AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Lucky for us, I don’t feel right without Dolly. You’ve ruined me for life, you know. Now I can never go back to a normal house on normal, dry land.”
By sheer force of will, I manage to let her go so I can lift the cooler off her shoulder. “Spoiling you was my intention from the start. C’mon, I’m starving.”
“You are?” Lu sounds disappointed as she follows me onto the dock. “I thought we’d get naked first, then have our picnic.”
“I shoulda clarified: I’m starving for you. ’Course we’re gettin’ naked first.”
She slips her hand into the crook of my arm. Rests her head on my shoulder and lets out a contented sigh. “I get to have all my favorite things today. Best Friday ever.”
“You.” I kiss the top of her head. “You’re my favorite thing. Now please tell me you’re not wearing panties.”
“What kind of prude do you take me for?” She teasingly rolls her eyes. “I’m not wearing panties or a bra.”
I grab her hand and start to jog.
“What happened to being patient?” she asks.
“Fuck patient.” I drop the cooler at Dolly’s slip and bend down to hike Lu over my shoulder. “This is gonna be messy.”
“Good.” She slaps my ass as I board the boat.
“Quick.”
“I don’t mind quick.”
“Hard.”
“I like hard.”
“I like you.” I trundle down the steps to the cabin. “And I love you. And I really love you naked.”
We do not emerge from the boat until the next evening, having cancelled the couples’ massage. I refuse to allow Lu to put any clothes on, so we eat all our meals in my kitchen. Do all our lovemaking in my bed, in my shower, on my floor and countertops, and against my walls.
Our walls.
Mine and Lu’s.
After a mutual masturbation moment in my bathroom that was so fucking hot I swear I went blind for a full minute while I came, Lu and I decide to take a stroll over to Stede’s for dinner.
I help Lu hop onto the dock just as the sun dips below the horizon. The sky remains on fire, however, wisps of orange and red clouds fading to a purple-blue background where the first stars are blinking awake. Air is warm. Water calm. Lu’s hand is in mine.
It’s the kind of night that makes you glad to be alive.
Tom darts between our feet, trotting like the happy little asshole he is. We allow dogs on Stede’s patio, so he’ll be joining us for dinner.
Speaking of the patio at Stede’s, voices rise and fall from that direction. I can just pick up the strains of a Fiona Apple song.
“You know what’s crazy?” Lu asks.
I scoff. “Where the fuck do I even begin?”
“Ha. But I was thinking about how romantic our summer together was when we were eighteen. You swept me right off my feet, Riley. I felt like I was living in a movie. Everything was exciting. Everything that happened felt important.”
“I remember that feeling well.” I give her hand a soft squeeze. “I was floating on a cloud.”
“Nothing that came after ever compared to that. I tricked myself into thinking moments here and there were romantic. But I never felt as floaty and happy and sexy as I did that summer.” She meets my eyes. “Until I tripped and fell into your arms last week. Since then, everything’s been romantic.”
There’s a fizzy sensation in my chest. “I’m good at setting the scene.”
“You’re great at making me feel like I’m the center of your universe. Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome, Legs. I feel like that’s something we should celebrate—our happy ending.”
She purses her lips, pretending to think. “How about an epic kissing scene?”
“I like epic kissing scenes.”
“Great. Here, you stay right there. I’m gonna run into your arms, and then we kiss the shit out of each other.”
I drop her hand and grin. This is fucking ridiculous, and I fucking love it.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Lu takes several steps back toward Dolly. Tom follows her. Then they both turn to face me.
“Ready?”
“Been ready ten years, Legs. Let’s go.”
She runs, pumping her arms. She’s adorable, already breathless with laughter by the time she launches herself into my arms. Tom sprints beside her, legs working, mouth open in the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on him. I lift her, my grip firm on her thighs, and she takes my face in her hands and guides my mouth up to hers for a hungry, happy kiss.
A week ago, Lu fell into my arms.
I’m holding her in them now. Plan to hold her for the rest of my life.
Tom, being Tom, barks at us, jumping onto my leg as a means of begging me to pick him up too.
Full circle never felt so satisfying.
Applause erupts from the Stede’s patio. Someone whistles. Tom keeps barking.
“Aw, yeah!” I hear Lady call.
Lu groans against my mouth, but I feel her lips curl into a smile. “She’s always so inappropriate.”
