Текст книги "Adore Me "

Автор книги: Jillian Dodd

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“Trust me. That doesn’t stop a lot of girls.”

I touch his forearm and get him to look at me. “Damian, she felt it too.”

His eyes widen in shock.

“Seriously? Do you think that really happens?” He sets his wineglass down without taking a sip and starts pacing again. “Of course, it happens. How many times have we heard the story of Ab—” He stops in the middle of his sentence, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, when Aiden walks in the room. “Um, the story of Aberly and, uh, Fritz.”

“Who's Aberly and Fritz?” Aiden asks.

“They're my dad's friends,” Damian says, picking his goblet up and taking a swig before continuing. “I need something stronger than this. You like scotch, Aiden?”

“My dad is trying to teach me to appreciate it,” Aiden replies. “So tell us their story.”

As Damian plunks ice into two highball glasses and pours a 25-year old scotch over them, he says, “They come here sometimes, and they like to tell the story of how they met. Of how it was an instant, love at first sight thing. They've been together ever since.”

I smile thinking about Tommy and my mom. “Yeah, they're pretty amazing. I hope you can meet them someday.”

Because I do.

I think Tommy would love Aiden, and my mom would be as mesmerized by him and his wooing as I am. I think about Logan and his big gesture. About Aiden and the dirt. B and his sandycastles. My mom is into big gestures, and Tommy never does anything small. He whisked her away to St. Petersburg on their/our first date. And a few months later, he surprised both of us by remembering the day my dad died, by taking us to his grave and then later to the Santa Monica Pier. He’s never been threatened by our past, I think, because he’s confident he’ll be in our future.

Damian hands Aiden his drink as Peyton walks into the room.

She looks gorgeous.

Damian is staring at her, mesmerized. When she smiles the blazing love god smile, I see the same dreamy look in Damian’s eyes that I suspect is in my own when I look at Aiden.

Speaking of Aiden. He looks gorgeous too. His hair is slicked back, making it look darker. The scruff on his face is looking sexy as hell over his tanned face. He’s wearing a Rag & Bone pale blue gauze long-sleeved shirt, a pair of James Perse linen pants, and Prada criss-cross sandals.

Damian holds out his elbow to Peyton, whispers something in her ear that makes her blush, and then escorts her into the dining room.

Dinner smells fabulous, but looking at Aiden makes me hungry for only one thing.

Him.

Aiden grabs my hand, gives me a kiss, and leads me into the dining room.

We invite Inga and Sven to join us for dinner, but as is typical, they refuse. However, it’s mostly because they’re leaving early tonight to go to their daughter’s home for a family birthday celebration.

As Sven pours us each a cool glass of Pinot Grigio to compliment the turkey, he says, “Mr. Damian, I assume you will keep with tradition and do your father’s usual toast?”

Damian looks at me and smiles. “Keats, I think you should do it.”

“Um, okay.” I stand up, smooth down the front of my dress, and raise my glass into the air. “It’s times like these that we stop to reflect on our lives and the things we have to be thankful for. The great Thornton Wilder wrote, ‘We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.’ In other words, look at the friends gathered around you, at the food sitting before you, and the beauty that is around you. Happy Thanksgiving!”

We clink glasses and everyone says, Happy Thanksgiving.

“That’s a beautiful quote,” Peyton says. “What’s it from?”

“It’s from the play, The Woman of Andros,” I tell her. “It’s about what’s precious in life and how harsh the world can be. Wilder revisited that theme again in Our Town, when Emily dies and asks if anyone ever realizes what they have in life, while they are living it.”

Aiden and Peyton both look teary-eyed. I know they’re thinking about their mom and how even though she is with them, she’s not with them. In a way, cancer was sort of their Vincent, bringing chaos into their normal lives. “I’m very thankful to be here,” Peyton says. “Thanks so much for having us.”

“So, do you both like football?” I ask.

“Well, my parents are both originally from Georgia, but my mom went to college at Alabama and Dad went to Ole Miss. They’re big SEC rivals, so football is a dangerous subject at our house,” Aiden says with a grin. “It’s always funny when the two teams play each other.”

