Tease (16 page)

But he didn’t leave; he didn’t scowl at me for offending him. He slid into my side of the booth, his hip and leg pressed right up alongside mine. Then he draped an arm across the back of the bench and used his free hand to tip up my chin so he could look into my eyes.

“You didn’t give it to the wrong guy,” he murmured.

“What?” I said, falling a little further into the chocolate pools that were his eyes.

“Your virginity. You didn’t give it to the wrong guy. I know we moved fast. I know you probably think I’m going to disappear like the sun on a cloudy day. But I’m not going anywhere. I’d still be here if you hadn’t given yourself to me. But you did. And you know that part is just one of the many pieces of you that I plan on claiming. Pieces that I never plan to let go of.”

I would never have to eat again. Those words would keep me full until the day I died.

I didn’t know if he was feeding me a line, but in that moment, I didn’t care. I guess in life, the possibilities of getting hurt were endless. But I wanted to be the kind of person who looked fear in the face, who listened to her gut, and right now my gut was telling me that he was sincere.

I rested my head on the back of his arm and smiled. “Are you gonna kiss me or what?”

His lips crushed against mine. Like we weren’t sitting in a public place with people all around. He kissed me with a heavy passion that stole my breath and stilled my heart. It was the kind of kiss that would keep him in the front of my mind for the rest of the day, even when he was out of sight.

His lips demanded nothing but gave everything, and he leaned over so he was practically wrapped around me. He tasted faintly like Cherry Coke, my favorite, and I licked into his mouth for another taste.

He pulled back, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “I think we better knock it off before we get kicked out.”

“I have to go back to work,” I said, feeling very unenthused.

“I’ll help you with the cart,” he said, gathering both of our trays and depositing them in the trash.

I noticed how some people eyed us as we made our way to the door. Strangely, I didn’t care. I certainly wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with him. I don’t think any woman would be.

Outside, the heat smacked me in the face like a wet blanket. It was suffocating and heavy. My hair began to stick to my neck immediately, and I thought longingly of my sea glass barrette.

I couldn’t help but wonder why someone would steal it.

*    *    *

He was standing on the other end of the wooden bridge when my replacement showed up at the cart and I was able to leave.

Both his forearms were leaning on the railings, and he looked over the side of the bridge down into the water, where he was dropping little round pellets of fish food. He wasn’t watching me, but I knew he was aware of my presence because of the way his body was slightly angled, not quite entirely toward the water. Instead, the side of his hip turned out slightly and the arm closest to me didn’t lean as far or as heavily on the railing as his other.

When I got within a few feet of him, he looked over. His coffee-colored gaze speared me and my belly did a summersault. Then it did another. The corner of his mouth kicked up and he reached out, pulling me in so my back was against his front and we were both staring down at the dark water.

Only when I was settled oh so close did he lean his free arm back against the railing, effectively caging me between him and the bridge.

“Hey,” he murmured, his breath tickling the side of my ear.

“Hey, yourself.”

He pulled his left fist in and opened it up in front of me, revealing a palm full of the fish food. “Wanna help?”

The pads of my fingers brushed against his, and I pinched some of the pebbles and sprinkled them down into the water. Very large, very bright orange and red fish bobbed at the surface, opening up carnivorous mouths to greedily swallow the food.

We stood there silently, our bodies touching, saying nothing until his palm was empty.

Sex with Cam this morning had been amazing, a truly incredible experience, but I was realizing that this moment right here, where we were calm and still together, was the kind of moment that drew us even closer in ways that sex never could.

Chemistry between two people was one thing… but this… this feeling that was bubbling up inside me and making everything feel trembly and excited was something completely different.

It was more than chemistry.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my shoulder, his lips searing my skin and making my eyes slide shut.

“Date starts now,” he told me.

“Now?”

“Yeah, now.”

“But I’m all sweaty and gross from work.”

“There is nothing gross about you.”

