You and I Forever (17 page)

“
Cold pancakes it is.” I pull back to look at his face. He smiles sweetly and then steps back slightly to fix his pants, before stepping forward again.

“
How did I get so lucky?” He asks, tucking my hair behind my ear before trailing his hand lightly down my cheek.

“
If you feel lucky about cold pancakes, then you're easier to please than I realized.” I joke, crinkling my nose playfully at him.

“
Ha ha. Aren't you the little comedian?” He squeezes my side causing me to jump.

“
Bentley Reed. Do not tickle me.” I warn, pointing my finger in his face.

“
No?” He questions playfully, squeezing my side again causing me to scream through my laughter.

“
No pancakes for you then.” I laugh out through his assault. Reaching behind me, I manage to pick up the plate of pancakes without dropping them and hold them out to the side with one hand. He immediately stops tickling me and steps away from the island when he realizes what I'm doing.

“
You wouldn't.” He smiles when I tilt the plate slightly towards the floor.

“
Try me.” I challenge, hitting him with a look that says I mean business.

“
Truce.” He says, holding his hands up in front of himself.

“
Really?” I laugh. “That's all it takes. Threaten to dump your food on the floor?”

“
I'm really hungry.” He laughs, stepping forward to snag one of the pancakes off of the plate. He rolls it up like a taco and then takes a big bite, hitting me with a wide smile the moment he swallows it. “You're right, you can cook.” He smiles wider and takes another bite.

“
Wait til you try them with syrup.” I laugh, sliding off of the island and slipping my clothes back on. When I turn back to face him, he already has a new pancake in his hand. “Would you get a plate.” I laugh, rolling my eyes at him as I push past him towards the stove.

“
But it's so good this way.” He slides in behind me and flaps the taco like pancake in front of my face. “You know you want a bite.” He says waving it back in forth in front of me. Without warning, I lean forward and take a bite so large that nearly half of the pancake is gone when I lean back.

Turning in his embrace, I smile widely and lick my lips the moment the blueberry goodness slides down my throat. “You're right.” I agree. He opens his mouth to say something else but ends up laughing instead when I lean forward and take another large bite of the pancake.

“
Hey. Get your own.” He laughs, stepping away from me.

“
Oh no you don't.” I laugh, taking off after him through the kitchen.

He runs away from me playfully like he's really trying to play keep away with what little of his pancake there is left, but he really makes no attempt to escape me when I reach him in the living room. Using the couch, I step up on the cushion and then launch myself at him.

He drops the pancake and catches me, a surprised look crossing his face before he looks at me in his arms and then down to his pancake on the floor. He pouts his lip out like he is really upset about this fact, which only makes me laugh harder.

This man has taken everything I thought I knew about him going in and thrown it straight out the window. Maybe no one knows this side of him. Maybe this is something he has kept hidden from the rest of the world. Lord knows I did not see it when we first met. But now, it's hard to imagine him as anything other than the playfully sweet and incredibly sexy man that is currently holding me in his arms and looking at me like I am the most precious thing he's ever seen.

Chapter

Sixteen

“
How does the water feel?” Bentley asks, coming up behind me as I wade in the shallow water, the waves rolling up to my knees.

“
Amazing.” I sigh, wiggling my toes in the crisp blue water, loving that I can see every single thing around me. “Come here.” I turn slightly to see him coming towards me, his shoes abandoned on the beach just feet from the water.

“
Why don't we just move here and live like this forever?” I suggest, entwining my fingers with his the moment he steps up next to me.

“
Okay.” He replies casually, hitting me with a full smile.

“
I'm serious Bentley. Why don't we? We could buy the house. You could work remotely. I'm sure Shira would jump at the chance to take on more of the business. We could be happy here.” I say, squeezing his hand in mine.

“
I will be happy anywhere as long as I have you with me.” He smiles sweetly at me, raising my hand, that is in his, to lay a soft kiss to the back of it. “But are you really willing to walk away from your entire life?” He asks, already knowing that I wouldn't.

“
I guess not.” I admit, realizing that I am just letting myself get swept up in the fantasy of having Bentley all to myself all day everyday in this incredible paradise.

“
I tell you what.” He nudges my hip with his. “We will make it a point to visit here at least once a year, no matter what.”

“
Promise?” I turn my head to face him.

“
I promise.” He says, snaking his arm around my waist and pulling me into him. Leaning down, he lays a sweet kiss to my mouth before pulling back, his smile stretching widely across his face.

“
Don't you.....” I start, immediately sensing that he is up to something. But before I can finish my sentence, he leans down and throws me over his shoulder.

“
Bentley.” I yell, swatting at his back trying to get him to put me down. “Bentley Reed, so help me if you throw me in this water....” Once again my words are silenced when he grabs my hips and tosses me with next to no effort. It takes only seconds before I hit the water, my entire body disappearing into the waves.

I bounce back up sputtering for air. Shoving my wet hair out of my face, I look down at my now see through white tank top and gray jersey shorts, the material clinging to my body. “You are in so much trouble.” I hit Bentley with a look of disbelief and immediately dive towards him.

He jumps just in time to avoid my grasp which sends me falling into the water once more. The moment I resurface, I hear Bentley's laughter radiating through the air. It's one of the most amazing sounds I have ever heard.

