Chapter 19
Best surprise ever.
Miles
Relief smacks into me when I finally shake off the surfing class students and their advances to find Hazel putting the gear into the surf shack.
I’m surprised she didn’t run away. Although, she’s running away from me less and less. Sometimes, I get the feeling her resistance to me is fading. Other times, her eyes dart around the room as if she’s searching for an exit or a rabbit hole to dive down.
“This brings back memories, doesn’t it?”
She scowls. “I am not having sex in your surf shack for old times’ sake.”
Damn. Those are some good memories. But not what I meant.
“I didn’t mean the times we snuck out here to fool around. I mean, all the times you waited for me after practice and helped me pick up my gear.”
“Oh.”
I tweak her nose. “Oh.”
We finish putting things away in silence. Not an awkward silence. This is comfortable. Like slipping into an old hoodie to watch a football game. Familiar but with a spark of anticipation.
“This place has certainly improved,” Hazel says while I lock up.
“The original shack blew away in the hurricane. Eli insisted on building me a sturdier structure.”
“I’m sorry about the original shack.”
I shrug. “Thanks.”
I begin walking toward the parking lot and she falls into step with me. We walk in synch. As if those years we were separated never happened.
“Do you need a ride?”
“Nah. I’m good. My apartment isn’t far.”
I notice she’s shivering and frown. “Are you cold?” I don’t wait for an answer before whipping off my hoodie and placing it over her head.
“I’m not five. I can dress myself.”
I help her put her arms through the sleeves. “Maybe. But then I wouldn’t get the pleasure of touching you.”
She sniffs the sweatshirt and I glance away before she notices my smile. Her resistance to me is definitely fading.
“Speaking of touching…”
“Yes?” I ask when she doesn’t continue.
She fiddles with the hem of my sweatshirt. I don’t push her. Pushing Hazel never works. She’s more likely to become contrary and smack me with a firework than agree with me.
I slow my steps to give her time to gather her thoughts. We’re nearly at my car when she finally speaks.
“I was thinking about that second chance you want.”
My heart lodges in my throat. Is she serious? Is she going to give me a second chance?
I grasp her hands. “I know I don’t deserve a second chance. But I promise if you give me one, I’ll make it worth your while.”
She waggles her eyebrows. “I know you will.”
“Actually.” I clear my throat. “I have a condition.”
She yanks her hands from mine. “Excuse me? You want a second chance but you also have a condition? I don’t think you understand what a second chance means.”
“Can I maybe tell you the condition?” Before you stomp off and run away from me again.
She fists her hands at her hips. I’m tongue-tied for a moment at the vision. Her red hair is up in a messy bun, showing off her long, elegant neck, which I enjoy licking and biting. Her pink, pouty lips stand out against her porcelain skin. And her green eyes flash at me.
She looks good enough to eat. Which I won’t be doing anytime soon.
“Go ahead. Tell me your condition.”
“No sex.”
She blinks several times before cleaning out her ears. “Sorry. I must have some water stuck in my ears. I think I misheard you.”
“I said no sex.”
“Okay. My ears aren’t clogged. I’m hallucinating. Creepy crawlers in the sea. I hope I wasn’t stung by a jellyfish and now I’m having some kind of psychotic episode.”
I chuckle. “You didn’t get stung by a jellyfish. And I’m pretty sure jellyfish stings don’t cause psychotic episodes.”
She grasps her chest. “There’s only one explanation left. I’m dead. I’ve been mauled by a shark. I knew it! I always knew I’d die from a shark bite. I am haunting you until the day you die.”
“You didn’t get mauled by a shark. You wouldn’t go out in water deeper than a foot.”
She slaps a hand on my chest and I capture it. “Sharks can swim in water less than a foot deep. I know this! I’ve researched it.”
“In which case, you also know sharks are most likely to attack in water ten to thirty feet deep.”
“Why are we debating water depth when I’ve been killed? This is insane.”
I place her hand over my heart. “You haven’t been killed. Do you feel my heartbeat?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“If you’d been killed, my heart would stop beating.”
“Either I’m the sexiest ghost in the world or—”
“You’re not dead.”
“Or you’re still the most charming man in the world.”
“Ding. Ding. Ding. Correct answer.”
She giggles. “Okay. I haven’t been stung by a jellyfish or attacked by a shark. And yet I’m still pretty certain I heard you say you don’t want to have sex.”
“Wrong. I want to have sex. I want to have sex with you every second of the day. I can barely keep my hands off you now. You’re wearing my sweatshirt and it never looked this sexy on me. I want to throw you over my shoulder and whisk you away.”
Her green eyes darken until they’re nearly black. “I-I-I’m confused.”
“I want to have sex, but I don’t think we should.”
“You’re serious?”
“I want to show you there’s more to us than our red-hot chemistry. Do I dream about sex with you? Yes. Do I jerk off to thoughts of you? Every-damn-time.”
She gasps and I use my finger to lift her chin to shut her mouth.
“You’re it for me, Blaze. The entire package. Not just awesome sex but companionship as well. You make me laugh. You make me feel lighter when my mind is dark. I can tell you anything and you won’t judge me. You were once my best friend. I want to be your best friend again.”
“You want to be my best friend?”
“Keep up. I want to be your best friend, your lover, your everything.”
Her eyes widen. “No pressure then.”
“Definitely no pressure about sex since we’re abstaining.”
Her eyebrows raise. “We’re abstaining? You made this decision for both of us?”
I blow out a breath as I tiptoe onto the tight walk set out before me. “I’m not trying to make a decision for you. I’m trying to show you how much you mean to me. How you aren’t some warm body for me to use.”
I palm her cheek. “You’re my Blaze. You’re special. And I want to show you how special you are.”
“You don’t realize how high the bar you’re setting is.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I’ll rent a plane to fly over the bar if I need to. I’m not giving up on you, Blaze. I will prove to you how wonderful we are together.”
“Let’s define this no sex rule.”
My cock twitches. It didn’t hear the word ‘no’. It heard sex and the object of its every desire is standing in front of it. It’s ready to lay her down and bury itself deep inside her.
“I don’t understand.” I can barely think with my cock pounding in my board shorts.
“Does no sex mean no kissing, no touching, no oral pleasure, no penetration, or all of the above?”
I inhale a deep breath and count backwards from twenty as I try to get myself under control. Judging by the twinkle in Hazel’s eyes, she knows exactly how she’s tempting me. My wicked temptress.
“Kissing and touching – yes. No oral pleasure and definitely no penetration.”
She splays her hands over my chest before drawing them down. “I can touch here?”
I stop her before she reaches my shorts. “No touching below the belt.”
She giggles. “Are we back in high school?”
“If we’re back in high school, then there’s only one thing to say.”
“Which is?”
I repeat the question I asked her when I was a pimple-faced teenager. “Hazel Harris, will you go out on a date with me?”
She bites her bottom lip. “I don’t know, Miles Raider. You have a reputation.”
“Come on. You can handle a boy with a reputation.”
Her eyes flash. “Of course, I can.”
“Good. Because we’re going out on a date tomorrow. Be ready by six. I’ll pick you up.”
I kiss her nose before walking away to my car. I’m not giving her a chance to change her mind. And if she’s not at home tomorrow, I’ll search the entire island until I find her.
This is my second chance and I’m not screwing it up.