A Hope and a Chance

by Jennifer Foor

  “What’s wrong with you?” I finally asked.

  “What are you wearing, Hope?”

  “It’s my bathing suit. I borrowed it from Buffy a couple weeks ago.”

  “That does not have enough fabric to constitute as clothing. Holy shit!”

  I shrugged and kneeled down beside him, grabbing the bottle from his hands and pouring it on my chest. When I began to rub it in, he threw a towel over me. “Oh my God. What the hell are you thinking?” He was freaking out.

  “Jesus, Chance. I’m applying sunscreen to my body. What is your problem?”

  He looked around us, and I tried to act like I didn’t know what he was looking for. “They are my problem. I wanted you to myself today, but I can see them mind-fucking you already, and I can’t beat all of their asses at the same time.”

  I started laughing. “Did you just say mind-fucking?”

  “Yes, and that is also my job.”

  “Chance, take this.” I handed him the bottle. “Put some in your hands and show them who I came here with, and who I’ll be leaving with. Oh, and by the way…” I pulled his face toward mine and seized his bottom lip between my teeth. As I pulled away I licked it. My hands were all over his chest and I only stopped when I heard a woman close to us gasp.

  I was kind of embarrassed, but Chance pulled me into a hug as we both laughed it off.

  He took his time applying the oil to my body, and the more he rubbed the more I wished we were alone. It was making me so hot for him that I could hardly control my breathing. When he got to my thighs I wanted to scream out in pleasure. He could feel me tensing up, and when I looked up at him he had a huge grimace on his face, like he knew what it was doing to me.

  After he finished, he laid his body beside mine and whispered in my ear. “That was only the front. Just wait until it is time for the back, baby.”

  I purred. “Oh, I love it when you call me that.”

  “Well I love it when you talk like that,” he admitted.

  I batted my eyes and leaned into his kiss. “You’re so lucky that you’re gorgeous.”

  “If you’re trying to threaten me with compliments, it’s working. I’m very scared right now.” He held his fingers up like he was pretending to bite his nails.

  Chance finally settled down beside me after he’d applied a generous amount of sunscreen to his face and chest. He kept making me laugh and I loved it. As we lay there, I felt his fingers sliding in between mine and he kept his hand there until we were ready to flip over.

  I couldn’t believe how perfect it was being out with him. I tried not to think about Monday, but when something is so great, you just can’t help it.

  Being on this beach with Hope was amazing. I joked about the other guys checking her out, but it didn’t bother me, because I knew she was mine, at least for the time being. That bathing suit she was wearing revealed too much though. I was half worried that when we got into the water she would lose it, then I got kind of excited about that as well.

  Hope’s smile was back in full-force and it was contagious. When she laughed I found myself mimicking her. When she brushed against me, I wanted to do the same. I loved being obnoxious around her, because it drove her crazy.

  When she rubbed that oil on her body, I imagined actually busting a load in my shorts like I was twelve again and seeing my first hot vixen walking across the beach. Except today, Hope was my hot vixen. It was funny, she had confidence, but she really had no idea how beautiful she was.

  She had her hair pinned up so it bounced around in the air. I know she did it so the breeze didn’t blow it in her face. I couldn’t help but remove the clip. She jumped up and dove over top of me trying to get it out of my hands.

  “Chance, give it back,” she demanded.

  I stood up and ran toward the water, looking back to make sure she was following. Once I had jumped in to my knees, I noticed she’d stopped at her ankles. “Come and get it.”

  “It’s freezing,” she whined.

  “If you want it back, you have to come get it. Come on, sissy,” I taunted her, taking the hair accessory and clipping it to my shorts, then immediately began splashing her with the freezing cold ocean water.

  Finally, she decided she couldn’t take it anymore, and came running toward me full speed. We both went crashing down into the water just as a wave came in. When I rose above the water I saw Hope running her hands through her now wet hair. “Jerk,” she said as she splashed some in my direction.

  I gave her a smile and went under the water. In Virginia the water is dark so there was no way she could tell exactly where I’d gone. I pinched her ass before rising above the water again. Once I was close enough that I could see her legs,

  She jumped up and lunged at me, but I quickly grabbed her body and pulled her closer to me first. I loved the way her skin felt when it was wet. It was already smooth and the salty water made it even more desirable.

  “I got you now.” I said, as we were only inches apart from each other.

  She reached her arms behind my neck and her legs around my waist as the waves came crashing down just past where I was standing. Children were at the water’s edge screaming as each one broke and turned white. Hope looked at me with those beautiful crystal blue eyes.

  “Thank you for today, Chance.”

  I smiled and kissed her gently on the lips. “There is really no place I’d rather be, Hope.”

  She leaned her forehead against mine and closed her eyes. While she held on to my neck, I freed my hands and ran them up the outside of her thighs, and then under the back of her bikini bottoms.

  She looked around. “Chance? What are you doing?”

  I started laughing. “It’s fine. Nobody can see us.”

  She seemed to not believe me.

