AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stepped closer, not helping my breathless situation. “Turn around, Em.” Dang that sounded sexy.
As if I were in a trance, I did what he said.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked while flipping open the lid.
“Yeah.” I could hardly speak for the anticipation of his hands on my body. Thankfully, I didn’t have back fat. At least not that I knew of; it was kind of hard to see your own back.
“The weather’s perfect.” His warm hand mixed with cold sunscreen made contact with my shoulders.
I gasped.
“Sorry it’s cold. I’ll warm it up for you.”
I wasn’t gasping because of the cold. The rubbing was only going to increase the likelihood of more gasps.
His strong hands went to work. He was doing a thorough job of making sure to rub it in deep.
My breath got caught and was being held hostage by my emotions.
“You’re tense.” He began to knead my neck. “Relax,” he whispered.
I don’t know what it was about my body, but it obeyed his every command. I let the breath out I’d been holding. I was putty in his hands.
His hands glided down my back, causing goosebumps. “Are you cold?” Dang, he noticed.
“Um . . .” Lie, Emma, lie. “No.” Way to go, self.
He didn’t respond, but instead applied more lotion and pressure. I, unfortunately, let myself enjoy the feel of it for longer than I should have and pretended he was enjoying it too. His touch had me mesmerized. Every stroke and each fingertip were felt on a molecular level. I don’t know how long we stayed like that. Longer than I should have allowed. My brain finally kicked in and said, Yo, Emma, there’s a size two waiting for him by the river.
I stepped away from him. “Thank you.”
“Do you need me to get anywhere else?”
I had a list. “I’m good.” I turned and faced him. “We should probably get back to everyone.”
He handed me the sunscreen. “If we must.”
Unfortunately, the answer was yes.
Our jaunt down the river started out well and good. This leg of the river was docile, with a few large boulders to deal with. Though the water was cool, the sun warmed us, well, at least most of us. Miss I-Have-No-Fat-On-My-Body kept squealing. She wasn’t complaining, it was more like she knew how to draw attention to herself. Kellan and Ashton flanked her to try and prevent cold water from splashing on her. They each tried to impress her and make her laugh. I admit her laugh was pleasant. She had this delicate way of doing everything. No snorting or loud guffaws.
I was happy to see that Ashton was paying attention to her; maybe that meant nothing was going on between him and Macey. I had plans to talk to him about it while we were up here away from my sisters, who refused to camp. Their idea of camping was more like Shelby’s. They also had the excuse that their boutique did killer business on the weekends. I had to admit I was surprised they were doing so well. Maybe it was awful for me to say, but between the two of them they couldn’t pull a 4.0 GPA at the community college they attended. But they did know fashion and they had Dad’s money to back them up.
Ashton kept using a fake Southern drawl and calling her Miss Shelby while quoting her favorite movie, Gone With the Wind. I don’t know how many times he said “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Kellan beat him out with a better quote in my opinion. “You should be kissed by someone who knows how.” Regardless who was saying what, Shelby ate it right up. She was calling all the men darlin’, except for my trusty best friend Brad, who stayed back with Aspen and myself. Shelby also had all those smooth feminine moves down too; she would reach out to take Ashton’s and Kellan’s hands as if she needed help floating down the river. She’d waved Sawyer up toward her too, but he’d chosen to hang in the middle by himself looking back and forth as if he didn’t know who to be with. Or maybe he was annoyed his best friend and brother were vying for Shelby’s attention.
I admit I was hoping Ashton or Kellan would sweep Scarlett O’Hara off her feet in Rhett Butler fashion. But if she was smart, she’d stick with Sawyer. Kellan was a womanizer and Ashton was great as far as I could tell, but no one was as good as his brother. With that thought, I did my best to enjoy the journey, per se, without the object of my desire. I leaned back in my tube to soak up the rays until Brad started singing one of our favorite songs from high school, “Yeah” by Usher. Aspen and I joined in. Brad started doing a hip-hop dance routine that included some booty smacking in his tube, making Aspen and I laugh uncontrollably. There was nothing like a gangly, tall white boy trying to pretend he had rhythm to make you snort loudly. No delicate melodic laughs here.
