July 3rd #2
“How can I say this so that I won’t offend you?” Chase stopped the treadmill and just looked at me.
I held up my hands, letting him know that I had no clue, especially when he knew that I was not easily offended. Shit like that rolled off my back, mostly because I didn’t care what other people thought.
“I think I know the answer to this, but humor me,” he said. “Have you ever felt like this about anyone before?”
“No, I have not. And why would that offend me?”
“That’s not the possibly offensive part.
It’s that you don’t know what you will do or how you will react because you have never felt this way.
Shit rolls off your back because you don’t care what most people think.
You care about what your friends and family think.
But what happens when she is mad at you?
When there is a misunderstanding? Or what if, to her, this is just a vacation fling with a guy who crushes on her? ”
When I go into the bedroom and find her sprawled out on the bed, fully naked, I don’t care if I end up getting hurt.
I know in my heart that she’s the girl for me, but I also know that if we don’t work out for some reason, the pain, as well as the pleasure, will have been worth it.
And after the last twenty-four hours with her, I’m even more sure of that.
This list.
Ainsley
I wake up from a blissful sleep, finding myself alone in bed. I take a deep breath and exhale with a dreamy sigh. I’m literally in heaven right now. So happy that I can hardly believe it. And I love that Damon surprised me by showing up.
He’s so amazing. So caring.
So good in bed.
Like, I can’t even.
I close my eyes and smile, then get up, pick my bikini off the floor, put it and my dress back on, and go in search of Damon.
I find him sitting on the front porch, talking on the phone.
He smiles at me and holds his screen in my direction. “Ainsley is up!”
“Hey!” His sister waves at me. “I heard from Auntie Jay that your internship went really well.”
“And Damon said you loved yours too,” I reply.
“It was really cool to see all the work that goes on behind the scenes. The production of live television. I’m so excited to go to their headquarters.”
“You’re supposed to at least pretend that you missed me,” Chase says, coming onto the screen, but I can tell by his lighthearted tone that he’s just teasing her.
“How was the rest of your honeymoon?” I ask. “Was the location as amazing as it sounded?”
“It was even better!” Dani says. “The staff was attentive. The food was amazing. The view to die for. It was wonderful.”
“But we did learn one thing the hard way,” Chase says.
“What was that?” Damon asks as he and I share a confused glance.
“Sex on the beach is … well, just say no, if it’s ever on the table,” Chase says seriously. “Actually, you’d be much smarter to do it on a table.”
“Chase!” Dani screeches. “Don’t tell them that.”
“I’m saving them from possible future disappointment,” he jokes. “And chafing.”
“I’ll be honest,” Damon says, giving me a wink. “It’s always been on my sexual bucket list.”
I need to see this list. Now.
“Cross that shit off,” Dani says with a laugh.
“Exactly,” Chase agrees. “Even if you try to stay on the towel, sand still gets everywhere. And I mean, everywhere. And it sticks to … well, things that are wet.”
“I can’t believe we are talking about this,” Dani says, briefly covering her eyes, “but he is correct. And sand is … well, rough. Especially on the more sensitive areas of your body.”
“And let’s not forget about overtly friendly crabs and their little pinchers,” Chase adds.
Dani starts laughing hysterically. “That was funny though. He was …” She laughs some more. “Let’s just say that things were already going badly when he screamed like a little girl and jumped off me.”
“The damn crab bit me!” Chase says dramatically.
Damon’s eyes get huge, and he goes, “Do we want to know where?”
“It was his toe,” Dani says.
“I’m just glad the little fucker didn’t attack me somewhere else!” Chase exclaims, looking very serious and causing me and Damon to laugh.
“You can’t be talking to them without me,” Haley says, popping her head into view.
“There’s my Hay Girl,” Damon says. “Well?”
Haley steals the phone from Dani’s hand and shows us her leg, sans boot. “It’s off! I go back in two weeks for one more X-ray, and if all still looks good, I’ll be able to start rehab.”
“That’s amazing!” Damon says. “Congrats.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Haley says seriously just as their little sister, Emersyn, jumps on Chase’s lap.
“I want to do the pretty colors, but Mama won’t let me do it myself.”
“Because fire is hot and can be dangerous,” Chase says to her.
“And the boys are naughty,” she says. I assume she’s referring to Chase’s younger brothers, Ryder and Madden. “So, Chase make Emmy pretty colors.”
