Page 39 of Love You Like This

The sound of Suzette’s high heels on the tile floor of the living room is probably the only thing that could force me away from Jade. With monumental self-control, I drop my arms and step back until there’s a friendly distance between the two of us.

“Hey kiddos,” Suzette says. “Why don’t you hop out of the pool and get ready for dinner. We have reservations in a couple hours.”

“Okay.” Jade looks at me as she walks to the steps. “Mind if I go first?”

“Not at all. Just let me know when you’re done.”

She smiles up at me, and that warmth spreads through my chest again. What the actual fuck is going on with me? A heart attack? Can you have them this young? I’m pretty fucking healthy so probably not.

Dunking beneath the surface of the water brings relief to my skin from the heat of the sun. I did wipe out on one wave. Maybe that’s got me all fucked up right now. Anxiety?

“You good?” Dad asks as I surface.

“Yeah. Of course.” I shake the excess water from my hair. “Why?”

“Vibes are weird.”

“Dad.”

“Xander.” He stares me down. “You’re acting weird.”

“Took a beating on a wave out there.” My gaze moves to where the waves continue to crash.

“Do you need to see a doctor? I can call someone to check you out.” He looks me up and down carefully.

“No,” I shake my head. “I’m fine. It was more mental than a physical beating.”

My words do nothing to ease his worry as he looks me up and down. “Let me know if you change your mind. Thomas and his wife are down here at their beach house, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind coming over to check you out.”

I laugh. “I don’t need a plastic surgeon to look me over.” Dad met Thomas golfing, and they instantly connected as widowers several years ago. He helped Dad work through his hang ups over getting remarried.

I get out of the pool and grab a towel to dry off.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” Dad says.

“I’m fine.” I feel his eyes on my back as I walk into the house.

Suzette looks me over and smiles at me in a motherly way. “He just worries about you.”

“I know, but I am fine.”

“I know. It’s in his nature to be a mother hen.”

I return her smile because she isn’t wrong. For the longest time he’s been my only parent. It’s made him more attentive than many of my friends’ parents. I definitely don’t take any of it for granted.

As soon as I close my bedroom door, I’m hit with the sound of the shower running. How just hearing that sound can make my dick perk up, I’ll never understand. Every time she showers it’s just an exercise in exquisite torture for me. At home our rooms are on opposite sides of the hall, so we don’t share any walls.

Thank fuck for that because if this trip shows anything, it’s that I can’t not get hard just knowing she’s naked and wet a wall away.

The water shuts off just as I’m considering rubbing one out again. I decide against it. I’m not that desperate or obsessed. I can at least wait until I’m in the shower like a civilized person.

“I’m done in here.” Jade’s voice comes muffled from behind the door.

“Okay.” I wait until I hear her bathroom door close before I open mine.

A cloud of Jade-scented steam assaults me as soon as I enter the room. I go from having a semi to fully hard. It’s like my dick is Pavlov’s dog when it comes to her. Shaking my head at my cock and his stupid obsession, I push my trunks down and step out of them.

Just as I reach into the shower to turn on the water Jade’s door swings open, and she walks inside. Her lips form the most pornographic O as she freezes mid-step. Instead of grabbing a towel and covering up like I should, I stand to my full height and meet her eyes. But they aren’t on my own, they’re currently scouring the length of my body.