14. Summer
SUMMER
W hy is it so bright in here?
My mouth is so dry. Like sandpaper.
Did I get drunk last night?
I pinch my eyes shut, determined to escape the sun’s attempt to rouse me.
I’m not graceful with my movements, grabbing the sheets as I ninja roll across the bed, throwing a leg out onto what I assume is an empty mattress.
But it’s not empty. Why isn’t it empty? I’ve woken up to an empty bed every morning this week.
My eyes fly open. RJ’s still in bed. I look down and my leg is slung over his thigh, dangerously close to his… holy shit… his very erect penis.
What the heck do I do? My head is pounding, and my pussy is throbbing as I try to delicately slide my leg off his. His warm hand glides up my calf and I halt in place, unsure what I should do next.
“Summer…” RJ mumbles sleepily.
I’m about to apologize, when his hands move up under my sleep shorts as his fingertips graze the bare flesh of my ass.
He rolls over on his side, so we’re face to face. His eyes are still closed, and I bite my lips, afraid to wake him with my toxic morning breath.
“Mmm, Summer,” he rumbles, his voice rough with sleep. His hand is still on my ass, and he shifts underneath me, sliding my leg higher so it rests on his hip when his morning wood pushes against the seam of my sleep shorts.
I stifle the moan bubbling up in my throat as he rocks his hips in small movements, seeking out friction.
When the tip of his cock brushes against my overly sensitive clit, a small moan escapes me, and I pinch my eyes shut. I’ll just pretend I was sleeping. Surely that will wake him, and he’ll be disgusted by my desperation and put a stop to this.
But his hips keep moving as his hand grips higher, fully cupping my bare ass. His entire palm is covering the cheek as he guides my movements.
My hands are folded up against me T-Rex style, as I lie there, eyes shut, praying he won’t stop, wishing he were awake and in full control of his actions.
I should stop this, shouldn’t I? Definitely. Except, oh shit, am I going to? Oh my God, if he keeps grinding against my clit like that, I think I’m going to come.
“So warm. Mmm,” he rasps.
Burying my head into my pillow, I clutch my arms tighter to my chest and swallow then my moan as my clit pulses and tingles with each press of his hips.
He stops, and I open my eyes to see him staring at me. His hips thrust once as he lifts an eyebrow, and I nod in response.
We’re really doing this. Dry humping like we did when we were teenagers. Except I don’t remember it feeling this good.
Suddenly, RJ is pulling me on top of him as he grips my hips, moving them at a dizzying pace against his hard length. My arms are pinned between our bodies. RJ is lying there, motionless aside for the way his hands continue guiding my hips up and down. Back and forth.
I’m afraid to move, as if any shift in my body would make this daydream end.
Except it’s not a dream this time. My head’s still foggy from last night, and even though my eyes are closed, the room is too bright, the sounds too loud.
Like the racing of my heart. The whirring of blood in my ears.
The way each breath I exhale sounds deafening.
But then there’s the maddening pleasure building between my legs that feels too good to be true.
Slowly, I unstick my hands from between us and slide them up to grip his shoulders. With confidence I don’t feel, I move my hips, shifting slightly as the head of his dick bumps against my clit. I press my face into his chest and bite my lips to keep from moaning.
“That’s it. Use me. Take what you need, darlin’.”
Oh. My. God.
My hips falter, my movements hesitating as the tell-tale beginnings of my orgasm build and I press my fingers into his shoulders to anchor myself.
“Fuck, I’m close too. Give it to me. Fall apart for me.” His words are a whispered plea against the crown of my hair, his lips tickling my scalp as his breathing picks up.
How does he know I’m close? Surely, he doesn’t remember what I look like right before I come.
The tension and warmth builds, my breaths escaping my nostrils in short, loud bursts.
And then I fall over the edge, my hips abandoning their rhythm as he takes over grinding me against him.
My lips open in a silent moan, the warmth of his skin still pressed against my face as he groans, vibrating his chest. He cups my ass in one hand then clutches my back, sliding one hand up to grip my shoulder, his dick twitching against my belly as he shudders then stills.
Did he just…
His arms tighten around me as he exhales loudly, pressing his face against the crown of my head as if he’s inhaling my scent.
I’m afraid to move. Afraid to face what we’ve just done.
Raven is going to kill me.
How did I let it get this far? How did we let it get this far?
While he initially seemed annoyed that we were double-booked, he has been consistently showing up all week.
There’ve been hints of flirtation at times, but I brushed them off, chalking it up to cabin fever.
If our past is any indication, this is what he does: sneaks around with me for a week and then blows me off.
We’ll get back to Chestnut Mountain, and he’ll act like this never happened.
How did this happen? Clearly something changed last night. Why can’t I remember? Bits and pieces flash through my mind. A spaghetti fight? Something about crabs? RJ carrying me? Did I get drunk?
What does this mean? Does he actually want me, or is this just convenient? Will he change his mind about me like he did in high school? Am I going to finally speak up for myself or let another man walk all over me?
We lie like that for far too long, yet not long enough. Gradually I relax into him, his arms never loosening their hold. His heart is beating rapidly in his chest, but slowly it calms as our breathing syncs.
Why can’t I wake up like this every morning? All week I’ve awoken to a recurring sex dream of this man, and now here I am living it. And I have no idea what to do. I lie on top of him, soaking in the way we’re breathing in tandem, until he shifts and I freeze.
RJ plants a kiss on top of my head and then slides out from under me.
And like an idiot I play possum, pretending I fell asleep.
