Chapter 26
26
“Ready for lesson number two?” Joseph asked once we changed into bathing suits and carried the boards to the beach.
I sucked in a deep breath. “I think so.”
“Ava, you were a natural last week. Let’s practice on the sand first, then we’ll get into the water. Turn around. I’ll put sunscreen on your back.”
His warm palms traveled my back, his calloused fingers waking up the tingles over my skin. When he rubbed the lotion on my lower back, I shivered. In the best possible way. Electricity spread through me. His hungry lips sampled the flesh of my neck, and I stepped back to press against him. I wasn’t used to intimate touches from someone, but with Joseph, it felt familiar. And addictive. I’d never get enough. It was as if he knew exactly what I liked. And what made me feel good.
His hands worked over my shoulders and my ribcage.
I turned around, and he handed me the sunblock so I could finish applying it all over my face and abdomen while he did the same. When I was done, I applied some to his ripped back and loved the feel of his muscles undulating under my touch.
When he pivoted to face me, Joseph’s forehead met mine. “Good to go?” he whispered. Right there, I was melting, and the sun wasn’t even at its zenith yet. Every inch of my skin blazed with a newfound awareness.
I nodded with an exhale, pushing my shoulders back, ready to ride the wave.
“That’s my girl.”
Happiness bubbled inside me when he said those words. Yes, I loved the idea of being his.
We were one hour into the surfing lesson when I lay flat on the board. For the last five minutes, we’d been paddling for fun beside each other. “I’m done. My arms are spaghetti. I’m hungry. And I feel like I haven’t slept in weeks. Can we go and grab some food?”
Joseph tugged my board to his so the waves wouldn’t move us apart and claimed my lips. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’m starving.”
Under the shadow of mature trees, we spent the afternoon napping on and off in a hammock behind Joseph’s house after our lunch shift at Ocean Mist. It was a small cottage with an attached garage his stepmom, Amanda, kept after her divorce from Kelly’s father. It had baby-yellow siding, white shutters and trims, and beautiful flower beds all over the front lawn.
“Hey Avalon, wake up,” Joseph said, peppering kisses all over my face, his fingers tickling me at the waist, sometime later. “It’s date night. We gotta get ready. Or we forfeit the entire thing and stay here all night. I won’t object. Whatever pleases you the most.”
My eyelids popped open, and I part-laughed and part-screamed, writhing against him, unable to take the torture of his digits any longer.
“Fine. See, I’m awake. Let go of me.”
His lips descended to mine in a slow torturous kiss. We broke apart, and a loud yawn passed the seam of my mouth.
“Sorry. All week, I have been looking forward to tonight.” I stretched my arms over my head. “I’m just so tired right now. Gimme fifteen more minutes.”
“Am I allowed to kiss you while you wake up?”
I bobbed my head fast.
“Oh, I love this game. You can’t open your eyes too soon,” Joseph murmured, his lips molding to mine.
He moved over me, steadying the hammock so we wouldn’t tip over, careful to not crush me under his weight.
His tongue and teeth toyed with the flesh of my neck. I trembled underneath him. “Never stop.”
“I don’t intend to,” he said, more breathless than usual.
I arched my back, relishing every sensation invading me, some of those I was feeling for the very first time. My skin heated up. Sounds I never heard before tumbled out of my mouth. My arms wrapped around his neck, holding him as close to me as possible. The need to rub my lower self against the bulge in his shorts became unbearable.
Soon our make-out session turned steamier than it’d ever been.
“Fuck,” Joseph said, lifting himself on his arms and breaking the connection of our bodies. “We can’t keep doing this, or I’ll humiliate myself.”
I pinched my lips together to avoid laughing. I had no idea if I looked as aroused as he did right now. But this was a good look on him. Reddened lips, tousled hair, flushed face, and eyes filled with twinkles.
I twisted the wild strands of his hair around my fingers as he evened his breathing.
“It was kinda hot,” I said, once the palpitations in me lessened. I chewed on my bottom lip, daring myself to ask the questions on the tip of my tongue. “Did you ever have sex?”
