This Summer (23 page)

“Don’t mind if I do.” He shoves off the chair and stands up. He rounds the table and opens the sliding door before disappearing inside.

My hands press against the railing and my grip tightens. Carter knows nothing about us. It will be different this time. We both know what’s going to happen and we’re fine with it. Right?

I don’t know how long I stand there before several girls stumble out of the house and sigh in relief at the cool air. Skye is one of them, but she doesn’t notice me as her and her friends spill onto the grass continuing their own private dance party. A few guys follow them out onto the lawn and then the rest of the party slowly follows.

Hadley hovers in the doorway, scanning the yard.

I sneak up next to her and grab her arm. She steps onto the patio and I pull her against me towards a darker corner.

She sighs and leans her body against me. “Here you are.”

“Here I am,” I whisper into her hair.

“This was not what I was expecting,” she says, looking at the people on her lawn. “But I’m having fun. Are you having fun?” Her eyes meet mine.

I press a quick kiss to her temple. “Yes I’m having fun.”

Lily comes out of the house and I move away from Hadley, knowing she hasn’t told her about us yet.

Ethan is close on her heels as he follows her to the group. Hadley shakes her head. “Poor Ethan.”

I squeeze her hand. “He knows what he’s doing.”

She groans. “Can’t help being the big sister.”

“I know,” I peck her on the lips when no one is looking.

Over the next few hours, I find myself even more drawn to her. I watch her every move and she appears to do the same thing to me. I catch her glances and hold them until my chest tightens. It’s as if we’re climbing a roller coaster, destined to hit the top and fall into uncertain territory.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Hadley

Even after the gentle night breeze picks up into a strong wind, rustling the trees around the house, my body temperature has risen past a comfortable point. Will’s eyes light tiny fires inside me and I want nothing more than to touch him again. Kissing him is a fantasy come true but something dangerous and exciting moved through me all week. Can we take it further without falling too hard? The thought makes the hair on my arms stand up. A rumble of thunder in the distance changes the dynamic of the party. Skye and her friends sprint inside as droplets of rain fall from the sky.

Will makes his way across the patio and down to the grass, as graceful as a lion in search of his prey. I shiver again but distract myself by picking up the strewn bottles, cups, and trash others left on the lawn.

“Lily,” I say as she heads inside. “I hate to be a downer but I don’t know when my parents are coming tomorrow. Can you help getting everyone out of here? I want to clean up.”

“No problem.” She opens the sliding door and yells at the group. “Party’s over, everyone!” The door closes behind her, muffling whatever else she says.

I shake my head and stack a few more cups.

Will passes me, his arm brushing against mine. We silently pick up the rest of the trash just as the sky lights up around us illuminating the lawn. Thunder rumbles and the rain comes down harder.

“I’ll finish up,” Will says, looking around the yard.

There isn’t much left so I go inside to throw away what I have. Lily and Ethan are the only ones in the house. I’m surprised by how quickly Lily got the rest out of there. In a few minutes, we have the trash in bags and the furniture put back. Ethan and Lily carry the bags out to the garage.

Rain pelts the window glass and I look outside. It’s too dark to see anything. I cross the kitchen and open the sliding door just as Will bursts into the house. His hair is plastered against his head and his shirt is drenched. I reach for the garbage can and he empties the trash into it. He holds his hands out next to him. “Well that was fun.”

“I can give you an umbrella for the walk home.”

“Are you kicking me out?” he asks.

I swallow. “No.”

He looks around the room. “Can I hang around here for a while?”

“Oh-okay,” I stammer.

Lily and Ethan come back into the house. I hand Will a towel and he wipes off his face.

“I’m out of here,” Lily says. She pulls me into a hug and kisses my cheek. “Good party. It sucks that it took me this long to convince you to have one.”

I roll my eyes. “Good night.”

Ethan takes an umbrella from the closet and follows her out of the house.

I let out a breath and turn back to Will. “What do you want to do?”

He looks down at his chest then into the living room. “I don’t want to ruin the couch, can I get another shirt? Maybe we can watch more Judge & Jury?”

