“What are you waiting for?” I asked, staying submerged up to my shoulders, my toes digging into the sandy bottom. “Let’s make you some memories.”
She gave me a strange look, as if she wanted to cry, but then she smiled instead. She pulled her t-shirt off and unfastened her shorts. It felt like the clocks had stopped. Her shorts fell to the ground and she stepped out of them, her legs long and smooth and milky white. She had to be around five foot six, the same height as Em. I tried to mentally calculate how many inches of legs that would be, wrapped around me. That red swimsuit was devastatingly hot on her small frame. I’d always been a bikini fan but on her, that sexy one-piece was enough to change my mind.
She ran to the water’s edge and dived in, leaving a small splash in her wake. I watched her through the clear water as she swam towards me, popping up near me with a gasp.
“It’s freezing!”
I chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a bit glacial, I’ll give you that.”
She ran her hand over her hair, smoothing it back into her ponytail. I stepped closer, draping my arms around her. I couldn’t keep my hands off her. The need inside of me was growing, gnawing at me like an itch I couldn’t scratch. The more I ignored it, the worse it got. I knew I’d have to feed it soon, but in the meantime, as long as she let me touch her, hold her and kiss her, it was making it easier.
She smiled up at me, and for the first time, I saw the need growing inside her, too. She didn’t look shy anymore. She was challenging me.
Dangerous. Very dangerous.
I pulled her closer and her breasts rubbed up against my chest. My body felt like it was on fire. That red swimsuit was like an open flame, luring me closer. She laced her hands around my neck and I boosted her up as her legs encircled my waist, locking together behind me.
Sweet Jesus. She had no idea how difficult it was for me not to rip that swimsuit off her and take her, right then and there. Instead, I tilted my face up to hers and her smile disappeared, replaced by a ferocious longing. She leaned down, tickling the end of my nose with hers, and then she kissed me, her fingertips caressing the base of my neck and working their way up into my hair.
I was suddenly aware of nerve-endings I didn’t know I had. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest, hammering against my ribcage, begging to be set free. We were standing in the middle of a cool river, water flowing gently around us, accepting us as one of its own, yet my body was on fire. The contrast was both irony and torture.
She released me, from her lips and from her spell.
“I don’t ever want this day to end,” she murmured, as her legs tightened around my waist. “I want to stay with you forever. I don’t care if forever is a month from now, a year from now, or a hundred years from now.”
Just the thought of forever being only a month from now made my gut clench. I wanted our forever to last a hell of a lot longer than that.
“If our forever lasts a hundred years, it’s not gonna be nearly long enough,” I said, pulling her closer.
She smiled, holding my face in her hands. She kissed my forehead, my nose and both cheeks. Then she kissed my lips and the world around us faded into oblivion.
If heaven was a place, I was pretty sure I was in it.
I DON’T REMEMBER MUCH about the trip home. I remember holding her hand while I drove, and I remember seeing the sunset as we crested the hill on the way back into town. I found myself noticing that kind of thing more and more lately. For so long, I’d had my eyes closed because I was scared of seeing things as they really were. But lately, I’d found courage I didn’t know I had and I was under no illusion. It was because of Maia. She was opening up my world – showing me what my life could be like with her in it.
Later, back home and curled up on the couch with Maia in my arms, I felt like we were starring in some kind of dystopian movie. Alone on the planet, just the two of us, left to our own devices. Life seemed simpler, easier. The sun had gone down, the TV was off, and the only light in the house came from the table lamp in the corner.
“Vinnie texted me earlier,” I mumbled, playing with her fingers, entangled with mine on top of my chest. “He checked the forecast. He wants to go surfing tomorrow morning. Do you want to come?”
She moved slightly, getting more comfortable, but she didn’t speak. I frowned down at her, moving my head to see her better.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “You guys go. I still need to get some practice in. I’ll only hold you back.”
“No you won’t.”
“Yeah, I will,” she gave a little laugh, her eyes shining in the lamp-light.
I think I knew what she was getting at. “Are you worried you’re gonna look stupid?”
She laughed again, burying her face in my shoulder so I couldn’t see it. Then she nodded.