“How did they meet?” Damian asks.

“Dad interviewed Mom for a job. Their running joke is that he told her no for the job, but asked if she would interview to be his girlfriend.”

“What’d she say?”

“That she’d rather have the job,” Peyton says with an easy laugh.

“The Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving day. Do you like them?” I ask. “My grandpa lives in Texas and is a huge Cowboys fan.”

“I just like stuffing myself with turkey and then relaxing on the couch and watching any game,” Aiden says. “Although, here, I think I’d rather hang out on the beach.”

“You two enjoy,” Damian says, before stuffing his mouth with mashed potatoes. “I’m going to take Peyton into town after dinner.”

“Are you going shopping?” I ask, my ears perking up.

“Just some exploring and then we have our date,” Damian says very vaguely.

I get the distinct impression that I’m not invited.

“Exploring, where?” Aiden asks.

“Just into town.”

“Somewhere safe?”

“Um, yeah, of course.”

Aiden nods and says, “Okay.”

Very quickly, we’re stuffed, and Aiden and Damian are both moaning that they couldn’t possibly eat another bite.

Until Inga offers them a piece of pecan pie and they both are like, Oh, maybe just a little slice.

Peyton and I help clear the table, but Inga shoos us out of her kitchen.

Damian grabs Peyton’s hand. “Don’t wait up,” he tells me with a big grin on his face.

Aiden smiles at me, rubs his tight stomach, and pulls me into a hug. “Alone at last.”

“Do you want to go down to the little beach cabana? It’s shaded and has a comfortable bed that’s great for naps.”

“That sounds perfect,” he replies.

We walk hand in hand to the beach and snuggle up on the raised platform bed filled with brightly colored pillows. I lean on Aiden’s chest and stare out at the water in a happy food coma.

Your lips on mine.

8:45pm

“Hey, Boots,” Aiden says, waking me up.

“Oh, wow. Did you fall asleep too?”

“Absolutely.”

I snuggle into his arms, my ear on his chest, hearing the beat of the heart I'm going to break along with my own in just two days.

“We were up early.”

“And we played hard,” he says with a grin.

“What time is it?”

He glances at his watch. “Almost nine.”

“Oh my gosh, we slept forever.”

“And believe it or not, I’m hungry again.”

“Let’s get a snack and take it back to my room.”

He touches the strings of my halter. “I was serious when I said I wanted to undress you.”

I hold my breath as he touches my shoulder. There’s a huge part of me that wants to skip the snack but, yet, I want to take it slow. Enjoy the whole night. The whole experience. Savor it like it’s my last meal.

We head to the kitchen to make turkey sandwiches and grab one of the fruit and cheese trays that Inga always leaves for late night snacking.

“Do you want some wine?” he asks.

“Sure, pick something out.”

We walk to the turret, into my room, and then set everything up on the desk.

I throw open the windows, so we can hear the sounds of the ocean, and light the candles.

“I really liked your toast today,” Aiden says.

“Thanks, I didn’t make it up or anything but I think it’s a good thing to hear on Thanksgiving. It helps put your life in perspective. I think it’s easy to get so caught up in the everyday stuff that we forget to look at what’s really important.”

“What’s really important to you?”

“Same as everyone, I guess. Health, family, love.”

“I agree. Although I might add a few things to that list.”

“Like what?”

“The sound of the ocean, watching the sun set, a good glass of wine, and your lips on mine.”

“The simple things in life are the best.”

“As long at it includes a castle on the beach, Little Mermaid?”

“I don’t really need a castle, Aiden, but I do need the ocean every so often. The waves calm me and make me feel peaceful—centered, almost.”

“You seem like that in your loft too.”

“I do,” I say with regret, knowing I won't ever be going back there. That I'll be hiring people to pack up everything and put it in storage. Except for two things. The book of Keats poetry, which has Aiden’s four-leaf clover pressed in it, and the shoes I wore to my birthday party. Those will be sent to wherever I am. “Really, I'm comfortable lots of places. I love the vibrancy of cities like New York and Paris just as much as the ease of a house on the beach or in the country. I don't really know where I want to live.”

