“Right. Almost forgot.” I exhale a quiet laugh and lean back, reaching beneath the edge of the blanket.
From a small drawstring pouch, I pull out the two flip phones that evidently need charging.
Cami’s eyes widen. “Are those…burner phones?”
I chuckle. “Bubblephones,” I correct, handing her the silver one. “Saw them while in line at Seaside Market. Had this random urge to text you, then remembered: no numbers, no real-life crossover.”
She flips it open with a grin. “So this is your workaround?”
“Yep. I even adjusted the Caller ID settings to hide the numbers. That way, there’s no cheating. We can’t text this number to our real phone even if we tried.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.Bubblesecurity,” I say, settling back beside her. “Think of it as no-strings communication. Like:Hey, I’m at the store, want anything? Or:Hey, I just woke up and can’t stop thinking about our last kiss.”
Cami’s smile falters for just a second, something tender slipping through. “That might be the most romantic use of outdated technology I’ve ever seen.”
“Only the best for my summer fling,” I deadpan.
She bumps my shoulder, laughing. “You’re ridiculous.”
I tilt my head, watching her. “Ridiculous when it comes to you? Yeah. I could live with that.”
Her breath skips as she sets the flip phone aside, fingers curling lightly around the back of my neck.
“I suppose you’ve never made out on the beach?” she teases.
I dip my head, letting our foreheads touch, the scent of salt, wine, and lemon hanging between us. “No. But I’ve thought about it every night since ourcollision.”
“I haven’t either,” she whispers. “But I think about it all the time now.”
Our kiss begins unhurried, exploratory, like we’re mapping out a language only we understand. But when her lips part beneath mine, something shifts. Heat builds fast and fierce, no longer content to lie dormant.
Gently, I guide her down onto the blanket, her body yielding to mine, a tender blend of permission and trust.
One hand slides beneath the curve of her back, the other tangling in her hair as I settle between her legs.
I deepen the kiss, and she answers with a quiet moan that threatens to undo me.
“I still remember our rules,” I murmur, lips brushing her cheek, her throat, the line just below her ear. “This isn’t me pushing past them.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t want you to,” she breathes out, body arching into mine.
I grind into her, my hands cupping both breasts, nipples pebbling through thin bikini fabric.
Cami gasps softly against my mouth, and I swear I feel the sound down to my bones.
We’re both breathing harder now, quiet panting that belongs to long-held restraint burning at the edges.
My mouth trails down her neck, to the hollow beneath her collarbone, to the swell of her breasts where her pulse ticks faster under my lips.
I slide her bikini top down, my tongue alternating between both nipples as she threads her fingers into my hair, whispering my name like a secret she’s finally allowed to say aloud.
My mouth trails lower, measured and unhurried, each kiss coaxing her closer to the edge.
Cami glows under the moonlit sky, skin flushed, legs parting as her breath stutters, her body pleading without words.
“Knox,” she says, breathless. “Please…please don’t stop.”
