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There was no denying the pull I had toward her. Like the force from a raging waterfall, I couldn’t stop it even if I wanted to.
Lucy crossed her arms over her midsection, shyness taking hold. I wish she hadn’t. She was stunning in the two-toned bikini and it was proving to be quite distracting.
“Hi,” she hesitated softly, rosiness painting her cheeks.
I wanted to reach out, to touch her, to take her hand in mine, but we weren’t there yet. A sardonic thought entered my mind:would we ever get there again?
“Hey.” Not my most eloquent moment, but we were both testing the waters.
“Jake—”
“I—”
We both spoke at the same time, growing sheepish in the aftermath.
She hugged herself tighter before she spoke. “Jake, look. I’ve got this whole speech planned out and I even rehearsed it in my head, like a thousand times and now that you’re here, now that I see you…” She trailed off, throwing her arms down at her sides in frustration, but glanced up at my face. “Could you maybe turn around?” This time she laughed and admitted, “Do you have to be so hot? Your face is making it hard to get this out.”
Laughing,Isuddenly grew shy. “Luce—whatever it is you need to tell me, I’m here listening to you. Only you.”
She inhaled deeply and exhaled with a noisy vibration of her lips. It would’ve been funny if I wasn’t so intent on hearing what she had to say.
“Ok…I realize what I did was wrong—so wrong. You didn’t deserve it and it was cowardly of me. If I could take it back, I would, but I can’t so we’re here now and I’m apologizing for my behavior, though if you didn’t forgive me, I’d completely understand, ’cause who would? I mean, I totally ghosted you with no explanation whatsoever and if you did that to me, I’d be pissed too…”
She was entering her nervous long-winded stage and though I should’ve been upset still, I couldn’t be. Lucy’s effort to try and fix this was endearing and heartfelt.
“Sorry, I’m rambling…” she acknowledged, taking a deep, grounding breath.
I stood silently, focusing my eyes on her breathtaking face. I did offer her a smile that I hoped was encouraging.
“So, the thing is, Jake…” She sucked in a breath deeper than before and continued. “You were never supposed to mean more than just a good time. You were never supposed to have burrowed into my soul, and you certainly weren’t supposed to affect me the way you did. It was supposed to just be fun and casual and light and carefree—’cause up until you, that’s all I had ever wanted. It was always easier—there was never any chance of heartbreak that way. But you were different; you became so much more than I bargained for and it scared the shit out of me. Jake,” she finally sighed, catching my eye, “you were like chasing the moon: the closer I got, the brighter you became. And I became blinded by bliss and happiness and all that you had to offer. I messed up, but I want you to know that from the bottom of my heart, I’m no longer afraid of getting hurt. I’d rather experience everything with you, than nothing. The risk is far greater than the what-ifs, and I guess what I’m trying to say, is, if you’ll take me back…I…want you to be my future.”
I stared at her in awe, digesting and turning over every word she had just spoken. And there were a lot.
Lucy must’ve taken my silence in the negative because she nervously added, “The end.” She looked left and right, waiting. And in true Lucy fashion, she began to fill the silence again. “But if you don’t want to—”
One second longer would have been too agonizing. I reached for her lower back, pulling her against me, selfishly reveling in the way her skin felt like satin against my palm.
“Luce,” I smiled, slowly bending to meet her, “I can’t be part of your past, but I want to be your present.Andyour future. Because you’ve always been that for me.”
At my confession, she blew out the breath she’d been holding, the warmth hitting me straight in the chest. Then, she slapped me across my pec. “You were going to say that all along, weren’t you? And you made me ramble my way through my speech and didn’t think to stop me once or to even let on that I had a chance with you so you just stood there like an imposing sex-stick and you haven’t even said anything about my cosplay that I worked so hard on and was half naked in front of a ton of people—”
As cute as I found her when she got worked up, I didn’t let her finish. I was done listening. I closed the gap between us as I angled my mouth over hers, silencing the rambling. The time apart had done nothing to quell the desire and the want I had for her.
Lucy snaked her arms around my neck and my hands began to roam up her back. They landed on the tie at the base of her bikini top.
It was enough to break my concentration—and the kiss. I pulled back and admired her fully. Fingering the delicate strap, I made my way around to the front tracing the contour of her breast along the way. “I don’t know what to say about your cosplay,” I choked out. “You did this all for me?” Usually, I didn’t play the naïve card, but I wanted to hear her say it. I was being selfish. Sue me.
“Obviously,” she retorted. Lucy batted her eyelashes coquettishly. “Do you like it…?”
Bringing her in close once more, I leaned down to her ear. “Very. Much.”
I felt her smile against my cheek. “You heard the emcee, right? Took me seventy-three hours to make it…” She placed a kiss against the base of my neck, her warm lips eliciting a tingle down my spine.
“And it will take me seven-point-three seconds to get you out of it…”
“That slow, huh?” she jested.
I was about to make an addition to our sexy banter, but I was taken aback. Lucy held a playfulness to her gaze. In contrast, I realized there had been a heaviness to her features before the circuit had come to an end. I now knew how hard it must’ve been for her at that time.
