Page 135 of Between Never and Forever
“That good?” I ask, dipping my head low so I’m speaking into her hair.
“Mmmm, yes.”
I keep massaging, and she drops her chin to her chest, giving me access and surrendering control.
“Didn’t realize you were so tense,” I say, and she chuckles in response.
I move from her neck, back to her shoulders, then down her arms, taking the time to drag my hands over every inch of goosebump-covered skin.
“Ready?” someone shouts, and my head shoots toward the voice the same time Savannah jumps away from me.
Dustin. My nostrils flare as I stare at him, but his smile doesn’t slip.
“Got the tubes all set. We’re good to go.”
Savannah has already started walking toward the river, so I follow. There’s a cooler already stocked with drinks and shoved into a tube, and I reach for a beer just as Savannah reaches for a water. Our eyes meet and she gives me a small smile before pulling her water from the ice. I watch as she uncaps it and takes a drink, then I put my beer back and grab a water.
“You don’t have to do that for me,” Savannah says, grinning. “I’m around alcohol and drugs literally every day. I can handle you sipping on a can of shitty light beer.”
I uncap my water and take a drink, then shrug.
“I like water.”
I turn my attention to the bank where our group is picking out their tubes and readying to start our float down the river. The water is higher than usual and moving quicker than I remember.
“Has anyone done this here before, in this part of the river?” I address the group as a whole, and Luke speaks up.
“I have. We do it all the time.”
“This isn’t a little high? Fast?”
Luke laughs. “It’ll get a little choppy in parts because of all the rain, but you’ll be fine. Ain’t nobody died yet.”
“That’s reassuring,” Red says, and I nod in agreement.
Savannah sighs loudly, and when I glance in her direction, she’s got a hand propped on her hip and the hip popped out in a way that makes her look entirely too sexy. Her silver hair is piled on top of her head in a wild bun, pieces falling randomly around her face, and that black one-piece accentuates every single aspect of her body, while still keeping everything covered.
I take her in, head to toe, then back to her face. She smirks and a dark eyebrow raises up from her wayfarers. Before she even opens her mouth, I know it’s coming.
“Don’t be aweenie, Leviticus. It’s just a float trip. Have a little fun once in a while.”
The barks of shocked laughter that leave Luke and Dustin are almost enough to irritate me, but they don’t. Instead, I feel charged, my stomach flipping in that familiar way it always used to when Sav issued a challenge. I match her smirk, and my lips twitch at the corners, wanting to turn up higher. I don’t let them.
“Okay, brat. Let’s have some fun, then.”
32
The water is colderthan you’d expect, given that it’s in the upper eighties and humid as hell.
Luke and Dustin have already strung the tubes together, putting the cooler tube in the middle. I position myself on the end, right next to Sav, with her security guard on the other side of her, and we push out into the middle of the river, letting the current take us.
It’s relaxing once we get going, and conversation flows freely. Everyone’s talking about the movie and the rainstorm and their plans to jet off to Italy soon. I stay quiet and listen.
Paul Northwood’s voice rises above the others, laughing and engaging like the good American Sweetheart he is. He calls out to Savannah, and she turns her body so she can see him better. I bristle, jealousy surging through me as she laughs with him. They make plans to explore Italy on their off days. She has places to show him. He has places to show her. She’s much more well-traveled than I realized, which shouldn’t be a surprise, but it is.
For some reason, it’s hard for me to picture Savannah as a tourist in Italy. As a tourist anywhere. She’s headlined six world tours at this point. Of course, she’s been places I’ve only ever dreamed of. Of course, she’s bigger than anyone ever could have imagined. That’s Savannah, though. She’s always been one to surprise people. You can’t underestimate her. She’ll just blow right past and leave you choking on her dust.
All of this doesn’t upset me, though.