Or even if I'll live.

“What's that?” Aiden asks, holding up his hand and walking over to the window.

“What's what?” I ask, following him.

“Shhh.”

I listen quietly and then hear it. Giggling.

“Where's it coming from?” I whisper.

Aiden nods in the direction of the beach.

I peer out into the moonlight and see Peyton and Damian stripping off their clothes and running into the ocean.

“Are they skinny-dipping?” Aiden asks, looking slightly horrified.

“Oh, no. I’m sure they have swimsuits on. Damian likes to swim in the moonlight,” I lie.

“I think I should go down there and check on her.”

“Aiden, you don’t need to check on her. She’s laughing and having fun.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“You got to know Damian today. Do you like him?”

“Yeah, I like him. But that doesn’t mean I want him getting naked with my sister.”

I give him a kiss and say, “Let’s go back inside.”

Aiden studies my face. “You know, you’ve surprised me on this trip.”

“How so?”

“Because we haven’t done anything other than kiss.”

“We were tired last night.”

“Are we tired tonight?”

“No, we just took a nap.”

He studies my bare shoulders and then runs his hands across them. “You’re right,” he says, his eyes dark and sexy. “We should go back inside.”

He pulls me through the doorway, closes the curtains, and then comes to stand directly in front of me.

I bite the edge of my lip, knowing this is it.

He wants to undress me.

I stand here, feeling like I’m already naked.

He wraps his hand around my neck and unties the halter, causing the front of my dress to fall down and reveal my strapless bra. He bends slightly, his lips pressing against my shoulder, slowly across my collarbone, and then along the edges of my bra.

“I’ve had dreams about doing this. Just undressing you.”

I swallow hard and my stomach flips as his hands slide down my sides, slowly working the dress over my hips, down my legs, and into a puddle on the floor. He bends down, stopping to trail his tongue across the top of my thong, then runs his hands slowly down the sides of my thighs, his lips following them.

He stops to take my dress from around my ankles and lay it on the bench at the bottom of the bed.

But then he returns to my legs, kissing my knees, my ankles, and removing my shoes.

His lips work their way back up to my mouth and, as he kisses me, I start to unbutton his soft shirt.

One button.

Two buttons.

Three buttons.

Four.

Part of me wants to pop the buttons off his shirt, strip off the rest of his clothes and go for it, but I also don’t want to miss this.

This slow burn.

My lips find their way to his chest as I finish unbuttoning his shirt and slowly spread it open, letting it reveal his muscular chest and beautifully sculpted shoulders.

It’s magical. Godlike.

Until his shirt gets stuck on his hand.

I start laughing, because it won’t come off no matter how hard I tug on it.

He pulls the sleeve back on, showing me that his watch is in the way.

I nod in understanding, unbutton his sleeve, and then pull it off him.

Then I put the shirt on me.

“Something is wrong with this picture here,” he teases, gliding his finger down my stomach. “My clothes are coming off and you’re putting them back on.”

“This shirt is soft. I might steal it and wear it to bed.” I sorta hug myself and run my hands down the sleeves.

He growls a little. “Are you going to take off my pants?”

My face instantly flushes—hell, my whole body instantly flushes.

I nod and move my hands to his belt while he pulls the shirt off my shoulder and kisses down my chest.

They are slow, soft, controlled kisses.

As he’s doing that, I unbuckle his belt.

Then I unzip his pants and let them glide down his legs.

“Sliders, huh?”

“Yeah, they’re comfortable.”

“And way hotter than boxers,” I state. Because those things are tight. As in, I can see the outline of every bulge underneath, including the one I’ve been dying to see.

But I remind myself that the sliders must stay on.

Do not take off the sliders.

Do not pull off the sliders.

He quickly kicks his pants off, and then in one fluid motion picks me up and lays me on the bed.

“I have a present for you,” I tell him, having no idea why I chose this moment to bring it up. Especially when I should be focusing on what I can feel under those sliders.

He props his head up, his green eyes sparkling in the candlelight and possibly looking the sexiest I’ve ever seen. “Really?”