“Sweat is gross.”

“Sweat is hot, especially when I’m the one that makes your skin slick with it.”

I shivered in his hold and he chuckled, knowing exactly where my mind just traveled.

“C’mon, I’ll drive you home so you can shower.”

He linked one of our hands together and then pulled away, tugging me alongside him as we weaved through the crowds underneath the hot summer sky. A little thrill went through me when we walked up to his bike.

He reached for his helmet and I shook my head vehemently. “Oh no. That thing weighs like fifty pounds.”

“It protects you.”

“But when I wear it, I can’t lean all the way against you.”

He pursed his lips and studied me. The he sighed dejectedly. “Fine. But I’m going to drive like a granny.”

I grinned and climbed on behind him after he strapped the helmet to the back.

“Aren’t you going to wear it?”

“I would look like the biggest douche alive if I drove around with a helmet on my head and not on my girl’s.”

My girl’s.

I swear everything that came out of his mouth turned me into a giant pile of mush.

“Hold on,” he said and started the bike as my arms wound around his waist. As we pulled out of the parking lot, I leaned up against him, pressing my cheek to his back and watching the scenery slowly pass.

I was really starting to like this bike.

I was a little disappointed when he pulled into the parking lot of my building and parked. I sat there even after the bike shut off, with my arms wrapped around him. Then I sighed. I was acting like a stalker. I pulled back, but he reached down and grasped my arms, still holding them around him. “Just another minute,” he said.

I held on to him until he released my arms and swung off the bike.

“I’m going to run home and shower and change. I’ll be back in an hour to pick you up.”

“Okay,” I said, walking up the steps to my apartment and turning around at the door to wave back at him. He was watching me and only after I went inside did I hear the bike start up and drive away.

Roxie was sitting on the couch, reading a gossip magazine. “Hey,” I called on my way into the kitchen for a cold bottle of water.

“Did you know that Kim Kardashian got bangs?” she asked.

“No, but my life is complete now that I do.”

She laughed as I joined her in the living room, dropping down on the other end of the sofa and propping up my feet.

“Where’s Cam?”

“He’s coming back. We have a date.”

“I thought he had to work.”

“He traded shifts and now he’s off too.”

She grinned. “He’s got it bad.”

I laughed. “I hope so,” I confided.

“He’s a good guy. I’m happy for you.”

“Hey, have you had any trouble with Craig?”

“He’s tried to call a couple times, but I’ve been ignoring the calls and deleting the messages.”

That reminded me of my waterlogged phone and the message I didn’t get to listen to. “Stay strong. He’ll give up eventually when he realizes you aren’t going to put up with him anymore.”

“Hopefully sooner rather than later,” she said, looking back down at her magazine. “Ooh, look, Ian Somerhalder got a new puppy!”

I laughed. “I have to take a shower. He’s going to be here soon.” I dug around in my bag and pulled out my car keys. “Here, you can just take my car to work. I’m not going to need it anyway. That way you won’t have to ask anyone for a ride home.”

“Really?” Roxie said, reaching out to take the keys.

“Absolutely.”

“I’m so glad we met.”

“Me too.” I agreed, meaning it. I had a feeling that Roxie and I were going to be really good friends.

13

True to his word, an hour later he rang the bell at the door. I ran to open it, butterflies fluttering around inside me as I went.

He held a glass jar with a bow around it. “Brought you something,” he said, grinning.

“A jar of rice?” I said, spying the long white grains inside.

“Not just any jar of rice, but
the
rice that will save your phone.”

“Super hero rice?” I said, taking the jar. “Now that’s a gift.”

“I thought it was better than flowers,” he said, shutting the door and following me into the kitchen where I set my present. “Well, that and flowers would have just been a bunch of stems after the trip on my bike.”

“You brought your bike?” I said, excited.

“Of course. Any excuse to get those arms around me…” He reached for me, giving me a long, slow kiss.

