Cam lights up in a smile, but he quickly tries to cover it up byswiping a hand down his face. “Really?” he asks. “So how are you so confident?”
My cheeks heat, but I let out a laugh. Confidence or not, that answer is easy. “Life’s too short to be having terrible sex. Did I tell you Millie works as a narrator for a spicy audio stories app? I get a lot of my ideas there. And to be honest,” I thread the ends of my hair around my fingers. “I’ve never done what we just did either.”
“Seriously?” he sputters. “Damn.”
I lift my chin just a little. Maybe I’m more confident than I give myself credit for. “Can I tell you something without you getting all weird or judgy or cocky about it?”
“Of course.” He drops an elbow to the tabletop and rests his cheek on his fist.
“I thought I was having good sex when I was with Tyler.”
To his credit, Cam doesn’t flinch when I mention his name this time.
“I climaxed some of the time. For a long time, I felt like that was enough. Every woman’s experience with orgasms is different, so I didn’t think much about it. And when I didn’t get off with him, I’d get off by myself later. But when I met you? That night?” I press my lips together and drink in the man beside me. “I realized what I was missing out on.”
He sits up straight, his face alight and his lips tipped up.
“Hey, I said not to get cocky.” I laugh.
He leans in and nudges me with his shoulder. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Something primal took over that first time we were together,” I continue. “I felt bold, brazen. You didn’t know who I was, and for the first time, I realized I could be anyone I wanted to be. So I went for it. I chose to channel the woman buried somewhere inside me who asks for what she wants in the bedroom. The woman who calls the shots, who presses buttons.” What I don’t tell him is that our first night together felt natural, and with everyencounter with him since, I’m discovering more about my authentic sexual self.
I swallow thickly, choking back the fuzzy sensation coursing through me. The one I fear means that this may be more than about sexual freedom. I can’t go down the relationship path again. This has to be solely about sex. And sex that doesn’t breathe past this island. But damn if I don’t melt a little when Cam, with hands locked at the back of his neck, elbows pointing out with those juicy biceps on display, exhales. “You’re like a dream come true.”
28
Cameron
Workingparallel to Joey yesterday was as natural as walking on solid ground.
Despite her proximity and the temptation she always brings, I accomplished all my work for the day. When it came time to edit Ezra’s professional headshots, she paused her own work to laugh with me over his outtakes. The scent of her shampoo would hit me when her hair dipped into my lap like a waterfall. The way she rubbed my forearm after droplets of spit flew from her mouth when she laughed at a picture of Ezra purposefully picking his nose was ridiculously endearing.
When Millie arrived shortly after lunch, slightly wet and disheveled, I excused myself. While I wanted to ask Joey to stay with me last night, I want to give her the space she needs to enjoy the vacation she planned. I’m greedy, sure, but I’ll take what I can get.
Even if it breaks me in the end.
Ezra and I ate our way through the city center—the perfect distraction. Local beers by the lighthouse, pork gyros from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, more beers down a random alleyway,fresh-caught fish at a traditional taverna, then an off-the-grid gelato place recommended by an Italian colleague. A taxi brought us back to the resort, where we sat at the bar, though we were too stuffed to eat or drink any more. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly preoccupied with situating my stool for a better vantage point, praying Joey would walk by.
I obsessed over our text thread for longer than I care to admit in bed last night, thumbs hovering over the screen while I debated whether I should contact her. In the end, I opted not to and paid for it with a fitful night’s sleep, even after rubbing one out in the shower.
This morning, I woke to a notification from Joey. She and Millie plan to laze by the pool today, but they want to know if we will join them for dinner for their last night.
I button my salmon-colored shirt, leaving the top few undone, then I fix my hair one last time before stuffing my phone and keycard into my charcoal slacks.
Mild anxiety courses through my veins like a current. Because this is her last night on the island, and I still have a week left of my contract before I fly back to New York.
We arrive at the resort’s upscale restaurant before the girls do. The walls are painted white, with textured lines that look like someone dragged a rake through the plaster. The waiter leaves a pitcher of water on our table after filling our glasses, and when he walks away, my eyes nearly bug out of my head like those of a cartoon character.
As if she’s walking down a runway, Joey, in nude stilettos, saunters through the front doors. She’s wearing the champagne-colored mini dress from the first night I saw her. Karaoke night.The night we kissed in my office. When she got so drunk off raki I had to help her undress. I was a gentleman that night, but at this moment, that’s the last thing I want to be. The desire to rip that shiny fucking fabric to shreds and worship her body all night long is overpowering.
“You okay?” Ezra chuckles and slaps my back.
“All good.” I wave him off. My sole focus is on the leggy bombshell walking my way. Her dark hair is curled in loose waves, and her skin glows beneath the dim restaurant lighting.
I rise and give Millie a peck on the cheek. The kiss I plant on Joey’s cheek lingers while I inhale her rosemary and citrus scent. I could eat her, she smells so good.
When I breathe “You look gorgeous” into her ear, goose bumps ripple across her soft flesh.
