Page 82 of Beyond The Break

TWENTY-FOUR

GRIFFIN

Eliana sitscross legged across from me at the foot of her bed as she reads through her campaign plans, using a red marker to mark up the notebook, her brows pulled together in concentration. I still haven’t told her or the team that I won’t be surfing in the Qualifiers in two weeks. I know I should, but I’m just not ready to accept it yet.

Just give yourself this weekend and then tell everyone on Monday.

I feel my anxiety crawl up my throat at the thought, so I push it to the back of my mind. Now isn’t the time to worry about this.

“We should go away this weekend.” I trail a finger along her knee.

She looks up at me. “Where are you thinking we should go?”

I shrug, my finger moving up to her thigh, goose bumps appearing on her leg. “We could take my boat out for the weekend, and just spend some time away from all of this.”

“Hmm,” she purrs, moving her notebook to the side andcrawling on top of my lap, “that does sound like it could be fun.”

Her eyes sparkle as she grinds atop me, my dick springing to life. I grab onto her waist, holding her in place.

“Sunshine,” I warn through gritted teeth, “don’t tease me right now.”

She grins at me mischievously. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She grinds her hips again and I suck in a shaky breath. We haven’t had sex yet because I don’t want to rush her into anything. I want her first time to be special, memorable, but with the way she’s been pushing me these last few days I get the sense that she’s tired of waiting.

“So, is that a yes to a boat trip away?” I ask.

She rolls off me, laying down next to me instead. “When would we leave?”

“As soon as you pack a bag.”

She jumps up, flustered. “Like, today?”

“Yes, today.” I chuckle.

“Right now?”

I nod. “Right now.”

I cross my arms behind my head and watch her run around her room in a frenzy grabbing everything she’ll need for the weekend and throwing them into her duffle bag. Twenty minutes later, her bag is packed and we’re in my jeep driving toward the boat dock.

She plays with my radio stations as the wind blows our hair around, settling on a station that’s playing Taylor Swift. I groan as she cranks the volume higher and starts to sing, horribly, at the top of her lungs. When her voice cracks for the third time I can’t hold in my laugh, throwing my head back as the sound bubbles out of me.

She stops singing and watches me, her lips slightly parted,and her eyes shimmering in awe. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you laugh a real laugh.”

I clear my throat. “Well, if you plan to keep singing like that then you can expect to hear my laugh more often.”

She giggles and hums along to the song instead as we pull into the parking lot of the boat dock. There aren’t many cars parked here today so I find a spot quickly. We unload the car and make our way towards the dock, hand in hand.

“We should’ve bought food before coming here.” She places a hand on her stomach.

“Are you hungry?” I ask, a smile pulling at my lips.

I had the fridge on board stocked with pre-made meals so that we wouldn’t have to stop anywhere for food this whole weekend, but I want to surprise her with a special dinner tonight, so I don’t tell her about that.

“Yeah, starving actually! I skipped lunch today.”

“Let’s move the boat further out to sea and then I’ll prepare us something quick in the kitchen,” I say, helping her onto my boat.

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