history.
I walk to grab it off the table and take a quick swig of the wine. Swinging open the door, I stroll out and head for the stairs, running right into a very surprised Tommy on his way up.
Confused, he asks, “Going somewhere, Bec?”
Stuttering, I throw my hand up to my head. “Tommy! Oh my God. There you are! You’re here.” My heart flutters like hummingbird wings. “I… was just about to go and look for you!”
He turns his head away, side-eyeballing me, suspicious. “Oh yeah?”
I nod, smoothing down my dress and smiling.
“You changed,” he says, looking down at my outfit.
“Did you expect me to wear what I was wearing, outside?” I laugh, blinking away my nerves, and add, remembering, “You said not to call you, so I knew I couldn’t. I had to go get you myself!”
His eyes light up again, and he relaxes. “Oh, yeah. Right. Thank you. So…” He closes the gap between us. “You were going to chase me down, huh?”
I nod, trying to calm my heart. “Uh-huh.”
“Well, looks like great minds think alike. Let’s go back inside.”
He kisses me and grabs my hip and turns me around. I walk to the door, reaching into my purse for the room key, my eyes on the door and my mind on Brendan. A slap on my ass wakes me up and I laugh nervously. “Are you staying over then?” I throw a smile over my shoulder as I open up the door.
He nods, his eyes enflamed. “And I want to enjoy a little more of that wine.”
“Great.” I smile and walk in.
Chapter Six
Annie
If anyone has binoculars, I hope they’re taking notes.
We make love in front of the incredible view with me on top of him, the blanket around my waist. Our eyes stay on each other even when the climax takes us over, rushing through us at the exact same, intoxicating time. “We have to start using condoms,” he says, incredulous when we realize that once again, we forgot.
“Oh my God!” I climb off him and land a kiss on his lips before jumping off his bed. “I’ll remember next time, I promise!” I walk into the bathroom, clean up, and come back with a warmed, damp washcloth to clean him off with. “Your bathroom is as big as my living room.”
Lying on his back, naked except for the gauze square on his ribs, he chuckles and watches me climb onto the bed to slowly and sensually clean him off, taking extra care. “That feels so good.” He closes his eyes, his whole body spent, relaxed and gorgeous.
I get up to put the washcloth away again, and from behind me, I hear him say, “Your ass is shaped like a cello. I wanted to tell you earlier. It’s so beautiful.”
I smile over my shoulder. “You like it?”
“I like everything about you.” He closes his eyes, a small smile rested on his lips.
My feet float me into the bathroom, a few inches off the floor, and I shut the door quietly, but quickly. At my reflection, I stare, trying to understand if I heard what I think I just heard. It feels like I could cry, like it’s not real… but why? What part of me thinks I don’t deserve to have these feelings? To be told I’m beautiful by the man I’ve loved since I’ve known him. There is a part of me that can’t take this in, and that part wants to sob and crawl into a corner. It’s the part of me that knows I need to tell him.
“Brendan, we met before. We didn’t get along. I touched your lips. You yelled at me. I yelled at you. You said you wanted to stay far away from me. I called you an idiot. You chased me into the street. Why did you do that, by the way?” After whispering these things to myself, I look to the closed door and decide now is the time. With my heart pounding, I walk to put my hand on the doorknob and open it. I pause. My head feels woozy and my hands are clammy, but I know I have to do it now. I can’t live with knowing I have a secret from him, when I can plainly see that we are falling in love. For real. Not just a schoolgirl’s crush. Really falling in love… together.
Cracking open the door, I try to inhale, but I can’t breathe. Propelled solely by will power, I step into his