Playing With Power - Book 2: New Adult Office Romance (10 page)

“You’ve had worse ideas,” Landon said.

“It’s great,” he said turning to Lauren. “You can camp right on the beach, like, a hundred yards away from the shoreline. We’ll cook out, drink beer. I love it there, it’s one of my favorite places.”

Lauren and Landon shared a look of expectation and knowing, both smiling shyly as they realized what the other was thinking.

“What do you think?” Lauren asked Ali.

“I’m up for it...after breakfast. As long as there are real toilets like you promised, I’m game.”

Lauren couldn’t think of any better way to get as far away from New York and Nick than camping on the shores of the Pacific.

“Sounds perfect!” said Lauren. “Let’s do it.”

Dane grinned. “Awesome. My parents live in Napa so I’ll just pop over to grab the stuff and I’ll meet you there.”

“We’re gonna have so much fun!” Ali squealed, hugging Dane around the neck.

“Well that coffee certainly perked you up!”

They packed Landon’s convertible shortly after Dane left, stuffing the trunk with coolers of beer and leftovers. Ali strolled into Lauren’s bedroom as she was packing her overnight bag.

“Have I said how happy I am we decided to come here this weekend? I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it yet.”

“Once or twice I think. Did you two have fun last night?”

“I feel like I’m walking funny. Can you tell?” She sauntered to the window like a cowboy who’d just spent a hard day on his horse.

“No, you look perfectly normal to me. Nothing odd at all.”

Ali stuck her tongue out and scrunched her nose. “What about you? Anything happen?”

Lauren closed the door half way and spoke softly, aware of how voices could carry across tiled floors. “Nothing
really
happened but it could’ve.”

“Ooooh, tell me, tell me!”

“Not now,” she said glancing towards the hall. “I will tell you he’s an incredible kisser though. Holy shit. I thought my head was gonna explode. Just...whoa, but I was a good girl and went to bed.” Lauren almost didn’t continue with the next part but Ali looked so smug she wanted to shock her a little. “Nick texted yesterday.”

“You didn’t write back, did you?”

“No. I almost did, though. I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say nothing! He made his choice when he walked away from you. You don’t owe him anything.”

“No, I know. I just didn’t expect it but don’t worry. I’m not sure what I’ll say to him but I’ll wait until we get back.”

“That’s my girl.” Ali pulled her into a bear hug, burying Lauren’s face in her breasts.

“I can’t breathe,” she mumbled into her chest.

“Shhh, you know you love it,” Ali said smoothing her hair.

There was a gentle knock on the bedroom door. Landon slowly swung it open and found the girls still wrapped in their embrace. Ali squeezed her tighter as Lauren struggled.

“I uh, we’re just about ready to go.” He tried to keep a straight face.

“Oh, okay! We’ll be right there,” said Ali calmly.

Lauren managed to push her head free and grunted, “I could use a little help here.” Ali smooshed her face back to her breast and shushed.

“Don’t mind her, she’s such a kidder. We’ll be right there!”

Landon turned away, his laughter echoing in the hallway when Ali finally released her.

“He doesn’t need to know how weird we are yet!” Lauren panted. “Just a few days where we act like normal people?”

“Aww sweetie, if he doesn’t like your quirks he isn’t worth it. Come on, let’s get outta here.”

The convertible hummed down the highway. Ali, with her long legs, nabbed the front seat but Lauren was happy to sit in the back. The top was down, the sun was shining, and they were singing along to the radio. Tendrils of Lauren’s dark hair snapped in the wind and she felt a swell of emotions deep inside. Happy, at peace, she knew they were making memories she’d hold dear for the rest of her life. She watched the beautiful landscape race by. At one point Landon reached behind the front seat and touched her leg, smiling at her through the rear view mirror.

In no time they pulled up to the campsite, rocks and sand crunching under the tires. They lucked out and grabbed one of the last sites at the end next to a small grass covered dune. The campground was filled with mammoth air conditioned camper vans complete with mounted satellite dishes. Ali and Lauren climbed out of the car and scanned their surroundings.

