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Instead, as he gazed at a woman who made him practically overflow with giddiness with just a glance, Liam knew within the deepest part of his soul that Fiji would end up being unforgettable. Because he’d be there with Tess, drinking from the deep pools of her eyes, heart skipping a beat when she moved in to kiss him with her luscious mouth, then outright sprinting when she guided his hands down her curvaceous body, all the way to a shapely butt that not even Avril’s could compete against.

In a room consisting of a vivacious firestorm and an eternal tundra, Tess was a balmy spring rain. Warm and endearing, inviting and silvery, and just pleasant to linger in. If Avril yanked gazes to her, then chained them there, Tess collected them more smoothly and ensured they never wanted to leave.She was constantly aglow, constantly alluring, her skin so soft and smooth. He wondered how well she’d tan over the following week, assuming there was plenty of sun. He knew from those aforementioned summers that she looked amazing when it happened.

That was what they were all hoping for—the sunny days, not Tess getting a tan. With its tropical climate, it didn’t have much of a winter, but it did have a rainy season, usually lasting from November to the beginning of April. With them arriving right as it ended, the hope was that the weather gods would smile on their heads and allow the sun to shine through. Maybe a day or two of rain in there would be nice, even. They could find something more fitting to do on those days. He knew the island was overflowing with worthy destinations and activities. The snorkeling gear in his baggage proved he’d done some research.

The movie progressed. After all their complex plans failed, with one involving more home appliances than one would find in a Home Depot, all hope seemed lost. When not even “science” could defeat the Beast, what else could be done? It’d already been established that Mr. Mertle, the Beast’s owner, was the kind of heartless man who didn’t care that his monstrous hound had once killed a man.

When Benny ended up dreaming about Babe Ruth, in which baseball’s greatest icon galvanized him into action, he felt Avril’s gaze return. He ignored it, staying focused on the movie. Naturally, dream or not, what baseball-obsessed kid wouldn’t want to live up to his hero’s words? Thus, outfitted with a new pair of shoes, Benny made his dash, nabbed the ball, and got back over the fence. Only for the Beast to come bounding after him.

While Benny fled for his life, Liam considered his. Avril was right to glance at him; he fully understood the gesture. But she was underestimating him. He didn’t need a 90’s baseball movieto motivate him to be bolder. He was already playing for his version of a grand slam.

He had a relationship with Tess. He had a relationship with Avril. He had a relationship with Anna. Intimate, romantic ones. He wasn’t nearly as far along with Anna as with Tess and Avril, at least in terms of the physical side of things, but it was progressing at a pace they were both comfortable with.

That left only one woman he wasn’t romantically entangled with on this plane. A woman whose innate stoicism no longer kept him at arm’s length. A woman of dark, lustrous hair, alluring olive skin, stern expressions, unquestionable knowledge of fashion, and the most voluptuous body he’d ever laid eyes on. And thanks to some fruitful plans of his own, the kind that he couldn’t share with Avril but certainly would have made her proud, hehadlaid eyes on it.

Victoria Moreno was so fine, so captivating, so worth the risk. The poise she carried about herself, even when relaxing. The sheer sexiness of her figure when she wasn’t doing anything at all. Even the sharp edge of her eyes when she noticed him staring—something that had become increasingly frequent over the past few weeks. The more time he spent around her, the more urgently he desired her. The more he wanted to leap ahead, even though he knew she preferred a steadier pace when it came to romance.

All these desires churned within him, knowing where they’d begun and where they were now. It edged on unbelievable, the relationship they now had. Things had started so poorly, with him assuming she despised him on the night they’d met.

Liam had every intention of trying to change his relationship status with Victoria before the trip to Fiji was complete. He’d spent the last couple of months working at thawing the stoic professor. For some of that, he hadn’t beenpursuing anything romantic, just trying to develop a bit of rapport with the voluptuous professor.

Fortunately, though it had appeared that way, she’d never hated his guts; she’d never hated him at all. She’d just opposed what Avril and Tess were trying to do when they got him involved with Anna and her dating troubles. Once Victoria had learned about his and Anna’s lie, how they’d pretended they were dating to relax the exterior pressures on Anna, he’d immediately earned her respect.

He'd used that to springboard himself into getting her help for his secret desire—a little less secret now, as Anna had recently found out about it—to transfer to Bellmore. And in a rare moment of sheer, unexplainable brazenness, rather than taking the safe, conservative route, he’d anted up. He offered her a deal, this woman whose icy gaze seemed like it could slice a man to pieces: a pretty straightforward one, all things considered.

They’d voted to see where they went for spring break. Another of Avril’s ploys, of course. As the person who’d collected the most “points” during several poker games on New Year’s Eve, he had the most influence to spend. Enough to pretty much seal things.

