Chapter 27
LINCOLN
Children hopped from rock to smooth rock at the tide pools next to the pier. Picnic blankets and umbrellas covered nearly every inch of the beach.
A parade had come past a few minutes ago and live music picked up again at the small beachside bar where Sofia and I had settled. There would be fireworks later, but for now, people were celebrating the red, white, and blue by having a ball on and around the boardwalk.
Sofia’s chin rested on the bridge formed by her fingers, her elbow on the plastic table between us. She had angled herself so she was sitting more beside me than across from me; her back to the inside of the restaurant and her gaze focused on the festivities taking place on the beach.
Carnival games had been set up a little way down, and a heated volleyball game was going on at a net set slightly off to the side in front of the beach shack housing the restaurant and bar. She hadn’t stopped smiling since we’d arrived about an hour ago.
Dipping her head to suck at the bright blue straw sticking out of her frosted cocktail, she swallowed and sat back in her chair with a contented sigh. “I love the fourth of July. Thanks for agreeing to spend the day with me. I’ve been really excited about it.”
She didn’t look at me, but I heard the sincerity in her voice. In the days since our fishing trip, we had kept texting multiple times a day. If I was being honest, I had been looking forward to spending more time with her.
“Yeah, I’m happy to be here with you, too.” Shifting in my chair to be closer to her, I slung my arm over the back of hers. “What do you want to do?”
“Stay here, have a few more drinks and something to eat. We can move to the beach before the fireworks start.” While she spoke, she slid her chair right up against mine and draped her hand casually over my thigh. “Unless there was something else you wanted to do.”
“Nah. I’m okay with that plan.”
As she got comfortable relaxing against my side, my fingers drifted to her shoulder and drew patterns on her warm bare skin.
She had matched her outfit to the occasion. Wearing a red cotton dress with broad straps, blue and white ribbons around the pigtails in her short hair, and a deep blue belt cinched under her breasts, she looked sexy as fuck and adorable at the same time.
From my new vantage point pressed up against her, every time I dropped my gaze to look at her, I caught a nice bird’s-eye view of her cleavage as well. I couldn’t complain, but it was going to make it damn hard to keep my hands to myself.
A slight shiver passed through her as I kept up the absentminded movement of my fingers, and she glanced up at me without moving away. “Enjoying yourself?”
“Absolutely.” I flashed her a grin. “But I kind of wish you were wearing more clothes. Just while we have to be out in public.”
She swatted my bicep, but the shade of her cheeks colored until it almost matched her dress. “Stop it. We’re not here for that.”
“Oh, I know. That’s why I wish you were wearing more clothes.” I dropped a kiss on top of her head and had to fight the urge to tug at a pigtail. What is it about those things that make them so damn tempting to mess with?
“I would offer to put on the sweater I brought with me for later, but it’s way too hot for that. Sorry, but you’re going to have to suffer right along with the rest of us.”
“Why are you suffering?” I pulled my head back to be able to see into her flecked hazel eyes.
Just when I had a proper view of them, they rolled and she arched a brow at me. “Seriously? You’re wearing a shirt that has no sleeves, is so tight that I can just about see your abs, and those shorts don’t make much of a secret of your… bulge, either.”
“My bulge?” I laughed, nudging her with my shoulder. “So that’s what you’re into then, huh? My arms, my tummy and my bulge?”
She scoffed, but amusement sparkled in her eyes. “What you have is not a tummy. Normal people have stomachs or tummies. You have motherfucking abs.”
“Motherfucking abs. I like that.” A smirk tugged at the outer edges of my lips. “But I object to not being a normal person. I’m just as normal as anyone else.”
“So not at all?” she teased but then straightened up to brush a kiss to the underside of my jaw. “Let me clarify then. You’re built like freaking Iron Man, not a normal man. On the inside, you’re no different from the rest of us.”
“Thank you.” I began drawing my patterns again. “For the record, I’m pretty sure Iron Man’s suit is what makes him built.”
“Probably,” she agreed. “To answer your original question, I’m not into your arms, abs, or your bulge. Believe it or not, I’m into you. Like the whole package.”
“So it’s all about the package then?” I joked because I needed a second to process that she’d admitted to being into me. It was closer than we’d ever been to talking about feelings, which wasn’t a conversation I was usually okay with.
Strangely, hearing it from her made weird shit happen in my chest, but it didn’t trigger the urge to get the fuck out of there.
Sofia laughed and poked me in the ribs. “I’m not talking about your package as a synonym for the bulge, but you already know that.”
“Yeah,” I said, bringing my arm forward on the back of the chair so it was almost completely draped around her instead. “I’m into you, too.”
“Good.” She flashed me a wide smile before hiding it by tucking her head into my shoulder. “Now that we’ve established that, can we go back to talking about what you want to do later?”
As she turned into my side, she slid her arm up and around my stomach. Her voice was muffled by my shirt, but I didn’t try to pry her out. I liked having her tucked into me like this.
Tightening my grip on her shoulders and pressing yet another kiss to the top of her head—because I seemed powerless to stop myself from doing it—I returned her semi-hug.
“Do you want to go play some of the carnival games later? I saw they had bowling and human ring toss. It could be fun trying it out.”