His eyes found mine and settled there for a moment. Softness filled his gaze.
“Thrice. First time was awkward. Second and third, much better. That summer, we thought we loved each other. Turned out she started dating one of my friends weeks later.” He cupped my jaw, his eyes trained on me. “Have you?”
I shook my head, feeling my cheeks warming up. “I had a boyfriend. We broke up before I got here. I think we’re better off not dating. The breakup was a mutual decision. We were more like good friends hanging out. There were no sparks. Now I’m certain. We talked about it, but it felt wrong.”
“Ava, I’ll never force you to do things you’re not ready for,” he said. “I hope you know that. I’m not that kind of guy.”
“I know. Up until this instant, I’ve never felt the ache to do it. I’m still not ready, but I might get there soon if we keep things this heated between us.”
We exchanged timid smiles.
“No pressure, okay? We’ll take things slow and see how it goes.”
“Anyway, we’re not even dating. Not officially at least,” I teased, laughing at Joseph’s shocked expression.
“Well, huh, you beat me to it. I had planned to ask you tonight. But since we’re talking about it, Ava Pierce, would you officially be my girlfriend?”
Tugging at the hem of his tank top, I pulled his head down and met his mouth. “Yes. If you hadn’t asked me, I would have tonight,” I said with a wink. “You looked too handsome—and sexy—earlier today on that board. How can a girl resist?”
“I did?” His brows reached his hairline, and I deepened the kiss.
His tongue danced with mine as we lost ourselves in yet another breathless kiss.
I nodded. “I couldn’t stare anywhere else. It was hard to focus on the lesson.”
“Now that I have learned you have a weak spot for me, I know how to torture you. The thing is”—he tugged at my lower lip with his teeth—“you looked pretty sexy yourself in that tiny bikini, Avalon. I may have threatened three guys with my eyes who watched you a little too closely.”
“You did? For me?”
“Yes. Now let’s go before we can’t move from this hammock.” He jumped to his feet and lifted me over his shoulder while I laughed my heart out. Joseph’s palm smacked my ass, and my laughter doubled. Images of Ryder carrying me the same way, but without an ounce of cheerfulness, invaded my mind, and I pushed them away. Stay out of my mind, Ryder. I swear you’re not invited.
Joseph lowered me to my feet, but I locked my legs around his waist before he could put me down.
“I love it when you’re in my arms,” he said, his palms gliding over my back.
“And before I don’t have the guts to tell you, you’re allowed to touch me, okay? If it gets too much, I’ll tell you.”
His excitement died down. “You sure?”
“Affirmative. It felt good earlier when you put the sunscreen on my back. And minutes ago, it felt incredible.” I shrugged. “We could start there.”
He studied me for a full minute. “Okay, I might take you up on your offer.”
My lips pouted a little. “Please. I promise I’ll be honest with you.”
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, my heart doing happy flips in my chest at the idea Joseph and I were going on our first official date together. Wearing beige cargo shorts and a blue polo shirt that made the color of his eyes pop, I couldn’t seem to stop looking at my boyfriend—I loved this word. We rode in his truck, and since we had left his house, he hadn’t released my hand once.
Every few seconds, we exchanged heated gazes and stupid smiles. Yep, we’d be one of those couples.
“Who knew the angry girl I met on the bus that morning would turn out to be the one I can’t stop thinking about?” he asked after he stopped at a red light and leaned over to kiss me.
“Your smile was blinding me that day. I couldn’t understand why you were so cheerful for nothing. Who’s excited about a two-day bus ride with a bunch of strangers? I’m glad your optimism bled on me. And that you declared us besties. You make this whole summer worth it.” I squeezed his hand.
“If I only get you for the summer, I better make the most of it.”
We drove in a comfortable silence.
“Please don’t talk about a deadline. Just thinking the summer will eventually be over gets me all emotional,” I said, fidgeting with the bracelet around my wrist. “I’m not good with separation.”
“How so?”
“It’s complicated.”
