Crossroads (17 page)

I welcome the cold water as it attacks my heated skin.  I really need to cool off.  Nick has my insides turning out.  He makes me feel so wanton, so highly aroused, that I find it hard to control myself around him.  I turn to look at him still sitting on the beach with a towel over his lap.  I giggle and point at him and even though I cannot hear him from here I can tell by the way his head tilts upwards and he opens his mouth that he is laughing too. 
He makes me so happy.
  Tears pool in my eyes with the realisation, again, that this will all end soon.  I am the happiest, I think, I have ever been and it is all going to end.  I turn back to the water and take a couple more steps forward. The water is now over my waist, I skim my hands back and forth through its coolness, enjoying the feel of it.  This was a good idea, coming to the beach.  This is a day I will always remember.  We are making happy memories today.

I feel his presence before I hear him over the waves and when he puts his arms around me from behind I sigh with contentment, tilting my head back to rest
against his shoulder.  We stand like that for a few minutes, not talking.  I listen to the waves around us and the seagulls overhead as well as Nick’s breathing close to my ear.  My hands cover his across my torso and our fingers entwine.

“Em,” he begins.  I turn around in his arms and loop my arms around his neck.  “Thank you.”  He doesn’t need to say anymore, because I know exactly what he means.  I kiss him gently on the lips.

“I’m so glad I left my phone at home, otherwise I may never have heard all that you have admitted to me today,” I tell him.

“When I thought that you wer
e running away again…”  His face looks sad but only for a moment before it brightens.  “Hey wait, you were out shopping for a bikini?”

“Yeah?”

“So I could have a photo of you wearing it?”

“Yes.”
  I nod once.

“My hot Aussie girlfriend you said.”

“I did.”  Finally I cotton-on to what he’s getting at, so I explain, “When I woke up this morning, I realised that no matter what we felt for each other, I had to, no I
needed
to, spend this time with you,” I explain.  “I was going to tell you that I wanted more than the stupid arrangement too.”

“Did you re
ally have no idea how I felt?”

I shake my head
.

“Em, I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you earlier.  We’ve wasted so much time.”

“I’m just glad I now know that you reciprocate my feelings, because I really want to be with you too Nick.”  I kiss him for a moment and his arms tighten around me.  “Will you stay with me again tonight?”

“I
thought you said no sleepovers.” He blesses me with a grin.

“You stayed last night!”

“Well, I didn’t mean to, that was an accident.”

“Is that so?”  He nods, still grinning.  “Well this time I’m
asking
you to stay.  I’ve got dinner at my parents’ but you could come over later?”

“Sure.  I could go back to my place for a while, get some fresh clothes,
have a shave…”  He scratches at his two-day-old growth.

“
No, don’t shave.  I kinda like this look on you.”

“You do?”  He grins again.

“I do.  You look ruggedly handsome.”  I play-punch him on the chin, before resting my hand on his shoulder.  I look past him and back to the beach, trying to get up the nerve to say this next bit.  I love the way Nick makes me feel so confident and sassy, most of the time, but being this bold may scare him and I worry about his reaction.  I swallow nervously, unable to meet his eyes.  “Nick, why don’t you bring over some clothing and stuff and, um,” my voice is reduced to a whisper, “stay for a while.”

I feel his shoulders tense and I’m not sure
, but maybe, his breath stops for a moment too.  I hazard a glance to his eyes, expecting to see horror and panic.  But instead I am met with understanding.  He understands that ordinarily, at this stage in a new relationship two people wouldn’t move in together.  But our circumstances aren’t ordinary.

“Are you sure?” he
asks, his voice shaky.  He swallows as his eyes search mine.  I nod and a humungous smile adorns his face.  “Hell yeah!” he yells and lifts me up and out of the water causing me to squeal with laughter.  He holds me up high above his head and I again marvel at his strength before he slowly slides me back down his body.  My feet hit the underwater sand and I cling onto his biceps to keep myself upright because my knees suddenly feel weak.

A
gain we are attached at the mouth and I feel Nick walking me backwards into deeper water.  We keep kissing and walking, kissing and walking, until the water is hitting just below my shoulders.  That’s when Nick grabs me roughly by my arse and lifts me up.  My legs curve around his back as he squeezes me to him.  His mouth moves down the side of my face and he kisses my neck.  As we sway together with the waves I feel his hardness at my apex.  I start to rub up and down against him in the water.  I feel him tugging at the string ties on the left side of my bikini bottoms.