“I was going to give it to you when you passed French this semester.”

“But you’re so confident that I’m going to pass that you’re giving it to me now?”

Oh, Lord.

No, I don’t want to give it to you now.

I want you to give it to me.

Unleash that freaking Titan.

Now.

“So, where is it?” he asks.

“Oh, um, what?”

“The present. Where is it?”

“Oh, I’ll go get it,” I say, clearing dirty thoughts from my head, hopping off the bed, and quickly running to the closet.

I stare at the wrapped Tiffany’s box sitting on the shelf, hating myself for lying to him. I’m giving it to him now because I know I won’t be there at the end of the semester.

I carry the box back to the bed and hand it to him. He leans back against the headboard and unties the white ribbon.

God, does he look sexy lying there in nothing but his underwear or what?

He smiles as he pulls out the silver keychain I bought him. It has a silver four-leaf clover charm set in a twisted circle. One side is engraved with the word sort and the other with the word luck.

“A four-leaf clover,” he says with a big grin.

“Both sides of it are engraved.”

He squints in the dim light, then holds the keychain in front of the hurricane lamp and reads, “Sort. As in the French word for fate?”

“Yeah. Now look at the other side.”

He flips it over. “Luck. Hmmm. Luck or fate. Which one are we?”

“I don’t know. But I do know I’m lucky to have met you.” Tears shimmer in my eyes as he touches my face.

“I think we’re both lucky.”

“Remember how I told you I called you the God of all Hotties?”

He grins. “Yeah.”

“That’s kind of how I treated you. Like a god. Like you were perfect. But after what happened with Chelsea, seeing you with black eyes, it made you more real. And it showed me how much I care about you.” I pause then say softly, “And that scared me.”

“Why were you scared?”

“Because when she told me . . . ” I clutch my chest, because just the thought of what she said being true still makes my heart ache.

“It hurt,” Aiden says, finishing my sentence.

“Yeah.”

He puts his fingers together, making half of our four-leaf clover. I hold my fingers together in the same way and touch his, forming the rest of it.

The second our fingers touch, it’s like magic. A crack of thunder roars and lightning shoots across the sky as a storm moves in from the distance.

Aiden stares at me for a beat then takes action, his lips finding my neck as he quickly unbuttons the single button on his shirt and undoes my bra. He tosses them both on the bed then leans in to kiss me.

Our naked chests touch.

You sometimes hear how a teeny spark can start a whole forest fire. Our chests touching is my spark, and now I’m burning out of control.

His fingers move across my nipple, causing it to immediately harden. Then he flicks it with his tongue and pulls it into his mouth with his teeth, sending lightning bolts of sensations through my body.

My legs are spread wide, his hips between them. He grips my hips tightly as he kisses his way down my stomach. He kisses around the edges of my lace panties, but they aren't gentle kisses.

They’re rough, harsh, ragged. And with every kiss, he pulls my hips up in a thrusting motion to meet his mouth.

I want to do something to him, but my body is consumed with what he's doing to me.

Just the anticipation of what he might do next almost sends me over the edge.

His mouth moves down farther, his tongue dancing from my thighs to my toes, causing my blood to pulse through my veins and my heart to beat wildly in one big blur of desire.

He pulls my hips toward his mouth, layering on kisses and sucking at the tender spots between my thighs. I grab ahold of his hair as I prepare for that magical tongue to move my panties aside and delve deeper.

His tongue explores the edges of the lace only, darting underneath but not staying for long.

He suddenly changes his position quickly and lies on his side next to me.

He kisses me again, his tongue thrusting into my mouth in a forceful way, almost like it’s mad at me.

I reply with equal force. Coming to sit almost upright when I feel his fingers pushing aside the lace, then touching me between the soft folds.

“God, you're wet,” he says, his fingers rubbing the outside of me. The friction alone is almost driving me mad.

“Oh,” I moan.

But then his finger dives inside me.

Then quickly out.

And I’m lost to him.

One single finger.

One tongue.

Completely controlling my body.

Controlling my heart.

And my mind.