“It’s so wild still,” Ali remarked. “Every beach I’ve ever been to has a boardwalk, shitty souvenir shops, and stale popcorn.”

“You know, I just realized I’ve never stepped foot in the Pacific Ocean,” said Lauren.

Ali looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

“Yeah?” said Lauren, making a sudden move towards the shore.

Ali nodded and in a flash they kicked off their flip flops and ran screaming down the beach toward the water. Ali maintained an impressive lead with her long legs, tufts of sand flying behind her strides. She reached the water first and shouted in surprise as it splashed up, soaking her jean shorts. Lauren slowed laughing breathlessly.

“A little cold?”

“You tell me!” she said kicking the surf. Lauren squealed and dodged out of the way, tip-toeing into the tide further down the coast and out of range.

The water licking at her calves, she paused in wonder at the vast horizon. Recalling the world map, she was overwhelmed at the thought of how far away another land mass was straight ahead. Whereas most people hated thinking about their insignificance, Lauren relished it. Whatever mistakes she made, whatever victories she had in life, it ultimately meant nothing in the scheme of things.
But that’s not true anymore, is it?
she thought.
You do want to do big things now. You
do
want to change the world, even if you won’t admit it to yourself.

Ali had wandered twenty or thirty yards down the shore, kicking the sand and looking for shells. “Hey, I think Dane’s back! You coming?” she called out before jogging back to the campsite. With another longing look toward the horizon, Lauren followed.

Dane returned with enough camping equipment to cover a two week long expedition, most of which stayed packed in his Jeep. The sleeping arrangements loomed unspoken over the group. They’d assembled the two small tents, each large enough to comfortably fit a couple but it was definitive pairings that lingered in the back of Lauren’s mind. Nothing was said but all it took was a few innuendo laced comments from Ali and Lauren once again felt those flutters of anxiety. They were good flutters, borne from the anticipation and near certainty she’d be sharing that tent with Landon.

It was a fun afternoon of acting like children. Sand castles, frisbee, swimming, volleyball. Lauren couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so wholly carefree. It wasn’t until the sun started to dip close to the skyline and their stomachs were growling that they even thought about the responsibilities of preparing food. They feasted on chicken kabobs, leftover potato salad, ice cream.

They sat in folding beach chairs around the fire pit, the embers glowing white hot. Lauren leaned back and watched the sparks float to the sky, dancing with the static stars above. Dane toyed around on his guitar, playing nothing in particular but somehow creating the perfect soundtrack to a California beach day. Somehow it was all perfect, even drinking chilled white wine out of plastic cups. Their conversation was light compared to the night before. The inevitability of their final night together had put everyone in an odd mood.

At the opposite side of the fire, Ali leaned over to kiss Dane.
She’s always been a sucker for a musician.
As their kiss intensified, he set the guitar down, his fingers delving deep into her hair.

“Want to go for a walk?” Landon touched her shoulder softly, his fingers sliding down the back of her bare arm.

“Yeah, sure,” she said glancing at Ali, who was now straddling Dane in the camp chair, her legs looped through the space under the armrests. “She’s gonna fall in the fire when she tries to get up.”

“Oh, they’ll be fine. They could probably stand to be doused with a bucket of cold water.”

They strolled toward the glimmering line of water, the strength of the firelight fading quickly and giving way to darkness. Kids with sparklers danced in the sand in a campsite several spots down, laughing and signing their names in streaks of gold. Lauren looked up at the sky, the thin moon generously letting the stars steal the show. The familiar constellations suddenly seemed too familiar and she had an urge to look up from the Southern Hemisphere. The beauty and peace of this place made her unusually introspective. As she opened her mouth to ask Landon if he’d ever traveled below the equator his hand reached for hers, tender lacing their fingers together. She held the thought. They wordlessly walked to the water and turned right toward an outcropping of rocks.

She stepped out of her flip flops and Landon helped her scramble up the rock, the surface worn smooth from ages of erosion. They sat close, Lauren with her knees drawn up to her chest, their proximity creating a delicious, palpable tension. After a moment she realized he was watching her, his expression difficult to read in the shadows.

