That One Summer: A Collection of Steamy Contemporary Romance

Chapter 8

Aneka

Even though it wasafter ten, humidity still swelled the night air. I rubbed the sweat from the back of my neck and kept walking to the dock jutting out from a thicket of trees along the lakeshore, sensing Caleb behind me.

I stepped carefully on the winding path, trying to avoid rocks slipping under between my soles and the leather. Still, by the time I got to the pier, I had to lean on a post and slip off one shoe, shaking it to remove rocky debris.

The moon glittered on the rippling water, and I stared at the night sky, balancing on one foot with my sandal dangling from the tip of my finger.

“Careful. You don’t want to fall in.”

I planted my shoeless foot on the wooden planks and turned.

“Startling me is a terrible way to prevent an accident,” I scolded with a laugh.

“Sorry. I would hate if something happened to you.”

Caleb stopped next to me and dropped to sit on the edge. His feet dangled over the water, and he gazed out at the lake, hands folded in his lap.

I dropped my sandal on the dock and sat beside him. “My kids would sue you into oblivion. They’re both planning on law school, you know.”

He shifted, bumping my shoulder, and raised a brow. “Thanks for the warning.”

“How many hit soirees have you thrown since you got back?”

“A few. Mostly with my friends from out of town. A lot of locals were suspicious when I got back. It’s better now,” he paused, leaned closer, and chuckled into my ear. “They enjoy the annual fireworks.”

Turning toward him brought us nearly nose to nose. “Are you entertainment, then?”

“I draw the line at tap dancing and shuffling, but I guess I am. I’ve always been a curiosity to a lot of them. Even when my entertainment was football and joyriding.”

He skipped a stone over the surface of the water. It danced three times before sinking.

I frowned. “People loved you back in high school. All the girls had crushes on you. You were this interesting, new, unobtainable boy.”

“That is not how I remember it.”

“How do you remember it?” I asked, genuinely curious. As much time as I spent gazing at him surreptitiously from across school rooms and church parking lots, I realized we hadn’t had many private conversations. The ones we had stood out.

Deep, unforgettable conversations.

Including one right here on this dock.

Here we were again. The dim light from the moon danced over his sharp cheekbones and the strong column of his throat. The warm light from lanterns behind the house didn’t reach much further than his deck and the stretch of land immediately behind the mansion.

“I remember carefully washing my clothes every other day because I only had one pair of jeans. I remember staying quiet because I had a rough Chicago accent that Eddie Cook said made me sound like a gang member out of a movie. And I never smiled because I had that crooked tooth that begged for braces my grandmother couldn’t afford.”

“I don’t remember a crooked tooth.” But I remembered his rare smiles, energetic and infectious when he was happy.

“It’s gone now.” He spread his lips and tapped on his straight left canine.

I sighed. “I remember you as the mischievous new kid, joking, teasing, hanging with Colton and Rodney.”

Rodney Merill was another one of our classmates. He joined the army after graduation and died in Afghanistan nearly two decades ago.

Our shoulders brushed. I leaned away from the contact and slipped off my other shoe, dropping it next to its mate. Stretching my toes, I still couldn’t reach the water.

“I think I was just happy around you. I had such a crush,” he admitted.

“So did I.”

“That night, when you told me, I couldn’t believe it. I never thought you noticed me.” He mumbled the last part, almost like he was talking more to himself than to me.

“I noticed you all the time,” I said, swaying back toward him.

“Well, your dad noticed me noticing you. He didn’t like it. I wasn’t good enough for his little girl.”

I didn’t miss the bitterness threading his voice.

“What made you think he didn’t like you?”

I tugged at the gauzy skirt of my dress.

“I didn’t like me sometimes,” he answered, and I squeezed his hand.

“Dad was very overprotective back then. Still is.”

“That’s why he wants you back with a liar and a cheat?”

He delivered the question with such force I almost defended the men out of reflex—my father and my husband. Dad meant well, and part of me knew he had a hard time with change. He’d get over it.

But Elijah?

How long had I been making excuses for him? Covering for him? Propping up our marriage lie?

It hadn’t felt like a lie at first. I thought I was defending my family, but all the pretending slowly erased who I was. My standards, my goals, my identity. Every minute my marriage survived, I died a little.

Now, I felt alive.