I arch my back. “Mhmmmm. Ohmigawd, Aiden, that feels so good.”

He sucks the skin at the base of my neck while the throbbing reaches deep inside my body to places he can't touch.

After moaning an embarrassing amount, I kiss him deeply, then bravely and quickly move my hand inside his sliders and grasp the Titan.

Which, I discover, is a very appropriate name.

I should explore it but I don't.

I have but one goal.

To make him feel as good as I just did.

So I wrap my fingers around it and stroke.

Until he does.

Then we lie flat out on the bed. Both of us feeling completely spent.

He rolls over, pulls my back tightly into his chest, and lazily kisses my shoulder.

Just as I'm about to fall asleep—or maybe I'm already dreaming—I think I hear him whisper, I love you. 

Friday, November 25th

About last night.

9am

I wake up and peek at the clock, shocked to see that it’s almost nine.

I’m not ready to get up though. I want to lie in bed with Aiden all day. Revel in the glory of him. Sing praises about his chest. Write poems about his tongue. A sonnet about his lips. Buy a billboard in Times Square thanking him for his amazing fingers.

I pick his shirt up off the edge of the bed and pull it on, buttoning just the middle button.

I hug myself, loving how his shirt feels on me. And knowing that, somehow, I’m not letting it go home with him.

I lie back down and run my hand down his arm, wanting him to wake up so I can see those gorgeous green eyes.

He shifts and wraps his arm around me, pulling me close, but not speaking.

I look at the clock again.

Shit.

52 hours and counting.

“Come on, Aiden. Let’s get up and get our day started. We have a lot to do.”

“I thought coming to the beach meant doing nothing?” he says groggily.

“You promised to do all the stuff on my list. That starts today.”

“Are we surfing this morning?”

“Maybe.”

“I think we should lie here and talk about last night.”

My face breaks out in a grin. “What about last night?”

“Well, for starters, you have my shirt on.”

“Oh, do you want it back?”

“No. I love you naked in my shirt.”

“Technically, I’m not naked if I’m wearing a shirt.”

“Barely wearing,” he says, touching my stomach where the shirt falls open. “This shirt is officially yours. It looks way better on you than it does on me.” He studies me. “You’re beautiful.”

I cover my face. “I’m sure I look like a wreck.”

“A beautiful wreck then. Wearing my shirt. I’d like to wake up like this every morning of my life.” He gives me a naughty grin. “So back to last night.”

“Why do you want to talk about it?”

“Because we finally did some of what you wanted to do. Did you like it?”

“Hmmm. Let’s just say that I finally agree with what all the boys at school say about you.”

“And what’s that?”

“You have good hands.”

Aiden laughs. “I think they were referring to my goalie skills.”

I grab his hand and hold it up to mine. “You do have really big hands. And long fingers. It almost hurt.”

Aiden’s eyes get huge. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. God, no. Not at all. I said almost.”

“Is almost good?”

“Your almost was very good.”

I get the godlike smile. “It wasn’t sex.”

“And I’m okay with that.” I start to jump up out of bed, but Aiden pulls me back down and kisses me.

The love cliff.

10:25am

We finally get out of bed, get dressed, and head to the main house for some breakfast. We find Peyton in the kitchen nursing a cup of coffee and talking animatedly with Inga.

“Where’s Damian?” I ask.

“He’s in the office. Business call.”

“Oh, cool.”

“But he said to tell you that we’re going to jump off the cliff today and that you’re not chickening out this time.”

“You chicken out? Are you afraid of heights?” Aiden asks me as he grabs some eggs and bacon from the warming drawer.

“No, I’m not afraid of heights. I’m afraid of hitting rocks, splatting, and dying.”

“Damian says that the locals call it the love cliff,” Peyton informs us.

“The love cliff? That’s cool,” Aiden says.

“Apparently, legend says that if you hold hands and jump off the love cliff, you’ll be together forever,” Peyton tells us, practically cooing.

“Especially if you hit the rocks and die,” I say sarcastically.

“Don’t be such a cynic,” Damian says, flicking my hair as he walks by.

