Summer Dreaming (Hot in the Hamptons Book 1) (4 page)

Cranking the radio to Train’s song about mermaids, I sung along with abandon trying to drown out the thoughts of my dad. Driving into the parking lot of The Surf Lodge, I admired the large white clapboard house. It looked like the perfect beach getaway. I pulled up next to Sean’s beat up Jeep, wondering if he ever rode it on the beach.

I grabbed my crochet purse, the contents included a condom neatly tucked away in the zipper compartment. Before I could open the door, Sean did and held out his hand. I was blown away by this gesture as I slipped my hand into his. Despite being in his arms earlier during the rescue, this simple contact sent a delicious hum through my body. I smoothed out my dress as Sean’s gaze swept my body from toe to head.

Reaching my eyes he said, “You’re beautiful.”

I tugged at my bottom lip as I did a survey of my own. His large feet were in sandals, his pressed khaki shorts fell just above the knee and a gauzy white shirt had two buttons undone. A brown leather necklace completed his GQ beach look. His black hair was freshly washed but unruly curls escaped the gel he must have applied. He looked manly and boyish all at the same time, making me a jumble of schoolgirl nervous and womanly want. Maybe I should have worn panties.

“Come on, you look hungry,” Sean said. His predator smile and heated blue eyes revealed his own starvation for me.

We walked into the lobby and I immediately loved the cool vibe. There was a horseshoe shaped lounge area and behind it a huge piece of driftwood with lit candles perched on top. My artist’s eye appreciated the vivid photography on the wall. It was the perfect mix of clean lines and boho chic. Entering the bar area, my gaze was drawn to the ceiling of wood rafters with colorful surfboards lying haphazardly on top of the beams. The chair-like bar stools matched the color of my dress. As much as I loved the inside, we were led outside.

Long picnic tables stretched out under a slew of wire baskets. Each one had a light bulb. Dusk was just beginning to settle around us. Additional strings of tiny lights were lit in the lounge area beyond the dining area. A fire pit waited on the sand. It was almost magical. Or maybe it was the boy I was with.

“Is this okay?”

“More than okay. Is the food as good as the atmosphere?”

Sean nodded.

I took a peek at the menu, relieved to find the prices reasonable. I knew lifeguards didn’t make much money and I’d feel really bad if Sean blew his paycheck on me. The value of a dollar had been instilled in me at an early age.

Beer is normally my drink of choice but the Endless Summer cocktail, with vodka, chardonnay, lemon, and muddled red grapes sounded too refreshing to pass up.

The cute waitress took my drink order with a sneer but bestowed a wide smile and a wink for Sean when she asked what he wanted. I wondered if I should be worried about her poisoning my food.

My drink arrived in a mason jar. I hesitated for a second, but the straw beckoned me to sip. “Ah, heaven.”

Looking at my lips Sean said, “It sure is.” Then he took a long pull of his beer.

The waitress cleared her throat.

I ordered the lobster roll and chips and Sean ordered oysters. Hmmm… I wondered if oysters really did have aphrodisiac powers. Not that Sean looked like he needed any help. He radiated strength and virility.

“Do you surf?” I asked.

“Yep. You?”

“Not a lot of good breaks in Georgia.”

He leaned forward. “I was wondering where that accent came from.”

“I don’t have an accent. Y’all have the accent,” I teased.

“You’re the foreigner here. I’m just a townie.”

“I don’t think you’re just anything, Sean Dempsey.” I slipped my foot from my sandal and grazed my toes upward along his calf.

“Damn girl.” He swatted my foot away. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, you won’t like the consequences.” He took another long pull of beer like he was trying to satisfy his thirst for me.

“Maybe, I would.”

Sean nearly spat out his beer. He recovered, swallowing the beer with a gulp.

I laughed, loving how I made this All-American male stumble. He was the one who was used to making girls blush and act like fawning idiots.

“I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Despite knowing it had to be a line from his arsenal, I felt my face go warm. Two could play at that game, but unless I was going to win, I’d rather call it a draw.

Taking mercy on him and myself, I decided to behave. We made small talk until our food arrived. Nothing about our pasts or futures, which was fine by me. This was a first date, not the Inquisition. The conversation was as laid back as The Surf Lodge.