“Thanks for my present,” I said when he pulled away. My voice was breathless and my heart raced.

“Hopefully tomorrow your phone’ll be working.”

“I hope so too.” I started to turn away to grab my stuff. “Let me get my bag and we can go.”

“You don’t need it.”

“But it has my money and my—” I protested, but he cut me off.

“You don’t need any money. Tonight is on me.”

No phone. No purse. No cash. Nothing but Cam and me for the night? That was a plan I could fully get behind. “Thank you,” I said as he took my hand and towed me toward the apartment door.

“Eh, it’s just my way of making sure you are all mine tonight.”

Oh, I was his all right. More than he realized.

I marveled at the way my hand tucked in his felt as we made our way down the stairs and across the parking lot to his bike. The way his fingers curled around mine protectively, possessively, it felt like it belonged there, like it fit. It was like he wanted everyone to know I was his and he wasn’t going to give me up. I never thought such a simple thing could make me feel so much.

He was the first to climb on the bike, gripping the handlebars and holding it steady for me to get on behind him.

“I guess I shouldn’t have worn a skirt,” I mused when I attempted to sit on the warm leather. It wasn’t going so well for me. I was dressed in a long jersey knit skirt that was tie-dyed with navy blue and white. I wore a loose-fitting white tank top layered over a snug navy-colored tank and tucked the front of the white tank into the waistband of the skirt. To finish it off, I added a long silver chain with a couple colorful feathers on the end as a pendant. I styled my chestnut-colored hair straight and long.

“Maybe I should change,” I said with a laugh when I couldn’t spread my legs over the bike because of the skirt.

Cam chuckled and swiftly stood, reached down, and bunched the skirt up around my thighs, tucking the extra fabric beneath my bottom, and settled back between my legs like he belonged there.

I wasn’t about to complain.

He took me to dinner at a place on the water. We sat outside on a deck and watched the sea as ocean breezes swirled around us, and we ate seafood Alfredo and breadsticks. He told me about his parents, his life, and how he got his job at the Mad Hatter.

He asked me about my favorite color (green), my favorite movie (
Pretty Woman
), and then I told him about my plans to someday become a career counselor.

The conversation was easy and we actually had a lot in common. He was quick to smile, and if there was a break in the conversation, it was never uncomfortable. After dinner we went mini golfing (there were only like five thousand mini golf places here in Myrtle Beach) at a place with giant dinosaurs and a small waterfall that we spent more time kissing behind than we did actually golfing.

When we did golf, he got a hole in one and I lost my ball… which led to us having to look for it… behind the waterfall. We didn’t find my ball, but I discovered that he wasn’t hiding it anywhere in his shorts.

By the time dinner and golf was over, the sky was dark and I was more relaxed than I’d felt in a long time. “I had a really good time,” I told him when we were walking toward his bike.

“Good. But the date’s not over yet.”

“It’s not?”

“Nope. One more place left to go.”

“Where?”

He smiled mischievously and patted the seat of the bike. We ended up at Broadway at the Beach. “Most of the shops are going to be closing here, Cam,” I said, thinking surely we weren’t going to go out to eat again.

“Good thing we aren’t going shopping.”

He led me past the giant water fountain in front of the aquarium that had giant statues of stingrays coming up out of the water. “I think they close in like fifteen minutes.”

“I know,” he said secretively.

He didn’t stop to buy our tickets. He merely approached the ticket counter where one of the girls that was always working saw us and pointed at the door. It buzzed when we neared and he pulled it open and motioned for me to go ahead.

I gave him a quizzical look on my way past.

I was momentarily distracted by the large freestanding tank that greeted us on the way in. It was filled with colorful tropical-looking fish that moved around the tank—some in a hurry and some taking their time.

