May 31st #4
Savor her. Our relationship.
Because she’s different. Special.
I’m a bit of a mess, to be honest. Especially after the hotness this afternoon. I fully believe that had we not gotten interrupted, we would have had sex.
She definitely wanted to.
I did, too, but even though she said she loved me and even though she admitted it was love at first sight, I overheard her ask Dani how she knew Chase was serious about her.
I really should thank my sister for her response, and I hope it was enough. I hope Ainsley’s not overthinking things.
But if she truly loved me, it would be like the grand slam of life. Like I hit it out of the park .
Chase and my dad talk about the perfect game—the perfect pass. And while Chase and I have had some amazing games, I can’t say I’ve ever felt it was perfection. I’ve been waiting for that feeling. That game.
That girl.
But as I watch her slide her fingers through her hair and laugh at something my sister just said, I know it’s her.
In football—well, in any sport I’ve ever played—I always tell the coach to put me in. I’m younger than Chase by almost a year. For most of my life, I was smaller. But it didn’t matter. I was fast. I could jump. And while other guys waited for the ball to come to them, I’ve always gone for it.
My dad says it’s what makes me different. What sets me apart from the competition.
And I need to go for it with her.
I need her to realize I’m it. That I’m the guy.
I’ve already told her that I love her. How she makes me feel.
Real. Raw. Full of emotion.
Which is something I have never felt. Things have always been casual with the girls I date.
Easy.
And when she glances over and gives me a grin, I wonder how it’s possible that one smile makes me feel completely out of my league.
I study her frame. Her shoulders are back and confident. Her smile beaming. Her dress … damn , on the way it’s hugging her ass .
I immediately move toward her—probably because my hands need to be on that ass.
I feel intoxicated. Sure, I’ve had a couple of beers. But it’s more than that. It’s like my brain is fuzzy around her.
I want to grab her hand, run away, and marry her.
Like, now.
Could we have another wedding while we’re here?
Probably not.
But I do walk over to her, take her hand possessively in mine, and say, “Come with me.”
I have no idea where I’m taking her, but …
“Where are we going?” she asks happily.
“Wherever you want to go,” I say to her.
“Well, since I asked the night of the wedding and you turned me down,” she says with a grin, “how about skinny-dipping?”
Well, that’s a damn good idea.
“It is kinda hot,” I say. “It would be nice to cool down.”
She stops, grabs my shirt, and pulls me close. “You mean, you’re kinda hot.”
“Just kinda?” I say, squinting at her.
She takes a moment to run her eyes down the length of my body. As they make their ascent back up, she meets mine. “Guess I’ll find out soon.”
Part of me briefly wonders if this is a good idea, but I’m gonna go with it. Especially when she grabs a bottle of champagne on the way out.
“You know you’re still way too young for me, right? ”
I grin and roll my eyes because instead of being serious, like she was the night of the wedding, her tone is playful, sexy. “Whatever you say.”
“ Whatever I say?” she says, smiling. “Like, you’ll do whatever I say?”
“Depends. What are you thinking?” Because I really need to know.
“Clearly, I am done thinking for tonight. This is all about fun. Because it’s your birthday!”
“I like fun,” I tell her.
“Good. Follow me,” she says, taking off running, but then she trips and splats into the grass.
I rush to help her. “Are you okay?” I ask, but she comes up laughing.
“Rogue tree root!” she hoots.
She grabs my hand and takes off again. I follow. Laughing too.
She leads me to a secluded spot between the two houses our families are staying in. With the houses and the brightly shining moon, there’s enough light for me to have a good view as she runs down the sandy beach and into the water, stripping off her dress as she goes.
And what a sight that is.
I smile, my grin growing and growing …
But then I realize another part of me is doing the same, and I probably need to calm myself down a little.
Or do I?
She left her bra and panties on—so, not totally naked, which is kind of what we’ve been doing all week with our naked scavenger hunt redos—so I leave my boxer briefs on as well.
When I get in the water with her, she pops the champagne open and then says, “Lean back!”
“And just what are you going to do to me?” I ask in what I hope is my sexiest voice.
She chuckles. “Open your mouth and find out.”
And I’m game. I open my mouth wide, causing her to hold the bottle up and pour so much into my mouth that it spills out the sides.