  “Hope, trust me,” I said as I grabbed both of her ass cheeks and pulled her closer.

  “I do.” She leaned in and kissed me again, this time slipping her tongue into my mouth. When she pulled away she looked right into my eyes. “I’ve never felt safer than when I’m in your arms.”

  I let out a sigh. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”

  I pulled my hands away from her butt and hugged her. Her mouth tasted salty from being under the water. My lips found the nape of her neck and then her shoulder, and as I kissed them she moaned. She kept her legs around me, but let the rest of her body hover. I held onto her back as she fell back in the water. My eyes focused her chest popping out of that suit. Her breasts were the only part of her floating above water, and the air was causing her nipples to harden.

  “Mmm, you’re just teasing me now,” I groaned.

  I took one of my hands and ran it across her wet stomach, stopping right before I got to her floating devices. She gave me a smile and sat back up against my body. “If there weren’t all these people around I would suggest we get busy out here.”

  “They wouldn’t know anyway. You know I’m game.” I gave an eager nod.

  “Chance! There’s no way. They would see our faces. I can’t keep a straight expression when you’re doing that to me.”

  “You have got to stop saying shit like that. I’m getting hard as we speak,” I confessed.

  She pushed herself away from me and began backstroking. I swam toward her and watched as she caught a wave and made her way into shore, only turning back to give me that tantalizing smile she knew made me crazy.

  I had to stay in the water for a few extra minutes to get myself calmed down, but finally met her on the beach. She was holding the tanning oil, waiting for me to apply it. “Do you want to put this on me, or will it make you hard in front of all these people?” She teased, looking around to add to her game.

  “Touching you in anyway makes me hard, Hope. But, you already know that,” I confessed as I took the oil.

  She lay on her stomach allowing me to pour it over her back and massage it into her skin. I could tell it felt good because she relaxed her shoulders and let me work my magic. I was a
ble to maintain a calm stature within my shorts, but it wasn’t without effort.

  When I was finished, she insisted on applying it to my back as well. Hope and I both laid on our stomachs, facing each other. We talked for hours, only taking breaks to turn over or cool off in the water. Being with her was like being in an enchanted place. She was so thoughtful and I found myself hanging onto every word she said. I wanted to know more about her, and I knew it would take a lot longer than just two days.

  18

  The hot sun beat down on Chance and I, but neither of us seemed to care. We were too caught up in one another to notice anything else. When we finally agreed we were both hungry, we stood up and realized that we were two of the only few people still on the beach.

  Chance had asked me so many questions, starting with what it was like when I was a child, and then on to how I was affected when my parents decided to separate. I told him all about my past relationship and how my previous boyfriend still had hopes of us getting back together. When I assured him it was never going to happen, he just smiled and seemed to be happy about it.

  Explaining the breakup of my parents had always been a hard topic for me to deal with. I’d just become a teenager, and with that came all of the physical and emotional changes someone goes through at that age. My parents had been so wrapped up in hating each other that I was left to fend for myself.

  I started hanging around the wrong people and eventually my grades began to fall. Thankfully, Rylee had moved closer to where we lived and I started spending more time with her family. Her mother treated me like I was her own. When I got my first period she took me out and bought me feminine products, explaining how everything worked.

  My mother never even noticed I’d gotten my period until six months later. I remember it vividly. We were sitting at the dinner table with my grandparents and they’d made beets. I hated the way they tasted, and made your mouth turn red. When my mother put them on my plate and demanded I eat them, I freaked out. I started getting all emotional at the table and my mother, being the last to notice, yelled out. “You act like a woman on her period!” When I yelled back and confirmed that I actually was, she was so shocked. She took me in my room and cried for half the night admitting she had been a bad mother for not being there when I needed her.

  After that she seemed to always be one step ahead of my decisions. She was my number one supporter, and as my relationship with my father drifted to non-existent, she was there to pick up the pieces. I admired her so much for that.

  When I explained all of that to Chance, he just lay there holding my hand taking it all in with a smile on his face. I could tell that he liked hearing about my mother, and since I knew his mother had died unexpectedly, I felt it wasn’t the right moment to ask him about it. If he wanted to tell me he could at anytime.

  Chance and I converted our dry and sand free items to one bag, and put all of the beach exposed things in another one. He snatched my bag and carried my flip-flops with one hand, while he held mine with his other as we walked off the beach.

  Every time I looked in his direction he was beaming at me, and each time he would give my hand a tighter squeeze. I couldn’t help but smile back at him, showing just how fascinated I was.

  Once we reached the boardwalk we sauntered around looking for a place to eat. Chance became secretive and began to walk into a parking garage right off the boardwalk. We ducked past a couple cars before reaching an outdoor shower that had a little privacy to it. It was still out in the open, but he pulled out our beach blanket and tucked it into the ceiling so that it made a makeshift curtain. He got me situated inside of it and stood guard on the outside so I could strip out of my bathing suit, and change into something dry, without being sandy.

  The water had one temperature, and it wasn’t warm. The freezing cold beads sent a shock to my body, making me work on getting rinsed off quicker.