“All Dad ever wanted was for me to settle down into an upstanding life. Who wouldn’t want that for their kids? They’ll understand eventually when they see me happy,” I replied.

“And you’re happy now?”

Yes. Without question. But something kept me from saying it out loud. Like saying yes while sitting here next to this man full of promise and proposition automatically meant saying yes to things I wasn’t ready for.

Or was I?

Our talk about Sierra on the drive to the community center skittered through my mind like the rocks Caleb kept hurling across the lake. Every time I talked to her, she had plans for a trip that she’d put off. New York. Europe. It was her job. Her mom. Her kids. Her husband. Then her chances disappeared.

Sometimes you didn’t get them back.

“Are you really making your life here in Bliss? You could go anywhere you want,” I reminded him.

Caleb waved a mosquito away from his face. “There’s not a wall around the city. I can come and go as I please. Here pleases me.”

“With people like Harry Ripken looking at you all cross-eyed?”

Earlier, Leslie filled me in on the scene last night at the diner. Her daughter came home from her shift full of stories about Caleb facing down the town’s old guard of crusty gossips.

He chuckled. “Exactly that. People like him can’t touch me anymore. I’m making a difference here, and he won’t stop me.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“You don’t come back much,” he said, nudging my side with his elbow.

My ribs warmed where his arm brushed against me.

“How do you know?”

“People talk, and I haven’t seen you.”

“Since Dad retired from the church, my parents travel a lot. We spend holidays in other places. I settled the kids into college,” I rambled with a shrug. “I haven’t come back as much as I’d like.”

“You were missed.”

I turned and poked his shoulder. “Not by you. The last time I was here, I seem to remember you hightailing out of the Fodder the minute I hit the door. You were avoiding me.”

Caleb swatted my hand, then grabbed it. “You were married, and I still had my crush.”

He trailed his fingertips over my hand, and I let him. I hadn’t let another man touch me like that in decades. It felt wrong and perfect, foreign and familiar.

Touch him back.

The voice in my head practically shouted.

I turned my wrist over and grasped his hand. Our fingers tangled and stilled. My breath sped up with my heart.

“I signed the divorce papers a couple of weeks ago, but he still hasn’t,” I said.

“You signed?”

“Yeah.”

“How did it feel?” he asked.

I exhaled. “Liberating. I feel divorced,” I said out loud, for the first time. “It’s strange. I got married believing it was forever, but I’m relieved it wasn’t. Especially now.”

We turned at the same time, eyes locking. I searched his face for any sign of doubt or hesitation, but all I found was unwavering warmth and desire.

The night seemed to hold its breath around us, waiting for our next move. The sound of crickets chirping and the faint lapping of the lake water mixed with the upbeat pounding of my heart in my ears.

I’d chosen what I wanted the minute I walked away from the group, knowing Caleb would follow me.

I placed my hand gently on top of his. He pulled it to his lips and kissed each finger, stroking my palm with his thumb. I dropped my head on his shoulder and unwound our fingers to stroke his cheek. Caleb planted a kiss on the crown of my head. He smelled smoky, like the barbecue pit, and tangy with sweat and a hint of woodsy cologne. His neck was an inch from my lips, tantalizing me, and for once in my life, I gave into temptation.

Just once. Just this one small pleasure. I kissed his neck, opening my mouth and letting my tongue trail up to his ear. He gasped, and I nipped his lobe with my teeth.

He tasted better than he smelled. Even better than he looked.

I nipped again and kept kissing along his jaw, softly, slowly, until he took over.

He tipped backward, pulling me with him and claiming my lips. I rolled on top of him. He thrust his tongue into my mouth. My nipples hardened even before he swept his hands up the sides of my dress, reaching under the voluminous fabric to my hips and waist. Heat rolled through every nerve ending he touched, and I didn’t—I couldn’t—stop him.

Because I wanted this. I wanted a wild and reckless thing just for myself. No rules. No propriety. No respectability could ever give me the fulfillment of this kiss.

I was that girl again, dreaming of a handsome boy who left me dizzy and aching for more. Only this wasn’t a dream.

And it still wasn’t enough. I wanted everything. Him. Naked. In the moonlight.

Anyone trekking down the path from the house might hear us or see us. I didn’t care.