I listen as he stretches and gets out of bed, walks to the bathroom, and shuts the door.
I hear water running, eventually he brushes his teeth, but I don’t move.
Not even when the door opens and he walks around the room.
Nope. I lie there like a dumb idiot afraid that opening my eyes and facing him will force me to admit my feelings out loud.
Once I’m confident that he’s left the room, I roll over and grab my phone, hightailing it into the bathroom as I lock the door behind me.
Me : I need help!
Lucy : What’s up?
Bella : You can always talk to us!
Lucy : Why are you texting the Raven-free thread?
Me : About that…
Bella : Oh no, did something happen?
Lucy : Did you guys get in a fight?
Me : Not yet, but maybe when she finds out what I did.
Bella : WHAT DID YOU DO?
Me : I think I got drunk last night and admitted things to RJ that were previously only inside thoughts. And I don’t want Raven to know that I’m canoodling with her brother.
Lucy : Nobody says canoodling.
Bella : What does canoodling entail? Just kissing? Heavy petting? Dry humping? Oral?
Me : Um…
Bella : Summer, that doesn’t answer my question.
Lucy : Now I want to know.
Me : You have to swear not to tell Raven.
Lucy : We swear.
Bella : Yeah, we’re not gonna tell her.
Me : I humped the hot firefighter.
Bella : [gif of Jonah Hill excitedly screaming.]
Lucy : When did this happen?
Me : Just now. I can’t remember what happened last night and it was so bright in our room, so I rolled over in bed, expecting it to be empty like it has been every day this week, but my leg landed on his thigh.
And then he grabbed it and started grinding against me and somehow I ended up on top of him and we dry humped like we were high schoolers, except we were both pretending to be asleep the entire time.
Bella : So just dry humping? That’s it?
Me : Yeah. Why?
Lucy : Bella owes me five bucks!!
I should’ve known they placed a bet. As soon as we saw Bella and her guy Hardy together, the rest of us placed bets on when they’d come out as a couple.
And when they would fall in love. We did the same when Lucy and Mike pretended they were just friends with benefits.
It’s not surprising they made a bet about me and RJ.
Bella : Hold on! Summer, did he finish in his pants?
Me : …
Bella : That’s a yes. That means you owe me five bucks, Lucy!
Lucy : Dammit. I should never bet against a man coming in his pants. Rookie mistake.
Me : Wait, our bets for you two were all sweet and romantic. You bet that I was going to dry hump a man to completion? How is that romantic?
Bella : The heart wants what the heart wants.
Lucy : Yeah, but dicks have a one-track mind of their own.
Bella :
Me : Can you guys be serious? What do I do? I just dry humped Raven’s brother and now I’m freaking out.
Lucy : Have you talked to him?
Me : No, I’m hiding in the bathroom.
Bella : Do you want to hump him again?
Me : It’s complicated.
Lucy : How?
Me : I need to tell you something and you need to promise not to laugh.
Bella : You know I can’t promise that. But I promise I won’t laugh at you.
Lucy : What is it?
Me : It’s huge. Like, I don’t know how it’s going to fit huge. And my hands are tiny.
Lucy : Oh?
Lucy : OHHH!
Bella : It’s always the skinny guys.
Me : My thoughts exactly! But what do I do? I’ve never seen one this big.
Bella : So you have a penis problem? A cock conundrum? A dick dilemma?
Lucy : How do you come up with this shit?
Bella : It’s a gift. A girthy gift.
Me : This is serious. What am I going to do?
Lucy : If all these romance books we read have taught us anything, it’s that it will fit.
Bella : It always fits.
Me : I seriously don’t know how that will be possible.
Lucy : What would Ayana Cox do?
Ayana Cox is our favorite romance author.
She writes these amazing stories with the most relatable characters and the most perfect book boyfriends ever written.
Men that would burn the world down for their women.
And they all have big dicks that magically fit.
And RJ’s dick is the kind of dick book boyfriends have.
Bella : Exactly. One of her FMCs would mount that thing with no hesitation. And since you’ve already humped him, you need to mount the hot firefighter now.
Me : And then what? Do I want to risk pissing Raven off just to get tangled up with her brother only to have him ditch me again?
Lucy : Why do you think it will end?
Me : Raven hasn’t talked about RJ much over the years except to say that he just drifts through life, from job to job, person to person.
But the brother she described is not the man staying in this beach house.
He’s been consistent with his daughter, with my kids.
He’s shown up for me in ways Todd never did, in ways I’ve always wanted from a partner.
All the lies I’ve told myself about why this wouldn’t work out are falling apart.
Bella : Because he’s your person!
Lucy : This is perfect! That’s so romantic, and you’re the queen of romance!
Me : It doesn’t feel romantic. It feels stressful. Like there’s too much at stake.
Bella : At ?
Lucy :
Lucy : What do you have to lose?
Bella : We’re not going anywhere. And I doubt Raven is ending a lifelong friendship, she’s too level-headed for that.
Lucy : Exactly. Trust me, I know how it feels when your intrusive thoughts are screaming louder than your logical ones.
Bella : All my intrusive thoughts are perverted, and I usually let them win.
Lucy : We know! LOL Seriously, though. It’s hard to put yourself out there. Remember how hard it was for me to ask you all for help? But I’m so glad I did. Maybe this will work out in your favor and you two can finally be together!
Bella : You could show him your boobs again.
Lucy : Not helping.
Me : I’ll think about it. Not the boob thing. I need to go before he thinks I’m pooping.