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“Did you have fun?” Oliver asks as soon as my head pops up from the water and I remove my snorkel.
Pushing my facemask to the top of my head I smile widely, “It was amazing. I’m glad I found the courage to jump in. I would have missed out.”
“Me too. What was the coolest thing you saw?” Oliver towels off and I do the same. He gets a water bottle from the cooler and takes long swallows before offering it to me. The cool water feels good going down my throat. I didn’t realize how thirsty I am.
As I towel off, the skin on my nose and back stings and feels a bit tender letting me know the sun’s penetrating effects have taken a slight toll. Yet, I feel great and am grateful for slathering myself in sunscreen beforehand or I’m sure it would feel much worse. The sun is stronger here than I anticipated and certainly more intense than I’m used to.
“Umm,” I take a minute to answer, my mind running through everything I’ve seen. “Probably the turtle. Touching its shell was amazing. There were a lot of amazing fish though. And those colors – I can’t get over them. I’m pretty sure I even saw a Humuhumunukunukuapua’a.”
“A huma- what now?”
“A Humuhumunukunukuapua’a.”
“You made that up.”
“No, I didn’t,” I laugh.
“No, she didn’t,” Matt chimes in and I raise my brows in an I-told-you-so way.
“See?”
“How do you know about… whatever the hell you said?”
“I don’t know,” I shrug, “I just do.”
“You’re weird, Rem.”
“No, I’m not. I’m just far more educated than you are. Clearly,” I laugh and roll my eye and feel delight when he smiles too.
“Yes you are.” Then he does something that stuns me. He leans forward and presses a kiss to my mouth. It happens so fast, it initially crosses my mind that maybe it was a figment of my imagination, which almost makes me laugh inappropriately. It’s like he wanted to hurry up and do it before I could pull away or tell him not to… or freak out.
I must look ridiculous as shock registers on my face. How could it not? He’s kissed me before, sure. But it has been on the forehead, the cheek, even on the nose once when he called me ‘cute’, but never ever on the mouth. I feel stunned, but I also… well… I’m pretty sure I liked it. A lot. Maybe more than liked it and even want more.
He watches me, no doubt garnering my reaction, but I’m still trying to figure it out for myself. Absently, my fingers touch my lips. My mouth tingles where his lips touched mine as if I can still feel them there. My stomach feels warm, my breaths come faster, my breasts suddenly feel heavier and my heart is pounding so hard I can feel my body moving forward just a bit with each beat. Perhaps most importantly, my lips curve into a smile. He sees it too and his own smile widens.
“Remy,” he whispers and the sound is almost lost to the wind. His hand cups the side of my face, his hand so large the tips of his fingers tangle in the hair at my neck while his thumb brushes my cheek. It’s clear he’s seeking permission to kiss me again. Part of me thinks he’s lost his damn mind. Maybe he swallowed a crap ton of seawater and it’s making his brain float, or maybe the UV rays are making his brain mush. Either way, something is definitely wrong in that head of his.
I don’t know what it is, but clearly I’m suffering from the brain affliction too. Before I realize it, I find myself leaning forward silently giving his mouth permission to meet mine once more. He doesn’t hesitate and when his mouth touches mine again, my hands clench in my lap. His lips are soft and warm and when his mouth opens, mine follows and he immediately takes advantage and deepens our kiss.
His hand forms a fist in my hair and it pulls my head back further. I can feel rather than hear the moan that leaves him, the vibration under my fingertips that have left my lap to trail up his chest. He tastes both sweet and salty.
When he pulls away his eyes are twinkling and his lips are smiling. I’m sure I wear a look on my face that’s both surprise and need. I can feel it in the way my body feels heavy and tight at the same time.
“Wow,” he says into my ear as he tucks strands of blowing hair behind my ear. They fly out again immediately and smack both of our faces with the wind. “I’ve wanted to do that for a really long time.”
“You have?” My voice sounds gravelly.
“Yes,” he nods.
He leans in as if he’s going to kiss me again, but he hesitates and changes direction slightly. He’s clearly changed his mind. Instead he brushes his thumb against my bottom lip, then pulls me against his chest. Exhaling, momentary disappointment flashes but then recedes and I realize I was wrong before when I was looking at the ocean. It wasn’t just the sight of the water that made me feel like I was home; it had everything to do with the man next to me. I think I’ll always feel like I’m home when I’m with Oliver – no matter where we are.
We’re quiet on our way back to the resort, but he doesn’t stop touching me. Either his hand is holding mine, or our legs are touching, or our arms. I’m vividly aware of each press of skin, each stroke his finger makes on my hand. There are moments he pulls me in toward him though perhaps it’s only to protect me a bit from the boat-crashing waves that create a spray occasionally. When we are in the elevator on the way to our room, the tension is almost unbearable.
It isn’t until we’re in our room once more that we really look at each other again. I wish I knew what he was thinking. Indecipherable emotions cross over his face as he looks at me and I think he’s going to say something a few times, but he doesn’t.
Before I can say anything or begin to question what happened between us, he steps toward me. When I look up, he hesitates a moment and then kisses me again. This time, something changes. Our sweet kiss from before now becomes more intense. He steps forward and presses me against the back of the door. His hands cup my face, mine dig into his waist before moving up the front of his chest, and oh what a chest. I revel in each peak and valley.
When he breaks away from my mouth to kiss down my throat, I gasp, “What is happening?”
