Page 23 of The Summer Plans

RJ’s holding the aloe when I emerge from the closet in my sleep set. Like last night, it’s way less clothing than I’m comfortable wearing around him, but it’s the gentlest on my sunburn, and he’s already seen me topless on this trip, much to my dismay.

He scoots back as I approach, patting the spot in front of him. I sit on the edge, afraid to get too close. I slide my hair tie off my wrist and wince at the way I have to stretch to put my hair up. He takes the elastic from my hands and twists my hair up into a decent messy bun.

“Girl dad.” His lips are way too close to the nape of my neck as his warm breath caresses my skin.

He opens the jar of aloe, and I keep my gaze trained forward, bracing myself for the relief I know is coming.

The instant his hands touch my skin, a moan escapes my lips and I’m overwhelmed with the need to let him do more. It’s as if I was wandering in a desert my entire life, parched and starved, and he’s the oasis that finally nourishes me.

I need to get a hold of myself. RJ isn’t my oasis. He can’t be. He’s Raven’s brother. And Raven is my best friend. She grounds me and keeps my feet firmly rooted in the soil when my ideas want me to take flight. I could use some of her calming presence right now, but RJ has been the one topic we’ve never been able to discuss. Well, I’ve never been able to talk about it. Each time I bring him up, I chicken out the minute she calls him an idiot. And she does that a lot.

He clears his throat behind me as his hands hesitate. “Is it too much?”

Yes, it’s too much. Your touch is lighting a torch in my belly, and I don’t know how much longer I can suffocate the flames of lust reigniting in me.

“It’s fine.”

CHAPTER 7

RJ

It’s been three fucking days of torture. This is the second morning I’ve woken up next to my sister’s best friend snuggling me in her sleep. And each time, I extricate myself from the bed, careful not to wake her, and then promptly go fuck my hand in the shower, wishing it was her the whole time.

I run along the shoreline, my feet slapping the sand as I pick up my pace. Sand isn’t the most forgiving substance to run on, and my joints scream at me with each stride, but I stay close to the water where the ground is the most even. I’m too old to be doing this. And I’m not talking about the exercise.

How do I fix this with her? I can’t keep rubbing aloe on her and then go rub one out in the shower. What can I do to show her that I’m sorry? That I’ve changed? That I want to do better by her?

When I climb the steps to the back porch, Lucas is sitting in a chair, kicking his feet. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Running.” I start my cool-down stretches. I don’t mean to be short with the kid, but I haven’t had coffee yet and I’m not much for conversation until I do.

“Can I run with you?” he asks, surprising me.

It would slow me down for sure. Maybe I could do a second run with him and match his pace.

“Never mind,” he says. I tilt my head in confusion. “Usually when adults take that long, the answer’s no.”

Well, fuck.

“I was just working through some logistics in my head, that’s why it took me a second to respond.” I squat in front of him. “I’d be happy to run with you, Lucas.”

“Really?” A big smile lights up his face. “I’m really fast, I promise. Can we go now?”

“Hmm. I should check with your mom before I run off with you.”

He drops his head. “She’s gonna say no.”

“What makes you think that?”

“She has to work. Again. And she said we need adult supervision. Especially me.”

I fight my smile as I run my tongue along my bottom lip. “Do you need adult supervision?”

“Probably. I get in trouble a lot. But it’s hard. Sometimes I want to do all the things my brain tells me to do. But then Mom gets mad.”

I know the feeling. My brain is screaming at me to kiss Summer every time I stare at her perfect pink lips. “Let me talk to her.”

The house is silent when I step inside. It’s early, and I suspect everyone’s still in bed. I slowly approach the door to our room. Our room. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for that to be a permanent thing. I raise my hand to knock right as the door swings open.