“Oh, really?” I lean in closer to him. “How come?”
“Tragic,” he says as he kisses my neck. “Turns out the guy’s head over heels for somebody else. Some girl he’s known his whole life. Seems like she stole his heart a long time ago. But circumstances kept them apart.”
“What about his ex-wife?” I ask in a hoarse tone as Jenson reaches for the string on my bikini bottoms and unties it.
“She’s otherwise involved,” Jenson says as my bottoms slip off and hit the sandy bottom of the lake. “She’s got a new boyfriend, and she’s much happier. And the guy in this movie? He wants to show his kids how to follow your heart. Because if you cut that off, you really have nothing.”
I put my mouth on his and close my eyes. When he pulls me closer, I take my hand and run it up and down his chest, causing him to let out a groan. Then I break out of his arms and duck into the water to retrieve my bikini bottoms. I glance around the lake and don’t see a soul, so I carry the suit in my hand and walk half-naked to shore.
I wrap my towel around my waist and hide behind one of the large chestnut trees as I pull on my jean shorts. When Jenson meets me there, he’s still naked. He’s also soaking wet, and his hair’s slicked back in that way I’ve always loved. I crave to touch him, to inhale him, but I don’t. I stay where I am, a few feet away from him, and we eye each other cautiously.
“Glad you swam?” I ask him.
“Yeah.” He stands across from me. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” I dig my big toe into the dirt. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you ran away just now. Do you think I’m going to hurt you?” He reaches for his towel on the ground and wraps it around his waist.
“No.” I cross my arms over my bikini top and look past him at the cloud line. The moon’s up, but it’s not fully dark yet. You can still see the sun coming off the sky.
“What?” He frowns in confusion. “What’s going on, Olive?”
I don’t know why I’m pushing him away. Maybe because he asked me to go with him to Pittsburgh. I don’t know. Part of me thinks I need to go there, to let go of all the ghosts I had in my head for years, and part of me is terrified.
“I have a big account Vivian put me in charge of at work, and it requires me to go to Manhattan the Friday after the fair,” I say slowly. “Maybe we could do that and Pittsburgh in one trip.”
“That works perfectly. Meghan takes the boys that weekend. We’ll leave Friday night and be back by Sunday.”
I take a breath and finally stop analyzing every single thing that’s going on between us. As I stare into his green eyes that are so alive and lasered in on me, I relax.
The man I fell for is right here across from me. I’m pushing him away, and he’s still here. That feels like a moment. That feels like something important.
Jenson comes closer to me and puts his lips to mine as the light fully disappears from the sky. He backs me up against the tree, his kiss growing harder. As our tongues find each other’s, Jenson unbuttons my shorts. He puts his hand inside them, finding me slick and ready for him. Two fingers slide inside me and I moan. My head falls back against the bark and I writhe against Jenson’s hand. He groans and kneels down in front of me.
“Let me worship you, Olivia.” His voice comes out rough.
My shorts fall to my ankles, and Jenson’s breath tickles my skin as his lips touch me between my legs for the first time. I squirm at the sensation, desperate to be as close to him as possible.
“Olive.” His voice comes out uneven, barely audible. “You’re gorgeous.”
I rock into his touch, and he kisses me harder, using his mouth to give me what I need, what I’ve always needed from him but could never ask for. My hands go above my head, and I angle my hips closer to him, my body language begging him to keep going.
He licks and nibbles and sucks at my hot center, driving me into a frenzy of bucking hips and breathy moans.
“Oh, God.” I claw at the bark over my head while Jenson absolutely rocks my world down below. “J. Oh, God.”
My climax crashes over me like I’m sky diving through space, and I don’t ever want to land.So good.Jenson holds me against his mouth, not letting up even as I come.
Eventually, I feel him shift. I open my eyes, and I’m staring directly into Jenson’s green ones reflected in the moonlight. The depth of his emotions for me shines in his gaze. Out here by the lake, stripped raw of any covers, our feelings for each other are impossible to deny.
“Olive.” His voice is barely a whisper.
I put my hand on his cheek. “I’m here. You’re pretty good at that.”
“You’re pretty amazing.” He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close. “I know you’re scared. I know our pasts are painful and hard to let go of. And I know we’re risking a lot, Olive, but I don’t want to sit around for the rest of my life, thinking of you as the one that got away.”
I swallow down the emotion clogging my throat. “I don’t like to think of us that way. You’ve always been my best friend.”
