Georgia Peach was a stranger to him, but writing to him as myself was out of the question. Maybe if I could get him to see Georgia Peach as a potential partner, maybe he would give me a chance when he found out it was me. It was a gamble. I wasn’t the funniest or best looking woman around. My thighs were thick, my ass was big, and I had a muffin top. As much as I exercised, the smallest I’ve gotten to was a size sixteen, but mostly I hovered around the size eighteen mark. I was curvy, but I had golden blonde hair that was wavy and could curl perfectly when I took the time to fix it, and my eyes were vibrant green with gold around the irises. I wasn’t unfortunate looking, but I wasn’t beautiful either.
When I felt the most down on myself, I pulled out the memory of him stroking his cock. I could be way off base, but that memory has haunted my dreams and when I touched myself at night, I thought of him. I wished like hell I’d have had the guts to close and lock the door with me on the inside of his room instead of running away in shock and awe.
In my fantasies, I did what I wanted to do. I made my way over to him, stripping my clothes off confidently as I walked toward his bed where he laid completely naked, hard, and waiting for me. His hand would slow as he stroked his stiff cock. His dark eyes would stare at me with the same intensity I’d caught him looking at me with a few times in that small window of time where we lived under our parent’s roof.
I sighed just thinking about that fantasy that I’ve had so many times. I felt my pussy grow wet with desire and need. My virginity was still intact, but it wasn’t for my lack of desire to rid myself of my VCard. I wanted to go on dates, have sex, and be a normal teenager enjoying her sexuality. Instead, I masturbated in the dark to thoughts of my stepbrother who was thousands of miles away, serving our country. I watched stepbrother porn in private, imagining us in the over-the-top roles. The books I read in secret at night were all about step-siblings giving into the temptation and desires they had for each other, and I envied the characters. I easily swapped them out for Dean and me, living vicariously through the words on the page.
My obsession with Dean Foster didn’t wane when he was out of sight. In fact, his absence made the image in my head of us together more finite. He was the epitome of everything I ever wanted in a man, even the teenage vision I had of him until a year into his service. Then, I caught him video chatting with Drew, and the teenage version of Dean Foster was all man with rippling muscles, tattoos, and a devious smile.
“Hey Dean.”
“Nora.” His eyes darkened, and his smile had gone from there to non-existent in a second flat.
“How are you doing?” I leaned over Drew’s shoulder toward the camera.
“Doing good. About to go out with the guys to a club. I better get ready.” He looked at his watch and hurried through his goodbye to his brother, ignoring me completely.
I felt guilty that he was leaving the call so quickly, and I knew it was my fault he abruptly ended the video call.
“Sorry,” I muttered to Drew. “He really doesn’t like me much.”
Drew shrugged and gave me a brotherly hug. “Maybe when he comes home for a visit, you guys can hang out and build some common ground.”
“Yeah.” I whispered before I left his room, “Maybe.”
But, we never got that chance to find common ground because Dean never came home. He took vacations and sent Drew postcards of the places he went, but he never came back to Sunset Falls. When he had the choice to come home from his deployment in Korea, he volunteered to stay.
I shouldn’t have felt like it was a personal rejection, but I did. He stayed halfway around the world and away from his family because of me. Even though I knew why he stayed, I couldn’t get over him. I needed Dean to scratch this itch once and for all, if for no other reason than to satisfy the obsession and my curiosity.
That was why I came up with my plan. Drew said Dean was up for assignments again. If Nora Walker couldn’t convince him to come home, maybe another Georgia Peach could.
CHAPTER4
DEAN
The waves lapped at the shoreline, and the smell of salt water clung to the air. Hawaii was everything I thought it would be. In the background, I could hear the soothing sounds of someone strumming a ukulele.
Palm trees and flowers were everywhere, and lovers strolled the beach hand in hand as they walked barefoot in the sand. It was paradise, and I honestly wished for someone to share it with.
I took a deep breath and unfolded the paper that I’d kept in my pocket since I read it on the plane. Hell, I basically had the letter memorized as I racked my brain, trying to figure out who this girl could be. I’d been talking to her for over a year through letters, but I still couldn’t pinpoint who this girl was.
She said she met me at a party in high school, but she was there with a cousin of hers and didn’t go to our school. In high school, I was the loner mostly, but I went to my share of parties because of Drew.
I opened the letter to read it again.
HeyDean,
Hope this letter finds you well. I hope I got this letter in the mail soon enough before you left for vacation. If not… how was Hawaii? I have always wanted to go, but I doubt it will happen anytime in the foreseeable future. Where are you staying down there, and what’s it like? I wouldn’t be opposed to a few pictures being sent my way. (wink wink). School starts up again in a few weeks. I’m ready, but I’m not at the same time. Still haven’t figured out what I want to do with my life, and I have no idea how to even go about figuring it out.
I’m jealous of you. You know what you want in your life, and you go for it.I envy that confidence and freedom. There’s not a thing I do without doubting if it’s the right thing or the right path to take. Half the time I feel like I’m living a lie.
Anyway, enough of the deep stuff. I went to the beach the other day to work on my tan, well my sunburn. I tan like a polar bear. It was fun, though. My friends and I played a bit of sand volleyball and went swimming. After we cleaned up from the beach, we went to a tattoo shop. The guy who owned the shop was nice, but he wasn’t the highlight of that trip. His wife is one of my favorite authors! I couldn’t believe it when I saw her sitting at the front desk with her laptop as she worked between answering phones and booking appointments. I got to meet JK Carmichael! Anyway, it was a dream come true, and we talked books as my friend got her ink.
Before you ask, I didn’t. I wanted to get a tattoo, but I didn’t know what to get. I’m always afraid that whatever I get will be something I won’t be happy with later on in life. That’s a lot of commitment, and I’m not sure I’m ready to take the plunge on that just yet.
I never asked, do you have tattoos? When we met, you were still in high school, so you didn’t back then. I still think about you a lot. Maybe if you one day come back to Georgia sometime, we can meet in person and find out if that chemistry we had was real. I could be wrong, but I know I felt it like a ton of bricks that night we met, even if we had a bit too much to drink. No pressure, though. I know you may not even want to meet me again. I’m just hoping.
Anyway, I hope to hear from you and all about your trip soon, Dean. Be safe out there and come back home.