“Yeah, that does sound like fun.” When she moved her head to face the boardwalk again, she kept the rest of her body tucked against mine.
“I’m really good at balloon darts. There’s a bin at each booth where you can donate your prize to a local charity.
I’d like to donate at least three, but balloon darts is probably the only game I’m good enough at. ”
“Balloon darts first, then. I’m pretty sure we could get at least three toys or prizes or whatever at every booth if we go early enough. Want to order some food and get started?”
“Yes.” She clapped her hands and sadly sat up to reach for the menu. It wasn’t like sitting up meant she was much farther away from me than she had been, but I’d liked having her touching every part of my side. “What do you want to eat?”
We ended up splitting a plate of sliders, onion rings, and a few other sides, finished our drinks, and then gave up our table.
There were very few moments that we weren’t touching or talking, and as soon as we started walking toward the games, I reached for her hand and threaded my fingers through hers.
“When do you go back to school?” I asked once we’d taken off our shoes and were walking on the soft sand over to the first booth.
Sofia shrugged, the edges of her mouth pressing in. “The fall semester rotation starts in August, but I might just go back before then.”
“Before August?” My heart did another leap. “That’s really soon.”
Much sooner than I had been expecting. While I hadn’t given it too much thought before, in the back of my mind, I’d figured I had at least another month or two with her.
The news that she was expected back at school within a month and was considering going back even sooner did seriously unpleasant things to my stomach. It contracted and flipped in on itself, making me feel a little nauseated.
Sofia swung our joined hands between us, nodding as she stared off into the distance. “It is soon, but it’s also a bit late.”
“What do you mean?” I focused on the surfers lying on their boards, dipping and rising with the swells as I tried to move past the sudden bout of nausea.
She pulled us to a standstill, digging the toes of one foot into the sand as she peered up into my eyes.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about our conversation the other night.
I’ve been putting things off at school, but I know now that I’m out of my ‘partying and being young’ phase.
I think it’s time to double down on my studies. ”
“What does doubling down mean?” My stomach contracted again and my heart thrummed in my chest. What the fuck is going on with me?
The blue in her eyes seemed deeper with the water in the bay as the backdrop, but there was also something almost sad in them.
“Doubling down for me means finding out if I can join the second summer session of the fast track program. It will accelerate my studies, and if I do well, it would mean graduating by the end of the year.”
“That sounds like a big deal,” I commented. Selfishly, I hated the idea of her leaving early to go back to school, but I also knew it was the right thing for her to do. “If you put your mind to it, I’m sure you’ll be able to do it.”
“Maybe.” She smiled gently, then took a deep breath and spun toward the games again. “Let’s not talk about it anymore for now. Race you to the darts?”
Without waiting for my answer, she dropped my hand and took off running across the sand. I stared after her with a heavy weight attaching itself to my heart. I didn’t know what was happening inside me, but I had my suspicions.
As she’d said, though, this wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Forcing all the foreign feelings into a tight lockbox in my head, I pushed my body into motion and ran after her.
Although I felt heavier than before, I also had fun playing games with Sofia for the afternoon.
We played each game until we’d won three or more prizes for the charity bin.
It turned out that she took supporting the local charities seriously, which didn’t come as much of a surprise after everything I already knew about her.
Eventually, the sun inched closer and closer to the horizon and the announcement came that the fireworks display would be starting soon. Sofia grabbed my hand, a panicked look crossing her features.
“Crap. I got so caught up in the games I forgot we have to go fetch the picnic supplies from the truck.”
A grin ghosted across my lips as I pushed my palm against hers. “Relax, lo—”
What the fuck? I cut myself off before the word “love” could roll off my tongue just like fucking that. “Relax, babe. We’re not parked that far away. If we go now, we can get the blanket and your basket and be back here long before we miss anything.”
Her shoulders dropped, and she smiled as her head bounced up and down. “You’re right. The fireworks display is my favorite part of the day, though.”
“We’ll make it quick. Don’t worry.” I kept a close eye on her, but if she’d caught the near slip of my tongue, she didn’t let it show.
Crowds of people were doing the same thing we had in mind, searching for spaces to spread out their blankets between those already there. A guy with a guitar had taken the stage and was singing patriotic songs in a deep, soulful voice.
Sofia swayed and hummed along to the music as we walked. We kept up a clipped pace until suddenly she slammed to a stop.
“Help!” Someone screamed. “I think he’s having a heart attack. Help!”
I barely heard the words over the music and laughter of the people surrounding us, but Sofia had obviously heard them too. Her head swung around frantically as she searched for the person in trouble with her eyes wide.
“There.” My free arm shot up and pointed at a youngish girl standing over the body of a man about fifty yards away from us.
People were already starting to swarm toward them. Those who were closest began to form a loose circle around. Sofia dug her feet into the sand and ran off faster than I’d have imagined possible with the masses around us.
“Is anyone a doctor?” she yelled as she ran. “We need a doctor over here. Call 911.”
Realizing that she was never going to reach him with so many people huddling around the scene, my own butt kicked into gear. When I reached her, I shielded her with my body and grabbed her hand, forcing our way through when the dumbasses didn’t move fast enough.
“Get out of the way,” I ordered in my loudest, most authoritative voice. “Coming through! She can help. Get the fuck out of our way.”