Chapter 17 #2
“Lola, Lola, Lola… you obviously don’t get it,” he says, emphasizing with both hands. “I’ll explain it all to you later. Just put your shoes back on. Come on.” He scoops them up and holds them out to her like she’s five years old and he’s her daddy.
Lola sticks up her middle finger and kisses it. Smiling at him, she backs toward the sea. David makes an irritated huff and chases after her.
Chloe’s fingers find mine again. “Want to go for a walk?”
I can’t help but squeeze, tracing her knuckles with mine. “Yeah.”
We head off along the wet sand of the shoreline toward the lighthouse, away from where Lola’s skinny dipping while David stands there with his Johnny-Bravo-arms folded.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you avoiding my question earlier.” Chloe squints a frown at me while we stroll.
“What question?”
“Surfing. Tomorrow.”
I sigh. “I gotta get a whole lot done tomorrow.”
“So do I. I need to swing by Mugs for our monthly deep-clean, and I have a stack of laundry up to my ceiling. But look at where you are, Ethan.” She gestures around at the postcard image of an endless beach swathed in moonlight.
“You seriously came all the way to North Carolina just to work the entire time?”
“I’m not working right now.”
She shakes her head. “Not good enough. I can’t let you go back and tell the entire state of Pennsylvania that the only thing worth doing at Inner Shores is having a drink at a bar. Even if that bar is awesome.”
I throw her a side-eye. “You’re one pushy girl, you know that?”
“Is that a yes? I’ll bring the boards.”
Her gaze holds mine as she smiles, and the breath in my chest begins to evaporate as our feet slow and stop against the sand. My fingers tangle through hers, brushing against her skin, making little strokes.
Why am I fighting this when it feels inevitable?
Shit, now I sound like Willow.
Maybe the full moon is fucking with me.
“All right, Chloe. You win.”
She throws her arms around my neck, her chest bumping against mine. “Do you promise?”
“Yeah, I promise.”
Her arms are still around me, our bodies pressed against one another.
I should step back. Give us some space to breathe.
Moonlight highlights her face.
“Stop thinking,” she whispers.
“I don’t think, I—”
She reaches with her free hand to lay her palm over my mouth. “Shhh.”
“Did you just shush me?” I mumble behind her hand.
“I just want you to listen.”
She lets go, and I press my lips together and nod. We both still, our heels digging into the sand while the lapping of the waves swims through my ears.
“Bet you don’t get that sound back in Philly,” she whispers.
“The sound of you shushing me?”
“Shhh!”
I have to laugh. “Inner Shores isn’t entirely terrible,” I admit, tugging Chloe even closer, cradling her against my chest.
Chloe’s palms clutch my lower back, and her lips part with a contented sigh.
Fuck, I need to stop pretending I don’t feel this. Despite my best efforts to fight it… I like her.
I like her in a way I haven’t liked anyone for a long time.
This is bad.
This is terrible.
This is like fighting a fucking riptide.
A tightrope inside me snaps, and I lift her off her feet, my mouth crashing against hers.
Chloe gasps as I mold our mouths together, sucking and biting her lips until they part and our tongues collide.
A deep groan tumbles out of my mouth into hers, and the sensation is so fucking dizzying that we sink into the sand together.
I fall onto my back, pulling her over top of me to cushion her landing.
She’s gasping my name, kissing my mouth like she can’t get enough of me, and I grip her jaw hard and drag our tongues together until she moans.
I could make it my life’s mission to wrench sounds like that from this woman, but somewhere, deep in the back of my skull, I hear the voice.
What the hell are you doing? You said you wouldn’t do this.
“Chloe,” I beg, but she’s straddling me now, and my body doesn’t give a shit what my head thinks. My hands clutch her waist, and I thrust upward, her head falling back as I punch my hips hard against her. Her eyes blister as she presses down onto me.
Holy fucking shit.
Okay, stop before you fuck her right here.
STOP.
A shock of cold air blows over me as I break away from Chloe and sit up on my elbows. She doesn’t look perturbed, though. She just gazes down at me with her eyes shining and her lips curled up.
“Don’t panic,” she says with a laugh. “It’s just a kiss.”
She’s wrong.
That wasn’t a kiss.
That was a fucking earthquake.
My phone jingles from my back pocket—an alarm going off for God-knows-what. Probably a reminder to go to bed so I don’t stay up too late reading.
Chloe laughs into her hands, then gently climbs off me. I feel her smiling eyes on my face as she sits beside me.
“Is it bedtime, already?” she teases.
I can’t give her the satisfaction of telling her she’s right, so I make a noncommittal grunt.
“Come on.” She helps me to my feet, but once I’m up, she doesn’t let go.
We hold hands all the way back to her front door where she rises onto her toes and deposits a soft, lingering kiss on my lips.
For a moment, neither of us moves.
Her forehead falls against my chest, and she lets out a small groan. “We should probably say goodnight,” she murmurs, her breath warm against my shirt. “You’ve had a lot to drink.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” My head is spinning—more from feeling her mouth on mine than anything else. Either way, I’m not thinking straight.
Gathering what’s left of my self-control, I take a step back. “’Night, Chloe.”
“’Night, Ethan.” She squeezes my hand once more before letting go.