“Why not? Why can’t I say it?”
“You know why. We agreed.”
“We never said we couldn’t fall?—”
“Can’t you see, Ash? What we have is only going to end in heartbreak as it is. Don’t make it worse.”
I won’t let her walk away like this. She obviously thinks the worst of me right now. “Come to the pier with me. Please, Cal.”
I note her eyes well up and her lips roll together, “Not tonight, I’m so tired. I’m not sure I have the strength for the conversation I know you want.”
“I’m sorry, Cal, but I can’t let you go.” I slip my hand around her back, the other under her legs and she yelps a little when I lift her into my arms.
“What are you doing?” There’s a slight hitch to her voice.
“I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Eventually, Cal stops her protest. While I stride along the promenade, half looking where I’m going, I also get my fill of the beauty in my arms. Her eyes look up at me before she rests into my hold. I hope to God she trusts in what I’m about to say. I want to lay myself bare to her. There’s no point in fighting this thing inside any longer. We’ve been skirting around the issue for too long, but no more. Cal has always been the girl for me, and I’ll be fucked if I’m not telling her so tonight.
I glance down towards her again. She’s softened a little, and when her hand cups the side of my face, smoothing over my jaw, I’m a lot more hopeful.
We reach the beachfront, my feet sinking into the sand with only a few pebbles to keep me upright. Finally, we’re close to the pier and I lower her to the soft sand. Cal’s body slides against mine, her hands' anchor around my neck. I take in each one of her features, the bow of her lips, the dimple to her cheek, the velvet of her skin and those eyes. They will be the death of me.
“I’m in love—” Her mouth captures mine for the second time tonight. Her kiss is delicate, soft, and her eyes slowly open to reveal her blue pools when she pulls away.
“You might stop me saying it, but you can’t stop me feeling it Cal.” Her forehead falls to my chest, but I place myfinger under her chin, guiding her to look back to me. “What is it?”
She sighs, smoothing her hands down my arms, finding my palms. Her fingers lock with mine and Cal leads me underneath the pier we both love so much. When I crash down against the sand, Cal laughs at my antics. It breaks the ice a little bit. “Come here.” I hold out my hand then she nestles between my legs, her back rests against my front. I fold her into my arms with my cheek against hers, my lips by her ear. “Talk to me, Cal. What’s going on?”
“I feel stupid for saying it.”
“Never feel stupid with me. We can be honest, can’t we?”
I feel the rise and fall of her stomach against my hand as she sighs again. “Okay Ash, if you really want to know, I had a shock to the system tonight. It hit me out of the blue and caught me off guard.”
“What did?”
“Jade; rubbing herself all over you. I suppose I wasn’t prepared for how she acted and for maybe what lies ahead, no matter how much I thought I was.” She looks sideways, her lips a fraction away from mine. “Seeing her hands all over you made me sick to my stomach. It sparked my green-eyed monster to life, even though I know nothing is going on with you two anymore. For whatever reason, your ex was trying to stir the pot; I didn’t like it. I’ve never had that kind of fear before.”
“She isn’t my ex.”
“She was your ex something, Ash.”
“We didn’t date.”
“Don’t try to dismiss what happened between you on a technicality. The point is it doesn’t matter who she was. I didn’t like it.”
“Are you telling me you’re jealous?”
“Yes, and it’s not something I’m used to. I’ve never felt so possessive over someone, not like this.”
“Really?”
“Is it so hard to believe?”
“Wow Cal, is it wrong I’m turned on right now?”
She pushes against me. “I’m serious. I’ve never been the jealous type.”
