Page 33 of Two Weeks in Tahoe

A deep thrust from him sends me straight over the edge, and I feel him tense and come along with me. I can’t feel anything except that sweet pulsing, but he holds onto me firmly and we ride it out together. When we slowly come back to the present, I regain feeling in the rest of my body, and he leans his sweaty forehead against mine.

He’s still breathing heavily as he takes me back to bed and lays us down so we’re facing each other. He pulls a blanket over us, grinning lazily as his hand slowly rubs my hip, and we remain like that for a while.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, his gaze traveling from my lips to my eyes.

“So are you,” I whisper, smiling.

A soft laugh escapes his lips. “Thank you.”

I gently trace his jaw with my fingers, then run my hands through his soft, messy hair, taking in every detail of him as I do so. He's so handsome, it hurts.

Eventually, he stops, kissing me on the forehead. “So…it’s only like, six o’clock…”

“Oh, right. I should probably get back to looking for a hotel.”

“What? No…” he runs a hand through my hair. “Please stay,” he says gently.

“Okay,” I whisper, nodding. We look at each other, and this time, warmth runs through me—fueled by emotions this time, not just lust.

21

Liam

I never put the cookies in the oven. We came out of my bedroom to make another round of coffee and watch a movie when we both realized it. So now, I’m scooping some onto the pan and plopping them in the oven, which is still on. Oops. Absolutely fucking worth it, though.

“Okay, favorite Christmas movie on the count of three…one…two…three.”

“Christmas Vacation,” we both say, and then we laugh.

“I knew I liked you,” she says with that sexy grin of hers.

“And here I thought you were using me for Big J.”

“Yeah. I never said I wasn’t,” she jokes.

“So…how come you never came back? I heard from around town that an ambulance was over there and transported an older woman…was that your grandma?” I ask.

Her smile fades as soon as I bring up the past. “Yeah, it was. She was okay though. Still is, sort of. She had a mild stroke.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. It drove me crazy that I never knew what happened. And I was so stupid for not getting your number. I was planning on coming to see you again that day…”

“You were?” she asks with a bittersweet tone.

I nod my head.

“I tried to find you, but I didn’t have much to go on. The next few holidays I looked around the area and hoped you’d come back…but you never did. After a few years I kind of lost hope, but I never forgot you. That’s why Dex came down to the restaurant that day, even though I told him not to. As soon as I reminded him about who you were, he remembered all the uh…searching and waiting I did that first spring and summer. Had to see it for himself, apparently.”

She smiles sadly. “I did come back. Not that week, even though I really wanted to. There was too much going on with my grandma and my parents taking care of her. But a year later, during my spring break, I was here. I looked for you, but it had been a long time, and I figured you were in college and probably forgot about me. I felt ridiculous going to knock on your door or something. I kind of just hoped I’d get lucky and run into you. Obviously, that never happened. We came back a few times after that. But…I didn’t really look.”

“Damn. So many close calls with our paths crossing, I bet.”

She nods, deep in thought. “The last time I was here was the summer after I turned twenty-one. My parents took me, Daniela, and my boyfriend at the time to that one tavern by the water for dinner, and I got completely smashed. It was awful.”

It’s probably for the best I didn’t run into her that trip. I wouldn’t have been happy to finally run into her again and find her with some other guy. I was around that summer, though. Our paths barely missed one another over the years it seems. It really sucks, but I’ve got her here now, and I don’t know how this will all work out logistically, but I’m not giving up without a fight.

“Well, we’ve found each other now,” I smile and kiss her gently. “And you’re just as fucking breathtaking as I remembered you. Even more so actually. Plus, your little jokes are kinda cute.”

She blushes and looks down, and I tap her on her cute nose, getting her attention again.

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