20. Johnny
Johnny
Beth’s dark hair blew in the wind as she skipped down the driveway and pulled open the door to my truck.
She wore her signature cut-off jeans and a tank top, and as she smiled up at me, my chest grew tight.
I didn’t want the heartache that I knew was coming, but I couldn’t pull myself away from her—not while she was still in Port St. Clair.
“Hey, boy,” she said, rubbing Oberon behind his ears as his tongue wagged out at her.
“Ready to roll?” I asked.
“Absolutely. I can’t believe I haven’t done this yet.”
A couple days ago, I’d mentioned some of the lighthouses up the lakeshore of Lake Huron, and I was shocked that she’d never visited any of them. About half a dozen lined the coast within driving distance, and since we both had light Mondays, I offered to give her a tour.
Once we got onto the main road, we rolled the windows down, and Beth put her feet on the dash.
“So, I talked with Mary about the donation,” Beth said, looking out the window but still bouncing her knee to the music.
“She all in?” I asked.
“Not exactly.”
“What? I was sure she would agree this year.”
“She’s actually selling at the end of the season.” Beth paused, looking toward me, and I tried to keep my eyes on the road, even though they briefly shot over to her. “And she offered for me to buy it. If I wanted, that is.”
My stomach dropped, and my chest went tight. This could really be something if she bought the place. But before I could chime in, she cut off my thoughts.
“Of course, that’s not happening though. I told her that.”
I barely heard her. All I felt was an imaginary punch in the gut, something I shouldn’t be feeling at all but still did.
“There’s another company that has an offer in anyway, but hey, it feels good that she asked.”
“Yeah. Definitely.” I needed to snap out of it.
Why was I feeling so bummed out? This was exactly why getting involved with Beth in the first place was a bad idea and why I’d asked Lane to keep me in check.
Getting close to someone just meant the possibility of getting hurt, and I couldn’t stomach that again. This would be no different.
“After talking with Professor Mackey, I’ll probably still mention it to my parents, but I can’t imagine it changing anything.”
“What do you mean? It could work… if you wanted it to work,” I said, tentatively.
“I know, but I’ve worked my butt off back home to take over in a couple years. That’s why I’m here. I can’t just go back on that, you know?” She tilted her head, looking at me like I was a sad puppy.
Trying to keep my cool, I said, “Why don’t you bring it up to your parents and see what they say?”
She nodded, turning back to the coastline. “I will, but I don’t think it’ll matter. I know what they’ll say.”
“And what’s that?”
“That I should feel flattered that she offered it, but that we have something good back home.”
“Do you really think that? That it wouldn’t matter?” My blood pressure was rising for her.
“My parents are very traditional. I can’t imagine they’d like the idea of their only daughter moving away, buying a new business, and leaving them high and dry.
Besides, I want to start the events side of the business.
I’ve mapped it all out. I’m excited about it.
” She furrowed her brow. “And my dad doesn’t do well with change—especially after everything.
I need to think about how to even bring up the subject without upsetting him. He gets weird sometimes.”
I nodded, not sure what else to say. Clearly, she’d already made up her mind, and I didn’t want to be another person adding pressure, expecting something from her that she wasn’t prepared to give.
She already had enough of that with her parents—even if that wasn’t their intention.
I knew she felt guilty being here as much as she loved it.
I didn’t want to be another obstacle to get in her way.
She seemed unfazed by my conflicted temperament, and I wanted it to stay that way. I wanted to enjoy the time we had left, even if it meant swallowing the words that were on the tip of my tongue.
I suggested going to the furthest lighthouse away, and, for the most part, we were both quiet the rest of the drive. Instead of talking, she enjoyed the view of Lake Huron out her window. About five minutes from our stop, she looked over at me.
“What’s your deal today?” she asked.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re quiet.” She nudged my arm with her hand. “You’re not normally this quiet. You frustrated about not getting the donation? You’re acting weird.”
Shit. I was trying to act as normal as possible with her, not wanting to ruin the day. “Yeah, that’s it.” I couldn’t let her know how I really felt—not when she wasn’t on the same page. I slowed down before pulling into the makeshift parking lot next to the small beach.
“We’ll get a few others. I’ll just make sure to wear my winning smile when we ask.” She smirked at me before jumping out of the car, letting Oberon down, then slamming the door behind her.
