Page 51 of For Keeps. For Always.

“Are you naked?”

He dips his screen, showing me the towel wrapped around his waist.

“Oh.”

“Do you want me to be?” he tests.

“What?” I balk, heat crawling up my neck. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I’m just fuckin’ with you, Squirrel.” He laughs, and I attempt to regulate my breathing.

Dropping to his bed, he rests his laptop on his towel-clad thighs, the wide expanse of his chest on show.

He’s filled out a lot over the past few years. The tan of his skin stretched comfortably over the easy muscle his body has built through years of trekking through terrain to find his perfect shot. Small but defined pectoral muscles move out of sight when he tips the screen to show his face, and I shouldn’t mourn the loss of the view, but I do. His nipples are dark, a modest scattering of hair resting between them. The strong line of his neck carves into his shoulders, thick veins pulsating heavily as he swallows.

“What time is it there?”

“Midnight.” I stifle a yawn.

“Henley, we could’ve spoken in the morning.”

“I’m not tired,” I lie. “Plus, I wanted to talk to you.” The words whispered in a way I didn’t mean for them to be.

“Everything okay?”

I nod.

“Sure?”

“Promise.”

He raises a thick eyebrow. “What have I told you about promises?”

I roll my eyes, unable to hide the smile that grows on my face.

He’s making me giddy, and I equal parts love and hate the schoolgirl crush I develop the moment I see or speak to him.

We’ve been speaking every few days. It was like the breaking of a dam wall. Nothing stood between us anymore. Aside from the crippling distance, of course. It’s like it has always felt between us. Easy,real.And I can’t get enough. I’d speak to him every day if I wouldn’t come across like a psychotic stalker, and we could manage our schedules better.

“Arrive in the Whitsundays?”

I nod. “Yeah, yesterday. It’s beautiful.”

“You’re sunburned,” he comments.

I touch my cheeks. “I spent the day swimming at a place called Whitehaven Beach. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. The sand is basicallywhite,and the water is crystal-clear.”

“The rest of you doesn’t look burned, just your face.”

I glance down at my shoulders. “I had to wear a full swimsuit, one that covered my arms and legs… my whole body.”

His head tilts to the side, his lips pursing in question.

“They have jellyfish that can kill you.” I laugh.

“What the fuck?” He snorts. “Why are you laughing about that?”

“They’re called Irukandji. Hectic, hey?”

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