Hot Summer Nights

22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Landon

Thunder crashes outside as a big storm starts rolling in, shaking the entire building. It's enough to distract me from the training binder sitting in front of me. Another loud boom sounds as rain pelts the arena hard.

Suddenly, I'm transported back in time. Struck by a memory from one summer at Leah's parents' lake house. We were all stuck inside because of a storm similar to this one. Lightning lit up the windows every few minutes as thunder pounded through the trees.

The storm isn't the reason I saved that memory away. No, it was all because of Leah. That was the summer we first took things past the point of friendship. Hell, that day was probably the start of it all.

Some people hate storms. Leah hates them with a burning passion. Something about waking in the middle of one when she was a kid and seeing terrifying shadows on her walls...

Anyway, even as an adult, she despises storms. They freak her out worse than almost anything else.

So, that fateful summer when we were all crammed like sardines in her folks' living room, a ferocious storm was brewing right outside. Every time the lightning would flash and the thunder rolled, Leah would freak.

She kept making these petrified noises and retreated further and further from the windows. I don't even think she meant to, but every movement brought her closer and closer to me.

One extra loud thunder crash had her leaping into my arms for safety. I remember it clear as day- the way she felt holding me tightly, the way she trembled at first before calming as I soothed her live-wire nerves.

It felt amazing having her so close. The feeling of her needing me did something to me. I don't think I really understood it then, but I do now. Leah's need for me made me feel useful. It gave me purpose.

Protect her.

Soothe her.

Love her.

Sure, the love part of that equation may have come later, but that summer was the catalyst. Protecting her and soothing her through that storm started it all. From there, things only amplified between us.

I remember holding her on that couch, tucking her under my arm, rubbing her arm as she trembled. It took a while, but after some time passed, she stopped shaking because of the storm and melted into me.

The warmth of her body against mine, the feeling of her relaxing because of my proximity- it felt incredible.

The fuckboy in me scoffed at the idea of being anyone's knight in shining armor, but a small part- one buried deep down at the time- preened at the idea of her needing me.

That night, she slept in my bed, even as the storm blew away with the wind. She curled up against me, warm and relaxed. Her breath coasted along my neck in smooth, hot waves.

It was the first time a woman had been in bed with me without sex being involved and I didn't hate it.

Shortly after that night, things between us got physical. We crossed that line fast and hard, never seeming to get enough of one another. She was my addiction and I was hers. Both dirty little secrets we kept from our friends.

We agreed it would just be a fling. Just a couple weeks of messing around at the lake house, then calling it off when we got back to Raleigh.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Neither of us could get enough. And, well, the rest is history.

The walls rattle all around me, breaking me free of my trip down memory lane. Sitting back in my chair, I extend my arms and stretch, feeling the strain in my muscles from staying too long in one position. A groan leaves my lips as the strain fades away. My muscles sing in relief.