Chapter 37
thirty-seven
. . .
RORY
Summer
You didn’t wake me up
You were sleeping so peacefully. The softest, most delicate snore. I didn’t have the heart.
Summer
Hmm. Still should have tried. I feel slighted that I didn’t get to touch you last night.
I’m the one who’s wounded here. You passed out and made me eat all the snacks by myself. Alone. Shirtless. Vulnerable.
Summer
Wow. I can’t believe I missed naked snack time.
And I didn’t get to watch you lose your mind again. So yeah, we both missed out.
Summer
How was practice?
Brutal. I think I left a piece of my soul in lane four.
I’m on break now. You want to meet up for a late breakfast?
Summer
Yes! I’m starving.
See you in a few.
Summer walks into the open-air diner in a bright pink sundress with the breeze tossing strands of her wavy blonde hair around her face. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the feeling I get when she walks in a room. The quiver of delirious contentment I get when our eyes meet. The way my brain slows its usually chaotic pace.
That’s her.
After last night, I’m even more excited to see her. To bask in the new stage of our relationship. I don’t know exactly what that stage is, but I know I want to go deeper with Summer. I want it all.
I stand to greet her, wrapping my arms around her upper back to pull her close to me.
“Hi.” I smile at her like a school boy with a crush.
“Hi.” She smiles back, her arms wrapping underneath my arms until her hands reach my shoulders.
With a quick kiss to her temple, I release her. I know part of Summer’s issue with her ex was him showing her off in public but not wanting her in private, so that makes me uncertain on where she is with PDA. Like if eating her pussy last night means I can hold her hand in public now.
Instead of taking the seat across from me, she sits down on the bench next to me.
“One orgasm and we’re sitting on the same side of the table?” I tease, remembering how she told me we would never be a couple who sits on the same side of the table at restaurants.
She lifts a brow. “Please. I’m just avoiding the sun glare.”
I thought I was on the sunnier side but maybe the sun shifted. I glance across the table at the shady side I’d reserved for her. Still plenty of shade.
“Do you want me to move to the other side?” I ask as she peruses the menu.
Under the table, her knee brushes against mine.
“No.”
The waiter stops by to take our order. I don’t recognize him, so he must be new here. His nametag reads Justin.
“Steak and eggs, please.” Summer closes her menu.
“How would you like the steak cooked?” he asks.
“Medium rare.”
He nods, hesitantly scanning the digital menu before pressing a button.
“And the eggs?”
“Over easy, please,” Summer replies.
Another frantic perusal of the screen to find the selection.
He collects Summer’s menu and tucks it beneath his ordering device, then looks at me.
“And for you?”
“Good morning, Justin. How are you today?” I ask.
“Um, good.” He smiles nervously. “It’s my first day, so I’m trying not to mess shit up, you know?”
I give him a supportive nod. “You’re doing great. I’m Rory. This is my wife, Summer.”
He nods to Summer. “Nice to meet you.”
“Are you new to Coral Cove?” I ask.
“Yeah, I just moved here with my boyfriend. He loves to surf and I’m along for the ride.”
“That’s cool. I come here a lot after practice, so you’ll be seeing us regularly.”
“Practice? What sport do you play?” Justin asks.
“I’m a swimmer. I train with the Carolina Current.”
Justin nods, not certain what to make of that, I guess.
“He’s being modest. He’s the most decorated Olympic swimmer of all time,” Summer says. Whether Justin is impressed or not, the fact that Summer’s words are full of pride makes me smile.
“No shit? That’s awesome.”
Justin reaches out his hand for me to give him a high-five.
“Thanks.”
“Oh, yeah. Can I get your order?”
“Yes, I’ll have the three-egg scramble with turkey sausage and bacon, hash browns, and whole wheat toast. Also, a short stack of banana walnut pancakes with peanut butter on the side.” I pause to consider my drink choices. “A black coffee and a chocolate milk.”
“That’s a lot of food.”
“He’s a hungry man,” Summer responds, sipping her water.
“I’ll get that out as soon as I can. As soon as the kitchen cooks it.”
“Thank you.” I nod and Summer bites her lip, trying not to smile. “What? I’ve got to get in good with the wait staff. They’re the gatekeepers between me and food.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And yet you married me.”
“Oh, right. That. Complete lapse of judgment.”
“Even after last night?” I smirk, before leaning in to whisper, “I can still taste you on my tongue.”
Summer’s eyes widen. “Oh look, it’s shady over there now.”
She eyes the other side of the table and moves to stand, but I easily pull her back down next to me.
“Please stay. I like you here.”
Her lips twitch but she stays seated and takes another drink of water. I slug mine back in two swallows, then roll my shoulders down my back, releasing a low groan as my aching muscles protest.
“You said practice was brutal. Why?” she asks.
I sigh, hating to admit the truth.
“I’ve been pushing myself to keep up with Connor. I mean, I can keep up with him. I can dominate him if I want to, but doing it every practice, every day. It’s catching up with me. With my body.”
“Is that normal? Pushing teammates to the point of fatigue? Or is this because you and Connor aren’t on good terms?”
“The latter. The team challenges each other for sure, but not to the point of detrimental impact on our bodies.”
“Are you going to talk to him, or just metaphorically beat each other up in the pool every day?”
“He leaves tomorrow for a tour as an ambassador with the Rising Tides Swim program.”
“So, your body gets some time off from training with him. Shouldn’t you be excited?”
“I am. But?—”
“Wait. Isn’t that the same program Whitney is an ambassador for?” she asks, her brows lifting with suspicion. “She told me about it at the bonfire. Was really excited to get the spot.”
