Page 32 of Beach B!tch
That got her attention. She wrinkled her nose at me, but let me put her hand on my chest. She moved her fingers over my shirt and cocked her head to the side.
"What about it?" she said suspiciously.
"It's made of boyfriend material," I replied with a grin. "Get it?"
She blinked. And then burst into laughter. The clouds parted, and the sun came out again. I joined her, happier than I'd been in a long time to know I was the one to put a smile back on her face. She looked so happy and free when she laughed. I found that to be more of a turn-on than the sound of her giggle.
"Oh my God, I think I love you," she said around her laughter.
She snapped her mouth closed, the laughter dying from her lips. We both sobered up quickly as we realized what she'd said. She blushed and fidgeted with her napkin. Normally, I'd panic at the L-word being said on a first date, but oddly, I felt nothing but contentment. Like all the puzzles in the universe clicked into place. Like it was just a matter of time, so why not now?
"Funny, since I know I already do," I admitted to her, not letting her pull her gaze from mine. Her chest rose and fell as she gulped in heavy breaths.
"Okay, who ordered the grilled chicken salad?" The server appeared by our table, looking to deliver our dinner. If that wasn't perfect timing, I didn't know what was. I'd rather her let that soak in and get used to the idea. I was afraid she'd start arguing with me or pull away. At least now, she had some time to think on it before giving in to fear and ejecting from the situation.
That may have been a spontaneous admission on both our parts, but I meant it. Her happiness mattered more than my own. Her voice, her ambition, and her innocence had me wrapped up, unable to focus on anything but her. She was fascinating and frustrating. She was beautiful and feminine and fierce and athletic. She had a million sides to her and I think I was in love with them all.
Brinley
Ah, shit balls.
It was going so great. And then I said it.
I said I loved him! But that wasn't what I meant. I didn't think...
And then he basically said it back! We started eating our dinner and pretended that it didn't happen.
But it did. And I heard him.
We got up to leave the restaurant, having finished our meal and exhausting all topics of conversation about our jobs, friends, and volleyball. We discussed every safe topic that could allow us to get to know each other, but not touch any of the deeper stuff. Which gave me time to calm down and relax again.
We decided to walk a block or two over to the beach and walk along the sand. It was just after sunset, so we had about half an hour before it got too dark to see. I held my shoes in my hand and dug my feet into the sand. My calves, ankles, and toes rejoiced in the familiar soft cushioning after surviving a few hours in heels. I didn't see how women could stand to wear those every day. Give me tennis shoes or barefoot any day.
Dean laced our fingers together and pulled me close to his side as we walked right along the water's edge. We shifted up and down the slope as a wave would roll in close to our feet. We were both quiet, but the silence was comfortable. We'd said so much at dinner, and now it was nice to focus on being with each other, enjoying our favorite place. I was at peace here on the sand.
When we reached a closed up lifeguard tower, he hoisted me up onto the overhang and we sat together, watching the waves.
I nudged his shoulder and asked somewhat seriously, "Is this where I get to kill you again?"
He smiled his thousand watt smile even while his eyes went melty. "You can kill me anytime you want, sweetheart." Then he pulled me in and nibbled on my lip.
The boy had skills, that's for sure. Anytime he kissed me, it was like he flipped a switch. I wanted to climb up into his lap and attack him. Kiss every inch of that dark skin. Feel his hands on me. Knowing we were in public, I focused on pouring all my wants into the kiss.
I let my hands roam free along his body, feeling his strong muscles bunching as he moved. He made a guttural moaning noise in my mouth before breaking away, breathing hard. I tried to pull him back in so I could get him to make that noise again, but he wasn't cooperating.
"Brin, sweetheart. Next time you want to kill me, we gotta pick a more private spot." He still had his hand in my hair and he ran his nose along my jaw, up to my ear. His deep voice in my ear, his breath brushing against my throat, gave me goose bumps. "You're getting cold. Let's get you back to the truck."
Dean hopped down and gave me his hand. Such a gentleman all the time. I was about to be a professional athlete and he thought I needed a hand to jump down two feet into sand. It was sweet, even though it was unnecessary, but I gave him my hand anyway to have his skin touch mine. I kind of liked how it made me feel: like I was protected and precious.
We decided we better call it a night as Dean had to work early the next morning and I had classes to teach at Strike Ready. Dean drove me home to my apartment and wouldn't hear of me walking to my door alone, so he helped me out of his truck, keeping his hand wrapped around mine while we walked.
"I can't have my girlfriend walking in the dark alone to her front door." Dean spoke firmly, letting me know there wasn't wiggle room on that matter.
"Girlfriend, huh? Don't you think you need to ask me before declaring that?" I teased him with a straight face.
"Seriously?" He whipped around at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor and stared me down. "You kiss me like that, multiple times I remind you, and you don't think we're officially dating now? And I know you were there, so don't pretend that we didn't bat around the L word at dinner. And in case you were wondering, I don't tell girls I love them all the time. In fact, I've never said it to a woman before, so yeah, we're officially dating. You got a problem with that?" He stepped even closer, pressing me up against the stair railing.
"Easy tiger, I was just teasing you. Does this count as our first fight?" I smiled up at him sweetly, wondering how far I could push him, loving that I trusted him enough to push but didn't have to worry about him hurting me.
He grabbed me and slammed his mouth on mine, opening my lips and driving his tongue into my mouth. If I thought our other kisses were hot, this one wasn't even in the same galaxy. His hands were running up and down my body, pulling me into him, pulling on my hair. He was both claiming me and showing me what would happen if I pushed him too far.
And damn if I didn't like it. A little too much.
I was about to throw caution to the wind, along with my goals, and invite him up to my apartment when we both heard a throat clear above our heads.
"Well, well. Isn't this interesting?"
