Remember When (Remember Trilogy #1)

He’d spent a considerable amount of time at the sink, but after he’d toweled off, there was still a grey shadow-along with a big, splotchy red spot-across his forehead. He threw the towel on the counter and leaned against the door frame, watching me as I finished brushing my teeth. “You’re burned up pretty bad, huh?”


I twisted a shoulder toward the mirror. “Yeah. Think I’ll skip the beach today and just stay inside.”

A wicked smile decorated his face. “Want some company?”

I stepped back across the hall and slumped down on his bed in answer. He flopped back down half on top of me and groaned, “Remind me to kill Cooper.”

I readjusted myself more comfortably underneath him before snuggling into his arms. The skin on my face and shoulders was feeling tight and raw, sunburned the day before and settled into its full damage while I was sleeping, and I was finding it somewhat hard to spoon with Trip. Which goes to show you how badly I was hurting!

After some breakfast in bed (Froot Loops), we declined the invitation to join everyone on the beach. Instead, we spent the entire day on that mattress; talking about godonlyknows and laughing our asses off.

The fact that he could barely touch me without me wincing kept our fooling around to a minimum. But neither of us minded too much. It was just awesome enough to be there with him, have him all to myself for a little while, just the two of us, no clock to watch, no time or space beyond that queen-sized bed. We only left to grab something to eat or use the bathroom, to change the radio station on his boombox or throw on a CD.

By the time everyone came back for dinner, we were surprised that it had gotten so late. We reluctantly came downstairs and helped to demolish the pizzas waiting on the kitchen table.

The weather had been cooling off considerably all day, so we decided to join everyone for a sunset game of wiffleball back at the beach, and Trip was astounded at how well I could play. He seemed more impressed than put off when I struck him out—twice- which made me laugh to myself at my own, private joke; my athletic abilities had at long last become an advantage to me in the boy department.

We got back to the house and cracked a few beers before picking numbers out of a hat for the shower schedule.

When it was my turn, I grabbed a change of clothes and a towel and headed in. I had to shampoo twice to get all the sand out of my hair and was just rinsing off when I heard the door open. Guess who.

I poked my head out from behind the curtain to see Trip leaning against the counter, eyebrows raised.

I gave him a warning look. “Don’t even think about it.”

He started laughing. “Aww, c’mon, Lay-Lay. You’re no fun.”

I disappeared behind the curtain and said, “I mean it, Chester. Please don’t.”

It must have been the “please” that registered, because he acquiesced without further argument. “Fine, I’ll just wait out here until you’re done.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, sure. I promise. But at least give me the play-by-play of what I’m missing out on.”

He was so bad.

I laughed out, “Well, right now, I’m rinsing the shampoo from my hair!”

If he really needed a rundown of what I was doing in there, I could have just continued with a basic explanation of my shower ritual. I could have chosen to say nothing at all. But I quickly came to the realization he had proposed an offer that was just too good to pass up. After how he’d teased me into oblivion the night before, I couldn’t resist a little payback. Some wicked force overtook my body and turned me into a madwoman.

I dropped the joking tone and tried on a sultry voice. I wasn’t quite the actor he was, but was able to suggest slowly, breathily, deliberately, “Actually, the water is so hot and it’s sooo steamy in here. Mmm... I’m so wet, and God, it feels so good.”

I thought I heard Trip choke.

I grabbed the bar of Ivory from the ledge, continued my commentary at a snail’s pace, “Now, I’m soaping myself down, running my hands all. Over. My body. My neck, my shoulders... If only there was someone who could help me wash my back... or my front... Hmmm...”

When I didn’t hear anything from Trip, I poked my head back out. He was standing there white as a ghost, his bottom lip slack and his eyes wide. “Layla, what the fuck?”

I giggled more to myself than at him. Oh, the power! It was thrilling, to say the least, being completely naked only one thin shower curtain away from Trip, knowing I was driving him crazy. How could I stop now?

“It’s so slippery!” I continued. I took a deep breath and exhaled, adding, “And it smells like heaven... I’m rinsing off now, the hot water spraying me everywhere.”

“That’s it. I’m coming in.”

Ha! At that point, I kind of wanted him to! But fun and games were one thing. Thinking about him actually getting undressed, the two of us naked in such an enclosed space... A small panic gripped me and I blurted out, “No! You promised, remember?”

“Oh, you little tease.”

I laughed wickedly and peeked back out at him. He was unabashedly adjusting himself in his shorts, trying to get his body under control. I put a hand over my mouth and laughed even harder.

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