“Funny, I’ve never heard it called the love cliff before,” I say to Damian, who I think just totally made that whole legend up.

“It’s so romantic, isn’t it, though?” she asks, clasping her hands together.

“Inga, have you ever heard it called that?”

“Of course; who do you think told him about the legend?”

I roll my eyes. Okay, I can see I can’t win this one. They’re both liars.

“So, you two in?” Damian asks, taunting me with his grin.

“It wasn’t on your list,” Aiden says to me. “But it sounds really fun.”

“Fine. We’ll go, but I’m not jumping.”

We finish breakfast, take the Jeep, and drive across the island.

Soon, I find myself standing on a cliff looking over the edge and thinking, No fucking way.

“Are you sure this is a safe place to jump?” Peyton asks Damian, the romantic notion not quite as appealing when you’re envisioning leaping to your death.

“Of course,” he says, pulling her into his arms and murmuring something into her ear that makes her giggle.

Aiden surveys the jump. “So you’ve been up here before?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve seen people jump and survive?”

“Yes.”

“But you’ve never done it?”

“No. What’s with the twenty questions? I said I’d come, but I’m not jumping. Please don’t try to talk me into it.”

He kisses my cheek. “I’m doing it. I want you to jump with me. Off the love cliff.”

I roll my eyes. “Aiden, I’ll cheer you on. Besides, someone has to be here to scrape you off the rocks and take your bodies home.”

He tickles my sides. “You’re being silly.”

“I know. It’s scary though.”

“It is really high. It’s gonna be a rush.”

“We’re going for it!” Damian yells. He grabs Peyton’s hand, kisses it, and then they run and jump, both of them screaming all the way down.

I look over the edge and see them pop up out of the water.

“They’re alive!” Aiden says, mocking me.

“Watch it, or I might just push you off.”

“You just saw Damian and Peyton do it and survive.”

“I know.”

Just as he’s about to reply, the breeze blows grass and leaves around us in a little circle.

“Did you see the movie Pocahontas?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“That breeze was like the colors of the wind. The earth is telling you to jump with me.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, don’t you remember how she jumped off the waterfall? This is nothing compared to that. Just a little old cliff.”

I shake my head no.

“Hmm,” he says, pulling me into his arms. “The Disney references didn’t work. Guess I’m gonna have to pull out the big guns.”

“What big guns?”

He touches my face gently, looks into my soul, and says, “Do you trust me?”

I close my eyes and for the first time since Vincent tried to kidnap me, I listen to my heart. “Yes.”

He kisses me then whispers, “Then jump with me.”

I start to get tears in my eyes. I know this is just a stupid jump, but it feels like so much more.

I nod.

He turns and faces the edge, grabs my hand tightly, and says, “Run!”

I scream as we flail through the air and drop for what seems like both forever and an instant.

When we hit the water, I open my eyes and swim to the surface.

For a second, I can’t find Aiden.

Panic spreads through me. Where is he? Did he hit his head? Did he not come up?

I frantically scan the surface of the water looking for any sign of him. Then I spin around to find him just behind me.

“We made it,” he says, pulling me close and kissing me. “What a freaking rush!”

“What the hell is that?” Damian says.

“What’s what?”

Damian points at us. I look down in the water and see bubbles all around us.

“What the hell?” Aiden says too, scooping up a handful and examining them.

I start laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Aiden asks.

“I . . . have . . . bubbles . . .” I manage to choke out between laughs.

“Like, bubble bath?” Peyton says, trying to understand.

“Yeah, we took a bubble bath at my loft, and Aiden had that swimsuit on.”

“You took a bubble bath wearing a swimsuit?” Damian laughs. “There’s something just wrong with that.”

But Aiden and I don’t care. We can’t stop laughing.

Or kissing.

We make the long hike back to the top of the cliff, then drive to the nearest town, have fried fish at a shack on the beach, and head back to the house.

Totally did the deed.

2pm

Damian and I are lying in the sun while Peyton and Aiden are inside talking to their parents on the phone.

Damian squints at me. “You two are awfully tight today. You totally did the deed last night.”

I shake my head at him. “No,” I say, like the deed is the grossest thing ever.