“Nick,
I-” I moan his name, unable to complete my sentence as I feel the tie come loose.  His hand moves to the other side and a moment of sobriety comes over me.  “Nick don’t.  What if someone sees?”  I look around and find there isn’t another soul out here.  We’re underwater, no one can see.  “Wait.  Let me.”  Nick holds onto me as I tug the second tie undone and then grasp my bikini bottoms tightly in my hand.  Lifting them out of the water I dangle them in front of his face, “I can’t have them floating away now can I?”

“Absolutely not, that scrap of material you are holding is by far my favourite piece of clothing, ever.”

“Well I was more concerned about the fact I wouldn’t be able to leave the water without them, but if they mean that much to you-”

He cuts me off by pressing his lips to mine and I’m unable to remember what I was saying.

She grips my shoulder tightly and I feel the wet material of her bikini bottoms
in her hand, swinging against my back.  Her legs wrapped firmly around my waist.  I tug my shorts down a little, just enough, then I’m sliding inside her, into that tight little piece of heaven.  Her fingers pull on the hair at my nape and she crushes her lips to mine.  Tongues thrashing, arms tightening, pulse racing, hips thrusting as the world moves on around us.  The small ripples of the water jostle us slightly with each wave, adding to the overwhelming sensations.  I feel free and loved in this moment, the warmth of the sun on a hot day paling in comparison to the warmth in my heart of being here, with Em.

“Nick,” she moans
, breaking free from my lips.  I push my fingers through her slightly dampened hair as our eyes connect, no it’s more than that, it’s like our souls connect when we gaze at each other.  Every time with Em feels like I’m getting closer to a place I won’t be able to recover from.  She tosses her head back and dips the ends of her hair further into the water, arching her back.  Her breasts are drawn closer to my face, a nipple pokes out with the movement so of course I move my head down to capture it with my lips.  She moans again and I’m finding it harder to keep my control.

“Come for me baby,” slips from my mouth and she flips her head forward to face me again.  The intensity in her eyes when she is this close to coming is beyond incredible.  It hurts my chest that those green eyes look
this way because of me. 
I
make her feel this way. 
Me.

Nobody else.

She’s mine now.

“Yes,” she murmurs a
nd I feel her tightening around my cock. 

“Yeah?”

“Oh Nick!” she says, convulsing in pleasure.

“Em,” I groan into her neck moments later
when I come.  I let out a satisfied sigh, wrapping my arms tighter around her.  She tightens her internal muscles giving me a couple of squeezes, making me groan.

Eventually I let her go.
Slipping free, the water now feels much colder than before.  Her feet find the ocean floor and she attempts to put her bikini bottoms back on.

“Can you give me a hand?  They keep trying to float away,” she
says with a giggle.

“You hold them in place and I’ll tie them up.”  Reaching down between her legs I cannot resist
fondling her a little first.

“Nick, cut it out,” she giggles.  “You’re insatiable!”

“Only for you,” I whisper, tugging on her ear lobe with my teeth.  She gives me a not-so-gentle shove on the chest, knocking me backwards.  “Aye, that’s enough of that!” I scold her with a chuckle.  “Now stand still.”

Em once again pushes the scrap of material between her legs and I fumble to tie each side up for her.  When finally done, we start to move to shallow
er water.  Once the top half of Em’s body is exposed I quickly pull her down in the water beside me.  I yank her a little too forcefully and her mouth goes under.

“Nick!”  She coughs and splutters.  “Why did you do that?”

I silently move my hand to her breast, moving the material.  She looks at me and rolls her eyes in mock annoyance.

“
Your nipple was poking out,” I explain with a laugh.  The cheeky look on her face disappears, replaced by shock and embarrassment.

“It was?”  She looks down at her now adjusted bikini top.

“Yes it was.  So excuse me if I don’t want every other guy around here to cop an eyeful.”

“Oh
, that’s sweet.”  She loops her arms around my neck as we continue to kneel down in the water.  “You were taking care of me.  I thought you were just trying to cop a feel.”  My hand moves of its own accord to do just that.

“Now would I do that?” I ask
, cupping her breast and squeezing it softly.  And that’s when she shocks me again, by lifting herself up and quickly forcing my head underwater, catching me off guard completely.  When I re-surface she is a couple of metres away, walking fast through the water, back to shore.