Biting into the lobster roll, my taste buds come alive from the flavor. A little moan escaped.

Sean paused, an oyster halfway to his mouth, his gaze locked on my mouth. “I can’t wait until you make that sound for me.”

My eyes widened. Sean had the manners of a gentleman and the words of a player. I needed to up my game.

“Consequences, Kelsey. Consequences.” Sean slurped an oyster down, which shouldn’t have been sexy, but it was. If he wasn’t squeamish about the flesh of a shellfish then he’d certainly relish the part of me that was already anticipating the feel of his tongue. Yeah, I really should have worn panties.

The check arrived and I reached for my purse.

“Don’t even think about it,” Sean said, pulling out his wallet.

I was going to argue but I didn’t want to embarrass him. “Thank you, dinner was incredible.”

Sean nodded to the seating area on the sand. “Want to watch the sunset?”

“Love to.”

Best first date ever.

Sean

W
e settled onto
the outdoor lounge chair made for two. Kelsey snuggled up next to me, placing her head on my beating heart, which skipped a beat or two or three. Her body fit perfectly up against mine like we were two pieces of a puzzle.

Off to the side, an employee started a fire in the pit. Other diners had made their way to the sand as well, but Kelsey and I were in our own little world.

We watched the sunset over Fort Pond Bay without talking. Though I wasn’t looking into her eyes, in the setting sun it’s as if I was.

Though as outgoing as she was beautiful, Kelsey knew how to sit in silence. Most girls would have chatted me to death instead of enjoying the scene being played out before them. Not that I didn’t enjoy our dinner conversation, in fact, I couldn’t remember a more engaging talk with a member of the opposite sex.

Kelsey didn’t talk about boring stuff like clothes or seem to care about the latest celebrity sighting in town. On the flip side, my attempts to learn more about her stalled after learning she was from Georgia. And I still didn’t know her last name.

“Do you want another drink?” I asked.

“No thank you. I’m feeling good.”

Pleased, I smiled into her hair. Kelsey’s scent of vanilla was already as familiar to me as the smells of the beach. I couldn’t wait to kiss her and explore her mouth with my tongue. With the crowd growing, this wasn’t the place to start something I wouldn’t be able to finish.

The sun tucked itself in beyond the horizon. Kelsey shivered. The day had been in the eighties but night temperatures in late June could drop into the upper fifties, and the pretty sundress she wore exposed more skin than it hid. I pulled her closer and rubbed my hands over her arms, trying to generate heat. She shivered again. “I have a jacket in the Jeep, do you want me to get it?”

“I have a better idea.”

So did I. “I’m opened to suggestions.”

“Why don’t we head back to my friend’s house and take a walk on the beach?”

I may not know her last name, but she invited me back to her place. Slow down, buddy—she said beach. But it was progress. And there was a strong possibility that ‘take a walk on the beach’ was code for ‘let’s do it on the sand.’

I put my arm around her as we walked to the car. The chill of the night caused goose bumps to dance along her skin. I wanted to do more than just warm her. I would make her burn out of control until the air around her felt like a relief.

At my Jeep, I said. “Let me get that jacket for you.”

“That’s okay.” Kelsey pulled out a Penn State sweatshirt from the trunk of her car and put it on.

“Is that where you go to college?”

“Just graduated.”

Another piece of information. But right now I didn’t care where she was from or who she was. All I needed to know was how her naked body felt against mine. And how many times I could make her come.

“I’ll follow you.”

“Okay. But try to keep up,” she said with a flirty smile.

The ride couldn’t go fast enough. When she sped up, I was hoping she felt the same way but maybe she’d changed her mind and was trying to lose me. Or she was driving the Mustang the way it was meant to be driven. The car was made for speed.

And Kelsey’s body was made for pleasure.

Finally, she turned off. As I pulled up next to Kelsey’s car, I recognized the place.

I got out of the Jeep. “You’re friends with Storme Sullivan?”

“Yes. Do you know her?” Kelsey shut the door of her car.

I detected a hint of jealousy in her voice, but she had no reason to be. I didn’t run in Storme’s circle of friends. “Not really. My buddies and I crashed a party here a couple of years ago.”

“She said the girls around here call you Hampton Hottie.”