“
I think I hurt my foot.” I immediately fake injury and lift my leg slightly.

“
Are you okay?” He steps forward, falling right into my trap. The moment he's close enough for me to reach, I lunge out of the water at him and throw my arms around his waist causing him to stumble backwards.

He laughs at my feeble attempts to tackle him in the water. No matter how hard I push or pull, his body stands firm. He laughs even louder when I wrap my entire body around his legs, my weight floating in the water. Reaching around with my feet, I try to put enough pressure on the back of his knees to make him cave, but it still does me no good. This man is solid muscle and moving him is damn near impossible.

I growl out in frustration and release his legs, pushing away from him as I swim out further into the water. “You suck.” I shake my wet head at him.

“
That's not very nice.” He throws his head back on a laugh, clearly getting an immense amount of pleasure out of my failure to tackle him.

“
Seriously?” I stand up, the water hitting me just below my chest. “Look at me.” I exclaim, gesturing to myself. “And you say
I'm
not very nice.” I laugh, splashing water in his direction as he starts to close in on me.

“
Are you still going on about that?” He laughs, turning his head when I send a wave of water flying towards him. “Come here.” He says, pulling me into him when he finally manages to reach me through my splashing.

“
Don't.” I warn, suddenly fearful that he is going to try to dunk me or something.

“
I'm waving the white flag.” He laughs, pushing my matted hair away from my forehead before taking my face in his hands. “Though I must admit, you look incredibly cute right now.” He wipes under my eyes with his thumbs, wiping away the traces of makeup running down my face.

“
Yeah, drowned rat. I do the look well.” I retort sarcastically, trying to playfully push him away but his grip holds me tightly against him.

“
You're perfect.” He says, pulling my face down to his. He kisses my lips gently before tightening his arms around me and deepening the kiss. The waves roll around us but Bentley holds us still, his body only swaying slightly with each wave that passes.

I'm sure perfect is not a word one would use to describe the way I look in my current state but it is definitely the word I would use to describe how I feel in this very moment. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

****

“
I can't believe you have never Hula danced before.” Bentley laughs at my attempts to dance alongside the instructor and not seem completely clueless.

“
It's not like there is a large demand for it in Illinois.” I retort, pouting at him. He shakes his head and laughs harder. “Besides, I don't see you out here really giving it a go.” I give him playfully evil eyes as he sits on the beach just feet from me.

“
Why would I, when I can sit here and watch you?” He smiles up at me, his face so carefree it instantly brings a smile to my face as well.

While I may be a dancer, that doesn't mean that I don't have to practice to nail a specific type of dance. And you can tell by watching me that I have definitely never Hula danced before. There is a certain way the girls swirl their mid sections that I can't quite figure out but I am having a blast trying.

I'm sure I look ridiculous. Bentley insisted we stop and give it a try after we had dinner at a nearby restaurant on the beach. To say that I am not dressed for the occasion is a bit of an understatement. The grass skirt the instructor insisted I wear does not compliment my black cocktail dress in the least. But honestly, I don't really care what I look like. I am having an incredible time and realizing very quickly how much I love all things Hawaii.

I love that they have Hula dancers out on the beach teaching tourists their native dance. I love the grass skirts and leis. I love the trees, the sand, the crystal clear water. I love everything about this place. But what I love the most, is the man sitting in front of me. He has his pants rolled up and his shoes off as he sits in the sand watching me.

“
I think you should try it now.” I shimmy towards him and lean down to grab his hands.

“
Oh no.” He shakes his head. “I would not look nearly as good as you do in a grass skirt.” He tugs at the straw like material and smiles up at me.

“
I think you would look rather sexy in a grass skirt.” I tease, sliding down next to him in the sand. I turn my attention to the instructor and watch as she works with the other people who have stopped by to give it a try.

Bentley drapes his arm over my shoulder and pulls me into his side. Snuggling into him, I continue to watch the other people as they try to master the dance. I continue to watch for a few more minutes, not having the motivation to continue once I hit the sand next to Bentley. It feels so peaceful out here. Even with all the people around us, I still feel like we are the only two people in existence.

Eventually Bentley shifts next to me, dropping his face into the crook of my neck as he nuzzles against me. “Take a walk with me.” He says, pulling back to kiss my cheek.

“
Okay.” I agree, waiting until he stands before reaching my hands up to him and allowing him to pull me to my feet.

Stepping out of the grass skirt, I lay it next to the others and then nod at the instructor, who smiles sweetly at me. She can't be more than nineteen or twenty but I would guess she has been doing this since she was a child. She is so natural with not only the dance part but with the people as well.

“
You ready?” Bentley steps up beside me as I grab my heels from the sand and turn towards him.

“
Ready.” I say, allowing him to lead me away from the crowd hand in hand. We make our way to the edge of the water in silence, the crashing of the waves offering the only noise with the exception of the faint music and laughter still echoing from the beach behind us.

Leading me along the edge where the water meets the sand, I smile every time the water rushes around our bare feet. The further down the beach we go, the quieter it becomes. Bentley doesn't speak. He keeps his eyes ahead of us, his face peaceful.

Words can't describe what it feels like to see him like this. His hair wild and windblown, his shoes dangling from his hand, his shirt unbuttoned slightly revealing a slice of his perfect chest. He seems so young, so carefree. It's amazing to witness.