“Oh no, you don’t
!” I call out, chasing her.  I capture her almost instantly and tug her under.  The fury in her eyes when she comes up for air makes me wonder if I should have done it.  I’m momentarily distracted by the fact her hair is finally wet all over, making her even sexier, and she manages to dunk me under the water again.  When I pop my head back up I try to tug her back down, but she slips free and twists to splash me. 

“You were saying?” she asks through a giggle
, walking backwards, continuously splashing me, taunting me. I stand up and cross my arms, scowling at her, which only makes her laugh harder.  “Ooh I’m scared,” splash, “tough guy,” splash-splash, “that’s it, take it like a man Nick!” splash-splash-SPLASH!  That last one covers my face and I have to uncross my arms to wipe at my eyes so I can see her.  She stands a couple of metres away in knee deep water, with a glorious smile on her face, her beautiful body barely covered by her Aussie bikini.  “Cat got your tongue Nick?  You got nothin’ to say, huh?”

She taunts me even more by putting her hands on her hips and giving them a shake.  She’s right, I am speechless.  She sa
id earlier that I take her out of her shell, well, she leaves me speechless, breathless, desperate for her and exhilaratingly happy all at once.  She pokes her tongue out at me and I grin, a foolishly big, goofy grin, back at her.

“You know, you’re a little bit crazy right?”

“Just a little bit?” she asks, pouting, sticking her bottom lip out.  She frowns like I have offended her but she can’t keep the smile from appearing on her lips.

“Okay,” I slowly walk towards her
. “More than a
little
crazy then.”  She stands still and watches me stalk her way.  Once the gap is closed between us I loop my arms around her and hers automatically go around my neck.  Our bodies once again fit perfectly against one another and I breathe her in, my lips coming to rest on her bare, wet shoulder.

I’m crazy about
you
, Nick.
  I let my arms drop down to around his biceps and I squeeze my eyes shut against his chest, my hands tightening, clinging to the moment. 
Only crazy about you.  How the hell am I going to let you go?

He kisses the top of my shoulder and I let the moment pass.  I’ve got to pull myself together and stop thinking about the looming future, concentrate on the here and now.  I kiss his chest and then, forcing a smile back on my face, I pull from his arms.

“I’m gonna head out onto the sand for a bit, you coming?”

“Sure,” he answers, gripping my hand firmly and stepping towards the shore
line.

We slowly wade through the water, hand in hand, the warm sun high above us.  I feel Nick’s eyes on me, so I look up at him, still walking, “What?”

“So are you going to pose for those pictures?”

I groan in frustration, I don’t particularly like getting my photo taken. 
Yes well, it was my suggestion, no backing out now.

I pick up my towel and give it a little shake before drying myself off.  Nick is quick to pick up his phone from inside the bag I left there earlier.  He doesn’t even bother to dry himself off at all.  He starts snapping away
, not caring that I am trying to dry myself and I’m not even looking in his direction.

“Nick!”

“What?”

“I’m not ready.  Those photos aren’t going to be any good.”

“Not true.  Any photo with you in it is going to be good,” he says continuing to snap away.  My heart melts at the sentiment, even if I don’t believe it. 
What a sweetheart!
  “Just take a look at this one, it’s one of my favourites,” he says, playing around with his phone.  “Here.”  He shoves the phone towards me and I grab it off him.

“
What do you mean one of your favourites, how many photos do you have?” I ask, glancing down at the phone, unable to make out the picture.

“Until today
, only two, my wallpaper and that one.”

“What the hell?  That’s not me.”  I stare at it and gasp when I realise it
is
actually my cleavage and my thighs and… is that the dress from Kat’s wedding?  I look up at Nick in horror and he bursts out laughing. 

“The look on your face…”  He doubles over with laughter.  “I knew…” he can’t even speak, he is laughing so hard, “I knew you…”  Watching him laughing so much I cannot help but join in even if it is at my own expense and I am still slightly dying of embarrassment on the inside.  When he eventually calms down
enough to speak he says, “I knew you had no idea you sent it!  The look on your face, that was priceless!”

“Shut up!” I giggle.  I don’t even remember taking that photo.  I must have texted it to him that night, after too many drinks. 
Shit!
  And he’s had it all that time?  “Oh my god, did you say you’ve had this as your wallpaper?”