Having the good sense to look sheepish, I cupped the back of my neck and gave it a rub as I said, “I haven’t heard that in a long time.”

The light off the garage shone on her face and I could tell from her expression she didn’t believe me.

“Truth,” I said, holding up my hands in surrender. But Kelsey wasn’t buying it. What other kind of shit did Storme tell her? “Is that why you didn’t call?”

She shook her head. “The forty-eight hour rule.”

Stupid rules. “Thought you said you don’t play games.”

“I don’t. I win them.”

Her smile was brighter than the spotlight, lighting up more than just the surroundings.

“Am I your trophy?” I teased. But it wouldn’t be the first time I’d been a target on a chick’s bucket list. And girls say guys are jerks. It used to bother me until I realized there was no harm in it. The chick in question would get what she wanted and so would I.

“I believe that’s my line.”

I smiled at the truth in her words. “Damn, there goes that fantasy.”

Her eyes darkened to amber and she leaned in to whisper, “I’m sure I can fulfill some other ones.”

And just like that I’m hard and ready. I loved a girl who knew what she wanted and was not afraid to show it. Especially if what she wanted was me. “Should I grab a blanket?”

“If you need a blanket for one of said fantasies, then yes.”

Oh yes, I most certainly did. My brain was racing but my legs were cooler than my head and I didn’t act like an unschooled boy. After getting the blanket and my jacket, I held her hand as we followed the pathway to the beach. But I really wanted to hold all of her. A foot away from where the pathway ended, I spotted a private place in the dunes to set up the blanket just in case the night ended the way it was unfolding.

We hit the sand. I dropped the stuff and we tossed off our sandals.

“Race you,” she challenged and then took off.

I easily outran her. Not because she wasn’t fast but because she wasn’t used to running on the sand.

“Damn.”

“Not a good loser, are you?”

“My fatal flaw,” she admitted.

“Let’s try an activity where we both win.”

I dipped my head, my lips seeking hers. We connected, our breathing still hampered by the run. A mistake. My heart needed all the oxygen it could get as Kelsey stole what was left away.

Stepping into my embrace, she circled her arms around my neck, and I deepened the kiss, tasting the grapes and vodka she’d drank earlier along with a touch of the sea salt lingering in the air.

I could get drunk simply from kissing her. Simple? There was nothing simple about this girl. I hungered to savor the rest of her body.

Threading one hand from the nape of her delicate neck through her long hair, my other hand cupped the sweet curve of her ass. Our tongues mingled. The roar of my blood replaced the sound of the breaking surf. I felt like I was being dragged out to sea by a rip current. I knew better than to fight it. Hell, I didn’t want to fight it.

I’d forgotten how to breathe, only I wasn’t desperate for air.

Maybe Kelsey really was a mermaid, breathing for the both of us.

Kelsey

M
y heart fluttered
like a bird caught in a sudden gust of wind, desperately flapping its wings to regain flight. Sean hadn’t lied. Not only was mouth-to-mouth his specialty, he was an expert. Only I wasn’t being rescued. Or saved.

I was drowning in an ocean of desire. Some lifeguard he was.

His kiss turned me on and made feel special all at the same time. With his tongue that promised a delicious licking, my body tingled from head to toe.

He nipped at my bottom lip before his mouth left mine. I held back a whimper at the loss. The heavy air around us felt electrified, as if together we were conjuring up a storm. When we touched, when we kissed, sparks darted inside my veins.

“I want you naked, Kelsey.”

It wasn’t the most romantic thing I’d ever heard, but the way he’d said it, low and tender, resonated through me as if he recited a line of poetry written by Lord Byron.

Perhaps, I should have played hard to get like some girls would have. But romantic or not, I wanted what he wanted. I wasn’t going to be coy about it.

“Let’s go back to the blanket,” I said.

Instead of racing, we held hands. I can’t remember the last time I’d held hands with a boy. Junior High? I’d forgotten how sweet it felt. How pure. But my thoughts about Sean were anything but pure.

Sean picked up our stuff and we headed up toward the house. I wondered where he was taking me. About a foot or two up the path he stepped off to the left and onto the dunes. I trailed behind him as he scooted around a batch of sea grass wavering in the breeze.