Page 58 of Beach B!tch
"I hear you, Dean. I'll plan accordingly, don't you worry." Brin kissed me one last time, then pushed me, surprisingly hard, off her. "But don't think for one second I like that bossy nature of yours..." She lifted one eyebrow, giving me "the look".
I hopped off the bed and handed her the hot coffee with an innocent smile.
She rolled her eyes at me and waved me off.
Brinley
I spent my morning at the tournament, watching the other players, identifying weaknesses of my own. I even had a notebook I jotted things down in. Massive nerd-alert, I know. I'd share my intel with Autumn at our next practice and incorporate some new things in our training.
My mom came to hang out with me and we got to know each other better. She never got married and lived alone in Texas. She'd already hinted at moving here to be closer and I was all for that. We had many years to make up for and it would be so much easier to do that if she was in the same state. I was ecstatic that she was willing do that for me. She had to fly back to Texas tomorrow morning, but said she'd be working on a plan to move out here as soon as possible.
After lunch together, and a long hug as a temporary goodbye, I left the tournament area to find Dean. He'd texted me he'd be up on the pier which was weird. I thought he'd be in his truck on the sand, not the pier. But I made my way through the thick crush of people choosing to observe the volleyball games from the higher vantage point.
I finally saw Dean leaning up against his red lifeguard truck parked to the side on the pier, about half way down. I waved my arms in the air and he spotted me, a blinding smile taking over his handsome face.
Good Lord, my man was gorgeous. Tan muscles pushing against that crisp, white polo shirt with his arms crossed over his chest. The red swim trunks that screamed lifeguard. His aviators hid his eyes, but made the whole package that much more yummy. Add in the ocean scenery behind him and I was wondering if I was in some movie where men that hot were a myth sold to women's fantasies. I found myself with a goofy perma-smile as I made my way over to him.
Once I was within grabbing distance, he pulled my hips into his and attacked my mouth. One arm wrapped around my waist, keeping me pressed against him while his other hand dove into my hair, cupping the back of my head. I vaguely heard a wolf whistle in the background, but paid it no mind. When you had a hot man kissing you for all he was worth, you don't get distracted by the peanut gallery.
We finally broke apart, just enough room between us to gulp in some much needed oxygen.
"That's quite the hello," I teased him.
"You're quite the woman," he responded with a serious look on his face. "Got something I want to say to you."
He was starting to worry me. The passionate kiss, the serious talk. What was going on?
"But first, I thought I'd get a little help from my friends." Then Dean turned me toward the railing of the pier and pointed down.
I tilted my head and gave him a lifted eyebrow before dutifully turning my head to look where he pointed.
The site that greeted my eyes made me gasp out loud and then cover my mouth with my hand when I let out an unladylike guffaw. I squeezed closer to the railing and peered over the edge to make sure I read it right.
Standing on the sand below us was a line of lifeguards, each holding a white sign that spelled out "I LOVE YOU BRINLEY". The lifeguards were holding the signs in front of their chests, but once I read it, they lowered the posters to show off their tanned, muscled torsos. They all elbowed each other and gave the on-lookers their cheesiest one-liners for encouragement.
Jesus, it was like a frat party down there, albeit without the alcohol and the ill-advised hook up.
Ivan, the lifeguard holding the Y on the end, flipped his sign around and the back said "Do you love me too?" With a huge smile on his face, he pointed back up to us.
Dean spun me back around to look up into his eyes. He looked nervous as hell, which was beyond cute.
"I know this isn't the most romantic way to tell you I love you, but I couldn't wait any longer to tell you and I figured you deserved a big production to match how amazing you are and how much I feel for you--"
I shushed his adorable, yet quite long, confession of love with a hand over his mouth. My heart was exploding and I needed to blurt it out as well.
"I love you too, Dean."
Then I removed my hand and replaced it with my mouth. He took over, twisting me around so I was up against his truck, his body pressed up onto mine. We were only pulled out of our heavy clutch by the sounds of whistles and shrieks of laughter.
From the sound of it, the sight of fifteen hot lifeguards was drawing major attention from the ladies both on the sand and on the pier. Quite a few of the women were busting out their cell phones to take a picture. If I didn't already have my hands on the hottest one of the bunch, I'd be tempted to get a picture too.
Dean and I looked back at each other and burst out laughing, our hands never leaving each other.
"I'll probably never live this down, but it was worth it to hear you say it back to me," Dean's husky voice whispered in my ear. I sobered quickly and buried my head in his neck, trying to get as close to him as I could. Our moments together were always short, so I had to take advantage while I could.
The lifeguards finally disbanded, much to the disappointment of all the ladies trying to get selfies with them, and went back to work guarding the beach. Dean had to get back too, but before he did, he gave me a ride to my car, then left me with another scorching kiss and a reminder to be ready for him tonight.
I thought yesterday was the pinnacle of my happiness, but I found that each day just kept getting better and better.