His hand caressed my thigh. “I won’t bring it up. Let’s just enjoy our time together and see where it takes us. I’m not ready to think about after us yet.”
I nodded, my conflicted emotions sticking down my throat.
“Hey Avalon,” Joseph said, his fingertips tracing my cheek, awakening butterflies in my stomach. “I’m sorry. Don’t be sad. It wasn’t my intention to make things awkward.”
He pulled into a gravel road and stopped the engine at the end of a driveway. “Come here, you.”
Unbuckling my seatbelt, he pulled me to him after he pushed his seat back. I straddled his lap, my back pressing against the steering wheel. His scent, ocean and something exclusive to him, filled the cab. I gasped when his large hands framed my face. “We’re in this together, and we’ll figure it out. Let’s enjoy our summer together for now.”
“About what we discussed earlier...” I felt my cheeks burning up under his attention. “Can we continue where we left things off?” I asked.
“Avalon, we don’t have to rush into anything. Let’s go slow.”
I combed his hair back, massaging his skull with my fingers. “My best friend from home and I decided this summer would be one to remember. Try new things. Like surfing. Meet new people. Get out of our comfort zones. And when I’m with you, I really want this summer to be special because you kinda make me want to embrace it all. With you. And if you desire it too, even though I’m not ready to have sex yet, we can still enjoy other things. I’m not super experienced, but the sensations I felt earlier when we were kissing made me feel good. I want them back. If you’re the one providing them.”
My lips descended to his, and Joseph kissed me back.
“I love it when you speak what’s really on your mind and are honest with me.”
Joseph was right. I usually didn’t open up that much about myself around him.
His mouth returned to mine, and we took our time. His lower self swelled underneath me, and I couldn’t help myself from rubbing against him. He broke the kiss, panting, and nestled his face in the crook of my neck.
“Okay, let’s make a deal. We’ll wait until after dinner. If you haven’t changed your mind, I know a few tricks that could get you back there.”
“Thanks,” I said, unable to control the heat wave traversing me. “Can we do something first? To see how it feels?”
“What do you have in mind?”
I knitted our fingers together and brought his hand over my chest until he could mold his palm to my left breast. We both sucked in a breath as Joseph touched me in an intimate manner for the first time.
“You good?” he asked, barely able to look at me, his face flushed.
“Perfect.”
Holding on to each other, Joseph’s chin rested on the top of my shoulder. We stayed in each other arms while his hand went back around my waist.
“Hungry?” he asked, breaking the symphony of our combined heartbeats.
“Famished.”
“Perfect because we happen to be at one of my favorite spots around here.”
We exited the truck. With one hand, I pushed the back of my white A-line summer dress down as the breeze lifted it up. “You’re gorgeous tonight,” Joseph said. “You always are, but there are sparkles in your eyes now that weren’t there before.”
I mirrored the tilt of his lips. “It’s all you. You put them there.”
He grabbed a bag from the backseat and locked the doors. “I prepared a picnic last night. There’s a field, and the sunsets are beautiful there. The property belongs to Amanda’s great-aunt, so nobody will disturb us. You’ll see, it’s amazing.”
We walked through the high grass for ten minutes before we arrived at a fence made of old hemlock trees. “Let me go first.” Joseph jumped over the four-foot height like it was the easiest thing he ever did. “Gimme your hand. When you’re high enough, swing your legs over the rail.”
I did as he said, but soon Joseph lost his balance, and I landed on top of him, both of us giggling like little kids.
The air surrounding us heated up with promises we hadn’t defined yet. A warm breeze swept our faces. Spellbound in each other’s gazes, we didn’t move or say anything.
Before I lost my boldness, I kissed Joseph like the starving girl I had become since our little make-out session in the afternoon.
Straddling his hips, I sucked on his tongue and glided my hands under his shirt, grazing the skin of his abdomen for the first time. A loud growl broke the silence.
His sex hardened right where it felt good, and I rocked my hips over his, desperate to increase the friction. Joseph’s hand pushed the hem of my dress up, and his rough palms made their way to my thighs. I combusted under the delicate touch.