  As soon as I turned off the water, he was handing me my sundress and a pair of underwear. For some reason I found it more sweet than embarrassing. I came out from behind the privacy blanket and let him zip up the dress in the back. The one I had brought with me had a built in bra that thankfully supported my breasts enough to wear without me looking ridiculous. When Chance got to the top of my zipper he kissed the back of my neck. “All done, beautiful”

  “Thank you!” I said, smiling.

  I turned as he slipped in past me and took his turn getting rinsed off. Just as he’d done for me, I reached into the bag and located his clean clothes. When the water turned off I handed him the items, and waited for him to change.

  He whipped around the blanket in a baby blue polo shirt and plaid shorts, leaving me to gasp at the sight of him. He was so handsome. His tan skin and brown eyes stood out with the light shirt, and I admired the way it fit against his chest.

  “Wow, you clean up nice,” I teased.

  “I try.”

  Chance carried my bags while leading us to a little restaurant off the beaten path. It was in the basement underneath a surf shop. The smell of marinara sauce filled my nose and I knew it was an Italian place right away. Little tables were situated around the small room, and few people filled the seats. Chance led me to a quiet corner table away from everyone else.

  He pulled out a chair for me and helped me scoot it back in. “A chair for my lady.”

  As he took the seat across from me I smiled, watching as he handed me a menu. “So, have you been here before?”

  “Buffy brought me here a couple times the first week we were here. The pizzas are the best.”

  I looked over the menu and then set it back down on the table. “How about we share one?” I suggested.

  “Sounds great to me.” He reached over and captured my hand. Do you like anchovies?”

  I cocked my brow. “Are you being serious? I was thinking olives and pineapple.”

  His face contorted. “Eww, that sounds horrible.”

  “So does the fish. Maybe we should just order pepperoni.”

  He smiled. “With onions. I know you like them at home.”

  I nodded. “It’s nice that you pay attention to little details.”

  “I pay attention to anything that has to do with you, Hope. I want you to know that. When you think I’m not listening, I am.”

  While keeping my eyes on my hands I smiled. My infatuation for Chance was becoming something else, and I didn’t know how I was going to handle it.

  “Are you having a good day, Hope?”

  “It’s been the best.” It was so refreshing to be with someone who cared about my feelings. Our day was perfect, and although I worried how I’d be when the weekend was over, I felt content knowing that for the moment he was with me.

  He squeezed my hand again before letting go. “I agree.”

  The waiter came and Chance ordered us a pizza with two iced teas. In all the times I thought he wasn’t paying attention to me, he seemed to have picked up on everything. He knew my favorite topping was onions and that I liked my tea plain.

  After our drinks and food came, we continued to stare in each other’s eyes. His smile did things to me; it made me feel like I was the only person in the room, and I loved it.

  Even when we’d finished eating, we sat there talking. He shared stories about when he and his sister were children. He told me about a tree house that all the neighborhood kids hung out in, that you needed a secret word to be able to get inside. He said it was there that he experienced his first kiss. To hear him telling me the story was enchanting. I leaned into his words, hanging onto to every single thing that came from his mouth.

  Chance talked about his favorite dog, Buttons, who bit all of his neighbors on their butts, but never hurt him. He said he’d take the dog for walks, purposely getting close to the people he disliked. On several occasions he got into trouble when the dog became aggressive. He said his mother had to replace three pair of pants that he’d destroyed.

  After paying our check, Chance led me outside. The crisp air
hit me immediately, blowing my dress around. We walked around the boardwalk, holding hands and sharing more stories. At one point we stopped to play a couple games. He won me a stuffed frog by throwing rings onto the top of a small jug. I refused to let him put it in the book bag, since I wanted to walk around with the reminder of his hard work. Chance even persuaded me to go on the Ferris wheel with him. I looked down at the people as it circled around. He held me close and kissed me on top of my head. At one point we both closed our eyes when we were stopped at the very top of the ride.

  When we began walking back to where he’d parked his bike, he bought me an ice cream cone that I ended up sharing with him. He kept taking it from me and touching my nose with it, leaving some sitting there, so that he could kiss it back off.

  Chance made me laugh and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so happy for that amount of time. When we got to the block of the boardwalk where the motorcycle was parked, he pulled me onto the beach. We removed our shoes and held hands as we toddled down toward the water. The waves crashed in the distance before they would come in and reach our feet as we continued on.

  We came upon a lifeguard stand and he climbed up inside of it, urging me to follow him. I dropped my things and forged behind him. With little effort he situated me on his lap so we could both look out at the ocean’s never ending skyline. We stayed there watching the sunset, while the cool ocean breeze blew across the beach.

  Chance kept taking my hand and pulling it to his lips. He wrapped his arms around me and laced his fingers in with mine. I pulled his arms around me more, wishing we could stay in this very moment forever.

  “This is so perfect,” I admitted.

  “So are you,” he whispered in my ear.

  I closed my eyes and took in the scent of the ocean. It was important to memorize every detail for when all of this was just a memory.