“Yeah. I did laundry this morning, the basket is upstairs,” I say. Will follows me up the stairs. Each step I take increases my heart rate. I left the basket in front of the bathroom, intending to put the clothes away at some point before my parents came home. Guess that isn't going to happen. Will continues into my bedroom as I dig around for one of Ethan’s shirts.

I hear the front door open and I peek downstairs. Ethan locks the front door and disappears from view. The television turns on, some reality show people screaming at each other floating up the stairwell. I wait a few seconds but he doesn’t come upstairs.

“So much for Judge & Jury,” I say, entering my room. “I hope you like reality TV.”

Will’s back is to mine as he stares out the window. The rain hits the glass, streaking the image of his house. His shirt clings to the muscles of his back and my fingers clench around Ethan’s shirt. He turns, his front more impressive than the back. It's not like I didn't see him shirtless just a week ago, but everything changed in that week. Even how I looked at him.

“Here,” I say offering the shirt.

Will turns, his face unreadable in the darkness. I reach for the door to give him some privacy but his hand stops me.

I look up at him.

“Wait.” He pulls his shirt over his body and tosses it into the laundry basket near my closet.

I force my eyes to stay with his, but they tear with the effort.

He massages the muscles in his neck, something I haven’t seen him do in about a week. It's something new he brought home with him.

He stands in front of me for a few seconds. His body moves closer and I step back, giving him room. Is he leaving already? But his arm reaches around me and when I hear the lock click on the knob, my eyes snap to his.

“Just making sure no one barges in on me changing.”

I nod, unable to make my mouth form words. He turns from me and opens the shirt.

And as if my body is taken over by someone else, someone who doesn’t want him to cover that beautiful body, I rush to him and press my hands against his back. He stiffens and turns his head, his eyebrows dipping close together. The only sound between us is our breathing, mine sounding like a freight train in my ears. He turns around and my hands move between us, my fingers tentatively touching his smooth chest.

“Hadley,” he says, and I silence him by pressing a finger over his lips.

I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want him and, every time we’ve kissed since Camp Henry, it was all I could think about. All of those moments between us, secretly meeting and kissing, have built up inside me, filling me as if I’m a balloon about ready to burst.

He responds by pressing his hands into my back, pulling me closer. I inhale, taking him in, the faint scent of rain on his skin. My hands trail over his arms and down to his stomach. I stop at the edge of his shorts, trailing my fingers over the fabric.

He breaks the kiss but doesn’t let go of me. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to stop if you keep touching me.”

I smile, happy that I’m not the only one affected here. My chin drops and I drag my fingers over the hem of his shorts. For once in my life I’m in control of my feelings and what I want. It’s freeing and with Will it’s easy to fall into it with him.

“Do you want me to stop?” I say without meeting his eyes.

“Hell no.”

I smile. “Okay.”

His fingers circle my wrists. “But I need to know if you want this.”

I’ve never been a great talker, usually unable to say the right things, so I answer him with how I feel. I move my hands back and touch the hem of my shirt. I exhale and lift the shirt over my head. My hair tumbles over my shoulders and down my back.

A small grunt resonates in Will’s throat. I look up. Lust and desire fill the pools of his eyes.

His hands touch my shoulders and I shiver. He presses a kiss to my shoulder and murmurs, “I like how you respond to me touching you.”

“I like when you touch me,” I whisper.

His fingers move over my shoulder, down my arm and across my chest. He cups my breast and electricity surges through me. I suck a breath in through my teeth, watching his hands. He presses another kiss to my shoulder and, as if following the path of his hands, his kisses trail down my arm. He tucks a finger under one strap and pulls, freeing me from the fabric. But when I think he’s going to kiss me there, he moves away and bends, pulling me close to him. He lifts me from the ground and a tiny squeak escapes my lips. I cover my mouth as he gently places me on the bed, my head resting on my pillow.

