“Even with those horrific bangs - and they really were horrific - you were still the prettiest girl in the room. You always have been.” She blushes again, and with a shaky breath stands up from the swing and walks towards the glass railing of the veranda, gripping it tightly.
I follow her so that we are standing next to each other, both leaning against the railing looking out to the ocean.
“Parker, you are killing me. I don’t know what to do with myself right now. I’m scared. You come back into my life out of nowhere and make me feel things that I thought I’d never feel again. I could never survive losing this again. My heart couldn’t take it. “
Biting her bottom lip, she turns to me and our eyes lock.
“This is worth taking a chance on. I’ll prove it to you.” I search her eyes, and they blaze right through me. They darken and her lips part and I can feel the desire pulsing through my veins. She wants this just as bad as I do. Swallowing my nerves, I reach for her. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than her right now.
I run my hand to the back of her neck, pulling her into me, praying that I’m right and that she wants this too.
My forehead drops to meet hers, my lips hovering over her full open mouth.
“I want to give us one more shot. I want to take this chance with you.” The words barely leaving my lips before I move in closer.
Our lips crash together as I pull her face towards mine, kissing her like I’ve never kissed her before. I press her back into the railing, my other hand moving to her hip and pulling her body into mine. I angle my mouth, deepening the kiss, needing more, and she whimpers in concession. Our tongues sweep each other’s over and over, frantic and feral like we could never get enough.
She tastes so fucking good.
I untangle my fingers from her hair, running them down the angle of her jaw, my other hand sliding from her hip up her ribcage to her neck to meet my other hand. I grasp her jaw with both of my hands as I run my tongue along her bottom lip, and she smiles with a sexy smile. I am so turned on right now.
A soft moan escapes her lips and it nearly does me in. My dick twitches behind my zipper, hard as a rock.
“I love your mouth,” she whispers.
“I have a list about four pages long of what I love about your body. Jesus Livy, you drive me wild.”
She smiles that sexy smile and I kiss her again, pushing my body into hers, showing her what she does to me. She winds her fingers through my hair, kissing me harder, sending a wave of heat up my spine. I don’t remember a kiss ever feeling like this with anyone else but her. She tastes sweet, like an oaky vanilla wine. I can’t stop.
Her warm body feels so good up against mine as I press into her, my dick hard against her stomach, her back still pinned against the railing. I thread my fingers through her hair and tip her head back, granting me access to her long, delicate neck. I trail kisses from her ear down her jaw and into the hollow of her neck. I slowly pull the neck of her sweater down over her tanned shoulder as I run my tongue across her collarbone, covering her in soft kisses.
Livy whimpers and drags her nails across my back to my shoulders, whispering my name in a low voice.
I groan. “Fuck Liv, you feel so good. I never want to let you go.” I run my hand down her ribcage and back to her hip, feeling her curves, wishing it was her skin I was touching. I want to rip this sweater from her body and devour her. I trace my hand up her stomach to her breast. She stills.
“Parker, I can’t.” She presses her hands against my chest, pushing me gently back. Her eyes are suddenly scared and vulnerable.
“This feels so good, but what happens tomorrow? You are more than just one night to me. I can’t do this and go ahead and get my heart broken all over again.”
“I meant what I said, Livy. I miss you and I want you. Let’s try to see where this goes.”
“And how are we supposed to do that? You are heading back to New York in the morning. There is no point. This will only end in heartbreak and my heart can’t take it again.” She straightens the neckline of her sweater, her chest rising and falling with each heavy breath.
“I need to go back to the restaurant, Parker. I want you to take me back.” She slips out of the space I’ve closed her into and walks towards the beach, away from me. Like a tidal wave out of nowhere, it hits me that I’ve lost her. My gaze remains on Livy, waiting for her to change her mind, to reconsider. She looks at me over her shoulder, her eyes pleading.“Please, Parker.”
“Livy, I…”
“Don’t, Parker. I don’t want you making any promises you can’t keep. Let’s just pretend this never happened and we can go back to the way things were. It’s for the best.”
I nod because there isn’t much more I can do. I can’t force her to want to be here with me, so I follow her off the veranda and in the direction of the restaurant, trying to retrace how this perfect night fell apart so quickly.
We walk back to the restaurant in silence, my stomach churning with the thought of never seeing her again. I pushed her too far too soon. I fucked it up and I’m pissed at myself. I see her eyes fill with tears and it nearly breaks me in two. It kills me to see her so upset.
We arrive back at the restaurant and stop to put on our shoes before going inside. I run a hand over my face, taking a deep breath, then decide she needs to know exactly how I feel. I turn to face her, my voice full of certainty, “I need you to know, Livy, that I can’t forget tonight. There’s no way I ever could. What happened between us means something to me. You mean something to me. I hope you will change your mind and give us a shot.”
She looks at me like she wants to say something, but then changes her mind. Her hand reaches for the railing on the stairs and emotion fills her eyes.
She turns and walks into the restaurant. I catch my breath that I didn’t realize I was holding and follow her inside.