Wake up to sunlight streaming in the windows. Look at the clock. It’s freaking sunrise-early.
I feel a bit fuzzy, confused about where I am, and thirsty. I look down and see I slept in my bikini.
Dawson walks out of the bathroom, wearing only board shorts, and that dark, gorgeous body of his is looking sexier than ever. While Riley only has a four pack, Dawson’s got a full six. Almost eight, if that’s even possible. His chest is totally ripped. And quite yummy.
“So, the early bird gets the surf. Us guys always go out and try to surf at sunrise, then we come back and eat a huge-ass breakfast. Come with us. Or do you want to sleep some more? The girls always sleep in.”
“I slept in my swimsuit?”
He sits on the bed next to me and grins. “Yeah. You remember last night? You were pretty tipsy, maybe drunk. I don’t know. I haven’t drunk with you enough yet to be sure. You were kinda naughty though. Do you remember that part?”
“Yeah, I do, but then it gets kinda blurry—not because I was drunk, more because I was just so tired. Yesterday was a long day.”
“You were tired. You told me Kool-Aid makes you sleepy. Then you snuggled up next to me and crashed. Maybe even snored a little.”
“Oh, gosh. That’s embarrassing.”
“Naw, it’s cute. And you’re such a little snuggler.”
“I’m really not a snuggler.”
“Yeah, you are.”
“No, I’m really not. It usually makes me feel kinda claustrophobic.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, all I know is you were glued to my side all night. My right arm’s still numb. So if you wanna go, get dressed and meet us down there okay?”
“Okay.”
I get up, pee, brush my teeth, throw on a different bikini and a rash guard, spf my face, pull my hair back into a ponytail, grab my flip flops, and head down the beach.
They’re just getting the boards down there when I arrive.
We have fun playing around in the surf.
I make Dawson tell Riley what he’s doing wrong. He grudgingly agrees, then looks like a proud parent when Riley rides a wave all the way to shore. He runs over to him, high fives him, and is like, Riles, dude, that was awesome.
And he wasn’t kidding when he said they come back and eat a big breakfast. I don’t think I’ve seen this much food consumed in one place. Apparently, growing boys can eat a whole freaking lot. Their cook set out plate after plate of bacon, eggs, pancakes, fried potatoes, biscuits, gravy, sausage, and they drank at least three gallons of milk.
I sit there just watching the frenzy.
Riley says to me, “Dude you need to eat more. We need to fatten you up a little.”
Dawson stops lifting the fork to his mouth. “Naw, she looks damn good in a bikini. Perfect, if you ask me.”
And that pretty much made my whole day.
We’re walking over to play tennis when Dawson says, “So, um, about last night.”
“Last night was great. The sunset was amazing, and the partying, and hot tubbing. I’m having so much fun. Thanks for inviting me.”
He kicks his racquet gently with his foot. “Uh, I was sorta referring to after that.”
“After that?” And I’m thinking after that we went to bed. Oh. After that. “Oh. What about it?”
“What about it?” His eyes get big, like I could be so nonchalant about it. “Hands down. The. Hottest. Thing. Ever.”
He’s so cute, and so excited about this. You’d think we were talking about cars or Xbox or something. But what did Grandpa’s ranch hand say about boys? They have two moods, hungry and horny. So if you see a boy without an erection, you should go make him a sandwich. That made Grandpa laugh, and Grandma say, Keatyn, don’t you dare listen to them. You tell them to make their own damn sandwiches.
I say, “Really?”
He suppresses a big smile. “You. Down on your knees. Uh, yeah.”
I’m pretty surprised by this, considering his summer in whoredom.
“Hmm. Well, good. Does that mean it’d be okay if I wanted to get down on my knees again sometime?”
Dallas walks up behind me. “And just what are you going to do down on your knees, Kiki?”
“Look for seashells, what else?” I sass back.
Dawson chokes down his Kool-Aid laughing, but as soon as Dallas walks away, I have to ask. “I don’t get why it was so hot. I mean, I’ve heard about your summer.”
“It was just different. I actually like you. I didn’t ask you to, and it was a surprise.”
“And you like being surprised?”