So, he’d use that influence to point their destination toward Fiji, the only place on the list that Victoria hadn’t been to before. In return, she could “earn” those points by showing him pictures of her past vacations, which he knew were mostly dated from when she was dating or engaged to Avril’s older brother, Casey. Before she’d “wised up” and realized what a mistake it would be to marry a man who was as immature now, in his mid-thirties, as he’d been when he was Liam’s age. Before last week, Liam had only heard about this supposed problem child of the Knights. After a brief and pretty unpleasant first encounter on the day Avril had spilled the beans about who she was, Laim could tellthat there wasn’t much hyperbole involved in the descriptions that his sister and former fiancée used for him.

After Victoria had agreed to his deal, Liam hadn’t been sure if he was more shocked, excited, or relieved. Regardless, the deal was in place, and if there had ever been a time when Liam had felt like he could hold the whole world in his hands, it’d been then.

Ever since then, their relationship had escalated in mostly minor steps. It was a lot like his relationship with Anna. Things progressed at a normal pace, more linear than exponential. Meanwhile, Avril had decided to start their relationship near the top of the graph, then grab another sheet of paper so they could continue plotting its skyrocketing growth.

He’d made another gambit before long, involving him putting some of his points into the other destinations. It’d been a calculated risk, but it had paid off! He’d hoped it would motivate Victoria to either send more pictures or find more enticing ones to trickle his way. Both. It led to both.

Eventually, it’d led him to a picture of her, which he still suspected didn’t actually come from her past. A picture that was only the removal of the slender arm away from fully showing off the most magnificent set of breasts on the planet. It should have been the final piece of the puzzle, and Liam should have solidified his confidence right then and there.

Of course, he just couldn’t let things be that easy for himself. He had to worry; he had to fret. With their deal officially wrapped up and her desired destination locked in, there was no longer any reason for her to keep sending him pictures of herself. Any “appropriate” reason, anyway, not that they hadn’t sliced through that façade even before her topless photo.

So, for a young man desperate to keep the stove at or hotter than the temperature they’d set, he’d made his gambit. Giventhat they were playing chess together at the time, it seemed fitting.

If he beat her at chess, she’d reward him with another picture of herself—but of the same “quality” as the one that had stunned him like a flashbang. Once more, she’d accepted. If he could beat her just once during the Saturdays they spent playing chess together in person, he’d get another picture—each timehe won, he’d get another picture. If he struck out for the entire day, she claimed one of his free days for her own, in which he’d be called over to be her assistant garden gopher.

So far, she’d collected a few of those vouchers. So far, obtained a weekend ago, he hadonemore amazing picture of her—a requested repeat, with a slight alteration, to the previous nearly nude picture. Thirsting for more, he’d asked for more.

And once more, going against type, Victoria Moreno had let him get away with it. She even went further than he’d expected, in a way. In this first picture of her that he’dwon, she’d allowed him a heart-racing glimpse at a part of her breast that he very badly wanted to roll beneath his tongue.

Even though they were on their way, Fiji somehow still felt an eternity away.

He could hardly suppress how excited he was. His body tensed each time he opened or closed his hands. He felt the jitters each time the jet experienced even the most minute tremor as it raced across the Pacific. He breathed it in, held it in his lungs. It was the sustenance he survived off.

Tess’s first real vacation since her divorce, since they’d become a couple. Anna’s first vacation with a boyfriend, as she’d never had one before him. His first experience vacationing with Avril, who he was certain would bring her A-game. And a chance to compare the past and the present. He had a whole album of how Victoria had looked on beaches and in bikinis a decade ago.He was potentiallyhoursaway from seeing her wearing one in the flesh.

But first,The Sandlot.Then sleep. Then, at long last, the beaches and bikinis and unforgettable experiences.

Things went a little differently for Benny and the boys than they’d probably expected. After the Beast got out, Benny ran for his life—and the Beast pursued. If the big dog had one thing behind him, it was tenacity. He just wouldn’t let up, pursuing Benny throughout the entire town, wreaking havoc in his wake. When all was said and done, they’d circled back to the sandlot, where circumstances caused the “murderous” beast to end up pinned underneath his own fence after busting a hole straight through it.

With the horrifying creature pacified, understanding slowly dawned upon the kids. It wasn’t a horrific monster; it was just an animal. A currently hurting animal. After Smalls and Benny came to its rescue, that became all the more apparent as the Beast slathered Smalls’ face in saliva. Soon enough, all their apprehensions flew out the window, especially once Mr. Mertle was revealed to be blind, peaceful, a friend of Babe Ruth himself, and more than willing to help Smalls out of the biggest pickle of his life.

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