He wasn’t full of shit. He also wasn’t just saying nice words to get into her panties, and no one was more surprised by this than he was. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in love. He did. His parents loved one another, but when his mom died, and Dad hooked up with the nanny, life pulled back the curtain on marriage and showed him how fucked up things could get. He wasn’t trying to be a douche by assuming affairs of the heart would not be something he’d have to concern himself with.
Boy, was he wrong. Summer was all heart. There wasn’t anything phony about how she felt. His conscience urged caution and suggested figuring out what the hell he was doing might be a good idea.
He needed to release some energy to stay clear and focused. Quickly. Kissing her would be a bad idea because the minute he touched her, there’d be no stopping, so he went with plan B and pulled the plug on the condom issue.
“Grab two small bowls, and I’ll show you a new way to enjoy animal crackers.”
She giggled and jumped to do his bidding. Her eagerness to try new things turned him on in a big way.
“Let’s do this in the living room,” she said with two small dessert dishes in her hands. “What good is having a space station-sized sofa if you don’t put it to use?”
He was thirty-seven goddamn years old and had done some stuff and seen a lot of crazy shit in his time. But nothing was funnier or more absolutely natural than seeing Summer navigate the sofa by gracefully swinging her legs and butt over the curved back and sinking onto a cushion.
“Okay, so I have to ask,” he laughingly drawled after walking around the damn sofa and stopping at her knees. “Were you a gymnast at some point?”
Smiling broadly, she patted the cushion beside her and motioned for him to sit.
“Why, yes.” She chuckled. “Yes, I was. High school stuff but you never lose the moves.”
“The beach cartwheels and playground antics clued me in.”
Joy bubbled in her laughter and twinkled in her eyes. The halo of energy surrounding her popped and sparked like a bonfire.
Yeah, no problem, he thought. I can’t be burned. Nothing to worry about.
“Unfocused energy,” she said with a dry tone. “Sometimes, I bounce from thing to thing.”
Her half-shrug was intriguing. He supposed not everyone in Summer’s life was as exuberant and nonstop as she was.
“I was the queen of after-school activities. Gymnastics, field hockey, and the track team.”
“You’re a runner?”
She shuddered. “Oh, god, no. Running is …” She made a face and searched for words. “Stupid,” she finally drawled. “Boring. Monotonous. Not my thing. Although, if you challenge me to a race, I guarantee you I’ll win.”
“Boxing was my thing. Still is, I suppose.”
“Marquess of Queensberry boxing or fight club stuff?”
He snickered. “Whatever left me the last man standing. It’s been my experience rules don’t always meet the occasion.”
Shaking the can, he pointed the nozzle into each dessert dish and made a cloud of whipped cream while Summer ripped open the box of cookies. He took a bear cookie and dipped it into the cream. “No rules for this, though. Dip, swirl, scoop. Whatever floats your dinghy.”
She poked around in the cookies and held up an elephant. “I’ll dip Dumbo.”
When they each had a cream-covered cookie, they laughed and tapped them together to make a toast.
“To trying new things,” he saluted.
Her smile grew. “Yes, yes! To virgin experiences!”
The girl was incredible.
He waited expectantly while she took her first bite of the old-time treat. Before he and his brother grew up and went their separate ways, Arnie had fond memories of devouring animal crackers and whipped cream with Stan until their bellies complained.
Stuffing the entire tiger into his mouth, Arnie watched Summer’s every move and gauged her reaction.
His mind exploded with dirty thoughts when she flicked at the cream with her tongue. Her pleasured moan turned him on.
She put the cookie in her mouth and snapped off a bite. Chewing and moaning in appreciation, she licked the cream from her lips and nodded at him. Pleasure shone in her eyes. “Oh, my.”
Her giggle did him in. Without any care or hesitation, he handed over his heart, knowing full well there’d be no takebacks or do-overs. Since he wasn’t built to give away his emotions so easily, surrendering without a fight felt like destiny.