“Watching you make a fire is weirdly sexy,” she comments as I sort through the dry wood for the best pieces.
I twist around to grin at her. “Handy dudes are like porn for chicks. You like that I can do things.”
“If I was a cavewoman, I’d definitely drag you back to my lair,” she agrees.
“Is that how it worked back then? The men would create fire and then the women would come along and bonk the guy with the best twig from the pile and have her way with him?”
“Yup, but we let the men write the stories because their fragile egos needed the boost.”
I throw one more log into the fire to keep us toasty, then join her on the blanket. She smooths the comforter over my legs as I stretch out beside her. For a while, we watch the fire dance and listen to the crackling of the tinder as it breaks under the heat. There’s a simple pleasure in our closeness. The ocean is vast, the sky is endless, and Ella and I are together. Finally.
Her feet rest beside my jean-clad thighs. My arm is wrapped around her back and my hand is cupping her sweet ass. I wish she was wearing her uniform so I could slide my hand underneath until I find nothing but bare skin and heat and softness.
“Thank you for getting me my job back,” she says finally.
“What makes you think I did?”
She gives me a wry look. “Who else would it have been?”
I grin sheepishly.
“I mean it, Reed. Thank you.”
I pull my exploring hand back and tuck it behind my head. If she wants to talk, we’ll talk. I mean, my dick is going to choke to death in my jeans, but it’d be worth it if it means she’ll stick around.
“Least I could do. It’s my fault you lost it in the first place.”
“Not really, but I appreciate the thought.” Her hand rubs briskly down my thigh.
I close my eyes. The touch is meant to be encouraging, I’m sure, but just a few more inches to the left and I’ll have a little relief. I take a couple of deep, silent breaths.
“The stuff at school isn’t as bad as before. Did you help with that, too?” she asks. Her hand has moved upward and she’s now trailing a finger down the side seam of my long-sleeve shirt.
Is she purposely trying to drive me crazy? I swivel my head to look at her, but she’s staring out at the water.
I roll back and focus my attention on finding the Big Dipper and not on how I’d like her fingers to pull up my shirt and trace a path along my abs. “Not enough,” I admit. “I talked to Wade and some of the other guys. Told them I wanted to hear if anything was going on, but we both know it’s Jordan behind this shit. If it was a guy, I’d take him out to the parking lot and pummel his face until he was shitting his teeth.”
“That’s a lovely image.”
I snort. “Would you rather I take him to the mall and get friendship bracelets made?”
“I don’t know. Does violence solve anything? Like, you hit Daniel, and I helped humiliate him, but he won’t go away. He doesn’t even appear…shamed.” Her wandering finger has drifted lower to trace the hem of my shirt.
“It’s an act,” I tell her. “He’s good at pretending it’s all right, but he got kicked off the lacrosse squad and his run for next year’s student body president is over.” I frown. “It’s still not enough.”
“It’s a start, though.” Ella reaches out to stroke my arm, and that innocent touch lights a fire under my skin that’s hotter than the one in the sand five feet away. “Speaking of Jordan, your dad threatened her dad at the game tonight.”
“He did?” I can’t hide my surprise.
She nods. “He said something like he’d hate for anything bad to happen to me and have it affect their business relationship.”
“Good for the old man. I didn’t realize he had it in him. Or that he even knew what goes on at Astor.”
“I think he knows more than he lets on. He hinted that he knew about you and me, too.”
I grin. “What about you and me?”
“That maybe wearing your jersey means something.”
I use her hair as an excuse to touch her, tucking a few wayward strands behind her ear. “I know what it means to me. Wanna share what it means to you?”
She grabs my wrist and turns her lips into my palm. It feels like a brand. Her brand. I want to close my fist around it and keep it there.
“It means that all those other girls need to stand down. You’re mine.” She lifts her shining eyes to meet mine. “Your turn.”
Again, I have to take a breath. This time it’s because my heart’s in my throat. “It means all those other guys need to step off. You’re mine.” I give up being patient and drag her onto my lap. “I want to solve all your problems for you. I want to make Jordan go away. I want to erase Brooke from our lives. I want everything perfect and shiny and beautiful for you.”
“Since when are you such a romantic?” she teases.