Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
JOSH
When Avery’s team, aptly named The Toddlers, wins the tug-of-war by making their opponents laugh so hard that they can’t breathe, I’m pretty sure I know whose idea it was to sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” at the top of their lungs the entire time they pulled on the rope. If I didn’t already know it was her favorite song to lead in Playgroup, I can tell by the triumphant grin on her face.
Her ingenuity and natural leadership work for her team for the rest of the activities too. And it even seems to set the tone for the rest of the participants. Sure, the staff told us that the team having the most fun would win, but no one in my group, uncreatively named Team Green, took that seriously. Until we took on The Toddlers in life-size checkers. The combination of having to leapfrog over our opponents while listening to Avery’s trash talk—made funnier by her creative non-swear words—had us all laughing our asses off.
The relaxed atmosphere lends itself well to paddleboat races too, especially when Team WTF—taking a page from Avery’s book—speeds to the win by chanting “Ee-oh-ee-oh” ala the guards in The Wizard of Oz .
But the pièce de résistance is Paint Twister. When I go splat in the gooey finger paint, instead of feeling defeat, I roll off the mat until my clothes look like some kind of deranged Rorschach test and then launch at my teammates, hugging them until they’re covered too.
I’ve never had more fun in my entire life.
And then I think of something that would be even more fun.
Avery is slightly less paint covered than I am, so she drives us back to the cabin. On the way, I share my current concern with her. “I think we really need to think about conserving water.”
She shoots me a look like, I see where you’re going with this . “I’m not sure showering together will actually save water.”
“You could be right.” Since I’m not behind the wheel, I just watch the woman next to me, imagining stripping her slowly.
“What?” She glances over at me briefly. “What’s going on over there?”
I point ahead. “Eyes on the road, missy. We need to get to the cabin in one piece if I’m going to get you clean.”
She keeps her gaze forward, but the way she squirms in the seat has me raring to go. The minute she parks the cart, I’m on my feet. Before hers hit the ground, I’m scooping her up off the seat. She squeals in protest as I carry her up the steps, but she has the key out of her bag and the door open before I can ask, and her head nestles into my shoulder with a sigh as I carry her over the threshold and kick the door shut behind me.
I get the shower going and strip us both out of our paint-sticky clothes. She steps in first, moaning with pleasure under the warm spray, but when she reaches for the shampoo, I ask, “May I take it from here?”
Her eyes spark as she turns to face me, and when she hands me the bottle, she holds up her hands as if in surrender. “It’s all yours. My hair is a pain in the bus.”
“How dare you insult these golden tresses?” I ask with mock indignation. “We’ll just have to lather, rinse, and repeat until you can appreciate them.”
I tip up her chin and protect her eyes while I wet her hair. After I add a big dollop of the rosemary scented hotel shampoo and work it through the soft strands, I begin to massage her scalp.
She groans, her hand reaching for the wall.
“Too much?”
“Just right,” she says on an exhale. “Feels so good.”
I only rinse and repeat one time, but after we scrub off the paint splotches, I nestle her back to my front, encourage her to lean against me, and caress her seam and clit and breasts while the water rains down until she cries out and the waves of a climax rock through her.
And then I dry her off and take her to bed to do it all over again, but this time, I fill her with everything I’ve got.
It’s not easy to separate my naked body from hers, but our stomachs talk us into returning to the larger group for dinner. On the drive over, Avery worries about her hair looking a mess, but no one seems to notice. Instead, her team drags her to their winning spot at the front of the dinner line. Instead of following, I do a little networking. After another inspiring keynote, this time from a CEO passionate about his work with his community partners, conversation flows as we each share what we’ve learned.
After dinner, we break out into small groups again, but this time I’m in a group with others from the private sector. It’s refreshing to see how many in upper management really believe in the upsides of making their communities better places to live. I offer a few ideas, but mostly I’m jotting down notes, soaking up my peers’ experiences like the heart-shaped sponge I toss into my kids’ bath.
Later, Avery and I make love again and then just lie there talking about anything and everything until our words come further and further apart and we relax into sleep.