Page 42 of Connected By Stars
“Thanks.” He takes a sip and sighs. “So good.”
We sit there as the first ray of light hits the sky, spanning across the water. I stare in awe as the sun appears on the horizon. It never gets old to see the beauty of it. I turn and see Maverick watching me again. “You’re missing the sunrise. It’s so beautiful today.”
“My view is just as beautiful,” he says softly. He reaches for my hand and interlaces our fingers together as we watch the rest of the sunrise together.
“I’ve never held hands and watched the sunrise with someone before.” I look at our hands before meeting his eyes.
“Really? I figured you would have done iton a date before. It’s a first for me, too,” he says softly. “I like it. It’s nice to share it with someone.”
“I like it too.” His beautiful green eyes take in mine, and I find myself getting lost in their depths. Is he feeling what I’m feeling? I could sit here and watch sunrises with him until my last breath. We haven’t talked much about what happens after the wedding. I don’t want to rush him. I want to give him time to sort through all these new emotions.
Part of me doesn’t want to get my hopes up that this will last, but it’s too late. I can’t imagine my life with someone else—I never could. He tears his gaze away and focuses on the horizon. I know he’s checking out the waves and feeling the call to them.
“You better get out there.” I nudge his shoulder. “The waves look good today.”
“This feels good too.” He squeezes my hand and smiles at me.
“Yes, it does, but I know you. You can’t stand watching waves like that and not being able to enjoy them. Go, I need to shoot some footage anyway.”
He gives me an excited, boyish grin and quickly kisses me on the lips before grabbing his board and jogging toward the shoreline. I laugh and start getting my camera ready.
Two hours later,I see Maverick paddle back in. I lower my camera and put the lens cap back on. I got a lot of footage of the new board for him. He’s been trying them out the last couple of months and loved them enough to start selling them. They are a local designer so that’ll be a good selling point. Maverick comes over and shakes his head, sprinkling me with water. Laughing, he sits down next to me.
“How did it look?” He motions to my camera.
“You looked great out there. I have a lot to work with. I want to get a few stills with you holding the board, too.”
Groaning, he unscrews the cap on his water bottle and takes a sip. “You know how much I hate posing without being in the water surfing.”
“Yeah, I know,” I laugh, “but the girls eat it up, and we get more views that way. You’re the face of your store. Lucky for me, you’re very marketable and make my job very easy.”
“Let's get this over with then,” he sighs. He stands up and grabs the short board first. “Where do you want me?”
“Let’s do a couple down by the water. I’ll have you put the board under your arm, making sure the brand on the board is showing.”
We spend the next few minutes taking various shots of Maverick with the short and longboard. Even though he hates posing for me, he couldn’t take a bad photo if he tried. I make sure to get a few where he’s looking out at the ocean. I capture the beauty of his green eyes in the sun before they turn to me. I see him looking at me, and I lower my camera and make eye contact with him. I raise my camera and quickly capture what I see in his eyes. His heated stare is still on me as I lower my camera again.
“Now it’s your turn.” He walks toward me and hands me his board.
“What? I can’t be in the photos. I take them.”
“As long as you have the settings right, how hard can it be to press a button? Besides, I brought a new rash guard from the women’s line and want you to model it for me. You say all the girls ramp up the views because of me, but I know, guys. With you advertising for me, they’re more likely to buy the surfboard if you hold it.”
“There’s a reason I’m a videographer. I like to be behind the camera.”
“You tortured me–now it’s my turn,” he says, grinning. “I know you always wear a suit under your clothes, too, so don’t even start with that excuse.”
“Fine,” I huff out. I walk over to the towel and take my t-shirt and shorts off so I’m in my black bikini. I really wish I knew this was going to happen because I would have worn my one-piece and not this tiny bikini that barely covers my bottom. It’s so close to a thong that it might as well be. I wear suits like this all the time to the beach, but I’ve never had Maverick’s eyes on me behind the lens of a camera.
His eyes roam my body, and I can tell by the look in his eyes that he approves. He breaks his gaze and gets the rash guard from his bag. It’s black with a lightweight wetsuit material and a zipper down the front. He holds it open, and I put my arms through the short sleeves. He takes his time with the zipper, slowly bringing it up to stop at my breast, leaving it open to show some of my bikini top.
“It looks good on you.” His finger trails over the swell of my breasts. I suck in a breath of air as goosebumps appear on my arms. He smiles and takes a step back, picking up my camera from my bag on the towel.
“Since this is your photo shoot, where would you like me?” I ask him, adjusting my ball cap on my head and making sure my hair is good.
“Let’s get some with the longboard since I did a lot with the shortboard today.”
“Okay.” I bend down to grab the longboard and hear the camera click. I whip my head around. “Did you just take my picture?”
