Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
August is my own magnet, drawing me to her.
I didn’t know where I was going until I turned in her driveway, and I knew I had to tell her what’s been going on.
I didn’t tell her about my family, and the reason Molly became my fiancé.
That’s for me to fix. I don’t want to lay that burden on anyone else, because ultimately, it’s mine.
The way her lips melded with mine, as if they were made perfectly for me, when they touched, all these flashbacks hit me at once.
Our first kiss on the beach as the waves rocked us back and forth.
And the night before everything blew up.
That one was earth-shattering and held what was to come.
Same people, two totally different ends of the spectrum.
And tonight, that one held regret, need, and uncertainty from both of us.
My finger lightly skims her back up and down her spine. She’s laying on my chest, bare chested and sleeping. Her breaths shallow.
Leaning my nose down to her hair, I breathe her in.
My eyes roll back into my head. That smell that only August has.
It’s a mix of her own body’s making and the coconut-and-vanilla shampoo she’s always used.
I grin, knowing she’s still using it. Because that smell could bring me out of a coma.
It smells like home. Fuck, so long since I’ve smelled it, I want to cry.
But I force my eyes shut, kissing her head.
I never thought she’d be back here, that I would see her again. It’s been every single candle I’ve blown out on the eight birthdays she’s missed. She’s been my wish. The only time I would let myself think about her is when I’d wish for her, and only then.
I’ll be thirty-two in six months, and I wonder if she’ll continue to be my wish, or will there be another one?
I don’t fall asleep; I lie there all night with August in my arms. How can I sleep when she’s right here with me? I would feel like I’m missing out if I did.
The sun rises, illuminating the morning, erasing the night before.
Rubbing August's hair, I whisper, “Aug, wake up.”
She starts to wiggle awake and also wakes something else up on me. Pursing my lips, “Hey. I have a very important meeting at ten thirty.” I tell her, laughing to myself because she’s my important meeting.
Groaning, I watch her eyes peek open before she slowly rises from my arms. The last thing I want to do is let her go, but I do. I see the look on her face. She's already asking herself what the fuck she did. I can see the war that awoke with her.
August doesn’t leave the sofa; she just sits on the small amount of cushion peeking out from under me.
She sits there looking out to the deck, before her finger comes to her lip, rubbing on it.
Cocking her head, she looks at me; I give her a smile. “Morning.”
Her sleep-filled voice repeats my words.
In an instant, she’s standing, breasts on full display, and my eyes eat them up, seeing them in the morning light.
They’re nothing like they used to be; now they're fuller and rounder, and oh so fucking real.
Licking my lip, I have to divert my attention away from her before she bends down, picking up the T-shirt that slept on the floor last night.
She pads to the kitchen, and I hear the cupboards open and close. “Do you want some coffee?”
My body protests as I lean off the sofa, from being in the same position all night. I rub my lower back. “That would be great,” I tell her before standing up, stretching my body. My button-up is laid over the Lazy Boy in the corner, thankfully now dry.
August watches me from the kitchen, her eyes following me to the hallway.
“Bathroom is out of order.” She pauses. “Thanks to your in-laws.”
I stand there gaping at her. “Ex-in-laws,” I huskily reply before heading out to the deck, deciding pissing outside will suffice.
“I have a porta potty on the other side of the cottage,” she calls to me as I’m entering back into the living room.
“I was going to ask how you’ve been living here.”
The spoon hitting the side of the mug is the only sound before she turns and walks to me, coffees in hand. “Baylee and Kai opened their house up to me.” She raises one side of her mouth, handing me my mug.
I take it, sipping the hot liquid. My free hand automatically reaches out, pushing a strand of her wild black hair behind her ear.
I watch her face grow a slight crimson before she looks down and steps around me, out to the deck.
I follow. But she doesn’t stop, only keeps walking down the stairs and onto the beach, and so do I.
Her footsteps lead the way, and I step into each one of them, making them bigger with my own feet.
She stands at the shore, drinking her coffee and enjoying the morning. Seagulls are out calling to one another as they find their breakfast for the day.
I saddle up right next to her.
She’s the one to break the silence. “I haven’t been in the ocean since that night.”
My head turns toward her, not believing her words. August was in love with the ocean. In it every day. After her mom passed, she stayed out of it a bit, but still enjoyed it. She felt closer to her in the water. “You loved it. Why?” I know why, but I need to hear it from her.