“What’s up?” she giggled.

“I’ve never met anyone like you before.”

She smiled self-consciously and shook her head. “Come on, don’t give me that line.” She rocked her shoulders against him playfully, trying to diffuse the situation.

“It isn’t a line. My position attracts a certain kind of woman, whether I want it to or not. It starts to feel like just another business deal. I pay for everything and in return they let me show them off like a shiny new acquisition. I guess like most men I thought that’s what I wanted, you know, gorgeous women. Well, it’s what boys want, not men. But then I met you...”

“Right...”

“God, it sounds so cheesy,” he said running his fingers through his hair. “You aren’t like those other women.”

“What, gorgeous?” she laughed.

He shook his head almost forlornly. “You’re beautiful and smart and just so, natural. You aren’t pretending to be anything you aren’t. I’ve never had so much fun...God, I know you’re going back home tomorrow and I’m not proposing anything here. I guess I just wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me? What for?”

“For showing me what I’ve been missing from my life.”

She had no words. It was the nicest, most genuine thing anyone had ever said to her. She wanted to tell him that meeting him had changed her as well, that spending time with him had brought the differences between her and Nick into focus. His drive and success made her feel okay about wanting more from life, for wanting more for herself. She looked into his eyes and searched for a way to say it all, to thank him as well. No words came; only a kiss.

Leaning into Landon’s soft lips, it was a kiss that quickly consumed the both of them. The words they didn’t have the courage to yet say translated through that kiss. Landon’s hand slipped under her shirt, hot and urgent against her skin. Gently holding the back of her head, he guided her back on the smooth, curved rock. Propping himself up on his elbow beside, he explored her exposed stomach, wandering slowly to the waistband of her shorts, slipping just underneath.

Lauren grunted against his mouth and rolled away with an apology, sweeping a sharp rock from under her back. No matter how much he shifted, he couldn’t find a spot in which some part of his body was grinding painfully against the cold stone. The elements were against them. After trying a third position Landon collapsed next to her with a frustrated sigh.

“I think maybe we should move,” he laughed, burying his face in her neck and nibbling. “This isn’t working here.”

“Sure but there are some places I’d prefer to keep sand-free.”

“Ditto. Let’s go back to the tent. Come on, I’ll help you down.”

As they walked barefoot through the sand, their arms wrapped around one another, Lauren couldn’t stop smiling. This delicious delayed gratification was better than anything she’d experienced. As they drew closer, it was clear the dying campfire was unattended, Ali and Dane most likely preoccupied in their tent.

“Let me douse this and I’ll meet you in there,” he said.

Lauren left her flip flops outside the tent, brushed off any loose sand and climbed in on her hands and knees. A naughty thought crossed her mind and after a moment’s hesitation, she quickly stripped off her clothes. She lay down on the sleeping bags and had just enough time to pull a blanket over her chest as she heard him approach.

“Where are you? I can’t really see.”

“I’m just here, you can walk straight in,” she whispered.

After zipping up the door, he crawled forward to the sound of her voice, finding her with his hands. “I had to put away the food too, they left some of it—oh, hmmm,” he said as found the smooth curve of her hip, her waist, her bare shoulder. “Are you...”

“Maybe.”

He chuckled appreciatively. “Well then...”

Throwing off his clothes, he pulled the blanket over, pressing his warm body against hers. She wrapped her leg around his hips as they kissed and drew him close, the heat building between them. Any hesitation she’d felt the previous night disappeared. Their bodies melded together, fit and folded in just the right ways. His hand slid down her thigh and gripped her ass, pulling her closer to his hard cock. She moaned against his lips, wanting nothing more than to shift her hips ever so slightly and push him inside. Free to roam, his hand carefully slipped between her legs where for a moment he rested, fingers toying with the small patch of hair on top. He pulled away from their kiss and looked deep into her eyes as his fingers slid easily between her wet lips. He teased her, softly caressing the sensitive skin with little pressure. Landon watched the lust bloom in her face with a satisfied expression.