Page 58 of A Foolish Work Flirtation

I close my eyes and enjoy the feel of his arms around me. “I hope so. But I’m worried I’ll never return to that life.”

He kisses my neck. “Is that a bad thing?”

I laugh. “No, it’s not a bad thing.”

When his thumb encircles my nipple, I let go of all rational thought and instead feel the pleasure building. I’ve missed this and him.

Turning in the water, I straddle him and touch his chest. “I hope you’re right about complete privacy.”

He growls into my mouth. “I’m right.” His lips find mine, and his hands tighten around my waist.

Before I let go, I remind myself that I’m trying new adventures and pushing myself to say what I think without worrying about consequences or uncertainty. But all of this bliss could end in heartbreak. Alex could decide he’s tired of our association and send me home. But what if he doesn’t? Is this the right life for me?

16

Exploring Belize (Alex)

This is one of my favorite places in the world. I walk out on the pristine beach and search the horizon for waves. It’s too calm to surf this morning.

Someone crashes into me, and I tighten my muscles.What the fuck?

As I turn, I hear Immy laughing. “Did I scare you?”

I gather her into my arms and hug her tightly. “No. I wasn’t scared. Pissed off, maybe.”

I look down into her upturned face and bite my lower lip. She is beyond beautiful when she wakes up. Her body is warm and clingy. It’s the one time of the day that I don’t have to scale any of the walls she has built around herself.

She smiles. “Are we surfing today?”

I look back out at the water. “It’s unusually calm this morning. There are usually five-foot waves here.”

She clings to me and kisses my chest. “Maybe it’s the calm before the storm?”

I kiss her mouth briefly, and my hands find her hips to hold her still. “No storms are predicted. Let’s get breakfast, and then we’ll go snorkeling.”

I take her hand in mine and walk toward a coffee shop. So far, we are the only ones on the beach.

“We’re only here for two days. Maybe we should go further south to find a spot to surf?”

“Only a handful of areas are safe for learning to surf. We can’t go near live coral or hard coral rubble. The best place to learn is on soft sand.”

“Does sand matter? I’ll be in the water.”

“Surfing in the ocean takes a ton of practice, Immy. You could sustain a serious injury if you wipe out on a hard surface.”

She moves closer to me. “I’ve used a paddle board before.”

I can’t take my eyes off her sexy bikini top. “In the ocean?”

She shakes her head. “No, on a lake.”

I stop at a spigot and rinse my feet off. “The right way to teach you is to start with snorkeling, then paddleboard surfing. If that goes well and the water cooperates, we’ll try board surfing.”

She looks at me with her hands on her hips. “I know how to snorkel.”

I point to the spigot, and she shakes her head. “Let’s spend a few hours snorkeling and seeing the coral reef. This afternoon, we’ll go paddleboarding. We’ll have to go further out to catch the bigger breaks.”

She crosses her arms. “Do you spend time doing tours here in Belize?”

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