The building was very large, with tall ceilings and a fairly open concept. Straight ahead was a ramp that led down into the lower area where the tanks and feeding shows were. Along the way, they also had a few separate rooms dedicated to certain topics of interest. Over to the left was the gift shop, filled to the brim with stuffed animals, T-shirts, and various memorabilia. Beyond the gift shop was an area that led up from the lower level and just above that was the stingray and horseshoe crab tank where visitors could place their hands in the water for a chance to touch the fish. Also on the upper level was the snack café.

We watched the fish in the tank near the entrance for a moment. Then he took my hand and led me down the ramp toward the big tanks. It was very quiet in here at this time of night. The crowds were gone and the building was just about empty. There were a few employees bustling around, cleaning up, and doing whatever the employees did at closing time.

“Did they know we were coming?” I asked him, wondering if that was why they didn’t charge us to get in. Or maybe it was because they were closing and we were going to have to leave anyway.

He smiled slyly. “They might’ve had an idea I was bringing you by.”

“Hmmmm,” I said, pondering his sneakiness.

“You must come here a lot. I thought this would take some convincing, but the minute I said your name, they knew exactly who I meant and they didn’t hesitate to agree.”

“Agree to what, exactly?” I asked, stopping and turning, giving him my full attention.

“Just a private tour of the aquarium.”

My mouth fell open and he grinned. “We have this whole place to ourselves?”

He shrugged. “Pretty much. There are a couple employees left cleaning and doing stuff in the back. We won’t see them though.”

“You planned a private tour of the aquarium for me?” I said, awe spreading through my chest like warm waves across the sand.

“You said this was your favorite place.” He unlinked our hands to drag his knuckles down my cheek.

This was easily the nicest, most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me. Ever. I didn’t even know what to say. “It is my favorite place. I—thank you so much, Cam.”

“I figured I better do something good and not screw up anymore.”

I gave him a puzzled look. “Anymore?”

He ran his thumb along the underside of my lip. “Did you know your top lip is just slightly bigger than the bottom one?”

“No,” I said, fighting the urge to suck his thumb into my mouth.

“It is. It’s so fucking sexy it drives me insane. It screams for me to suck it.”

That sent a rush of desire through me. God, the things he did to me. “You think you screwed something up?” I asked, pulling his hand away before I attacked him right here.

“I’ve done everything backward with you.”

“How?”

“I met you in a strip club—the worst place to meet girls. Then I took you to the beach, almost drowned you, then slept with you—took your virginity—before I even asked you out on a date. This is our first date, Harlow, and I’ve already spent the night with you.”

“Technically, the morning you almost drowned me was our first date.”

“Dates that end up with someone in the medical center do not count as dates.”

I laughed. “You know what I think?”

“What?” He tucked the hair behind my ear.

“You have done everything right. I can’t imagine doing this any other way.”

“I’m serious when I tell you I don’t want you to think I’m only after you for your sexy body.”

“I can see that,” I said, pulling him along toward a big tank full of jellyfish. “But I think me and sexy in the same sentence is a stretch. Adam probably gave me tonight off because he was afraid I would ruin his busiest night of the week at the club.”

“You definitely have the goods, babe. You just need a little more confidence to put it all on display.”

“The only person I really want to put everything on display for is you,” I said shyly.

He groaned. “Stop turning me on, woman, and look at the fish.”

We walked through the darkened hallways with the portal windows and larger display windows, studying the fish, the sharks, and the squid. The fish seemed more relaxed than usual and I wondered if it was because they knew the day was winding down or because the crowds were gone.

Either way, being here at this time of night was so special and incredible. The only light came from the tanks and the small lighting lining the floor. The large room with the tank where they did the dive shows had some neon lighting and a large flat screen that played photos and facts about certain kinds of fish featured in the tanks.

We walked around, slowly, whispering and pointing at all the fish, and every so often Cam would press me up against a wall and bury his tongue in my mouth.

All night there had been little touches, steamy kisses, and long lingering looks exchanged and it served as foreplay and my body began to come alive in ways that only Cam could inspire.