“What are pretty colors?” Damon asks.
“Smoke bombs,” Dani says. “I was obsessed with the colors when I was a kid too. We’d better go help her.”
We exchange goodbyes, and then I say to Damon, “I’m going to need to see this sexual bucket list of yours.”
Damon chuckles. “There’s not a literal list. But I think most people think sex on the beach in the moonlight sounds like something romantic they’d like to do.”
“I will admit that I’ve always thought the same, but after the sand angels, I had my concerns.”
“All I can remember is loving getting the sand off you in the shower,” he says, his voice deep and sexy.
“That was fun,” I agree.
“And I would like to point out that it was you who ended our getting-to-know-each-other session today.”
I grin. “Whoops.”
He pulls me onto his lap and gives me a kiss. “Do you want to try to get in a round of golf?”
I look at the sky, noticing the clouds rolling in. “Have you checked the weather? It sort of looks like it could rain.”
“Chance of it later this afternoon, but the cloud cover is keeping it cool.”
“I wonder if we can get a tee time,” I say.
He looks at his watch. “I already got one. Can you be ready in about ten minutes?”
I jump off his lap and say, “I can.”
At your service.
Damon
We’re in the golf club, ordering a late lunch when we hear a burst of thunder and rain starts coming down in buckets.
“Glad we finished when we did.”
“Should we discuss the game?” she asks smugly.
I lean over the table, making a circular motion with my hand and lower my head in reference. “Your Highness and Great Champion, I am at your service.”
“Oh, really?” she says as I lift my head and give her a playful smirk. “Does that mean you are ready for round two?”
Hell yeah, I am. Except …
“I haven’t been keeping an exact count, but I’d say we’re well beyond the second round.”
What I say causes her to blush as the waiter delivers our food—her opting for a cheeseburger, fries, and lemonade while I ordered a Cobb salad with grilled chicken and sparkling water.
“We are,” she says, “but I was actually referring to the fact that you told me if you lost at golf, you were going to have to challenge me to mini golf.”
“I think I’d like to challenge you to a different kind of round first,” I tell her, sliding my hand up her thigh under the table and staring into her green eyes.
“We could have them package our food to go, but we’d get really wet.”
I can’t help but chuckle, my mind going to sexy places involving … well, I think you know.
“Damon!” she says, her eyes getting big. “I meant the rain.”
“The rain that ended the drought?” I tease.
I love getting her worked up. In all sorts of ways.
She sits there with her lips pressed shut, trying not to smile. But finally, she can’t hold it any longer and breaks out in laughter. “Let’s eat first—don’t you dare make a naughty comment about that—and then maybe we can discuss the rain.”
“Fine,” I say. “So, what else do you want to know?”
“What’s your favorite meal?”
“Like, ever or everyday type thing?”
“Oh,” she says, looking intrigued. “Tell me both.”
“Favorite meal ever in my life is our picnic. My dad says that food tastes better when the company is good.”
“I will admit,” she says, “that’s definitely high on my list, but I also loved … although technically not a meal, the champagne and cake on your birthday.”
“That was a fun night,” I say with a sigh, remembering.
“It was.”
“As far as favorite things to eat, I love a medium-rare grilled steak, roasted broccoli, mashed potatoes made with cream—gotta be made with cream—almond butter smoothies, and tacos, any kind. What about you?”
“I’ve always thought there is something to be said about food tasting better depending on who you are sharing it with.
So, there are meals I remember that stand out.
Like my mom saved up, and the two of us went to France for my high-school graduation.
I had taken French class in school and could sort of speak it.
But we went to this little town called Annecy.
I really didn’t want to go there, but Mom insisted.
It was gorgeous, set in the French Alps.
There were cobbled streets and old historic buildings built around picturesque canals.
We sat on a rooftop restaurant overlooking one of the canals and ate cheese fondue with roasted potatoes and bread with white wine. It was amazing.”
“I love that story,” I tell her. “Have you traveled much? Do you want to?”
“We used to do summer road trips in the States as a family, growing up, so I’ve been to almost every state except for a few on the upper East Coast. The trip to France and my study abroad in Italy are the only places I’ve been internationally.
The food in Italy and the architecture are incredible.
It’s hard not to be inspired there. What about you? ”