Page 116 of Sand in My Boots

“Me too, Came. Me too.”

Chapter 29

Cameron

It’s been three weeks since Juli made the move to Magnolia Cay. It’s been interesting trying to mesh our two separate lives into one life together, one not without challenges, but we’re working through them.

Since I moved out of my parents’ house, I haven’t lived with anyone else. It’s an adjustment. For her, too, because the same goes for her. Having someone twenty-four seven in the space you lived alone for a few years can be awkward. Though she doesn’t mind when I walk around naked, she doesn’t love how my clothes don’t always make it into the hamper. She says she’s not judging me, but condescension lingers in her expression every time I don’t use a clean towel. I’m not sure I can get used to having a new one every time, nor if I have to. I don’t judge her when she comes home from sitting on the beach and leaves sand all over the place.

Okay, I do. In my head, I totally cringe every damn time. Every time I see the faintest hint of sand on the floor in the bedroom or the bathroom, I shudder. So I kinda get the whole towel thing, and it’s not like I do the laundry.

“Hey, I’m home. I brought dinner because I had no desire to cook. It’s meatballs and lasagna. Hope you’re okay with that.” Her hurried words drift through the open slider. I left the resort a little earlier than I planned to. I knew she was at yoga, but I needed an extra few minutes on the balcony by myself.

“Sure thing. Come join me on the balcony.” My eyes draw in the ocean, the sun dipping below the horizon as day becomes night. Orange hues dance across the top of the water.

“Paradise is so beautiful. I didn’t appreciate I’d been missing this all my life.”

Her voice lures my attention away from one natural beauty to another. A zip-up hoodie is tied around her waist, emphasizing her bare midriff, the golden skin tone a result from more time in the sun. Her high ponytail on her head’s a little askew, and her face still bears evidence of the heat from the hot yoga studio. It’s her latest obsession. She dragged me exactly once, but damn it was stifling in there. She loves it. More power to her.

“Paradise is better with you in it.”

Her hand settles on her purple sports bra, over her heart. “Aw, Came. You say the sweetest things. No wonder I was defenseless in falling under your spell.”

The nickname she bestowed upon me way back when is here to stay, though I’m not sure I’ll ever tire of it when it comes from her plump lips.

“I had the perfect lair to lure you to. I’m so glad it didn’t take too long for you to join me.”

A wave of confusion flutters over her face. Every once in a while, it still happens. One of us will say something that makes sense to us but not the other.

“Doesn’t a lair have more of a negative connotation? I like it here.”

Ignoring her question, I motion her forward, dropping my legs from what she’s deemed “her” Adirondack chair. “I’m glad you like it here. I enjoy having you here.” She relaxes against the back of the chair, resting her feet on the ottoman she insisted the deck was missing. I won’t lie and say she was wrong. It completes the deck. “Are you hungry or do you want to shower before we eat?”

“I probably smell.”

“Not probably, cutie.” Her tongue shoots out of her mouth at me. It’s well-deserved.

“I didn’t think you’d be home until a little later. I planned to be showered and ready for movie night at Whispering Tide before you were supposed to be home. I hate when you throw a kink in my plans.” She can’t say the word “kink” without smiling.

“Admit it. You love the kinks.”

Thank goodness she isn’t one of those people who lives by structure. We wouldn’t ever work if that were the case. We each have our own routine, and we’re ironing out ways not to disrupt each other. We still need some tweaks, but nothing major we can’t handle. Especially since we’re both mostly easygoing and not so rigid about things.

Other than her towel fetish.

“Fuck, I do love the kink.” Her face lights up with excitement. “Oh. Because of your kink, I finally executed the Bird-of-Paradise Pose. You should have seen Gunter’s face when I didn’t fall over.”

An unwanted grunt barrels out. Three weeks and she’s already made friends with the yoga instructors at Whispering Tide. Both male and female. Not to mention the ones at the hot yoga studio. It’s only driving me slightly batshit crazy.

“Still on this, are you?” She giggles, as if my jealousy’s funny. “So now isn’t the time to tell you about the photo shoot the photographer booked for next month?”

“Juliana,” I warn. It’s unwarranted and unnecessary, but I can’t help the boiling inside me. Even though she’s mine and wouldn’t ever do anything to jeopardize our relationship.

“Say it again. My full name. In the envious tone. But only if we have time to fuck, shower, and eat before movie night.”

Fuck if her naughty words don’t have me tenting my shorts.

“Just for that, I won’t.”