I flop down on the blanket next to Bennett, the material bunching under my legs. “His argument makes a lot of sense to me. I do like fancy things.”
Bennett hands me one of the navy blue napkins, eyeing it a little more closely this time. “So you would say the napkin is working then?”
“It’s making me feel fancy? Absolutely.”
He shakes his head, not replying, but busies himself with taking lids off different mismatched Tupperware bowls. “We have cold macaroni and cheese, cold turkey sandwiches, and a select assortment of warmish Go-Gurts.”
“Well now today is special if Liam was willing to part with one of his precious Go-Gurts.”
“I think he likes you. It’s a pretty big sacrifice for him to give you one of his favorite snacks.”
“Have I ever complimented you on your son’s good taste?” I ask all too innocently while batting my eyelashes a few times for emphasis.
Bennett laughs. “He gets it from his father.”
“If he grows up half as charming as you, then all the girls in Pelican Bay are in trouble. Do you want me to get the plates?” I ask in a half-assed attempt to do something to avoid a conversation I made way too personal too soon.
“Well…” He laughs the word, but I sense Bennett is frustrated. Not something I’ve ever seen with him. “I forgot the plates.”
The smile that hasn’t left my face since the minute we stepped foot on the island grows. “You forgot the plates?”
“Hey, I remembered the fancy napkins.” He flips his napkin around a few times.
It’s enough to lighten the mood. “Well then, pass me a fork.”
I grab the bowl of macaroni and cheese before he has a chance to stop me. We eat sitting on a black and white checkered blanket on a grassy section of a forgotten fort — Bennett and me together.
It takes a while, but eventually we’ve each had a sandwich and taken a turn eating macaroni from the bowl. The conversation is easy, revolving mostly around my future plans for the bakery. Bennett and I share a few pointed looks between us, but for the most part, I’m not caught ogling him from my side of the blanket. At some point during our meal it went from two people enjoying a picnic together to two young single people who find one another attractive lying on the ground together in a deserted fort with no one else around.
“Where are all the other tourists?” We haven’t seen another single soul all day.
Bennett scans the surroundings. “The park isn’t widely known and the one way to reach it is by boat. It doesn’t get many visitors.”
“So it’s us right now, but that could change at any minute.”
“Theoretically,” Bennett’s eyes meet mine before they drop lower to stare at my chest in a not-so-undercover way. “But this late in the day I highly doubt we’ll have any new visitors.”
A seagull squawks from some invisible perch above us, as loudly as the last one to fly overhead. “There are a lot of birds.”
Bennett looks up, trying to find the noisy neighbor as well. “The birds don’t care if I kiss you.”
“Are you planning to kiss me?”
He smiles, popping the lid back on the macaroni container. “I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
“Oh.” My body comes alive. Not only from his words but the way he looks at me, his eyes full and bright like he sees something magical in me. Something I don’t. We’re surrounded by beautiful landscape, but the one thing I see is him. My stomach jumps, filling with butterflies and that nervous sensation you get right before you know there’s a kiss coming. A kiss you want.
Bennett leans forward and I lean back, keeping the same space of distance between us. There’s no rhyme or reason for it because my body screams to fling myself on him. To jump him right here in the middle of the field. For some stupid reason I’ve decided to play hard to get.
Bennett inches closer and this time I don’t hedge back.
When I let his lips meet mine, I regret every second I leaned away. My arms wrap around his neck and I twist back, taking him with me until I’m flat on my back against the blankets with him on top. Our kissing is fast and heavy, a frantic pace set between us. As if now that we’ve finally gotten started neither of us will ever finish.
Bennett’s hand trails along my side following the curve of my butt and resting on my thigh. One of his knees parts my legs. He leans forward and pushes his leg along the inside of my thigh.
The two of us twist and turn on the blanket. I’m caught up in the moment but yet want more. He pulls back to give me a moment to catch my breath and places kisses across my neck, small little pecks with every few a suck or nibble. I drag air into my lungs, trying to calm my racing heart, and my lower body edges up rubbing my core against his leg. It’s shameless — a little bit high school even — to be practically dry humping the former SEAL in the middle of a national park, but at this moment in time nothing is going to stop me.
“Bennett…”
