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“Hey. I am not stalling.” I took a stance next to her and eyed her. “Who does the count?”
“Together.” She bent over and looked at her phone. “It’s 3 o’clock, one hour starts in ten minutes. Count down from three to start.” She stood back up.
“Got it.”
“Three, two, one, go!”
Sera took off faster than I was expecting. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m not a sprinter. But I also had the advantage of conditioning and powerful legs. She also had no experience running in sand. She shot out ahead of me but I caught up with her quickly.
“No cheating!” she yelled as I paced with her for five steps then pulled ahead.
“How am I cheating?” I yelled back, looking over my shoulder.
Then I realized she’d conned me. By forcing me to look back, my pace slowed and she caught up with me. The competitive drive kicked in. I turned up the speed and reached the water a solid five steps ahead of her. I went in the water to my waist and turned. She had followed my directive and had run at full stride into the water.
Sera spilled into the ocean and I caught her, pulling her securely into my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist. We bobbed in the water, my hands on her ass. I kissed her.
When she pulled back she smiled and groaned. “You won, damn it. I think it’s time to get back to the gym in my nonexistent free time. It felt amazing to run but I’m way out of shape.”
“You’re barely out of breath so you can’t be that out of shape. I feel like I’m eating a lung right now.” I took us deeper under the water.
Sera gave a shriek, then laughed. “This is such a weird sensation. At least the water is pretty clear. I don’t like swimming in lakes because they’re murky. I prefer pools back home but this is actually nice. And it’s warm. I was expecting it to be cold.”
The thing about being with Sera is that she appreciated the little things and I really loved that. I was a simple guy, with simple needs, and she was a woman who didn’t need much to make her smile in awe or laugh. She was overworked, overwhelmed, and stressed out, but that was all overlay. The heart of who she was wasn’t much different from me and it was easy to be in her presence.
Sera continued to chatter on about the ocean and the resort and I was content to just hold her and feel the warm press on her body against mine.
Until I realized what she was doing.
“Hey, are we on the clock?” I asked, suddenly.
“Hm?” she asked, tilting her head in a bad attempt at innocence.
“Did my hour start at the end of the race?”
“Of course it did. I said ten minutes after three.”
“You’re a devious woman,” I told her and let her go.
She sank and shrieked as water went up to her chin. “I’m going to drown.”
“Put your feet down.”
Arms flailing, she put her feet down and stood up. She was only in waist deep water. “Oh,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“I have to enact my plan,” I said as I headed toward shore. “Per my win, I’m telling you to go lay down on your chair, eat your salad, and read that book I saw in your bag. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
“Where are you going?” she asked suspiciously.
“Just here and there. Relax. Enjoy the view. Enjoy some alone time.” I was walking backward on the sand as I talked to her. “Look, I’m walking backwards. Just like you wanted.” I held my arms out. “See how talented I am? This is pro level shit.”
Sera laughed. Then she said, “Look out!”
I scoffed. “I’m not falling for that.”
“Cash!”
My heel connected with something and I went down like a ton of bricks. I’m a big guy. I fall hard. Fortunately, I’m used to it. I get shoved around a lot on the field. When I hit the sand, I grunted, looking around to see what had felled me. It was a soccer ball. Sitting there next to a beach bag and a towel. Whoever it belonged to was nowhere to be found, which was a positive.
I stood up, brushing sand off my legs and arms.
“Are you okay?” Sera bit her lip, her eyes dancing with amusement.
“I’m fine, though my dignity took a hit.”
“Let’s just stick with walking forward for the rest of the trip.” She reached out and brushed some sand off of my elbow.
There was something in her eyes I couldn’t quite interpret. She looked… tender. Like she actually cared about me.
Which was fucking stupid. Of course she cared about me. She was a nice person, with lots of maternal instincts. That kind of caring wasn’t the same as caring. They were two different stratospheres of affection.
“Well, you’re no fun,” I said, letting my drawl roll out slow and low.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, I can be fun,” she said. “I can be really fucking fun.”
I reached out and brushed the pad of my thumb over her nipple. “Oh yeah?”
Sera sucked in a sharp breath. “You just touched my tit in public.”
“There is no one else on this beach for at least a hundred feet.” I pretended like I was adjusting the strap on her bikini top, but I brushed over her nipple again. “I did it again.”
“You’re really asking for it,” she said.
It was the emptiest threat I had ever heard in my life. I raised my eyebrows up and down. “Give it to me. I deserve it.”
But Sera backed down. She shifted out of my touch. “Go do your mysterious activities,” she said. “I’m going to eat my salad.” She crossed her arms over her chest and made a face.
“Are you pouting?” I asked, laughing. “Is that for the salad or for me leaving?”
“Both. And I’m not pouting. I’m displeased.”
“You’re pouting.”
“Mothers don’t pout.”
“We’re going to have to agree to disagree. Because you’re pouting.” I looked back to make sure there were no obstacles behind me, then I took a step back. “Meet me at the room in fifty minutes.”
I didn’t wait for her response. I didn’t have a lot of time to accomplish what I had in mind for Sera.
I started at the spa and ended with the concierge.
By the time I was heading back to the room I was pretty damn pleased with myself.
Sera would never be tempted to compare me to her kids again after tonight.
I was the man who could give her everything she ever wanted.