Caleb slid the straps down my shoulders, kicking up trails of fire with his fingertips. I scooted to my knees, bunching the fabric of my maxi dress underneath them. Together, we popped the buttons of his shirt and stripped it off. I lifted to undo his pants.

“Are you sure?” he huffed and glanced up the path. The night had darkened even more. The tree line was barely visible.

“Yes.”

He opened his mouth with a question in his eyes. I put my finger on his lips and worked my hand into his pants.

“Yes,” I repeated.

He wriggled his hips in unison with my hand working his cock free from his boxers and around my scrap of thong underwear. I sank down in a quick move before I could rethink it, leaving behind all doubts and maybe even good sense.

I didn’t care about anything except how he felt.

“Fuck.” He huffed.

I couldn’t speak. I stared down into his eyes and rode him with a fervor that grew with every new sensation. I leaned into the feeling, the heat, the sweat, and tipped my head back. He cupped my face, thumb tracing my bottom lip.

“Look at me.” His command was gentle but firm, coaxing me from my internal world of doubt warring with desire.

His eyes were dark pools of want and vulnerability, locking on mine and driving a connection deeper than our bodies. I had seen that look before, decades ago, but it held a different intensity now.

His hands gripped my hips as they rolled. The weight of his touch made me shiver even in the heat. He slid one hand under my skirt and to where our bodies met and pressed his thumb against my clit. He rubbed and teased. I choked back a scream until my breath escaped in a ragged hiss.

Spurred by the hushed murmur of my name on his lips over and over, I moved faster and answered him.

“Caleb,” I moaned in time with the lift of his hips until the pulsing energy rising inside me crested and drowned me in pleasure.

My climax rippled through me, seizing every muscle in a hot tide. He thrust up and went rigid, nails digging sweetly into my ass. I dropped my head back and let go a long-held sigh, releasing every ounce of tension before collapsing onto his chest.

We lay there, panting, wrapped in each other and the blanket of summer air. As my sense of space and time collected again in my brain, twinges of uncertainty crept in.

His rumble of laughter shook against my cheek and beating back the apprehension.

“That was unexpected.”

“Not after all this time,” I whispered in his ear. “I wanted this thirty years ago.”

He kissed my temple. “I can’t believe we did that.”

I lifted my head, chewing my lip to keep from grinning. “I know. It’s like we’re teenagers again, sneaking around.”

“Except now we’re respectable adults.” He chuckled, trailing his fingers along my spine.

“Respectable adults who had sex on a dock where anyone could have seen us.” Nervous laughter bubbled up in my throat.

Caleb sat up, bringing me with him. “We should probably head back before someone comes looking for us.”

With me straddling his lap, he couldn’t move until I did. I kissed him again. He held the back of my head and drove into my mouth with tongue. I held my breath and savored the feel of him inside me, knowing this wasn’t the end. We had to do this again. And again. And again.

My skin tingled, my body more alive than I could ever remember.

It felt wicked, but deliciously so.

Deep in my brain, a tiny, stupid voice told me this much pleasure had to be wrong, but my heart wouldn’t let it take hold.

I nipped Caleb’s lip. We laughed, and I rolled away from him, straightening my dress and my twisted underwear as I stood barefoot on the dock. He rearranged himself and jumped up, glancing over his shoulder.

The path to the house was dark and empty, but if we arrived back together, who might see us? What would they assume?

Not assume. Know.

“I’ll give you a head start. Go make sure everyone’s gone,” I suggested.

He pulled me close for another searing kiss that left me breathless. “Then we can have the house to ourselves. All night.”

My shoulders stiffened for a second, and I hoped he wouldn’t notice. He did.

“What’s wrong?”

Words jumbled in my head, but I took a deep breath. “I want to stay the night.”

Hell, part of me wanted to stay the week, the summer... My emotions swelled and collided all out of order.

“I sense a ‘but’ coming,” he mumbled, holding me tighter.

“I don’t think I should.”

“What do you think you should do?” The wariness in his tone around “should” constricted my chest.

“I should go home tonight, not leave my car here. But we should meet up tomorrow or the next day. I’ll make you dinner. You and I—”

“Should do this again?” He dropped his forehead to mine, his gaze questioning and waiting.

“100. But I don’t want to start more gossip than I can handle. Not right now.”

