His gaze falls, but he continues to stroke my hip, his touch feather light as I see the tension take hold in his shoulders.
And then I say the thing I should not say. The words that seal my doom.
“Who says I’m pretending, Aaron?” I whisper, and his gaze finds mine, holding it like a prisoner.
“Jacob—”
“I think we both know this isn’t pretend anymore.”
My heart thuds so loud in my chest I think he can hear it. He has to be able to hear it, because I can.
I settle my hand on his neck, and pull him to me, kissing him with the last shred of my sanity.
He kisses me back. Hard.
His hand on my hip pulls me closer, until our bodies are crashing together like the waves in the distance.
My cock strains against my trunks, and I have to make a concentrated effort to stop, remembering we are in public.
And I do not want to get arrested for indecent exposure.
I break away, and he licks his lips. “I think you’re right,” he says.
I smile as I pluck the book from where it fell.
The rest of the day we lounge, cuddling together on the blanket between bouts of make outs and hydration. Aaron orders us Door Dash on the beach—a burger for him and a chicken caesar wrap for me—until the sun is setting. I run in the waves and he picks me up, carrying me into the four feet of water as I scream because I’m terrified of sharks. Shark movies are different, that’s fiction. But reality?
I’ve never been in the ocean before, and sharks are scary.
I cling to Aaron as I wrap my legs around his waist, trying to climb him to escape the waves, which elicits a deep laugh from him as a heavy wave hits us and knocks us both over. I scream, salt water getting in my mouth, but my scream is silenced as he kisses me, pressing his body against mine. The sand dips for us, waves covering our bodies as he kisses me. I wrap my arms around him, and the words fall out of my mouth without warning.
“IthinkI love you,” I breathe.
Shit. I meant to saythis.
“I mean, I think I love this. The beach, the water, the—”
He stops, his lips leaving mine dry and aching for more.
I pull my legs up, my cock twitching in my wet trunks. I feel his own hardness echoing my sentiment, but it’s his eyes that hold me still.
He moves some hair from my temple, his kiss-swollen lips speckled with saltwater. He smirks at me and I think it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“I think I love you, too, Jake.” His voice is low, deep. Smooth. Testing, but also strangely soft.
The words sink inside me, burying themself in my heart.
No man has ever told me they loved me and meant it.
But I think Aaron means it. I want to believe he does, so I do. I kiss him, savoring this moment.
I never want to forget it.
We go back to the beach house to shower and get ready for dinner. Aaron won’t tell me where we’re going, just that he thinks I’m going to love it.
I believe him. I think I would love anything as long as he’s there.
I barely get the shampoo in my hair before he has me against the wall, before he’s pressing his cock against my ass while one hand pumps my shaft. I open my legs, pushing back against him, needing to feel more of him.