His breathing is ragged and he hovers over me, his hands pressing into the bed on either side of my head. Only the light from the street lamps illuminate the room and curved shadows are cast over his immaculate body. I press my fingers into the ripples of his abs, trailing down the hair from his belly button down to his belt. My eyes memorize every inch of him before his face dips down and his lips are a breath away from mine.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” His hand reaches behind my back and unclips my bra. Before he can get it off the bed, I free his belt from his shorts. The metal end clinks together and I look towards the door. Ethan would never come into my room unannounced, but it's unnerving to have him in the house. I can hear the television through the floor, and know he's still occupied.

I’m pulled back to what we’re doing when Will’s lips press over my breast. His tongue flicks over the small rising peak and a gasp escapes my lips. I wrap my arms around him and dig my nails into his back, begging him for more. His mouth moves away, leaving me cool without his touch. He sits back, kneeling in front of me.

Have I done something wrong? I know I'm not as experienced as he is, but I haven't done anything yet.

He rakes a hand through his hair, making it fluff higher above his head. “Do you have something?”

For a second I feel like a child who just got caught doing something naughty. But Carter and I had been intimate for a while. Why was I so ashamed? “In the top drawer,” I say.

Relief flashes over his face, but he doesn’t move. “We don’t have to. I just um—”

Now he’s the nervous one. I sit up, fully aware that I’m braless, but his eyes don’t move from mine. “I want to.”

He kisses me and we fall back onto the bed, his tongue deepening the kiss. He moves away from me, leaving my head fuzzy. He opens the drawer open and digs around. I take the opportunity to touch his side, my fingers trailing along his skin. He lets out a guttural sound from his throat and I smile, knowing I have the same effect on him as he does on me.

He puts a foil packet on the top of the table and slides back onto the bed with me. His kisses are slower this time, more deliberate. As if he’s trying to decipher a puzzle with each touch of our lips. He leans back again, but this time his fingers move over my stomach and down to my shorts. He pops the buttons and tucks his hands under the hem, pulling them over my legs. He drops the fabric onto the floor and lowers himself over me. Our breathing is ragged. His eyes dart across my face as his hand hovers over my panties. His hand cups around me and I suck in a breath, my head digging into the pillow. He tucks his head against my neck, kissing me as his fingers move slowly between my legs. His thumb rolls over me, gently and kneading. He moves the fabric aside, slipping his fingers inside of me, filling me with intense pleasure and a need for more.

My legs bend and press myself up to meet his strokes. His breathing is almost as ragged as mine. He strokes me until I’m nearly at the edge, but then he slows down. His hardness is pressed against my leg, turning me on even more. He picks up the pace of his strokes before slowing down again. I let out a frustrated groan. I feel his smile over my lips as his fingers slowly pull out of me. He leans back, wrapping both hands around my panties and pulling them off me. I sit up as he tosses the fabric to the ground and press my hand over him.

He draws in a breath through his teeth and I stroke him, not breaking eye contact. I unzip his shorts and he stands from the bed, pulling them and his boxers down to the floor. He hesitates but I sit up on my knees, holding my hands in front of me. I take in the man before me and my heart is finally whole.

He takes one of my hands and I reach up to pull him back down to me. He grabs the condom and rips it open as our lips meet again. No matter what happens tomorrow, I will have this moment tattooed on my heart. My fingers skim over his shoulders and down his arms to his hands. In one fluid movement, I’m on my back, one of his hands cradling my head.

“Are you good?” he says against my mouth.

I nod, for fear of my voice cracking the overwhelming moment.

He adjusts himself over me. I cup his neck and pull him down to me as he enters me. I gasp and sink into the bed. His movements are slow and gentle. We move together slowly, his eyes on mine. His jaw drops open and I trace a finger over his bottom lip. He nips at my finger and grins. As much as I want this moment to last forever, something inside of me builds again as his movements quicken. We’re both panting as we reach our climax within seconds of each other.

“God, Hadley,” he says, his head buried in the pillow beside me as his movements slow.

I smile, a euphoric laugh bubbling inside of me. I run my fingers through his hair and his head lifts from the pillow. His mouth meets mine and I feel the heat radiating off his skin. My head feels as if it’s stuffed with cotton, light and difficult to sift through. I drape my arm over my forehead and my body melts into the bed.