“Yeah, it’s the same one.”
Summer’s eyes widen. “So, Connor and Whitney are traveling together for a week? Do you think?—?”
I cut her off, laughing. “Never in a million years. Whitney is too focused to let a guy like Connor mess with her.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s ‘hmm?’”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I didn’t think I’d ever get married, even if it was fake, and here we are.”
“I don’t like what you’re implying.”
“That something might be going on between Whitney and Connor?” she asks.
“No, that Connor and I are similar in any way.”
“You need to talk to him. Clear the air. You’re a people person. You’re trying to be best friends with our waiter, how can you not want to resolve things with Connor?”
I let Summer’s assessment sink in.
She’s right. I am usually a forgiving person, but with Connor, he’s issued no apology, and shown no remorse for his actions. He’s been a cocky asshole since he walked into the aquatic center a few weeks ago so I’ve responded accordingly. It’s not like me at all. I secretly hate it but he’s the one who entered into enemy territory waving a red flag, not me.
Our food arrives and we dig in. Summer slowly, while I do my best not to look like a cave man. I use the toast as a vessel for the eggs, then wrap a banana walnut pancake around a sausage link before dipping it in peanut butter.
Summer laughs. “Is it a game trying to see how many calories you can pack into one bite?”
“Maybe.” I chuckle around my full bite.
She’s been eyeing the last banana walnut pancake so I push it onto her plate.
She forks the remaining steak on hers and transfers it to mine. I devour it in a single bite.
“What’s your schedule for the rest of the day?” I ask, curious.
“Lunch shift at the café. Then afternoon dog walking.” She lifts her wrist up. “Today was the first day my wrist didn’t ache so I texted Winnie she said I could ride my skateboard finally.”
“Must have been the orgasm last night.” I grin. “See? Even though I injured you, I healed you.”
She nudges me playfully with her shoulder.
“Doubtful.”
“Are you going to paint today?” I ask.
“Yeah, later this afternoon. I’m feeling a sunset session. They’re one of my favs. Either sunset or early morning.”
I glance down at her. “I’d love to see something you’ve painted sometime.”
She bites her lip. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
All I can do is nod.
Summer hasn’t shared the specifics of her art with me yet, so I’m trying not to push it too much. It’s something she’s had to guard in the past and I don’t want her to feel that way with me. I want her to share it on her own terms.
I’m quickly noticing that for someone who said ‘space’ was their love language, there’s none of it between us now.
Her thigh brushes against mine again, so I do what I’ve been dying to do since we sat down and lift her leg to drape it over mine. It feels like the most natural thing in the world.
The new angle of her leg shifts the hem of her dress, exposing more of her legs. My hand moves beneath the table to rest on her bare thigh.
“This okay?” I ask, loving the feel of her silky skin beneath my palm. Touching her thigh has my thoughts quickly returning to how it had felt to hold her open while I’d licked her pussy last night.
I’m certain she’ll fight me on it. Toss out some sarcastic quip. But she quietly hums with approval, taking the last bite of the pancake.
“I’m not normally a sweets person, but that pancake was so good. I’m going to be thinking about it all day.”
I lean down to press my mouth to her ear.
“I get it. Now that I’ve tasted you, it’s all I’ve been able to think about.”
My fingers wander farther up her leg, slow and measured, until they disappear beneath the hem of her dress.
At my advance, Summer’s breath catches, but she doesn’t pull away.
“Do you want me to stop?” I murmur, keeping my voice low.
She shakes her head. “No.”
Hidden beneath the diner’s deck awning, we’re sheltered from the warm sun. The salty breeze flows through Summer’s long hair, then wraps around us like a secret.
There are only a few other tables occupied on the deck, but I’m still aware we’re in a public place. I keep my gaze forward, letting my palm slide over her inner thigh until my fingers find the edge of her underwear.
Just this secret touch beneath Summer’s dress is enough to set my body aflame.
“You looked so pretty falling apart for me last night.” I dip my fingertip under the edge and trace along the seam. “I keep thinking about how soft you sounded. How sweet you tasted.”
I notice Summer’s left hand is curled around the edge of the bench, her nails digging into the worn wood.
“I’m going to take my time with you later. Spread you out on my bed and make you beg a little.” My voice dips lower. “I want to hear that rasp in your voice when you whisper my name again.”
“Rory.” It’s half a warning, half a plea.
I watch as Summer’s lips press together and her cheeks flush with want.
My finger releases the edge of her underwear, then slipping out from under her dress, my hand finds a safe place back on her thigh.
“Later,” I promise her, squeezing her leg softly above the knee.
“You’re evil,” she says calmly, placing her sunglasses back on her face.
I give her a heated grin. “No, now I’m motivated. I’ve got to give myself something to look forward to after two hours of sprint sets this afternoon.”
“Hmm. Well, if you’re going to leave me all worked up, maybe I’ll go home and let Big Dill take care of me instead.”
My cock surges at the thought of Summer lying on our bed, pleasuring herself with her pickle vibrator.
“Summer.” Now it’s my turn to plead.
“Yeah, have fun thinking about that during practice.”
She stands up and steps over the bench to leave. I follow suit, but reach out to catch her hand and pull her back toward me.
The momentum of my tug has her pressed up against me. My hands find her waist, and I drop my mouth to hers in a slow, sensuous kiss. I’ve never wanted to ditch out on training as badly as I want to right now. But I can’t.
When our lips part, my hand cups her jaw. “I’d never leave you wanting if I had a choice.”
Her expression softens, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips.
“Guess I’ll find out later.”