Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Oliver
“We should be all set for the adoption fair. Thank you for all your hard work, Oliver.” Glynda walks into the play area that I’ve spent the last three hours cleaning up and arranging for Saturday.
The shelter has a monthly adoption fair where they showcase the animals as much as possible, all the way from a playroom to private rooms for them to play in.
Alliance has a large stray dog and cat population, so these fairs also help get them into homes so the shelter can help other animals in need.
“Can I help you with anything else?” I put away the broom in my hand.
“You’ve helped plenty, sweetheart,” she says, looking over something at the registration desk. “You’re the only one that can put in all the heavy lifting. I wish I could pay you more, but we don’t get a lot of donations anymore.”
The guilt in her voice is evident, but I wish she would stop apologizing. I’m just glad they keep calling me to fix anything around here. It’s a constant flow of work to the point that I wonder if they break things just so I can work my magic.
My phone pings on the desk, and Glynda looks over at it before giving me a look.
“Are you going to tell me who Princess is? Did you finally ask that Jade girl out?”
I can’t help the cringe. Not because dating Jade wouldn’t be great, but it wouldn’t be the same as what Sally and I have. There’s just this sense of understanding with her. Not only from her family life but because I can tell her anything.
She’s the first person I’ve ever talked to about my plans for the van. Jaxon doesn’t even know. He just thinks I want the van because it would be cool.
I’ve thought of asking him to travel with me. It would be like the ultimate road trip, and I’m sure we’d make so many memories, but I still get this nagging sensation that it should be someone else—two people, in particular.
Princess
Are we meeting up today?
Me
Of course we are, babe.
Princess
Anything special planned?
Me
Always, but we’ll be by the shack today.
Princess
Okay, I can walk over there from Shoreline cafe.
Me
Let me pick you up.
Princess
Oliver, it’s like a five-minute walk, and you are on the other side of town right now.
Me
Sally
Please let me pick you up.
I don’t give her a chance to respond before calling her. “Are you going to let me pick you up?”
“Ollie,” she gives a fake whine. And while her calling me Ollie certainly catches my cock’s attention, it won’t work.
“Sally,” I say firmly. “I’m picking you up.”
“Okay.”
With that, I leave the adoption center and drive across town to shoreline cafe. It’s the same one that Mimi has been going to every morning to work on her writing.
I pull around the front and see Sally dressed in a light-blue tennis skirt and a tied graphic tee. It looks like a faded meadow filling in the white fabric.
“I can’t believe you drove all the way across town,” she says, opening the door and hopping inside the car before I can get out and open the door for her.
A growl gets buried in my throat when she leans over the middle and places a kiss on my cheek.
She starts to turn away. “One more,” I say and pucker my lips.
Sally rolls her eyes and gives me a quick peck.
Before she can pull away again, I grip her chin and bring her back down into a full, long-deserved kiss.
She doesn’t pull away this time, and I have to fight the urge to deepen the kiss, but I settle for running my teeth along her bottom lip and pull away.
After another few minutes, we pull up to the shack.
“Don’t you dare open that door,” I call out, launching myself around the Jeep to open her door.
“Oliver, what are you doing?” She gives me a look like my actions are so inconceivable.
That face she’s making is the exact reason. Sally needs to know that she’s worth all the extra effort.
Hell, I don’t even really see it as extra. It’s just what she deserves.
I grab her hand as we make our way into the shack. Her hand tenses, which means she must see what’s happening today. Her eyes land on a pink-and-blue bikini top over matching swim shorts.
A brief moment of panic washes over her body. “Oliver, I can’t.”
“Do you trust me?” I ask, picking up the material. “I would never put you in a position where you’re uncomfortable.”
Sally looks at the swimsuit, and a little bit of light comes back to her dark hazel eyes. The perfect mixture of brown and green.
“I know how much you actually like the water. Every time we’re by the lake, you stare at it like you want to shed your insecurities and jump in. Jump off the edge with me.”
There are still a few hours of light left before sunset when we get to my private little cove. There’s a little mouth of water from the lake that runs by the shack, and if you follow that, then you find my little getaway where I can surf and swim until my heart’s content.