But I don’t care because the next thing I know, she’s wrapping her arms around me. The champagne bottle is cold against my back, but neither it nor the water is cooling me down.
Especially when she wraps her legs around my waist and starts kissing me.
I literally never know how the night will unfold when I’m with her.
“Can I be honest?” she says, leaning away from me and staring into my eyes.
“I don’t know. Can you be?” I fire back.
“I want you to tell me your birthday wish,” she says. “I want to try and fulfill it tonight since I didn’t get you a present.”
“Oh, well, let’s go to my suite now because I wished for birthday sex,” I say, but I’m sort of teasing. I don’t know if she’s really ready yet .
Or maybe it’s me who isn’t.
She sure looks pretty in the moonlight though.
“Then let’s go,” she says, running her finger under my chin and grinning at me.
I just lied to myself.
I’m definitely ready.
We throw our clothes back on, run back to the house, grab a golf cart, and hightail it to the hotel.
I’m upgrading.
Ainsley
When we get to his suite, we find a bottle of champagne chilling and a chocolate layer cake with a glittery gold 18 candle on the top.
I pick up the note in front of it and read it to him. “ Thought you might like to have some cake on your actual birthday. Jennifer. P.S. I made this myself! ”
“That was sweet of her,” Damon says as he pulls the bottle up from the holder. “Dom Pérignon. Nice. This stuff is expensive. But not a surprise. Jennifer always says there are only three things she splurges on in life.”
“What are they?” I ask him.
“Good champagne, fast cars, and love.”
“She splurges on love?” I wonder .
“Yeah. She had a toxic relationship with her ex. When she went from a guy who treated her poorly to my dad, it was hard for her to believe that he could be, well, nice. And instead of letting it hold her back, she decided to allow herself to splurge on his love. On the love from all of us.”
What he says touches me. And it’s exactly what I needed to hear. If Jennifer, who went through a way worse breakup than me, isn’t letting fear hold her back, then neither should I.
Damon pulls me into his arms. “Okay, you brought me here. What do you plan to do with me?”
“Hot tub?” I suggest.
“Perfect way to relax,” he says. “Plus, I’m freezing.”
“Me too. Oh, hang on,” I say, then run into the bathroom, strip off my wet clothes, and throw on a robe.
I grab the other one hanging in the closet and take it out to him.
He pulls on the strings of the robe and says, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I say with a grin. “Now, get out of your wet clothes and get into this.”
Damon bites his lip and stares at me, then starts taking off his clothes. Right here in the dining room. In front of me.
I swallow hard. God, he is beautiful.
He has his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face, waiting for my reaction.
My reaction is that I’m practically drooling.
Once his clothes are in a pile on the floor, he puts the robe on, but I notice he doesn’t bother to tie it, leaving just the single column of skin that runs down the middle of his body for me to see—from his long neck, bulging pecs, abs of steel, and cute belly button to the middle of the V that leads straight down to, um, his manhood.
My eyes stop there. Seeing it just sort of hanging around—for lack of a better term—like it’s a normal thing in my life, brings out so many emotions for me.
I’m happy, horny, and I want to cry, wondering how I’m lucky enough to be standing here with him.
Because I am in love.
Stupidly, ridiculously, crazily in love with him.
Once I’ve gotten an eyeful, he turns, picks up the chiller, and says, “Let’s bring the champagne out with us. Oh, and can you grab my phone so we can have some music?”
In the hot tub, we drink champagne and kiss, but mostly, surprisingly, we talk.
About everything.
He asks me about Brad and our relationship. I tell him the truth about it, but don’t go into detail about my reaction to said breakup.
And then he tells me something that surprises me. That he’s never been in a relationship.
“Do you do commitment?” I say, possibly in a slightly negative tone. Because I have heard that one before.
“It’s not that. It’s kind of funny, thinking back now. Chase was the same way. He actually sort of dated a girl in high school. For a couple of years. But they were never in a relationship, and both could do whatever they wanted when they weren’t together.”
“So, was it about sex?”
“That’s what I used to think, but what it was really about was love. He was in love with my sister, and no one else compared.”
“Oh, that’s sweet,” I admit, taking another sip of champagne.
