thought you and Jack were bad with all the face sucking goodbyes, but Pete is even worse. The big macho man with his 'See you later, Sweetheart' and wrapping himself around her, the temperature goes up about a zillion degrees whenever they get within three feet of each other. The man is smitten I tell you, smitten!”
Holly couldn't help but smile, she wished he really was smitten. It was a nice fairy tale, for now, but that was all.
“And you,” added Missy, “You're totally besotted with the man, so why won't you both admit it?”
Holly didn't want to hide it from her friends. “Listen guys, be gentle with me, please? Yes, you're right, I admit I am rather taken with him, but I'm trying very, very hard not to be.”
“But WHY?” cried Emma. “You're so good together, what's the problem?”
“The problem, Sweetie, is that Pete has a plan. Surely as two of his best friends you know this?”
Missy's face grew serious. “Of course he does, Pete always has a plan. Oh, sweet baby Jesus. The plan does not allow for a woman in his life until he's thirty-six, right?”
“Right,” said Holly glumly. “So no matter how it looks, it's not going anywhere.”
Emma looked as though she might cry.
“Come on, Em. Don't look like that. I'm okay with it.”
“But Holly, you're so good together. You're perfect for each other, but Pete never, ever, deviates from the plan.”
Any sneaking hope Holly had felt died with Emma's words. Emma was the idealist, the romantic, the one who never gave up believing that good things would happen for her friends if not herself. If Emma wasn't going to argue that there had to be a way around Pete's plan, then she had to accept that there really wasn't one. Hell, she'd already accepted it, hadn't she? Apparently not, because where she had been happy and excited looking forward to a fun day with the girls, now she felt sad and deflated.
“I'm sorry, Holly.” Even Missy, who could usually make a joke out of any situation, wasn't going for the laugh on this one.
“I'm okay with it. I know the score and I have since the beginning. We're just having fun. I thought that's what we were supposed to be doing today? So can we lose the glum faces and raid the champagne while we figure out which stores we're hitting first?”
She got up and poured them champagne, smiling at the screw top Pete had on the bottle. She looked back at the long sofa and tingled all over as she remembered how close they'd come back there. She took the drinks to the others and sat back down.
“So, we need Em's dress, our dresses, matching fabric for the guys cummerbunds and cravats. And shoes, we can't forget shoes!”
Missy laughed. “Of course shoes, the answer to every girls woes.”
Emma joined in, but Holly could see her eyes were still sad. “Perhaps we should start with some shoe shopping? Nothing to do with the wedding, just to get our shopping juices flowing.”
“Genius, Emma. Pure genius!”
They started planning which stores they wanted to visit and talk of Pete was soon left behind, if not forgotten. Holly forced herself to smile and make the most of the day. She doubted she'd ever know another one like it.
The plane touched down on the runway, and Missy released her death grip on the arms of her chair. “I can't think of one reason why a person would pay millions of dollars for the privilege of hurtling through the sky in their very own tin can. It's completely beyond me.”
“You're just scared,” laughed Emma.
Smoke's voice came over the intercom, “Welcome to San Francisco, ladies. I hope you enjoyed the ride. The guys at the FBO tell me your friend and your car are waiting for you.”
When the intercom clicked off, Holly chuckled, “How about that for a reason, Miss?”
Emma giggled. “He is rather hot. Especially in that uniform.”
Missy snorted, trying to hold back the laughter. “Yeah, his name suits him, Smoke – smokin'!” The three of them fell about laughing at that. “Emma, you'd better behave since we're about to go buy you a wedding dress. You have one very hot man of your own, Mrs. Benson, you're out of the running. Holly and I can fight for him.”
“Ha!” cried Emma, “Why do I get the feeling that Holly can have him and the name Benson has something to do with that too?”
Missy's laughter stopped abruptly.
“Oh no, what?” asked Holly. “I thought you and Dan were getting quite friendly?”