The old lighthouse was on a rocky point next to the beach, and since it was Monday, it was closed, but we could still look at the few signs that were around it, showing the history of the shipping industry in Michigan.
In the distance, a freighter went by, but other than that, it was quiet—peaceful.
I watched as Beth balanced on the boulders next to the lighthouse, looking up every so often, taking it all in.
This was one of my favorite spots. Even during busy times, it felt like most people didn’t drive up this way, which meant it was my own little private beach.
After sniffing around a bit, Oberon lead the way, running down toward the beach, before halting just before the water. The shore was lined with pebbles and rocks, and the tide was low. We both followed him out, and Beth bent down to pick up a stone.
“A Petoskey stone!” She held it out to me, and sure enough, the rock was etched with a honeycomb pattern of old fossilized coral, making it a unique find even on the Michigan shoreline.
“Wow, and on the first beach. You must be the lucky charm.” I took her hand, trying to push the conversation in the car out of my head. I didn’t need to keep my hopes up for something that would never happen anyway.
We walked up a ways before taking a seat on the sand and letting Oberon splash in the water. I grabbed one of his toy buoys from the car and played catch with him.
“It’s the perfect day for this. No one’s out here.”
I looked around. We were the only ones around, and I wasn’t unhappy about it. “Sure is.”
It felt like a true Midwest day with the sun beating down on us and the wind blowing off the water. The kind of day you could burn quickly because it felt so comfortable.
I leaned back in the sand on my elbows, letting Oberon play in the water with his buoy. Beth had a huge smile on her face, and her cheeks were pink from the sun already. She quirked a lip at me and leaned on her side, propping herself on an elbow as well.
She licked her lips, reaching out and running her hand down my chest, leading to my abs. Everything felt like it was in slow motion, and all my senses were heightened. I let out a brief moan, not realizing I had until she whispered in my ear.
“You like that?” She bit my earlobe, and my cock grew hard in my jeans.
“I like this side of you.” I turned my head and grabbed her lips with mine, running my tongue along the seam of them, coaxing them open.
“And I like teasing.” She opened her mouth and gently rubbed her tongue against mine. “Lean back.”
I pulled away to look her in the eyes, and I could see them darken for me.
“I mean it. Lean back.” She pushed me off my elbows and onto my back. I let her lead and she ran wet kisses down the side of my neck, making me thankful for empty beaches.
Beth hooked one of her legs over mine as she leaned in, rubbing her hands down my abs but not touching me where I wanted.
Without even looking down, I knew my jeans were fully tented now, and they felt tight as I let her do what she wanted to me.
Grabbing at my waist, she ran her fingers over my belt before stopping to unbuckle and unzip me. Her knuckles grazed over my cock as she pulled the zipper down, and I groaned at her touch. I shut my eyes briefly before wanting to open them again and watch her as she palmed me through my briefs.
“I’ve been wanting to do this since we got here,” she said, looking down at me and leaning in for a kiss. She slid herself back down, bunching up my shirt and running wet, open-mouth kisses down my chest and abs before getting to my briefs.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Thought it could be a fun diversion. Maybe put you in a better mood.” She winked at me.
Running her fingers along my waistband, she carefully avoided my cock that was bobbing for her to touch it. I thrusted a few times, but she took her time making her way down, before grabbing the band and pulling my underwear down to match my lowered jeans.
“Come on, baby.” I ran my hands through her hair and winced through my teeth, wanting her to feel me.
She hummed, quite content to lick and kiss everywhere I wanted her to go before running her wet tongue up the seam of my balls.
As soon as her tongue was there, my hips rose, wanting more, even though it felt so good.
“What do you want?” she asked. I could only see her eyes gazing up at me since her mouth was still on my balls.
“Suck my cock like a good girl.” I didn’t mean to be so crass with her, but I loved seeing her like this. I pushed her hair back so I could see her better, and her cheeks flushed as I said it.
She took the instruction and licked from base to tip before sucking off the pre-cum and taking me all the way in.
“Yes, that’s it.” I thrusted into her mouth with my hand lightly on her head.
Her tongue flattened out, and now she was bobbing up and down, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. She looked good, like we were meant to be doing this together.
Like she was mine.
Mine. That sounded right in my head, and I almost let it slip out.