He leans over my shoulder and taps the screen on his phone.  “No
, this is my wallpaper.”  That’s more like it, the photo I actually meant to send him. 
It’s his wallpaper? 
I vaguely remember him saying something to that effect a while back - I thought he was kidding. “But now I’m thinking I may make it this one.”  He swipes the screen and I see a photo of my bikini covered breasts, taken only moments ago.  Not my face, nothing but breasts and a part of one arm.

“You will not!  I’m deleting it.”  He removes the phone from my hand before I get a chance to.  “Nick I’m serious!”  He holds the phone above his head
and I jump in an attempt to grab it.

“Okay, okay, not my
wallpaper.  As if I would want anyone else to see it anyway.  But you
will not
delete it.”

“Nick!”

“Nope, I’m keeping that one for my personal use.”  He wriggles his eyebrows at me and I give up trying to grab the phone, crossing my arms instead.  “My spank bank for when I’m away.”  I open my mouth to argue, but I realise there is no point. 
I can’t believe he said that. 
“Now smile for a proper photo.”  He flashes those delicious dimples at me and of course, I smile back.

After a while
of happy snapping, I lay my towel back on the sand and take a seat.  Nick sits beside me, and leaning against one another, we look through all the pictures of me.  Some of them are good, though Nick does allow me to delete a couple that aren’t.  I grab the phone from his hand and turn the camera on both of us and we pose for a few close ups together with my arm outstretched.  In most of them we are wearing wide smiles and some of them are silly with us pulling faces or our tongues poking out.  Then Nick kisses my cheek as I am taking one, that one’s a definite keeper, my favourite.  When I’m satisfied, I send myself a text so I have my own copies, to remember this day by.

“Hey
, can you please put some sunscreen on my back?” I ask Nick, after slathering my arms, chest and legs in the stuff.  He gives me a pointed look.  “I’ll do yours, if you do mine.”  He continues to stare at me with an amused look on his face.  “What?”

“That old cliché, huh?” he asks, taking the bottle from my hand
and getting into position behind me.

“What do you mean?  I
will
put sunscreen on your back for you.”  I turn my back to him and lift my wet hair off it.  I’m instantly aroused when his hands connect with my skin.

“I don’t really need any, my naturally olive skin loves the sun,
and I never burn.  Besides, you just wanted me to do touch you.”  He rubs my shoulders and it feels wonderful.

“Well we can’t all be lucky like you then.  If I don’t have any on
I will burn to a crisp.  And no, it is not a ploy to get you to touch me.  I don’t need any tricks.”

Nick chuckles, a deep sexy sound emanating from his throat, before speaking, “I’m onto you and your wicked ways. 
I believe I mistook you for an innocent, sweet, shy girl.  It turns out that you are a cheeky, sex kitten intent on seducing me.  Just look at what you’re wearing!”

“Bullshit!” I laugh.  Turning my head to look over my shoulder, I say, “Just because I don’t want to be in pain later, with red skin
, or get skin cancer.”  I turn back to look at the waves crashing along the shore.  “Besides, I am sweet.”

Nick leans forward, his hands gripping my shoulders and he whispers in my ear, “Oh yes
, I know exactly how sweet you taste.”

I feel his words enter me and warm me from within, sending my heart racing and desire pulsing through my entire body.  I wonder if it will always be like this with him, he really doesn’t have to do much to turn me on.  I sigh and relax into his hands when he continues to massage and rub the cream into my skin.  I lose track of
the time, staring out to sea while Nick’s soothing hands calm me into a sleepy state.

“You
’re really enjoying this aren’t you?” Nick asks, snapping me out of it.  “Hmm, I think I need some sunscreen after all, you can’t have all the fun.”  He stops his comforting ministrations and hands the lotion over my shoulder.  I sigh in defeat, watching Nick lie down on his stomach on the towel beside me.

I straddle his arse
and grind into it causing Nick to groan.  Then I squirt his back with some lotion and get to work.  Running my hands up and down his back I find myself even more aroused.  I love the feel of his skin under mine.  Nick has his cheek resting on his folded hands, the side of his face shown to me, so of course I lean down to kiss it, then I cannot resist moving to his ear.  I move my tongue and gently tease him while my fingers tenderly stroke his sides.  He smiles and I give him another peck on the cheek, sitting back up to rub his back one last time before moving from him.

We lie on our stomachs in the warm afternoon sun with our eyes closed.  The sound of the ocean and the comfort of having Nick by my side, soon have me drifting off to sleep.