He relaxed and kissed the tip of my nose. “So long as I get to take you out on a proper date.”

I poked his belly and thought again of sliding my hand down into his pants again. My palms tingled in anticipation, but I resisted.

“You better. I’m a very proper lady,” I said and batted my eyelashes, ignoring how I’d straddled and rode him into the pier, getting more than one splinter in my knee.

“You are,” he replied softly. “I’ll be back.”

Caleb hugged me, and we walked toward the house. He left me in the shadows of the trees. I leaned against a tall pine with my legs still trembling from our encounter. The rough wood pressed into my back, grounding me only a little while my mind raced.

What did this mean for us? Was there an us? Did I even want that with the tangle my life had been?

The part of me that thought I needed those answers right now finally gave in to the part of me that didn’t even want answers. Not tonight. My body buzzed with the lingering imprint of Caleb’s touch and the taste of his kisses, the feel of his body hard surging into mine.

The sensual hum thrumming through me should have felt unfamiliar. Instead, it felt right, which triggered another cycle of worry until I stopped it midstream.

However unsure I was about what it meant, I wanted it. I wanted him. I enjoyed him and had zero regret.

* * *

Caleb jogged back andsignaled all clear. He took my hand and walked back through the house to the front door.

“I hate leaving,” I groaned and tipped my head onto his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “So stay.”

“I can’t.” I didn’t want to say I shouldn’t. He didn’t like my shoulds.

Caleb traced my hairline with his fingers, then tapped my chin. “We’ll see each other soon?”

His gaze met mine, the sincerity in his eyes making my breath catch. I tugged on his collar. “Yes.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.” I hesitated, trying to find the right words. “But for tonight, I need to go. I’ve only been in town a day, and tongues were wagging the minute I got here. I’d rather not advertise that we’re... I’m... at your house.”

Caleb nodded. “I get it.”

I almost suggested he come by for breakfast but stopped. I needed space to think. As if reading my mind, Caleb chuckled.

“I’d invite you for breakfast, but I already have plans with Victor and Colton. Had I known you were going to be—”

“All over you like white on rice?” I interrupted, grinning.

We laughed, the tension easing. Caleb took my hands in his. “I was going to say if I’d known you’d be in town, I would have left my calendar more open.”

He squeezed my fingers gently.

“Besides, you look a little relieved that I have plans.”

I sighed, the confession spilling from my lips. “Tonight was... is... I’m happy. But I need a little space to think. And I have errands to run, gossip to outrun...”

I let my voice trail into a humored singsong, hoping he understood.

Caleb brought my hands to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “We will be the talk of the town.”

I groaned, reality crashing back in.

“I know I can’t control what people are going to say about me.” I fell against his solid shoulder, breathing in the warm, comforting smell of him.

“We’ll see each other again. Let’s leave it at that. Keep it simple.”

My body thought it was simple. So did my heart, but my brain couldn’t let me off the hook yet.

“Most of my life has been complicated lately, but,” I emphasized and sighed, “it won’t stop being complicated because I make myself miserable.”

I put my hand over his heart and smiled.

“Plus, I want to see where this goes.”

His full mouth stretched into that wide, perfect grin I was getting more and more used to seeing. “A date. A real one. I’ve been waiting thirty years to take to you out.”

I stepped back and swung his hands. “Why didn’t you ask me out then?”

His eyes clouded with hesitation and something I couldn’t identify. His jaw flexed. I thought back to what he’d said earlier.

“Did my father say something to you?”

“I went to your house to ask you out. Your dad invited me in and gave a clear warning that I shouldn’t.”

I winced. “What did he say?”

“It doesn’t matter. He wasn’t entirely wrong, and I wasn’t who he thought you should be dating.”

Caleb tried to make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal, but the brittle edge in his voice signaled otherwise.

“He wasn’t nasty, was he?” If Dad had been cruel, he and I would have a problem.

“He was preachy,” Caleb replied with a dry laugh, “and direct. I’m not for you. That’s what he said.”

“Dad loves me, but sometimes, I’m not sure he knows me.” I pulled Caleb closer, trying to close the emotional distance I felt sneak in between us.

“I’m not sure I do either. But I want to.”

He pulled me into another hug, then lowered his lips to mine for a goodbye kiss that had me so dizzy, I walked to my car wondering if I was safe to drive.