Page 43 of One Short Summer

I lunge myself at him, enjoying the look of pure shock on his face the second before I land on him.

A few minutes later, I’m pretty sure I’ve swallowed about half a gallon of water, not that I can blame anyone for this but myself. Gabe and I are both sputtering and coughing up a storm when we’re back in our respective corners of the hot tub. After I jumped on him and managed to dunk him once, I got my fair share back and that was pretty much it for me. All I could do was try to survive.

At least I did get my hands on his naked skin a lot.

Our gazes meet and we both start laughing.

“You’re something, Monica, I give you that. But that’s always been the case. I’ve definitely never met anyone like you before.” He brushes his hand through his hair before wiping the water droplets off his face and stubble—the stubble I can now personally confirm feels pretty darn good on me.

That thought alone makes my skin burn with awareness, the air around us tingling with anticipation and the delicious promise of more.

I watch him, the same way he’s watching me. After staring into each other’s eyes for what feels like hours, his gaze leaves mine abruptly, wandering down my body instead. I want to squirm under his heated gaze but try hard not to, letting him take me in until his eyes make their way back up, stopping at my lips.

Despite all the water I just involuntarily drank, my mouth goes dry, and I have to swallow past the lump in my throat. “Gabe.”

His name comes out on a plea, and all of a sudden, it’s impossible not to squirm.

Generally, I love attention and don’t necessarily mind if someone checks me out either. My career would be way too stressful if I was bothered by something like that.

For some reason though, it feels like no one has ever looked at me the way Gabe is looking at me right now. I can almost feel his touch on my skin, caressing me, and most definitely driving me crazy.

“Come here.” Gabe’s voice is raspy and a little commanding, another trait I haven’t seen in him before.

This man is full of surprises today.

When I don’t move fast enough, he stretches to grab my hand. After giving it a good tug, and me not putting up any resistance, I glide over to his side effortlessly. The water is bubbling around me when I stop in front of him, my lower body now parallel to his lower legs.

“What are you doing, Gabe?” For some reason, I’m curious about his answer. I know what I want, but I also want to know his thoughts on all of this.

The shrug he gives me is so subtle, I almost miss it. “I honestly have no clue. All I know is that I’ve barely slept since our kiss because it’s all I can think about.Youare constantly on my mind, and I want more. So much more.” The last part of the sentence comes out on a big breath as he leans forward.

“Well, what are you waiting for then?” I tilt my head to the side, gauging his every reaction.Everythingabout this man fascinates me. Always has, but our kiss has definitely taken this to the next level. Or more like, a million levels.

“Are you sure?”

The tiniest flicker of irritation creeps up my spine at his question. I know he worries, and maybe I should too, but I just want to forget about everything around us and lose myself in him.

By now, I’ve thrown every precaution to the wind. If I didn’t want to risk our friendship dynamics before, that thought flew completely out the window the second I got a taste of his lips.

That was my ultimate breaking point. No turning back anymore.

“Gabe, we’ve already talked about this. I want you and you want me. It’s as simple as that. Let’s not complicate things and just enjoy the summer we have together before I go back to work, okay?”

He chuckles once before shaking his head. “I should’ve expected you to say something like that. As easy as that, huh?”

I nod. I’m not sure if it’s the anticipation, but one second, we’re grinning at each other like idiots, and the next, we’re in each other’s arms. I’m still not sure if I jumped on his lap, or if he pulled me onto it—not that it matters in the end.

His hands are on the nape of my neck, gently pressing into my skin. The feeling is exquisite and only heightens when our lips finally meet. We explore each other like this is our first kiss, and in a way, it feels like it.

Two days ago, I was on some sort of high from my dancing. Not that I wasn’t present for our kiss, but my brain was definitely otherwise occupied too.

Today, my whole being is focused on Gabe with a clarity that’s slightly overwhelming.

In this moment, he’severything.Everywhere.

His lips are warm and soft, pushing on mine, performing their own kind of dance while our tongues go beyond that, dueling for domination and attention.

I love it. Absolutely love it.

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