Without a warning, he flipped me over until I lay on my back. “You really wanna do this?”
I nodded, unable to form coherent words, lust having taken over my mushy brain and transforming it into a ball of jelly.
One finger ran across the crotch of my panties. His simple touch electrified my core like never before. “Like that?”
I drew in a short intake of air, trying to hold on to the little composure I had left, and nodded again.
“We better eat then, or I’ll feast on you. We did say we’d take things slow.”
Panting and aroused, I moved to my feet and grabbed the bag. “Show me the way.”
Joseph shook his head, his smile now a permanent fixture on his face, and led me to the side of a small hill from where we could admire the horses and miles of pasture ahead.
“Wow, it’s so peaceful here,” I said, savoring the fresh air as it filled my nostrils.
“I knew you’d love it. I come here when my life is overwhelming or I gotta think things over.”
Sitting on a blanket, he fed me bites of everything as my head rested on his lap. Aware of how much I liked music, he had also brought a portable speaker on which he played all my favorite country music playlists that we’d shared during our bus ride to North Carolina.
I bit into a strawberry, and he swallowed the second half, my eyes mesmerized by the shape of his lips as they closed around the juicy berry. It reminded me of how they felt against mine so many times today. And how good they would feel around other parts of my body if I let him explore each centimeter of my skin.
New tingles woke up inside me just at the thought we could be intimate if I was ready.
“Tell me something nobody knows about you?” Joseph asked.
“Like what?”
“You’re always super secretive about yourself.”
“Nothing that interesting to share. Life as usual.” I paused, feeling bad about keeping him at arm’s length when he always volunteered pieces of him to me. “When I was little, I took in a stray dog and hid him in my room for almost a week without my parents noticing.”
“See, I could tell you had the biggest heart out there. Did you end up keeping it?”
“No. Collin was allergic. But we found a great family to take care of it.”
Joseph popped two grapes into my mouth and leaned forward to kiss me, stealing one in the process.
“Hey,” I called out in fake accusation.
“Yours taste better than mine.”
My hand shaped to his neck, and I pulled him forward, thirsty for his lips on mine.
The sun had descended upon the horizon, and the sky was a display of purplish shades of watercolor. I admired the scenery around us, spellbound by the sight of the field under the low golden light.
“I’m happy,” I said. “Back home, I thought I was. But being here with you makes me realize I was missing out on so many things in my life. I never did anything just for the sake of it. I’ve always played it safe. And now I’m done being Ava Pierce, the girl who never challenges herself, the one always saying yes, even when she wants to say no. Every day, I wanna feel alive like I do now. With you. Except with my friend Iris, I’m more myself around you than with any other person.”
“And it’s a good thing, I suppose?”
“Yes. You make me wanna be brave. And try stuff I never thought possible before. Like surfing. Or being here, in this field, with you.”
Joseph lay beside me, and I nestled in the crook of his arm, relishing the scent of salt water and clean man emanating from him.
We stayed there, enjoying each other’s company and the silence around us. When he turned to his side, taking me with him so I was on my back, his finger traced a line from the valley of my breasts to my lower belly. I quivered from head to toe, my cells shaking with delight.
He nuzzled my cheek, the roughness in his voice spreading goosebumps over my arms. “Still want me to touch you or have you changed your mind?”
I swallowed, anticipation thickening my vocal cords. “I-I haven’t.”
His hand continued its descent, his fingertips painting my skin with unknown sensations I could easily get addicted to.
“You like?” He sucked on my earlobe, his teeth nibbling the delicate flesh.
I was becoming a puddle of molten clay on that blanket, and I didn’t even care anymore. When his digits traced my thigh, I tensed.
“Want me to stop?” he asked
I shook my head. “No. I’ll tell you if I’m not comfortable.”
“Relax then. It’s me. I’ll never hurt you. All I want is to make you feel good.”
In the most torturous sensation ever, Joseph’s fingers traveled to my collarbones before grazing the swell of my breasts and returning to my legs. His fingers pushed under my dress, caressing my thighs up to their apex. Over my underwear, he drew a line with his fingertip, spreading my wetness all over the now-drenched fabric.
