Chapter 41
ALEXIS
An obnoxious beeping sound pierces the fog of my sleep. I swat at Finn, connecting with his chest.
“Make it stop,” I groan into his warm body.
I’m usually a morning person, but after waking Finn up sometime after midnight, we spent the rest of the night alternating between sleeping and having sex.
The noise stops and I hum in approval before burrowing under the covers.
He shimmies out from under me and I feel the bed move but don’t have the energy to see what Finn is doing.
“Lex, baby, time to get up.” He cannot be serious right now.
Maybe if I pretend to not hear him, he’ll give up.
The bed shifts and I feel Finn slide in beside me.
Warm lips touch my bare shoulder, then the sensitive spot where the shoulder meets the neck.
Need begins to stir in me, so I reach for him, turning in his arms.
“Alexis, time to get up.”
His whisper draws me more awake. I peer out the window and groan. “Finn, it’s not even light out yet. Come to bed, sleep for a little longer then I'll suck your cock.”
There’s laughter in his voice when he responds.
“As tempting as that is, and it is very tempting, I have plans for us this morning. So, get up and get dressed for the day.” He kisses my forehead before getting out of bed.
At the door, he turns, smiling boyishly.
“Oh, and wear your swimsuit. I’ll meet you downstairs with coffee. ”
Slowly, I drag myself out of bed. Wear a swimsuit?
I have no idea what he’s doing, and I'm too tired to piece it together. Lucky for him, I packed one for my girls’ weekend.
I put it on along with a pair of leggings, and I look for a warm top to throw on.
Not seeing anything I want in my bag, I go through Finn’s drawers, finding an old sweatshirt that looks insanely soft.
It’s way too big and swallows me whole but smells like Finn, so I love it.
I toss my hair into a messy bun and brush my teeth.
If he wants me any more put together than this, he will have to wait past dawn and coffee.
Finn is waiting for me in the kitchen with a shit-eating grin on his face.
I scowl in return. “You are way too perky right now.” But he is so cute, his hair has a slight wave to it and sticks out in different directions like it’s windblown.
He is dressed in an O’Neill hoodie and boardshorts, looking like he walked straight out of a surf magazine.
Before I can say anything else, Finn hands me a to-go cup of coffee.
I take a small sip, letting the scalding hot liquid warm me from the inside out.
A contented sigh slips from my lips, and I turn to look out the window where I spot two surfboards propped against the gate and a large bag sitting next to them.
Spinning, I turn to Finn and take in his appearance again.
Wear a swimsuit. Realization of his plans permeates my sleep-addled brain.
“Finn, no, surely it’s too cold to go surfing.”
Finn grabs my hand, backing us toward the door. “Come on, it’s a perfect morning for surfing.” I glance warily between him and the boards. “I bought you a wetsuit, so you’ll hardly feel the chill. Please?” He gives me the cutest puppy dog eyes that melt me into a puddle.
He must see my resistance crumbling because he opens the door, pulling me out of the house.
Before I have time to think, he shuts the door, spins us, and pins my back against it.
His mouth finds mine, his tongue sweeping across my bottom lip asking for entrance, which I eagerly accept.
He deepens the kiss, pressing his body against mine.
When we finally come apart for air, he rests his forehead against mine.
“Please, Lex. Let me share this with you.
There is nothing like catching the first morning waves, even if it's a bit chilly. Plus, I promise to keep you warm if you get cold.” His grin is devilish.
Leaning in, he nips at my bottom lip before pulling away again.
I stare into those crystal-blue eyes and know I will follow him anywhere. “Okay, Daddy, let's go.” Finn lets out a whoop and leads me toward the boards. He hands me one, helping me get it positioned under my arm, before shouldering the large beach bag and his own board.
We walk for a few minutes in silence. “Where are we headed? Why not go in right here?” I ask, pointing to the water in front of his house.
“There’s a spot a little way down that has sand bottom waves which are much safer than right here for surfing lessons.”
I nod my head, like I understand anything that he just said, when something else hits me. As far as I know, Marcee has never surfed, and he said he had a wetsuit for me. “When did you plan all of this? We just got back to whatever this is.” I gesture between us.
A flush creeps along his cheeks, and I watch his throat move as he swallows before speaking.
“I planned this months ago, after the weekend you spent here, right after you left my office, actually. Then…well, things happened and...” I blink, processing his words.
When I don’t respond, he looks over at me with so much vulnerability reflected in his eyes that is loosens my tongue.
“Thank you, Finn,” I croak out, unable to speak clearly around the lump in my throat. Seeming to understand, he grabs my hand and pulls it to his lips.
It only takes fifteen minutes to get to the area he chose. We drop our boards and he hands me my wetsuit.
I eye the neoprene suit and try not to dwell on the unflattering fabric or how my body will look stuffed into said fabric, that only Finn can make look sexy.