“Something happened.”

I blush and look completely guilty.

“Tell me what happened,” he demands.

“Um, well, I touched it.”

“You touched what?”

“It. You know, his boy part.”

Damian snickers. “Seriously, Keats, you shouldn’t be touching it if you aren’t mature enough to say it. Besides, what’s the big deal?”

“Shut up. And it’s a big deal for us. I mean, I still haven’t actually seen it, but I kinda felt it.”

“Felt it, or did something to it?”

“Fine. I did something to it with my hand.”

“That would be called a hand job, Keats. Say it with me now. H-a-n-d J-o-b.”

I smack him. “I can say hand job. I just didn’t really want to. At least not in reference to Aiden.”

“He’s spent the weekend at your loft. He’s sleeping in your bed. Have you gotten naked with him?”

“Speaking of naked. I saw you and Peyton skinny-dipping last night.”

“Oh, that was fun. You should try it. And why haven’t you been naked? What are you waiting for?”

“You know why, Damian. Because it will just make it harder to say goodbye.”

He glances at Aiden, who’s beaming as he walks out of the great room doors, making his way down to the beach, spiked tropical smoothies in hand.

“The way he’s been grinning and all over you, I totally thought you guys fu—”

I cover my ears. “Don’t say it. Oh, God, I shouldn’t have touched it, should I? I’m totally leading him on. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“Now that sounds like more fun.”

“So, does the fact that you’re following Peyton around like she’s a piece of steak mean you haven’t yet?”

“I don’t want her to think this is just a hookup, so I’m trying to be good. But, damn, if she doesn’t have the most amazing mouth.”

“Like for kissing, you mean?”

Damian coughs. “For kissing something.”

“Oh. God. No. I don’t need that visual, please. You showed me yours when we were twelve and I still haven’t fully recovered.”

“It was so massive it scared you?”

“No, it was a disgusting limp-looking little thing. And I couldn’t possibly fathom how sex actually worked.”

Damian smiles. “So then I showed you that magazine.”

I cover my face with my hands. “Please make him stop,” I say to Aiden, who joins us, holding my drink out in front of me.

“Stop what?”

Damian smirks. “Why don’t you tell him what we were discussing, Keats? Peyton and I are going to kayak for a bit.”

When Peyton walks out of the house, Damian jumps up, kisses her in greeting, then grabs her hand and pulls her toward the boat.

Aiden puts his smoothie glass against mine. “This is really good. So, what were you talking about?”

“Seeing a, um, penis for the first time.”

“Is it an embarrassing story?”

“No, I just . . . it’s just hard to comprehend the mechanics of sex when you’re young and you see it in its, um, natural state.”

“Natural state? Like, out in the wild?”

“No, not in the wild. I saw a boy’s—” I wave my hand slowly across my body. “—in its natural state.”

“As opposed to its unnatural state?”

“Its, um, softer state,” I finally say, trying not to think about how his felt in my hand. How I wanted to rip those sliders off his body. Touch it. Feel it. Taste it.

He leans in. “You’re thinking about last night right now, aren’t you?”

I feel my cheeks turn red. Why am I such a prude about sex when it comes to Aiden? You’d think I’d never done it before. “I, uh . . .”

Aiden arches an eyebrow at me. “Maybe tonight you can see it in its, uh, unnatural state,” he says with a laugh as he kisses my cheek. “You’re adorable. What’s next on our list?”

“Swim with the dolphins. But that’s not going to happen.”

“Yeah, it is. We’re lucky when we’re together.”

“We’re not allowed to take the wave runners out if we’re drinking, but since we’re just going straight out there,” I point straight ahead of me, “and sitting, it will be okay. Are you sure you won’t be bored?”

“I’m never bored when I’m with you.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I laugh, grabbing my drink and heading to dock. I get the wave runner lowered off the dock and Aiden jumps on the seat behind me. I drive us straight out from the house where the water is deeper and turn off the engine. “So, we’ll just sit here and wait. The waves will float us back toward the shore, so if we haven’t seen any by that time, we’ll give up. Deal?”