She was a quick study.
Because skinny-dipping with Gracie Reynolds was beyond any fantasy I’d ever had, and I couldn’t wait to get in that shower after we’d come back inside.
The way she’d glided up and down my dick, all desperate and needy.
Dry-humping with this girl was better than sex with anyone else.
And kissing her—fuck me.
We probably shouldn’t have gone there, because I wanted my lips on hers any free moment I had now.
But I had to be careful: I couldn’t push too hard. I wanted her to call the shots and feel in control of this situation. So we’d watched a movie after the shower and kept our hands to ourselves, which took every bit of restraint I had.
We turned the final corner, and she peeked up at me, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “I liked it. The lake and the shower.”
“Good. We can do that as often as you want.”
“Well, now I feel like I’m the desperate one. Do you want to do it, or are you doing this as a favor?” she asked, and I could hear the doubt in her voice. I reached for her hand to stop her from moving forward and pressed her back against the side of the tree beside us.
“A favor? Are you fucking serious? Did it seem like a favor when I groaned your name in the shower last night?” I said against her ear, nipping at her lobe.
I pulled back, and she searched my gaze. “No. But why am I the one who initiates when we—you know, do stuff?”
“Because I’d have bent you over the kitchen counter already if you’d been down for that. You’re the one who wants a contract and rules. I’m the one who’s following your lead.”
She tucked her lips between her teeth and then blew out a breath. “So you’d have sex with me without hesitation?”
I caught myself smiling before I could stop it. God, did she really think I was just some horny asshole, ready to throw myself at anyone? Did she not know that it was just her?
Only her.
The thought made my chest tighten in a way I couldn’t explain.
I didn’t want to read too much into it. Didn’t want to scare her with how much she occupied my thoughts. So, I played it off, letting a playful grin spread across my face.
“Without hesitation?” I echoed, voice light, teasing. “My only hesitation is you, Jeege. I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t feel right to you. But yeah, I mean, we were dry-humping in the lake, and you gave me a hand job in the shower. And we had a whole lot of fun on the boat a few weeks ago. So, sex wouldn’t be a big jump for me personally. Do I want it? Do I think about it every fucking second I’m around you? Fuck yes.” I chuckled.“But I’ll do whatever you’re comfortable doing, because you’re my girl, and that’s how this works.”
I realized how often I’d found myself taking her in, without even thinking about it. Not in a lecherous way—it was never about that. But in the quiet, impossible-to-ignore way she moved. The way she laughed.
The way she existed.
The tilt in her head when she smiled, the little gestures she didn’t even notice. It had become a habit, these stolen moments I took, each leaving my chest tight, my heart a little heavier with something I didn’t fully understand.
I’d catch her looking my way sometimes and wonder how I’d gotten so damn lucky that she was in my life.
It terrified me that I was having these feelings. Feelings that I wasn’t supposed to have.
She just wanted me to show her a good time.
This was a recipe for disaster.
She nodded. “I’m going to think this over. I just don’t want to get attached, you know, physically. We’re best friends. I’m leaving in a few months.”
There she went again. Reminding me about the expiration date on our arrangement.
But I watched her, trying to catch the little tells, the flicker in her eyes, or the slightest quiver in her voice. Her hands rested casually, her expression neutral, yet I could swear there was something behind her words that she wasn’t saying.
“All right, let’s go get Clover and stop talking about sex,” I said. “I can’t be all horned up when we’re picking up my goddaughter.”