He makes quick work of losing his hoodie and donning his wetsuit.
Only pulling it on halfway, leaving it hanging from his hips, then drops to his knees and begins to wax the boards.
My wetsuit is all but forgotten in my hand as I watch him work.
The way his muscles ripple and bunch with each movement consumes me.
Damn, he is nice to look at. With a sigh, I work myself into the wetsuit and join him by the boards.
“You ready?” He moves to stand and pulls his wetsuit on the rest of the way, giving me a full-frontal view of his ab muscles flexing. Does he live in the fucking gym to look like that?
Forcing my eyes back to the water, I scan the waves.
They aren’t huge, but butterflies still settle in my stomach.
No turning back now, I’m all in. “If you jump, I jump, Jack,” I quip, stepping into the water beside him.
It’s colder than I anticipated, ripping an embarrassingly high-pitched squeal from me, but I don’t retreat.
I glare at the ocean and then at him bent over laughing.
“Oh, stop laughing, let's go catch hypothermia,” I grumble and charge into the water with way more bravado than I feel, biting the inside of my cheek as the cold water creeps higher.
“Don’t worry, baby, your body will get used to it faster than you think. Soon, you won’t even notice the cold.”
I snort in response.
“Just try, and if you get too cold, we can stop and I’ll buy you a pastry,” Finn cajoles.
Damn him knowing my weakness for pastries.
We paddle out until he finds a good spot to wait for a set, and as much as I hate to admit it, he’s right.
I do get used to the water, slightly. But I’m definitely not a natural.
I spend way more time paddling and trying to time waves than I do catching any.
When I finally manage to ride a few baby waves, Finn’s cheers warm me all the way to my toes.
My arms quickly get tired of paddling and my neck is sore from holding it up—who knew that would be a thing?
We sit straddling our boards, swishing our feet, talking and enjoying the little bubble of privacy we have out here bobbing along the surface of the water.
We talk about everything imaginable. All the things we haven’t had a chance to share about our lives in the whirlwind of our romance.
We talk about our families, future plans, food—literally everything.
He tells me stories about his childhood that have me pitying his mom and naming her a saint for putting up with all his shenanigans.
The sun eventually creeps up, bathing the water in its glow, the surface shimmering like millions of diamonds.
It reminds me of the morning we went running together.
I could be content spending every morning with him whether in bed or on the water.
I don’t think I could ever tire of this man, and that scares the shit out of me.
We haven’t discussed what this relationship will look like yet, and I know we need to, but for now, I just want to be with him and enjoy it.
When our fingers and toes are all pruney, and my stomach is growling loud enough to hear over the water, we decide to paddle in and get some food.
Finn helps me drag my board out of the water, then jogs over to where our stuff was dumped earlier while I catch my breath.
I seriously underestimated how hard surfing actually is.
Jogging back, he wraps me in a fluffy blue towel, pulling me into a tight hug and kissing me soundly while rubbing my arms to warm them up.
He still hasn’t bothered to grab a towel for himself, too busy taking care of me.
It’s such a foreign feeling. Needing space to work through my roiling emotions, I find something safe to move on to.
“You mentioned pastries before…” I let my words trail off as my stomach rumbling makes my point for me. Finn cracks up and pulls a white paper sack from his bag.
“Want to eat them here on the beach, or take them back to my place?”
“Here.” I smile happily.
“Let's get into dry clothes first. There’s a public bathroom just up the hill that you can change in.” He points to a cinderblock building perched up the slope just past the edge of the sand.
“Yeah, I’ve been in enough beachside public restrooms to know that I am not changing in there. I would rather run down this beach naked.”
“Do you want to go back to the house and change?”
“No, I’ll just do it here,” I quip, grabbing my clothes from the towel I tossed them on.
“As much as I’d enjoy the show, babe, not sure I want everyone else to enjoy your assets.” He glances to where several other surfers are dotting the gray water behind us.
I shrug, bracing myself for the cold and peel off my wetsuit, leaving me in just my bikini. Then I grab one of the towels from the bag, wrap it around myself, and shimmy my way out of my bikini.
Finn watches me, his eyes dancing with laughter, probably hoping for a wardrobe malfunction while I Houdini myself out of my suit and into clothes. When I’m finally dressed, I turn to Finn and arch my brow, dropping the towel to reveal my fully clothed body, earning a loud laugh from Finn.
While I sit on a blanket and dig in, he uses my towel technique and trades his board shorts for joggers.
With a soft grunt, he drops to the ground beside me.
Leaning into his warmth, I place a soft chaste kiss on his lips, tasting the saltwater still lingering there. “Thanks for this, Finn. I loved it.”
He drapes his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his body and kissing my forehead. “Thanks for actually getting in the water, baby,” he murmurs against my skin. We eat our breakfast on the beach, just enjoying being us, as the sun rises further in the sky.