The Sweetest Summer

Chapter Seventy-Four - Secret Love Song

I'd like to lie and pretend I'd woken up that next morning with utter and complete clarity. Hell, even a week later, I thought I'd understand how I felt about Eli and my little...transgression. But as I sliced through the waves on my stark white surfboard, I felt completely off balance.

The smell of the ocean, the taste of whiskey, Eli's lips moving on top of mine, like he knew me. Knew what I liked, and how I liked it. The way his large hands dug into the sensitive spots on my hip bones as his tongue perfectly twirled around mine.

I tipped forward, like I'd perched on my tip toes that night, and suddenly I went flying through space and time. The clouds and the seagulls disappeared, and the waves greeted me - at all the wrong angles. My face slammed so hard against the water's surface that I saw stars, and my mouth flew open, swallowing half of the Pacific Ocean.

Spluttering and choking, I emerged, and thought that was as good of a sign as any to call it a day. Mother Earth seamed to agree, and pushed me toward the shore, where I miraculously found my sea legs and stood up.

"Bravo! Ten points for style!" A male voice, full of bravado and sass boomed and my head whipped up so fast, my blonde bun bobbed against the back of my neck.

"Oh, for fucks sake..." I grumbled, dumping my surfboard onto the sand, before bending forward to unstrap it from my ankle. "You have a bad habit of showing up when I wipe out."

"And you have a bad habit of wiping out when I show up..."

"Don't flatter yourself sweetheart, it has nothing to do with you." I lied, turning my back on my once best friend, turned lover, turned whatever the fuck we were at the moment.

As I struggled to rip at the top buckle of my wetsuit, I felt Eli's large hand bat mine aside. He slowly tugged the chunky metallic zipper down my spine, his knuckles trailing along the bumps of my vertebrae, and I fought a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold water dripping through my wetsuit. One touch from Elijah West and my head was spinning harder than being tossed salad in the Pacific.

"Thanks." I stepped away as I pulled my arms and legs out of their rubber confines.

"In all seriousness, are you okay?" He held out my white and green beach towel to me, and I took it, careful not to touch his hand this time. "I think that's the hardest I've ever seen you hit."

"Yeah. I mean, it definitely didn't feel good, but I think I'll live." I grinned and he grinned back. Both of us lost in this moment, in the costal California sunshine. The golden glow always seemed to make everything better. Even as I could feel the bruise forming on my left cheek where it had hit my board underwater.

"It looked like you were thinking hard about something just before you crashed." I watched as Eli's full lips moved and smiled a little at the corners.

My mind flicked wildly between this moment and the one outside of my bedroom. His hands on my hips, his tongue in my mouth, my entire being coming to life beneath him. In response, I felt goosebumps erupt all over body. I couldn't do this again. I knew the way this movie ended, and I wasn't going to be a broken emotional mess for this man. Been there. Done that. Burned the fucking t-shirt.

I grunted and pulled my hair out of its bun, roughly dragging my towel across it. The salt water always made my hairbrush put in double duty, but the rush of riding a wave made it worth it.

"Were you picturing me naked again, Adams?"

"You wish."

"Don't I ever." His grin was sinful, and I scrubbed at my face so he couldn't see the inevitable pink in my cheeks.