“Special? Is that the code for dirty? I suppose I could fess up to one or two.” He steals a kiss off my lips. “Like that time I locked you and Neva in a trashcan and rolled you downhill. That was pretty dirty.”
I give a gentle laugh. “That was disgusting.”
“Yeah, but you begged me to do it.”
“That’s because we were stupid. You should have warned us that our hair would smell like sour milk for a week.” My fingers race to the lip of his jeans, and I undo the button. “And, that’s not what I meant by dirty.”
Ace bears into me with those cobalt eyes. “I know that’s not what you meant. You want to know if I think about you at night—if my body shakes at the thought of your perfect face when I’m alone in bed.” He slips his hand up my shirt, and I take in a breath as soon as his heated flesh touches mine. “If I’ve ever relieved any tension by imagining you and I doing this.” He lands a kiss at the base of my neck, and I shudder into him. “Or this.” His hand sinks low on my waist, then lower still until his warm fingers find a home inside my thigh.
“Yes that,” I breathe into his ear. “And now, I want to play a different game.” I take a gentle bite out of his earlobe, and let it out slowly by way of my teeth.
“So do I.” He gives it in a heated kiss, and my thighs tremble.
Swear to God, I’m one breath away from detonating right here in his arms.
“But”—he pulls his hand from under my shirt and my stomach quivers as he grazes it—“I think if we hold out until tomorrow, it’ll be that much more amazing.”
I let out an unexpected groan of disappointment, and he breathes a laugh into my hair.
“Now you know how guys feel most of the time.” He runs his fingers over my ribs.
“Okay, but after that, I want to be with you every single night.”
“Just at night?” He brushes my neck with his lips. “Summer’s pretty damn short. I think maybe we should utilize a few waking hours, too.”
“I like the way you think.” My entire body sizzles at the thought of loving Ace in the afternoon. “I’ll tell Kennedy I’m going on a camping trip with friends, and maybe we can spend the night. I’ll let her break the news to my dad when he notices I’m not around.”
“Camping with friends.” He lets out a breath as he rests his chin on my head. “I think we should do it. We should head over to Forbidden Falls and stay for a week.”
My body seizes. A week alone with Ace would be paradise. I look up at him as the light of the fire glows over his features in crimson waves.
“You’re brilliant you know that?”
He shakes his head. “If I was brilliant I would have saidtwoweeks.”
If I were brilliant I would have said forever.
“Forbidden Falls,” I whisper, nestled in his strong arms.
“Forbidden Falls,” he breathes it like an erotic poem right into my ear.
Ace and I are going to make a memory, create an entire series of moments that hopefully neither one of us will ever forget.
I know I won’t.
The sun rides high over Loveless on this, the fated Fourth of July in which I gift Ace my virginity. I’ve been up with the sun, nervous and excited, and scanning my brain for reasons to abort the effort, but, happily, I can’t think of a single one.
Outside the entire mountain vibrates with the sound of children laughing. The scent of barbeque is thick in the air by three-thirty.
I stared at that envelope labeled “special recipes” for the better half of the day. My thoughts were laced with the memory of lying in Ace’s arms all night and the promise of spending the entire next week with him alone in that tent of his. I can’t bring myself to open my mother’s letter and risk hearing something that might change my perspective on my special time with Ace. All I could think about was what if she says something outrageous like wait until your wedding night? I’ve always had a place in my heart that wants to please my mother, both my parents, and that goes double for Dad ever since Mom passed away. But, mostly, I’m afraid Mom’s letter will say wait until you say I love you and mean it. I pet the letter and debate for another small eternity whether or not to open it, but by five o’clock I abandon the effort and get ready for Dad’s big company bash at the McCarthy’s. The entire lake is invited, so I already know I’ll be seeing Ace there.
I pay careful attention to my hair and makeup until I accidentally make myself look like a cupie doll with bowtie lips, eyes that are overdone like a drag queen. I scrub it all off in haste and throw my hair into a ponytail. I settle on the string bikini that has the U.S. flag imprinted on it and pull on a pair of my favorite cut offs before examining myself in the mirror—simple yet hot. I’m hoping to have Ace’s blood pumping in all the right places long before we ever get to the falls tonight. My duffle bag is packed and ready to go in the corner. The only thing left to do is endure a few hours of family fun.
I bounce my way downstairs and follow the trail of voices to the living room where, to my surprise, I find Dad talking to Warren. But that only mildly shocks me in comparison to the gaping hole I see in the dining room. The table is notably missing, and my heart sinks like a stone. I go over and walk into the bare spot like it really didn’t matter, but it feels like a betrayal, like we dug my mother up and found the coffin empty.
“You guys ready to party?” I try to muster all the enthusiasm I can but it comes out barely audible. I hate that the final piece of my mother has been yanked from me today of all days. I wanted to remember this day for all of the erotic pleasure tonight would offer, and now I’ve burned the image of this bare room into my mind, my mother’s treasure extracted, obvious as a missing tooth.
“What the hell are you wearing?” Warren snaps me out of my funk before it can properly set in. His eyes round out over my questionable attire as if I had come down naked. “Go throw on a dress and some pearls or something. Make yourself presentable. Important people are showing up for this.”
