Chapter Fourteen #2
When she finally lifts her head, there’s none of that sharp challenge in her expression anymore. Her sunglasses are gone, tucked safely on the jet ski, and damp strands of hair stick to her cheeks. The sun catches little drops of water across her lashes and nose.
She finally lifts her head from my shoulder and takes a look around. Her eyes move over the clear water, down toward the reef beneath us, then out toward Miami sitting hazy in the distance.
I feel the tension slowly leave her body.
Her legs are still wrapped around my waist, arms around my shoulders, but she isn’t clinging to me anymore. She’s just...holding me.
And fuck if that doesn’t feel different.
My hand moves slowly up her back, and she leans into me like she doesn’t even realize she’s doing it.
“You okay?”
Her eyes come back to mine, and she nods. “Yeah.”
I glance toward the jet ski. “Want back up?”
She follows my gaze for a second before looking at me again.
“No.”
Something about the way she says it—quiet, certain, while staying wrapped around me—hits me right in the fucking chest.
Her fingers curl into the wet hair at the back of my neck, and whatever smart-ass comment would usually come next never makes it out.
Neither does mine.
For once, neither of us needs to fill the space.
I lean in and kiss her slowly.
Her lips soften against mine, her body settling closer as the water moves gently around us.
There’s no rush behind it, no teasing or trying to get a reaction out of each other.
Just her arms around my neck, my hand spread across her back, and the warm Miami sun beating down on us while we float beside the jet skis.
And somehow, this kiss gets under my skin more than any of the reckless ones ever have.
I hold her in the middle of all that blue, and she kisses me like she has nowhere else she needs to be. When I pull back, her eyes stay closed for another second.
Then she leans forward and kisses me again.
Softer this time.
Fuck me.
My forehead rests against hers when we part, and her thumb moves slowly along the back of my neck, and I can feel the shift between us.
I’ve been feeling it all weekend if I'm being fucking honest.
But out here, with her trusting me enough to get into water that scares the shit out of her and staying wrapped around me long after she realizes she’s safe, it feels different.
More real.
Cece opens her eyes and catches me looking at her.
Usually she'd make some smart-ass comment and I'd give her one right back.
But right now, neither of us says anything.
She just brushes her nose against mine before kissing me again, and I hold her a little tighter.
****
That night, we’re back in bed with takeout spread between us and another horror movie Cece swears is good playing on the TV.
It’s not.
“This is fucking stupid,”
She doesn’t even look away from the screen. “You’ve been watching for twelve minutes.”
“And they’ve already made twelve bad decisions.”
“It’s a horror movie, Papi. If everyone had common sense, there’d be no fucking killing.”
“Sounds like a better movie.”
“Then watch a Disney movie and leave mine alone.”
I laugh as she reaches across me for the sauce. I get there first, grabbing it and moving it to my other side.
Her head slowly turns.
“What?”
“Give me the sauce.”
I take another bite, pretending I don’t see the murder brewing in her eyes. “Thought you said please.”
“I absolutely did not.”
“Could’ve sworn I heard it.”
“Revel.”
I grin. “That’s my name.”
She puts her food down and climbs across me, one knee landing beside my hip as she reaches for it.
Immediately, I hold it higher.
“Ay, cono. Are you twelve?”
“Depends. You gonna keep climbing on me like that?”
Her eyes narrow, but I catch the little twitch at the corner of her mouth. “Give me my fucking sauce, pretty boy.”
“See, now you’re complimenting me. We’re making progress.”
“That was not a compliment.”
“Felt like one.”
She drops more of her weight onto me and reaches again, lavender hair falling around my face.
I laugh and wrap my free arm around her waist before she can accidentally knee me somewhere important. “Jesus, Mama. All this over sauce?”
“All this because you’re fucking annoying.”
“And yet here you are, on top of me again.”
“Temporary location.”
“Mm-hm.”
She finally rips the bottle out of my hand and sits back with the most satisfied fucking look on her face.
“Gracias.”
I stare at her. “You could’ve just asked me like a normal person.”
She squirts sauce onto her food. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Well shit, fair fucking point.
I laugh and go back to my food.
That’s about as exciting as the rest of the night gets.
We eat, talk shit about the movie, and somewhere along the way Cece ends up against me. Her head settles onto my shoulder first, then her legs stretch across mine beneath the blanket like she’s been doing it forever.
By the time the movie gets to whatever predictable haunted-house bullshit it’s been building toward, her takeout is abandoned on the nightstand and she’s curled completely into my side.
I glance down and pull the blanket higher over her legs.
A few minutes later, her breathing evens out against me.
I should put something else on.
Scroll through my phone. Get up. Do fucking anything.
Usually, I’m shit at this part.
Too much quiet makes me restless.
My brain starts searching for noise the second everything slows down—engines, training, people, some dumb shit to do just because sitting still has never come naturally to me.
Tonight, I don’t feel it.
Cece is warm against my chest, one hand resting loosely over my stomach, hair spread across my shoulder. Every so often her fingers twitch against my chest or she shifts a little closer without waking, and I’m completely fucking content.
That realization sits heavier than I expect.
Today was fucking perfect. Racing her across the water, watching her laugh every time she sprayed me, getting her into the ocean even though it scared the shit out of her.
Hearing her say she trusted me.
That one still gets me.
But lying here with her feels just as good, and that's the part I wasn't expecting.
I knew I wanted the adrenaline with her.
The sex. The attitude.
The way she gives me shit and never lets me get away with anything.
I just didn't know I'd want this too.
Takeout containers on the nightstand. A terrible movie neither of us finished.
Her asleep against me like this is somewhere she feels safe enough to let her guard down.
My hand moves slowly over her back, and she makes a quiet sound before curling closer.
Yep.
I stare at the TV without really seeing it.
Friends with benefits.
Sure, Mama.
She can keep calling it that if she needs to. I’m not going to push her into admitting something she isn't ready for when she’s finally letting me this close.
But I know myself.
And somewhere between her trusting me enough to climb into that water and falling asleep wrapped around me tonight, this stopped feeling casual.
Maybe it stopped a while ago and I’m only just catching the fuck up.
I lower the volume and settle deeper into the pillows, keeping my arm around her.
For once, I don't need more.
I’m good, right fucking here.