I look around the small stretch of visible sand and shore rocks to make sure no one has found my hideaway. If they had, then my plans would be ruined.
Sally’s hand is locked with mine. Her grip hasn’t loosened since we left the shack. I gave her a quick once-over, unable to see the swimsuit since she asked if she could wear one of my hoodies until we got to the water. I’m double her weight, so she's swimming in the fabric.
Sally looks around the beach for a second, and then she whips her head toward me.
“No one’s here.”
“That would be correct,” I say, tugging her with me farther onto the sand.
She looks over Lake Michigan in awe. The glint in her eyes shines brightly as she moves in pace with me now. This whole walk, the girl was a step behind me, using my body as some sort of shield, but now she’s ready to let loose.
“Wow, this place is beautiful.”
“It’s my own little oasis. Most people don’t come toward the riverfront of Alliance, and since it is right next to the shack, people just don’t bother. I’ve always thought of it as mine, but now it can be ours.”
“Why are you showing this to me?” Her voice is quiet as she stares at the waves.
“Because I know the reason you don’t get in the water is because you don’t feel comfortable with people staring at you.” I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. “Though, I can’t blame them because of how gorgeous you are.”
With that, I pull the hood down and deliver a kiss to her head. She giggles at the contact and starts to wiggle in my hold.
Then she stills for a second, and I think maybe I’ve pushed too far, but she leans back into my chest.
“I need more time to break down my wall completely. Please don’t leave while I chip away at it brick by brick.”
The silence that follows doesn’t make me think she’s shutting herself off again. I know in that delicate head of hers, every time she lets the conversation die, it’s not her running away from conflict; it’s her chipping away at the discomfort that’s plagued her for her whole life.
“I’ll wait as long as you need, and when you give me the okay, I’ll start taking bricks down with you.”
This causes her body to relax further into me.
“Are you ready to swim, princess?”
“I’ve missed swimming so much,” she says gleefully before pulling away from my hold and looking down at her feet.
Before I can say anything, Sally whips off the hoodie, revealing the swimsuit I bought her. Ella told me not to get a bikini set because the bottoms would be too revealing for her at this point, so I tried to match the color as much as possible.
The suit fits her perfectly. I’m going to need to get in the water because I’m already sporting a hard-on.
This time, Sally grabs my hand, and with still rosy cheeks, she leads the way toward the water.
Her breath hitches as the cool lake water meets her ankles, but I wish I had my phone with me for what happens next—the brightest smile I’ve seen on my girl since she got here. Without missing a beat, she pulls both of us farther into the lake until the water reaches our waists.
Sally’s hands wade through the water like she’s playing music, and with each twist, she gets more excited. A laugh bubbles through her lips like a kid in a candy store. She’s made for the water, just like me.
My arm pushes the water forward, splashing her.
“You did not!” She mockingly gasps before sending her own wave at me. “You don’t want to play this game.”
“Oh, I definitely do.”
We continue the splash war for a few more rounds until I duck under the water, swimming over to her and taking her by the waist.
She lets out a playful shriek as I spin her around and bring her under with me. I expect her to be glaring at me when we resurface, but her eyes gleam and a breathtaking smile plays on her lips.
We play around like that for a bit, just constantly touching each other. Her skin feels hot against mine, and I love the lake, but I also can’t wait to take her home.
Trying to show off, I grab my shortboard from the cove and swim out into the deeper water. There aren’t even any big waves out tonight, but I want to show off nevertheless. I catch one wave before looking back toward Sally, and I notice she isn’t where I thought she would be.
“Sally?” I call over the water. Where did she go? The cove isn’t big at all. “Sally!”
Then I see her walking up toward a little cliff that comes around the cove. I know it well. Plenty of mistakes have happened there, with the ground giving way because of erosion. Sally is walking directly toward the edge with her still-gleaming smile.
My heart drops because I know she’s about to jump, and I also know from experience—and a broken leg—just how dangerous the cliff can be.
“Sally, don't jump!” I lie flat on the board and paddle as fast as I can toward her. My heart pounds against my chest, and blood pumps through my ears. “There are rocks below.”
She must not hear me because she waves in my direction and jumps off the cliff.
The sight of her body hitting the water chills me down to the bone, even more than the water surrounding us.