Page 76 of Tiger Lilies and Tight Ends

“Lily,” I whisper, every muscle in my stomach contracting, and then she moves. Slowly and lazily, she rocks her hips back and forth.

“I can’t get enough of you,” she says, her fingertips drifting across my chest to my arms, where she holds on and lets me guide her a little more.

There’s something about this moment. With the darkness outside and inside my room and the quiet surrounding us, I feel like we are the only two people who’ve ever existed. Just me and her, and my heart trips over itself at how much this moment and Lily mean to me. I knew I was falling for her, but as she bends over to look me in the eyes, her chest brushes mine, and her hair curtains around us, I forget about the flags, their colors, the pressure, and fall all over again.

Gliding my hands over her warm skin, they tangle in her hair as I bring her mouth to mine. The taste of her, as our tongues and mouth mimic the swaying of her body, as she rides me so well, nearly has me wanting to pour out every thought and every dream I’ve ever had about her. If I had my way, we’d never leave this bed and just do this until we both die. Does that sound crazy? Absolutely, but she drives me crazy in the best way.

Chapter 33

Lily

It’s Tuesday, Tyler’s day off, so we decide to spend it out on the water. He claims that after how much time we’ve spent in bed, he needs to give me vitamin D. I’m not disappointed. I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together.

“I don’t know why I thought the flamingoes weren’t going to be here today, but I’m glad they are,” I tell him when he returns from packing up our picnic and putting the cooler and blanket on the boat. I’m standing at the water’s edge admiring them one more time before we leave.

Wanting to be a little less spotted, Tyler parked the boat on the opposite side of the island, which has less waterway traffic. This island is probably no bigger than a football field, and all through the middle of it are pine trees and other coastal flora. The trees are thick enough that we were able to settle underneath for lunch to stay shaded from the sun. Not long after we arrived, our flamingo friends came to see who was visiting. While they didn’t get too close, they were curious.

“I told you they would be. They’re always here. This is home,” he says as he glances at them. The two of them are standing maybe ten yards away, and they’re watching us. Both of them are about the same size; one is a little larger, and I would say they’re somewhere between three and four feet.

“Do you think they get lonely for other flamingoes? Whenever I’ve gone to a zoo, there’s always a whole flock of them.” I glance at Tyler, who’s only wearing a navy swimsuit with palm trees on it and am again hit with how handsome he is and how lucky I am.

“I don’t know. I looked it up once, and it says they are super social birds and build strong connections when in a group, so yeah, I don’t know. Other birds are here. Maybe they’re friends with them.” He looks around, and I watch as his gaze skips over a nest in the trees, seagulls that found us while we were eating lunch, and another white bird with a long, curved bill.

I love his fascination with marine life and anything that encompasses it. The only thing Dean ever cared about was football and sometimes music. In hindsight, he’s pretty one-dimensional, whereas Tyler continues to surprise me all the time.

“Well, maybe others will one day find them, and this whole island will be home to many flamingoes,” I tell him as I walk over to stand next to him. “Or maybe they’ll have babies.”

He thinks about this and then looks down at me. “Do you want kids?” he asks, almost shyly.

“I haven’t really given it too much thought lately. I mean, in my ‘big picture’ life plan, I always saw myself with a family and kids, so I guess the answer is yes. You?”

He looks back out over the island as he answers me. “I agree. It isn’t something I’ve thought about in a long time. At one time, I also saw myself with a family, but after Marissa, well, I haven’t wanted to be close enough to anyone to even entertain the thought of kids. I guess I just stopped thinking about it.”

“That makes me sad for you.” I reach for his hand and lace our fingers together.

He looks back down at me and squeezes. “I’m not sad. I’m right where I want to be.”

“Life’s funny like that. One minute, you think things are going one way, and then in the next, everything is different.”

“Are you happy here, in Tampa?” he asks, when really I know he’s asking if I’m happy to be with him.

“Very.”

A small smile ghosts over his lips. In general, Tyler is a very happy person. He’s funny with his friends, a great uncle to Vivi, but this smile, it comes from a place deep inside him and it’s just for me.

“Race you to the boat,” I call out as I rip my hand from his and take off, tromping through the water.

“You know you’ll never win, right? It’s literally my job to run people down, and, sweetheart, you’ve got nothing on them,” he says, very quickly catching up to me.

As soon as the water is deep enough, I dive forward and start to swim. I’m almost to the boat when his hand wraps around my foot, and he yanks me back. I start laughing, and I hear him chuckling too.

“I told you I would catch you,” he says as he drags me to the boat and then pushes my back up against it. Not many people are out here, but even if there were, we wouldn't be seen the way we’re positioned. I lift my legs to wrap around his waist while he’s still standing. The water is mid chest to him, but deep enough for me that my feet barely touch the ground.

Staring into his eyes, I can’t help but think that if this is my view, then I’ll let him catch me every time.

“Yeah, you caught me,” I tell him as I run my fingers through his wet hair and pull his mouth to mine.

Tyler kisses me like he’s a starved man. We’ve moved past the getting-to-know-you phase, and he has no problem taking exactly what he wants. This kiss is deep, thorough, and wet. The salt on his lips tastes delicious, and I climb him higher to try to get even closer.