Page 57 of Beach B!tch
20
Brinley
Bad news: we ended up losing that second game. Good news: it was a super close game, which only made me ruminate on my next goal. Maybe IVP tournament winner??
Before I could get carried away obsessing over a new pinnacle of achievement, Dean and I went home and looked up my points total online and guess what? It was official!
My name was listed on the website as an IVP Professional volleyball player.
Dean spun my chair around, pulled me up and carried me over to the couch to celebrate. Unfortunately, I was a tired and sweaty girl, with sand all over me. So after some heavy making out that couldn't go much further due to hygiene issues, he picked me back up and walked me into my shower. He turned on the water, stripped me down, and made sure I was safely in my shower before ducking back out, much to my disappointment.
I used my flower-smelling body wash I only used on special occasions, which meant almost never. I shaved and rinsed and dried and lotioned. I got my cute pajamas on, the ones I could bear to be seen in: short shorts with a lacy camisole. My most comfortable pjs wouldn't be coming out in Dean's presence. Sweats with holes in them didn't exactly set the mood I was going for.
I opened the bathroom door to the best smell in the world: a man in the kitchen cooking dinner. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't care. My hottie lifeguard was cooking me dinner.
"Dinner's ready, sweetheart!" Dean hollered from the kitchen.
I sauntered out and collapsed into a kitchen chair. My high from the win earlier today was beginning to wear off, and combined with the hot shower, my body was exhausted. I blinked my eyes, trying to keep them open.
"All right, let's get you fed and off to bed, woman." Dean placed a full plate of chicken, salad, and potatoes in front of me and slid his chair over next to mine.
I leaned over onto his shoulder like a limp noodle. I could rotate my head back far enough to make eye contact. I was feeling drowsy and sweet. "Thank you for making me dinner and getting me in the shower. It's really nice to have someone take care of me."
Dean closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and nearly torched me with their heat. "If you let me, I'll take care of you every day. You deserve to be treated like this, Brin. You know that, right?"
I smiled a slow grin. "Yeah, I know. I'm just glad it's you taking care of me." And I gave a valiant effort, but my eyes started to droop and then finally shut.
"Oh, no you don't, missy." Dean jiggled me off his arm, and I snapped my head back up, eyes wide open. "Eat your food, and then I'll get you tucked in. You gotta refuel, you get me?"
"So bossy..." I shook my head at him, but I picked up the fork and dug into my food like a good girl. He was lucky I was tired, too tired to spar with him like I usually would.
I'd scarcely gotten the last bite in my mouth before Dean scooped his arms under me and lifted me out of the chair, princess-style. Again, I had a protest ready in my mind, but it never made it out my mouth. Sometimes you need to give in. So, I laid my head on his chest and gave in.
Dean
Brinley was out last night even before I got her tucked into bed. I'd cleaned up the kitchen, shut down the apartment, and crawled in next to her. I had to pull a shift at the beach, but I couldn't resist sleeping over with her. I was feeling more at home at her place than mine. I got up and made coffee, taking a cup of it into her bedroom for her. She was still out, recovering from yesterday.
I sat on the bed, sipping my coffee, staring at her while I went through different scenarios of how I could tell her I loved her. I wanted to do it today. But I'd already thrown out the L-word casually on our first date. I felt like I needed to make a grand gesture so she knew I meant it with all my heart. Maybe in front of her friends at her party tomorrow? No, that party was about celebrating her win.
A brilliant idea popped in my head when Brinley interrupted.
"You gonna stare at me all morning or give me some coffee?" Her voice was groggy from sleep, and even more high pitched than usual. Her tank top had shifted while she slept, leaving the edge of her nipple exposed. My eyes flew back up to her face, to see her smiling softly at me.
"You're a ridiculous temptation, you know that?" I put my coffee on the nightstand and rolled on top of her. "You're all sleepy and sweet and feisty, all at the same time. It's a deadly combo."
"Stay back, mister! I've got morning breath." She squealed, trying to push me away, but I wasn't having any of that.
"I've got two minutes till I need to be in my truck on the way to work. I don't give a fuck about morning breath. Kiss me so I can replay the next two minutes in my head all day at work."
I'd seen Brin be quick on the court, but she's also quick in bed. She grabbed my ass with one hand, grinding up into my hips, her other hand gripping my hair and bringing my face to hers. Her tongue teased my mouth, and I let her take over, enjoying her enthusiasm.
I pulled my mouth from her and dropped my forehead to hers. I was breathing hard from just a minute or two of kissing. What was this girl doing to me?
"Keep that thought. I'll text you later and meet up with you at the beach, okay? And block off your evening. You're mine." I hoped she understood me, even without me adding the dorky 'if you know what I mean' at the end of every sentence.
"Okay, I'll come find you between games at the tournament." Brinley was planning on attending the rest of the tournament, analyzing plays and which players did what. I'm sure she was already planning her next tournament and what placing she was shooting for.
But I needed her focused on us. "Tonight. You and me. Alone. In this bed. We're celebrating. You got me?" I knew I was ordering her around a bit more than she'd put up with, but I was hoping she'd see my heart was in the right place.