“I think it’s the same for me,” he says, looking into my eyes. “Go out with me, Ainsley. Be my girlfriend. I know we have a little age difference. We’ll have some distance while you finish up college, but come to Lincoln with me after vacation. Spend more time with me.”
“Um, I can’t,” I say, swallowing hard. “I have to go to Fort Worth for my internship, and then I’ll be back here, working at the resort until school starts.”
“What if you didn’t come back here?”
“That’s not really an option. My scholarship covers my classes, but I need the money from both the internship and my job to pay for rent and food and stuff. There’s something you should know about me too. Something I’m worried about.”
“What’s that?” he asks, looking concerned.
“I didn’t tell you about this. It was the night when Weston broke her wrist. I called the rehab place that my dad is in and checked on him.”
“How is he doing?”
“I wasn’t allowed to speak to him, but they said he’s doing fine. But it was after that. I started looking up addiction. And I read that it can be hereditary, and that freaked me out. What if I start gambling, or drinking, or shopping too much? You wouldn’t want to be with me if that happened.”
His face breaks out into a grin.
“I’m being silly, aren’t I? Especially about the shopping part.”
“You don’t like to shop?”
“I do, but we’ve never had extra money for frivolous things. And it’s possible that I covet all those amazing designer handbags your mom and sister have. But someday, I’ll buy one for myself. When I earn it.”
He touches my cheek gently and looks into my eyes. “Someday, I’ll buy them all for you. When I earn it.”
And part of me is thinking, That’s the last thing I want. Especially when my mom told me how Dad wanted her to quit her job and she’s so thankful that she didn’t.
But I say, “Okay, I’ll play along. When will that be, big shot?”
“When I get drafted. Don’t laugh,” he says.
“About what?”
“That day I first saw you, I told Chase that if we weren’t together before then, once I got drafted, I’d have you help me decorate my new house.”
“Let me guess. The bedroom?” I joke.
He laughs and smiles at me. “Busted. Actually, yes, I did say that, but now that I know the extent of your talent, I’m upgrading to the full house.
Anyway, he and Dani laughed and said that because you were so pretty, you’d be with someone by then.
I told them it didn’t matter. That once you met me again, you’d dump whoever immediately for me. ”
“Only if you fill my closet with new handbags,” I tease. But what I’m really thinking is how sweet he is. How sincere. How honest.
I move over to sit on his lap and start kissing him.
Things get serious quickly. And it’s quite possible that I’ve gotten myself positioned in a way that it would be super easy to make a minor adjustment and he’d be having himself the birthday sex he wished for.
And while we do engage in a lot of mutual pleasure, it doesn’t actually happen.
Eventually, he says, “I’m starting to get pruny. Do you want to go inside?”
“Sure,” I say, hopping out and putting my robe back on so I don’t drip across the new carpet while hoping maybe he just didn’t want to do it in the hot tub. Maybe he’s waiting to get in bed. Or at least indoors.
He takes my hand in his, pulls me close, and dances with me instead.
“It’s a gorgeous night, isn’t it?” he says.
“If you’re referring to the sky and the scenery, it is. If you are referring to the person standing in front of me, it’s even more so.”
“Oh, using my own lines against me,” he says with a laugh.
But then his cheek is back against mine, his breath on my neck. I close my eyes and just enjoy the moment.
His phone starts beeping.
“What’s that for?” I ask him.
He smiles. “Well, it’s midnight. And my actual birthday.”
“I guess it’s time for cake then!”
I run inside, grab the lighter, pick up the cake, and carry it outside.
“Here, hold this while I light the candle,” I tell him.
After it’s lit, I look into his eyes and say, “Happy birthday, Damon. Blow out the candle and make a wish. Unless you want me to sing first.”
“I have been sung to way too many times, and I’ve already made a million wishes, thanks to the insistence of my little sisters. And I told you what I wished for. Every time.”
“So, make another wish.”
“How many times do I have to wish for birthday sex before I get it?” he flirts.
“Oh, for gosh sake, make a different wish. Surely, there is something in life you want besides birthday sex.”
“But it’s my birthday. I can choose whatever I want,” he argues playfully.
“Fine, it’s your wish.”
As he blows out the candle, he whispers, “I wish that Ainsley would love me forever.”