Page 81 of No Summer Hotter than You

She smiled gently, pulling away from me. “Of course. Feeling better about taking over the company?”

“A bit, but I can’t help but be scared,” I admitted in a low whisper. “I’m scared of disappointing everyone, but, most importantly . . . I’m scared of being a failure in front of my parents. I just . . . I just want to be a great son to them.”

“It’s pretty easy to be scared of things you’re unsure about, isn’t it?” she asked, glancing down at the dark lake. “Like jumping into this lake at night even though you’ve done it a dozen times during the day.”

“It’s easy to forget you can swim, Shoua,” I said softly. I glanced down at the abyss beneath us. “Especially if the only thing you can see is the darkness.”

She turned to me, beaming a rare mischievous smile. “Want to go for a quick swim?”

Before I could reply, she pulled out of my grasp and stood up. “Anthony, sometimes you just have to take the plunge.”

She quickly pulled off the big T-shirt she had on, revealing her luscious ample breasts in the moonlight, and tugged off her shorts. In a sexy, single motion, she pulled off her lavender panties with lace trimmings and then slipped into the water since we were on the shallow end of the lake.

“And you realize it’s not all that bad,” she said, standing in the water while completely nude. She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Coming in, gorgeous?”

I scrambled to tear off my clothes and slipped in after her. The cool water was pleasant against my heated skin as I ducked my head under the water for a moment. As I came up to the surface, I wrapped my arms around Shoua’s waist and startled her. She let out a yelp and laugh. I pulled her into a tight embrace with a shaky breath as I stood up tall.

“It’s not that scary, right?” she asked as she pushed my hair back.

I swallowed thickly as I gingerly cupped her face. My tongue was suddenly too thick and heavy, and I could barely mutter a single word. Because the only thing I could truly think of in that moment was how much I wanted to kiss her. I leaned in and was gone the moment my lips captured hers hungrily.

Fuck it.

I leaned in and was gone the moment my lips captured hers hungrily. With the swipe of my tongue over her bottom lip, she let out the sexiest half-sigh, half-moan. I pulled her lip into my mouth and sucked as she moaned again. I lifted her up and wrapped her legs around my waist under the water.

She rolled her beautiful body against mine for friction while I grabbed her ass to help guide her toward my cock, grazing and teasing me. She put her arms around my neck, pressing her breasts and curves against me. Blood immediately began pumping to my cock, and within what felt like only seconds, I was rock hard. I tugged away from the kiss and breathed hotly onto her lips.

“Anthony,” Shoua gasped, looking up at me.

“Last week you said we were a mistake,” I muttered.

“I did,” she whispered.

“Then,” I let out a wobbly exhale, “let me be the mistake you repeat again and again.”

Her eyes became unsure as a worried look touched her face. “Again and again,” she echoed softly.

“Let me be your mistake for this summer and the next and then the one after that. Please,” I begged, leaning into the crook of her neck. I opened my mouth and scraped my teeth alongside the sensitive spot of her neck. She moaned softly while my cock jumped.

I pulled back so I could look her in the eyes. My heart ached painfully because Andy was right. I knew what I wanted, and I was too much of a coward to be honest with him. But I wanted to make it right with Shoua. Lust and desire were clouding our judgements right now and it was impossible to have this conversation without wanting to kiss her again.

I set her down, pulled out from her embrace, and walked back a few steps to put distance between us. There was hurt and rejection in her eyes as my face twisted in apprehension. I was going to ruin our friendship all because I could no longer be just her friend.

The truth was this: I had already fallen into a beautiful abyss that was all her. I leapt off that ledge long ago and I had been free falling all along. I had slowly fallen more and more in love with her over the past month; it was clear to me we could be so much more if we wanted to. Whether she was there to catch me, I was already hers. I was in love with Shoua.

“I-I’m sorry. I know I agreed to all of this, but I can’t—I can’t just be friends with you.” I gasped for her warmth as if it was my lifeline. “You said last week that we should just be friends and I agreed because I thought we could still be just friends. The truth is I can’t. I want more. I want so much more. I want to be yours. Not as a fake boyfriend. Not as your friend. I’m ravaged by greed, Shoua, and I want all of me to be yours. Only you.”

Her brows knitted as her eyes welled up with tears, and her face contorted in an unreadable, heart-wrenching emotion. The moonlight bounced off her tears, making her eyes look as if the entire universe was contained in them. My chest chest squeezed as my lungs closed in on me.

I’ve ruined our friendship.

“I think about you all the time. All the damn fucking time. Ever since your car accident last year, I have always thought about you. I thought it was because I was worried about you, which I was. But I kept thinking about you every moment I wasn’t near you—what you’re doing, what you’re saying, what you’re eating, what you’re drinking,” I whispered.

“You consumed every single thought of my mind for over a year, Shoua. And I still think of you every day. Ever since I asked you to be my fake girlfriend, I wake up every morning feeling like you are my girlfriend and . . . and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I-I—” I choked over the rasp of my voice.

“Anthony, what are you trying to say?” she croaked, her voice barely audible.

“Shoua, I’m in love with you,” I said softly. “I’ve always loved you, but I’m in love with you. Not as a friend, but as a man. I love you.”

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