When we got back to Luke’s house, Luna dragged herself up the stairs for a shower. It was still early—sailing was canceled today because so many of the sailors had their tennis competitions. I followed Luke into the kitchen and discarded the ice cream cups. We washed our hands in silence, dancing around each other.
As soon as we heard the shower turn on upstairs, Luke said, “I’m sorry, Val.”
I finished drying my hands and turned to face him. “It’s okay, I promise. I wouldn’t have known what to say either.”
“I know, and I believe you. But you were hurt and I’m sorry anyway. Ineverwant to hurt you.”
“How could you tell I was hurt?”
“I don’t know.” His brown eyes were so soft and emphatic as he scrutinized me from across the kitchen island. “I can just tell.”
I nodded. I supposed it wasn’t a bad thing that he could read me so well.
“Can you come here?” he pleaded.
I rounded the counter and stepped into his arms. He wrapped me up, kissing the top of my head. I let myself sink into him, breathe in his piney scent mixed with a hint of sweat and sunscreen after today. It unlocked something in my chest, and I shuddered.
“We haven’t told Luna,” I said into his shirt, voicing my unfiltered thoughts.
“I know.” He pulled back to look at my face. “What’s going on in the beautiful brain of yours that’s got you emotional?” His thumb traced a soothing stroke on my cheek.
I chewed the inside of my lip and glanced out the window above the kitchen sink. Hot sun poured in through the glass. How could I articulate the feelings swirling through me right now?
I think I love you.
I think I want this.Tennis matches and coming back to this house every day. Helping Luna through all her tough times—together.
It scared me, wanting something that looked sodifferent from what I’d pictured for myself for my whole life. Was I getting carried away?
When I met his eyes again those deep brown pools said I could tell him anything. So I shared a shorter version of the truth. “I’m feeling really attached. But it’s new and we’ve only gone on one official date, and I understand if you’re not ready to tell Luna and?—”
I stopped myself when Luke opened his mouth to speak.
He cupped my chin in his calloused hand. The intensity of his gaze burned. His thumb moved to press gently on my lower lip, and I sucked in a breath. “I can guarantee you,” he said slowly, “there is no way you’re any more attached than I already am.”
I nodded as my heart galloped.
“I’m ready to tell her,” he said. “But I don’t tell her about things that are casual or temporary. Is this casual for you? Temporary?”
I shook my headno. I couldn’t speak with his thumb pressing into my lip, begging me to lick it, or pull into my mouth.
“Good. It isn’t for me, either.” His eyes seared me, like me admitting I was emotionally attached had unlocked some new level of lust in him.
I gave in to the urge to swipe my tongue across the pad of his thumb. He groaned before pulling my face into his.
The kiss was wet and urgent. We’d barely had a moment to ourselves since Saturday night. I’d thought about it over and over. I wondered if he did, too. His body was telling meyesright now. I dug my fingers into his back, through his shirt, pressing our bodies together as tight as I could, desperate to line up my hips with his.
When I did, his hands gripped my waist.
And then turned me around.
He walked us up to the opposite counter, in front of the window. I had to grip the edge to stand upright. His whole body pressed into my back. I could feel his erection, and I rolled myself back into it. His hands moved greedily from my hips to my chest, gripping my breasts through my dress, before dropping lower, lifting my skirt up, and flattening his entire palm between my legs.I nearly cried out, forgetting our surroundings. He bent his neck down from behind me, capturing my mouth with his, our tongues swirling from this new angle.
I’d pictured a bed for our first time, but in that moment, if he lifted the back of my skirt and asked for permission, I’d let him take me just like this.
But he didn’t.
Instead, his fingers slipped into the front of my underwear, down to my wet, swollen clit. His fingertips worked small circles exactly where I needed them, just like he’d done with his tongue on Saturday.Fast learner, I thought, already dangerously close to finishing.
