Page 141 of The First Time
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kit
After we pick up dinner at the nearest organic grocery store, we drive to the beach. It takes ten minutes to find a parking spot in the neighborhood overlooking the water, but Piper refuses to entertain any other options.
She bounces out of the car and throws her arms around me. "This time, I'll lead."
I hug her back. My entire body fills with warmth. It's the kind of fuzzy, soft satisfaction that only exists in pop songs and greeting card commercials.
Only that can't be true, because I feel it now.
She makes me happy.
Her joy makes me happy. And, better, it satisfies something deep inside me.
She bounces down the sidewalks of the serene neighborhood. It's dark now, well past sunset, but the streetlights cast a glow over the quiet streets.
We turn the corner and take a steep path down to the beach. With anyone else, this would feel weird, overly intimate.
With Piper, it's right.
Hell, I want more.
I want every inch of her.
My mind clears with every step. Thoughts fall away to make room for feelings. And fuck, do I have a lot of feelings for her.
Grey-green bushes line the path. They continue onto the soft, beige sand. We're in some little alcove, a bay surrounded by cliffs on two sides and rocks on the third.
There are mansions sitting atop the cliffs—nice, expensive five million dollar places—but it's dark enough, people won't be able to see us.
The expanse of deep blue bleeds into the horizon. I can't tell where the sky ends and the ocean begins. The only clue is the stars shining over our heads and reflecting off the water.
This is a romantic spot.
I used to hate that kind of thing, but, right now, it feels perfect.
She lets out a needy sigh as her eyelids fall together. I'm tempted to pin her to the sand, peel off her panties, and get her screaming my name.
Soon.
I drag my lips over her neck and suck on her earlobe.
She groans and tugs at my hair. "Dinner first. Then sex."
I have to chuckle.
"What?" She pulls back with a curious expression in her blue eyes. "What is so funny?"
"If I'd saiddinner first then sex?"
She nods, accepting my point. "I'm not smooth yet."
"Not yet."
Piper finds her sandwich and can of iced coffee in the paper bag. She digs a spot in the sand for the can, sets it down, taps sand around the sides to secure it. "I'll work on it."
I grab my sandwich and get to unwrapping it. "I hope you don't."