“Yeah, we were. Friendly. But that's all it's going to be. He has a girlfriend.”
“What?” Emma looked stunned. “Since when? Does Jack know? Why didn't we know?”
Missy held up a hand. “Since three years ago apparently. Yes, Jack does know, or knew and has forgotten, or doesn't realize they're still together. We didn't know because it's a strange situation and he doesn't talk about it.”
“It must be a strange situation,” said Holly. “Hasn't he been at Summer Lake with you guys every weekend for the last few months?”
“Yes he has,” said Missy.
Smoke emerged from the cockpit and came through the cabin to open the door and let down the steps. Laura was standing on the tarmac, grinning and waving. While Missy waved back at her and started down the steps, Holly registered Smoke's reaction to seeing Laura.
“Must be something in the water,” she muttered to herself.
“What was that?” asked Emma pausing at the top of the steps.
“I'll tell you later, get a move on.”
Once Emma started down the steps, Holly turned to Smoke. “Thanks for the ride. Pete said we should let you know an hour before we head back to the airport, is that enough time for you?”
“That's great thanks, it gives me time to file our return flight plan and be ready to go.”
Holly waved down at the others who were waiting. She raised an eyebrow at Smoke. “Could I introduce you to Laura before we leave?”
Smoke grinned and followed her down the steps.
“Laura, this is Smoke. Phoenix Chief Pilot and an old friend of Jack and Pete's. Smoke, this is Laura Benson, Jack's cousin.”
The two of them shook hands and locked eyes.
“There's not enough room for all of us on this thing,” said Holly, climbing onto the golf cart. I'm going to commandeer it to get to the ladies room and send it back.”
“Me too,” said Missy. She jumped on the back followed by a giggling Emma.
“Go, go, go!” Holly told the man driving it, when Laura turned away from Smoke to join them. “Sorry Sweetie, no room!” Missy waved happily from the back of the cart as they drove away. “We'll send it back for you.”
Laura eventually caught up with them at the front of the building where they stood smirking by the limo Pete had arranged for the day.
“Oh, my God you guys! How could you?”
“How could we what?” asked Emma sweetly.
“Sorry, Sweetie,” laughed Holly. “Had to get to the ba
throom.”
“How about a thank you?” grinned Missy.
Holly knew she'd done the right thing when Laura clasped her hands together and grinned. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Where did you find him and can I keep him?”
“Come on,” said Holly, smiling at the driver who stood waiting. “In the car everyone, we can do this on the way, there are shoes and dresses out there with our names on them.”
In the back of the limo, Missy poured champagne while Laura babbled.
“Did you guys see him? I think I may still be drooling!”
“I know I am,” said Holly, “But he only had eyes for you. He lit up the moment he clapped eyes on you!”
“But you were sooo mean running off like that. And I am so grateful!”
“So did you get his number?” asked Missy.
“We exchanged cards.” Laura tried to say it with a straight face. “It was a little awkward, you know? But he said he would be at the wedding, so I'll see him then if nothing else. Will you hurry up and set a date, Em, and make it soon?”
Holly's heart sank. She'd much prefer it if Emma and Jack went for a long engagement.
Holly sat back in her seat and pushed her plate away. “That was wonderful,” she declared.
Emma and Missy agreed.
“I'm glad you enjoyed it,” said Laura. “This is one of my favorite places for lunch.”
She'd brought them to a place down on Fisherman's Wharf after a morning spent in a shoe frenzy for all of them, followed by a fruitless wedding dress hunt.
Holly hadn't wanted to make appointments at the major bridal stores. She knew Emma's taste and temperament too well. She figured she would end up making something herself created from the details Emma liked along with her own design skills.
“What's the plan for the afternoon?” asked Missy.
“I want to walk Em through one more store. If we don't find 'the one' then I suggest we start focusing on bridesmaids dresses to give Em's brain a rest.”
“I don't mind if we go straight to bridesmaids dresses,” said Emma. “I think my brain is fried already.”
