evening.
“Who’s going to see?”
“People. You don’t own this bay.” It might have been quiet, but that could change at any moment.
“All right.” He moved away, and I felt his absence everywhere.
“Would this help?” He returned with another blanket and draped it over us.
“Yes, that helps.” I wanted the coverage as well as some warmth.
“Good.” He didn’t waste any time before pulling my dress over my head.
I reached out and unbuttoned his shorts.
“I’m glad to see you want to get into my pants as much as I want to get into yours.”
“I’m not wearing pants.”
“No, no you’re not.” He grinned. “So are my eyes, hands, and lips the only parts of me you like?” He shifted out of his shorts, and we were left just in our underwear.
“No. Not at all.”
“What other parts?” He kissed my neck again.
“I love your chest.” I reached to touch it. “Your hair, your arms. I love your arms, especially being in them.”
He moved to cradle me in his arms. “I’m pretty sure you belong there.”
“I’m more than pretty sure.”
He smiled. “I love this confidence, Em.”
“You bring out that side in me.”
“I’m glad.” He reached around and unclasped my bra. I wasn’t expecting it, nor was I expecting his mouth to claim my right breast so quickly. “Are there any other parts you like?”
“Can I just show you instead?”
“Showing is always an option.”
I reached into his boxer shorts, determined to show him the confidence we’d just discussed.
He groaned. “I’m glad you like that part.”
“Like my breasts, I think it was expected.”
“There’s nothing wrong with expected.” He grabbed my hand to move it away. “But I also want this to last.”
He moved his mouth to my left breast and let his hand glide down my stomach. He didn’t stop at my panties, pushing them off quickly. He moved his mouth. “Now I get to see all of you.” He ducked his head under the blanket.
I laughed. “It’s kind of dark, isn’t it?”
“I can see with more than my eyes.”
One of his hands slid between my legs, while he returned his lips to mine.
I pushed his lips away. “Jake Mathews, you’re going to be the end of me.”
“The only thing I’m the end of is your dating history. I’m the last one, because I’m never letting you go.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“It’s nice when two people can agree.”
I couldn’t respond. The only thing coming out of my mouth was a moan.
He looked me right in the eye. “I love you, Emily.”
The words surprised me. We’d talked about loving each other’s bodies, but this was different. Even surprised, I knew how to answer. “I love you, Jake.”
“Yeah? Good.” He reached for his shorts and pulled out his wallet. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw him going for a condom.
“I’m guessing you’re on birth control, but you can never be too safe, right?”
I nodded.
He smiled before positioning himself over me. “It looks like I didn’t have to wait too long.”
“Thank god.”
He laughed before doing exactly what he’d promised a few weeks before—reminding me of what I’d been missing.
I’d never experienced anything like it. We moved together perfectly as I watched the stars above us. I’d never get enough of Jake, and I hoped he’d never get enough of me.
Chapter Twenty
Jake
I didn’t miss alcohol when I was with Emily. I didn’t miss the taste, I didn’t miss the way it dulled my senses. I didn’t need it. Nothing tasted better than her, and the last thing I wanted was my senses dulled. I wanted to feel, see, and experience everything about her. And I don’t just mean with sex. The sex was great—incredible, but it was so much more than that. I had the team and my friends, but I lived for the time I got to spend with her and Noah. If I was being honest with myself, I was falling for him too.
“You have to let me take him trick or treating. You can’t deprive him of the joys of Halloween just because you have to work.” I took a bite of my pizza, enjoying our usual Sunday night tradition. In the beginning, we only saw each other once or twice a week, but before long it became a whole weekend thing. We only had Friday night games, so I’d go back to her place afterward. I always stayed through Monday morning. I was right about my father loving Emily, so he had no issues with me getting in late those days. I owed my