closer and closer. I feel like we’ll have to decide what we want to do then.”
Her lips quirk. “What do you mean?”
The back of my neck heats. I clear my throat. “I mean, do we keep fucking? Do we… stay engaged for longer? Do we stop everything all at once?”
Her eyes widen. She looks out at the beach, biting her lower lip. All I get from her is a grudging, “I have no idea,” mumbled quickly out of the side of her mouth.
Before us, the road gives way to the sloping beach. It’s rocky after we cross the road. The ocean glides gently up toward us and then back again, leaving a sandy beach in its wake.
Pippa picks a spot, laying her tote bag down. “God. It’s beautiful out here.” She shivers. “It’s unexpectedly chilly. I guess there isn’t anything to keep the wind off of us.”
I toss my shirt down next to her bag. “It’s nearly brisk. I like it. But I don't think that I want to get in the water, though. It’s not the right time of year for that, I’m afraid.”
A smile tugs at her mouth. “I suppose not. Maybe I’ll just sit here and read.”
She purses her lips and sits down in the pebble-strewn sand, well away from the water. Normally I would just look at the sea for a minute and then head back to the shelter of the house. But since Pippa seems intent on staying, I sit down next to her.
She is pretty quiet, dragging her book out. It’s big and thick, not beach reading at all. My knee accidentally brushes hers as I settle in, and my touch leaves traces of crimson in her cheeks. Then she apologizes, as if she had done something bad.
“Oops, sorry!” she says, scooting herself another inch away from me.
As if we didn’t start this morning with amazing, steamy shower sex. As if I didn’t cup her tits, pull her hair, and fucking come inside her gorgeous body mere hours ago.
My first instinct is to drag her a little closer, put my calloused palms against her smooth skin. Just to see how she would react.
I blow out a breath. “I hate to be one of those people, but what are you reading?”
She wrinkles her nose, showing me the cover. The cover is hot pink and designed to look very 1990s. “It’s a look back at how music and feminism shaped millenials.”
I look at the sand in front of me, reach out two fingers to trace a figure eight. “I think it’s been a while since I’ve read anything more complicated than a Wired article.”
“Oh,” she says carefully, gripping her book to her chest with both hands. “I think my brain needs to be fed a steady diet of new and thought provoking material.” She wrinkles her nose. “All I ever did as a kid was read.” Her cheeks stain again. “Actually, my childhood wasn’t that different from my life right now in that regard. I’m still a giant nerd.” She crinkles her face up and huffs out a laugh.
I smile a little. I’ve known her since she was thirteen. And for the most part, she’s right. When I picture her, her nose is always stuck in a book. “I wished I was a nerd sometimes. I wished I was basically anything but a prince.” My mouth flattens. “I think that sometimes the royal family is sort of trapped. They are set in their ways, always performing the same ceremonies, fragile beings kept under glass.”
She straightens her spine and frowns. “I can see why you feel that way.” Her mouth twists. “Do you ever dream of escaping this life? Just starting over somewhere that no one will know you?”
I push myself onto my back, laying out against the sand. “Ja. Of course. When I was little, I would spend hours studying maps, trying to chart a course for a great ship to take me away. ”
Pippa pushes her hair behind her ears, her expression a little sad. She reaches out and touches my arm ever so gently, causing goosebumps to raise all over my body. “I’m glad you didn’t sail away. Is that selfish? I’m so glad I met you, especially when I did.”
Her words are so earnest, making the back of my neck heat. It’s a little weird that she has such complete faith in me when I’ve never really done anything to earn it.
“Well, me too. I guess I could wish that so many things