Tremors shook me. The foreign sensations, like a tsunami, washed through me, leaving tingles in their wake.
“Oh geez,” I gasped, digging my fingernails into his biceps, unable to stop the unravelment happening inside me. One of his thick fingers pushed the material of my panties aside, and he rubbed my clit in slow circles.
I grew rigid, trying to relax, but barely able to, overwhelmed with the stimuli shooting in all directions deep in my core.
A gazillion stars shone behind my eyelids. I couldn’t keep my eyes open even though I tried. I had no idea how every cell in me could be so sensitive and so receptive to Joseph’s touch. His lips searched my mouth, his tongue cherishing mine in slow strokes. It took me no time to detonate under the pads of his fingers, unable to stay put any longer.
My head shot back.
My back arched.
My toes curled.
My teeth sank into my bottom lip.
And a soft cry passed the seam of my mouth.
The coils around my wild heart loosened. I could take a full breath in only when the surge of pleasure lessened.
My heart tumbled in my chest, and I kept my eyes closed, uncertain how to face my boyfriend now.
He combed my hair back. “Look at me.”
One by one, I peeled my lids open and met the content expression bending his lips.
“Want to keep going?” Joseph asked, the desire in his voice uncontained.
I inhaled, barely able to stay still, the need building up inside me. “Yes. Please.”
In the most delicate manner, one of his digits found its way inside me and slid in and out of my warmth at a steady pace. I yelped at the intrusion at first, but soon it wasn’t enough. I had to move, to roll my hips over his hand, to increase the contact, unable to stay still, the friction igniting my core. My own hand enveloped his because I feared if he stopped, I would vaporize and never recover. My hips buckled from the ground, chasing those rousing frissons waking up in the depths of me. This was the most intoxicating state I’d ever been in. Even though I tried, I couldn’t stop writhing underneath Joseph as I pressed his hand firmly against my center. My hips rocked back and forth, increasing the tempo of our connection.
Muffled whimpers escaped my mouth. Joseph’s lips returned to mine, his tongue taking charge, increasing the whirlwind seizing each of my cells and erasing the embarrassment of becoming a ball of needs about to rupture into a kaleidoscope of colors before his eyes.
I didn’t belong to this world anymore. I was floating, light, blazing with heat.
My body had a mind of its own.
Joseph kissed me with a new passion I never experienced before.
I cupped his nape, keeping him close as we devoured each other’s mouths.
“Joseph, I will—Oh. I can’t—Yes. No. Keep going.” His movements became less precise as he accelerated the pace. My vision blurred. I lost all sense of time.
Something clenched in my core. A bright light shone behind my closed eyelids.
“Let it go, Ava. I’ll catch you on the other side. I’m right here. With you.”
A buzz started in my belly and expanded through my being. My head turned. I breathed faster. When I thought I’d die, a sensation I couldn’t describe erupted inside me, swallowing me whole before I fell over the edge in a bliss too strong for words.
I tried to catch a full breath, but every cell in me shuddered with the release that shook me to the core. Never on my own had I achieved such a powerful relief.
“Ava, look at me,” Joseph pleaded. I could feel the rigidity of his manhood against the side of my leg. “Open your eyes. Let me see you.”
I cracked my eyelids open, and my gaze met his. I blinked some of my shyness away, deciding to trust him fully.
A satisfied grin curled his lips. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“How was it?”
I blinked, trying to reboot my brain to form thoughts. And sentences. “Amazing.”
“Got those butterflies back?” he teased.
“More than I bargained for.” I swallowed, my body slowly making its way back to Earth, sensations returning to my limbs, and the jelly in my brain evaporating. I put a hesitant hand over the crotch of his shorts. “Can-can I touch you?”
His throat bobbed a few times. “You don’t have to.”
“But I want to. Just tell me what to do. What you like.”
He positioned my hand over his erection, and blanketing my hand with his, he moved them over his shaft in long, slow strokes. Once I got into the rhythm, he removed his hand. His hard-on twitched under my palm, and I tightened my grip around him.
