He hadn’t really thought about what he said, but now he took a few moments to evaluate it. “Yeah, I think I will. I don’t have anything in mind at the moment, but something tells me I’m going to like keeping you on your toes.”
She bit the corner of her lip and lowered her eyes. “Jackson, about last night…”
With a finger he lifted her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. “What about it?”
“I acted like you’d done something on purpose to make this week difficult for us, which is ridiculous. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
The idea wasn’t ridiculous at all. A pang of guilt struck him right in the chest, but though his head told him to tell her the truth right then and there, something else told him to hold onto this time with her just a little while longer.
He tried for an easy smile and said, “I didn’t exactly take the high road with the stunt I pulled to win your game. So we’ll call it even, okay?”
“True,” she said, returning his smile. “So, what am I wearing?”
“A thong and stilettos.”
Her jaw dropped.
“What?” he asked with a look of innocence. “You didn’t mean in my fantasies?”
She laughed and shoved him away.
“Beachwear,” he finally answered. “And you can put a suit on underneath in case you want to lay out or jump in the ocean. If you want to read or nap in the sun, then I’ll entertain myself with a little surfing. The goal is to relax and enjoy Mother Nature.”
“That sounds great. I’ll be ready in just a few minutes.”
Jackson retrieved the basket and waited while she changed. They drove to one of his favorite spots, a secluded beach only the locals knew about, so it wasn’t clogged with tourists. He parked his Jeep and took the picnic basket and other supplies to a nice spot next to a high cliff. He spread two blankets next to each other, one in the sun and one in the shade of the cliff, so she could get out of the sun if she needed to. With her fair complexion, he was afraid she’d get a tan like a lobster.
“Jax, this is…absolutely the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
He liked the fact she used his nickname and hoped it meant she was starting to like him, if only a little. Standing behind her, he tentatively laid his hands on her hips, unsure of how she’d react. Just because he fought a hard-on every time she looked his way didn’t mean she wanted any affection from him. When she relaxed against his chest on a sigh, he felt a high rush through him like when he knew he’d won the first round of a match. Feeling bolder, he circled his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head as he tried to view the scape through her eyes.
Cotton-ball clouds lined a powder blue sky and met the royal blue ocean in a flawless horizon. As the eye traveled in toward the shore, royal turned to cerulean, which turned to aqua, and each with several shades in between until the clear water finally met the white beach. To the right, black cliffs covered in a myriad of foliage stretched up into the sky and out into the ocean, tying everything together in a magnificent package of paradise.
“Yeah. It’s in my top three favorite spots.”
“Will you show me the other two before I leave?”
The question took him by surprise. This was in second place. The third one wasn’t so much picturesque as it was his favorite hangout spot with friends, so he could for sure take her there.
But his absolute favorite spot was very private to him. Though he wasn’t the only one who knew about it, his “neighbors” rarely hiked that far up the mountain to enjoy it. He thought of it as his own slice of heaven, a place to think and reflect. A place he’d never shown anyone before.
He pictured taking Vanessa, seeing her there in his place, and surprisingly it didn’t bother him like he thought it would. In fact, now that the idea was in his head, he kind of wanted her there. Besides, soon she’d be gone, so it wasn’t like he had to worry about her randomly intruding on his privacy in the future.
Remembering he hadn’t yet answered her, he said, “Definitely.”
“Good,” she said, stepping away from him. “Now, what’s in the basket? Because I’m starved.”
…
They sat next to each other on the sun-drenched blanket. Vanessa licked the strawberry juice from her fingers and moaned in pure foodie bliss. Jackson had somehow wrangled one of the resort chefs into packing a veritable feast, and she’d eaten until she passed “stuffed” about three times over.
As he drank some water and watched shore birds play in the surf, she took the time to study his tattoo stretching across his shoulder and bicep. She’d never been one of those girls enamored with ink, but she found the images in Jackson’s rather beautiful in a masculine way.
Waves inside a black band wrapped around his bicep. From that, ocean waves arced up and over his shoulder with other more geometric-looking waves. Everything was in stark black with the exception of four cherry blossoms with red petals and yellow centers. Two of them were in the middle of the design and the other two were riding the crest of a giant swell.