Page 82 of Survival

“Well?...” Izzy bit her bottom lip, her face radiant as she waited for my response.

“My grandpa’s old beach house?”

She nodded. “I rented it for the weekend. I took a drive earlier today and saw a sign they had up.”

“Really?” I looked around, my eyes running over the yard and house I’d spent so much time in as a kid. My excitement really starting to catch.

“Yeah. Tonight’s for us, and I thought we’d have Annie and Jet and maybe the families out here tomorrow.”

“You are amazing.”

Izzy beamed, her hand going to the door. “You ready?”

“Definitely.”

Jumping out, I ran around the front of my truck as Izzy slid down from the driver’s side, and I took her hand as I closed the door. She didn’t wait a beat.

“Come on.” She tugged my hand, and we rushed along the stone laid sidewalk that led up to the porch.

“Shouldn’t we have packed some bags?” I asked as we hurried up the steps, and Izzy pulled out a key before looking back over her shoulder.

“Behind the times, whiskey. I’ve got plans tonight.” She winked, leaving me stunned as she disappeared inside.

Did she just mean?No.I couldn’t get my hopes up too far. We’d been messing around again for weeks now, but jumping straight to sex when I still hadn’t been able to touch below her waist would be too much of a stretch.

“You coming?” she called out, and I shook my head to clear it.

What the hell was I waiting for? Izzy had rented my grandpa’s place, forus, when I’d honestly thought I’d never get to set foot here again, and I was just standing outside like an idiot? My girl deserved a fucking trophy for putting this together.

I hurried inside, finding Izzy standing in the wide entryway to the kitchen as she took in the room. I stepped up behind her, wrapping my arm around her chest by her shoulders, and she leaned back against me.

“It looks the same. Mostly,” she murmured.

“It does.”

She slid out of my hold and took my hand, the two of us going on an unspoken tour of the house. It was strange, surreal, how things could look so much the same but so different at the same time.

Izzy and I headed up the stairs next, ignoring the rest of the bedrooms to head straight for the far door on the right. The room we’d spent so much of our teen years in when coming to this house. Opening the door, I went in first, relief washing through me as I took in the space.

“They kept it.” Izzy walked past me, her pale, shimmering dress swishing around her legs. She stopped at the pool table, running her hand along the dark oak edge before turning to face me. She leaned back against it, her hands resting on the deep blue felt. “They have a couch between the windows, too, like the pullout Annie and I used to sleep on. Remember the nightweshared it?”

“The first night I got you in bed with me.” I winked, shrugging off my jacket. I laid it across the counter at the wet bar.

Izzy just shook her head, a happy smirk playing on her lips. “Not like you’re implying, but yeah. That night wasspecial in other ways.” Her voice shifted, like her mind brushed through the memory before she sighed with a peaceful smile, her eyes drifting around the room. “It feels like coming home.”

I just stared, taking her and everything in for several moments before walking over, and I leaned down, placing my arms on the felt behind her. Izzy tipped her head back for my kiss, my mouth covering hers as my heart skipped in my chest.This girl.

“This is perfect. Thank you,” I said when we broke for air.

“You’re welcome. Now, what do you want to do first? Play with some balls?” She gave me a saucy look and held up a couple of pool balls in her hand.

My dick jumped to attention at her teasing, and I smirked. “I can think of a couple of balls I want you to play with.”

She released a small laugh, her eyes rolling playfully as she pushed me back, and then grabbed the triangle to set the table. “Later, whiskey. Now, come on. It’s been forever since we’ve played.”

It was our fourth game and the second one that Izzy was kicking my ass. “Eight ball, right corner pocket.” She pointed with her cue stick and then leaned over the table. My hands twitched at the sight of her bent over it, that gorgeous ass up. She had no clue the torture she put me through sometimes.

My attention jerked back to the table with the smack of the balls, and Izzy jumped up when the eight ball went in,a bright grin in place. “Okay, that’s two games each. You interested in getting your ass kicked again?” She smirked at me, so much joy in her features, and I took the pool stick from her hands to set it back on the table.

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