She sips her coffee, dragging the mug from her lips. Lips I was all over last night. Stop, I tell myself.
“Being taken by an undertow will do that to you. That night was already the worst, but adding in almost dying in the same ocean that took my mother made it insanely worse. Being turned upside down, thrown to the ocean floor, and tossed around like a ragdoll changed the way I look at it. I always knew it was its own entity, but that night I truly understood it. And left with a deeper respect for her than I ever did.”
I stand there looking at her and at the ocean, setting my mug down. Holding my hand out to her, I say, “Come.”
Her head jerks toward me. “Absolutely not.” But she lets me take her hand before letting her half-empty mug fall onto the sand.
I slowly lead her through the Swash and her hand squeezes mine with each step we take into the water. The water is cold, but comfortable. Getting to her knees, I look at her. “Are you okay?”
She just nods her head.
“Words, August.” I lift my eyebrow.
I see her swallow hard. “Yeah.” Her lips tremble, but she keeps letting me take her in further, until the water is up to her thighs.
“I can’t go in anymore, Bohdi,” she cries out, squeezing my hand.
“That’s okay. Look how far you came out,” I applaud her. Because that was a huge step she had just taken and trusted me to help her. I could be her anchor, once again, if she’d let me.
She cries, tears leaving wet trails down her cheeks, falling into the ocean, becoming one with it.
Maneuvering myself in front of her, I kiss her cheek before licking the tear that just fell, moving to the other side, cleaning the tearstains from her skin. She stands there shaking, from me or the ocean? I’m not sure, probably both.
I keep hold of her hand as I use the other to wrap behind her neck, pulling her face to mine, kissing her pouty lips.
I’m not sure how long we stood in the water, just kissing. But when we pull away from each other, her lips are swollen, and my dick is hard.
I lead her out of the water and onto the shore, where sand sticks to our feet. “I need to go get cleaned up.” My eyes travel to my soiled jeans. Not just from the water, but from last night.
She gives me a sultry smile. “That you should. I hear you have an important meeting today.”
I start walking but turn around when I don’t see her following. “Are you coming?” I call to her.
“You go on; I’m going to enjoy this morning a bit longer.” She waves to me. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay.” I want to make her come inside, but she isn’t mine, and I don’t want to make it awkward, so I leave her standing facing the ocean, letting her get acquainted with an old friend.
With a look around the cottage, I slip on my shoes and head to my bike. Starting her up, she purrs to life. Vibrating between my thighs. The entire ride to town, I can’t wipe the smile off my face while I maneuver the slick roads.
I thought nothing like last night would have happened when I showed up at August’s. I went with no motive but to tell her the truth, which she deserved to know.
Before I can even park, I notice the car sitting out front of the bed-and-breakfast. “You have to be fucking joking with me,” I growl out, throwing a dirty look at Molly’s car. The immediate tension that fills me is unnatural.
I don’t even need to look around for her; I know she’s already in my room waiting. Everyone around here knows we're engaged; they would give her the key.
Twisting the doorknob, not even needing my key, my room door opens. I don’t walk in; I just stand in the doorway, looking at Molly sitting on the made bed.
Sauntering in, I walk past her, throwing my keys down on the table, followed by my helmet.
“What are you doing here, Molly?” I turn to her, eyes landing on her perfectly made face and hair, not one bit out of place. The only time Molly would get unkempt was when I would fuck her. Ruining her hair and smearing her makeup with my hands.
“I should ask you that question, Bo.” She cocks her eyebrow at me.
“The wedding is off,” I tell her, laughing and focusing on removing my clothes, before I’m standing in front of her buck naked.
She huffs. “The wedding isn’t off. You have a deal with my daddy.” The way she says daddy makes me want to vomit.
Moving to stand right in front of her, “The deal is off. I don’t want to be in a family with people like you all. Now get out of my room. We have nothing else to speak of.”
Her cackling trails behind me. “The fuck we do. We can ruin you.”
I turn around, my dick slapping my thigh with the force. “Do it,” I dare her.
Molly closes the gap between us. My eyes follow her as she gets onto her knees, hand reaching for my dick. But I slap it. “No.”
“No? You’re telling me no.” She huffs like a petulant child.