“Like that?”
He nodded, his eyelids hooded, and his teeth sinking into the tip of his tongue.
I worked him a couple of more times, then asked, “Can I feel you?”
“You sure?”
“Yes. I want to.”
Joseph unzipped his shorts, and when he lowered the waistband of his boxer briefs, his length saluted me. I blinked at the first fully erect penis I’d ever seen. With a tentative gesture, I fisted the heated part of him and motioned my hand up and down like he showed me. I relished the softness of his flesh and the hardness underneath it.
A string of loud curses tumbled out of his mouth. “This feels too good. I won’t last long.”
I accelerated my movements, relishing how Joseph fit in my fist. His eyelids fluttered. His breathing kicked up a notch. He tried to stay still, but his hips increased the tempo, fucking my hand. Our eyes stayed locked, and I could read the pleasure lighting up his irises under heavy lids. In that instant, I realized he had surrendered himself to me. With no restraint.
Something I had yet to achieve. Because even when I let him finger me earlier, a part of me was still holding back.
He put a hand over mine to stop me. “Ava, if you keep going, I’ll come.”
“Then do. You made me come twice.”
Focused on my task, I tightened my grip around him and pumped him as fast as I could. Joseph lifted his shirt, exposing his chiseled abdomen, and at the same time, he shot his semen over his taut stomach in powerful jolts.
He exhaled. Then breathed in again before meeting my eyes.
I watched him, transfixed.
“Come here, you,” he said, pulling me to him and kissing me as if I’d just rocked his world. In a sense, maybe I had. Because he sure rocked mine minutes ago.
I lost myself in the kiss. I was still floating from the orgasms that had rippled through me. For the next hour, after we cleaned ourselves up with napkins, and until darkness had almost fallen completely upon us, we cuddled on the blanket, no words necessary to express the connection and contentment that now bound us.
On the way back to my house, we both barely said a word, the width of our smiles betraying, without a doubt, the level of intimacy we had experienced. This felt right. Everything about Joseph felt like it was meant to be. I scooted over the seat until my head rested on his shoulder, enjoying the feel of him next to me. Catching me after I fell, like he promised.
The entire ride, our hands were linked together, resting on my thigh.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
I nodded. “And you?”
He nodded and kissed the top of my head. The vibrations of the vehicle tamed the flames still burning strong inside me.
When I left his truck twenty minutes later, I was unable to get rid of my grin.
“You look happy. Satisfied,” he said.
“Yes. Still surfing a high. All pun intended,” I said with a wink. “Not sure how I’ll even sleep tonight.”
His fingers connected with mine as we made our way toward the house.
“Me neither. Can I see you tomorrow?” He inched closer and kissed me one more time, pressing my back against the wall.
“I have a girls’ day out.” I grimaced. “Right now, I wanna cancel my plans and keep experimenting with you instead. It’s a shame because I have the whole house to myself for another day.”
“Tasha?”
I nodded.
“Enjoy your day with her. Don’t worry. We’ll have more occasions to be together. Don’t cancel for me. I’m glad you’re making friends in town.”
We kissed a dozen times more before I begged him to drive away. My gaze followed his taillights as he disappeared into the night. My mind was still with the boy who had changed me for the better tonight. The one I didn’t wanna wash off me in case all of this was just a naughty dream.
I landed back into reality when I noticed Ryder’s truck parked in the driveway. Inhaling some much-needed peacefulness, I entered the house, hoping he was already asleep in the guest room.
“Hey, where have you been? It’s past midnight.”
I raised a finger to stop his comments as I walked past him. “No. Not tonight, Ryder. Keep your nasty comments to yourself. I won’t let you steal my happiness away. Night.”
I retreated to my room. Soon the sound of footsteps resonated behind me. Closing my eyes, I prayed he wouldn’t follow me because I wasn’t in the mood for another altercation today. All I wanted was to never escape the state of bliss I was basking in.
At the threshold of my bedroom, I spun on my heels, readying myself in case he didn’t get the message.