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“I wouldn’t even call it stunted,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I’m just saying…well, maybe a little emotionally slow.”
“One could argue those two words are not all that different.”
“One could also argue that you should shut up and kiss me before I change my mind and just decide I’m dumping your ass instead.”
“To be fair, I think it’s fairer to say I was the one who…”
“Shane.”
Chuckling, he used his other hand to curl around the back of my head and draw me closer. Disbelief that this was happening made my breath catch a moment before our lips touched. It had been weeks, but it felt like years when I felt him against me again. Even better, I felt him relax and heard the littlest sigh escape him when our lips met, our clasped hands gripping harder.
“I’ve dated before,” he told me softly. “But I’ve never…it’s never really meant something to me. I wanted it to…a couple of times. But it just never happened.”
“But now it means something?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said, worrying his bottom lip once more. “I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do, what I’m supposed to do. I don’t want to ruin this because I’m incompetent.”
“You know the funny thing about dating someone is it’s both complicated and simple,” I told him, poking him in the chest. “First, you take two people…or more if that’s your thing. Then, you make sure they’re interested in each other. Then, they commit to each other, and they keep that commitment. Everything after that is figuring it out as you go because no two people are alike, and no relationship is the same.”
“Somehow, I feel like that is more complicated overall,” Shane said with a snort.
“We figure it out,” I told him. “I have to work on my temper, and you have to work on actually talking. And not that bullshit you use to try to charm people either, real talk. Real conversations. Stuff like you just did with me.”
“I hope I’m not supposed to promise that’s going to happen.”
“No, you promise you’ll try.”
Shane smiled, running a hand down my side and gripping my hip. “Now that I think I can manage.”
“And I think I can manage to try not to lose my cool every time you end up acting like a dick,” I said with a laugh. “No promises.”
“You certainly know how to make what will probably be my first real relationship start off feeling special,” Shane told me dryly.
Chuckling, I caught another kiss from him. “Then how about I suggest we stop talking and find a way to get these clothes off? Really christen our relationship in a perfect way.”
His grin was more than enough of an answer for me.
EPILOGUE
Three Years Later
The sun was delightful as I lay basking in it while enjoying the feel of the salty air brushing over my skin. I had slathered enough sunblock on to enjoy uninhibited access to the sun for at least a couple more hours. I would probably be due for another coating by that time, but until then, I was content to lay like a cat-turned-human as I listened to the soft sound of the waves crashing gently on the beach.
That was until a shadow loomed over me, blocking the much-needed vitamin D.
“Shane,” I warned. “If you don’t get out of my sun, I swear I will tell your mother you purposefully hid her expense reports so she would leave you alone.”
“Is that any way to speak to the man who brought you alcohol?” he asked, voice rich with amusement.
I hesitated. “Does it come in a coconut?”
“With a colorful umbrella and twisty straw as well.”
“Damn it,” I grumbled, pushing myself upright. “You win this round.”
He bent down with a crooked smirk as he handed me the drink in question. Without any shame whatsoever, I took the opportunity to look him over. He had purposefully decided to wear speedos anytime we were on the beach simply because I had proclaimed no one could pull those things off unless they were swimmers and completely hairless.
I wasn’t sure if he’d taken it as a personal challenge or simply wanted to drive me crazy. If it was the latter, he certainly succeeded, though perhaps not in the original way he intended. Seeing him in those things, I had to admit I was wrong. Shane looked utterly delicious in the skimpy things, and I wasn’t ashamed to watch his ass as he walked around in them. The rest of his body was on display, and I had yet to get tired of seeing his broad shoulders and the sleekness of it in full view.
