“My entire family was there, Kay. I just finished up my classes this week, and I forgot we were celebrating. You’re right though, they left before us. And Audrey drove me home.”
“And then your text!” I stand up, the water bubbling against my ribcage. “You practically scolded me for texting you.”
“Oh, shit.” He laughs, flaring my anger. “Baby, I’m sorry.” He reaches out for me again.
“No,” I say, my throat straining against unshed tears.
“Audrey almost saw that text,” Elijah explains. “I’m sorry you misinterpreted it. She would’ve seen ‘Christine’ and started interrogating me.”
I nod slightly, looking down at the water. “Okay.” I’m so confused. Embarrassed.
“Hey,” he says, and I lift my eyes to his. “Come here.”
This time I step forward, taking his hand. He pulls me onto his lap, settling my legs on either side of him, and I bury my face in the crevice of his neck, mortified.
He chuckles. “Don’t be embarrassed. You had every right to ask me about it. I probably would’ve had the same reservations.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I was already having a bad day, and then I saw you with Little Miss Perfect, and you . . . Wait.” I lift my head, my eyes widening. “You kissed her!”
His eyebrows shoot upward. “I can assure you, I did not.” He looks like he’s holding back more laughter.
“You kissed her on the side of the head.”
He shrugs, his face turning serious. “I love my family, Kay.”
“You do that with me, though, so I just thought—”
“Yeah, and I”—he seems to catch himself—“care about you, too.”
The wall around my heart crumbles a tiny bit, and I glance down. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, baby.”
Wait a minute.
“But last night Derek said . . .”
“Said what?” he asks.
“That she was your girlfriend. He said he met her.” I think back to the colorful dialogue between the boys at the lunch table describing all the things they wanted to do to “Slate’s girlfriend,” and I scrutinize his face. “Actually, all the boys refer to her as your girlfriend.”
He scrunches his eyebrows. “I don’t know why. I never introduced her; I guess they all jumped to the same conclusion you did.”
He leans in, brushing his lips against mine, and my pulse speeds up.
I pull back, just enough to look him in the eye. “You swear to me, Elijah Garrett?” I demand.
“I’m more than willing to show you my family photos, if you need. Birth certificates and finger prints may take a little longer though,” he jokes.
I shake my head, struggling to keep his gaze. “I’m such an idiot.”
“No, you’re not.” He slides his hand beside my jaw, pressing his thumb against my bottom lip, pulling it down as his gaze drops to my mouth. “God, I love these lips.” He takes his time leaning forward, his eyes never leaving my bottom lip, and gently covers my mouth with his.
Still immersed in humiliation, I’m dying to flee, but his incredible lips—and the fact that the infamous blonde is his sister—has my heart leaping in celebration.
“Swear it again,” I whisper against his lips.
“I swear, baby,” he whispers back.
I sink into his arms, and he moves his mouth with an intention that sparks my body with fire. This kiss is different. It’s as if all the pent-up frustration during our weeks apart are exploding into this one kiss. We’re the only two people in the universe, and all the previous doubts and negativity dissolve into the sultry water, setting me free to drown in his kiss. His lips break from mine as he makes his way down my throat, and I tilt my head back allowing him full access. He grabs my waist as his lips travel down my chest and every ounce of my being melts into him. I reach around my back, pulling on the string of my bikini, but he clutches my hand, abruptly stopping me.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, Slate,” I groan.
“There is no way I will be able to control myself if you take your top off right now,” he says gruffly.
“So don’t control yourself,” I plead. “Not only did you request a sleepover, but you also requested this bikini. You didn’t exactly ask for a ‘potato sack,’” I tease. “I haven’t seen you in two weeks; it’s been torture.”
He laughs. “Oh, you don’t have to tell me that.”
“So what’s stopping you then?” I ask.
“Well, for one thing, I don’t have any protection. So we can’t anyway.” He seems proud of himself for finding a solid argument.
“What kind of guy doesn’t have a stockpile of protection?” I ask.
“The kind who’s trying to do the right thing,” he retorts.
“Well, I’m on birth control,” I say with a sly grin. “So, I kind of have my own built-in stockpile.”
Check mate.
He tilts his head in disapproval.
“Hey! I’m disease free. I’m a virgin, remember? Wait—” I pause. “Unless I’m about to find out that you actually have a flaw. A big one.”
He drops his head back and belts out a laugh. “I have many flaws, baby, but that isn’t one of them.” His eyes twinkle in the dim lights. “Trust me. I got tested for everything under the sun last year . . . twice.”
Oh . . .
Okay, that doesn’t exactly help my earlier suspicions. Images of supermodel skanks dance in my head, but I push them aside. I’m too preoccupied with desire to give a damn right now.
“Okay, then let’s go,” I say, tightening my legs around him.
“Kaley,” he warns.
“Come on,” I moan.
He sighs. “I want to wait.”
Insecurity knocks on the door of my heart, begging to be let back in.
“I want you,” he says. “Trust me. You’re all I think about.”
“Then, what are you waiting for? I mean, why’d you invite me for a sleepover?”
“I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. I just thought it’d be easier this way. We wouldn’t have much time together if you didn’t stay over, and I wanted more than just a few hours with you. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” I say, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders. “I’ve just never known a guy to want to wait, sorry. It messes with my head.”
“We need to at least wait until after graduation.”
I sulk in frustration, knowing I can’t argue with that. I know he has to protect himself.
“Fine,” I say. He kisses me on the curve of my neck, and I moan. “No one’s ever caused me to take cold showers before,” I whimper. “This sucks.”
He pulls back, his eyes dancing. “You’ve been taking cold showers?”
“It’s not funny!”
“It’s hilarious!” He laughs and kisses me on the lips. “I promise I will make it worth your wait, baby,” he says. A wide grin spreads across his handsome face. “But I’m starting to wonder if you only want me for sex.”
“Oh no, you’re on to me,” I say dryly.
His hands are still around my waist, distracting me. I slide off his lap and reclaim my spot across from him—I need a little space. I’m beginning to feel like a high school boy myself.
“So,” I say after a while. “You said I could ask you anything?”
“Anything,” he says, running his hands through his hair, dampening it. Water pours over his face, his glistening biceps flexing, and I’m suddenly launched into my own personal men’s cologne ad.
“Well,” I begin, my thoughts completely erased. “Um . . .”
He cocks his head, completely oblivious to what his simple actions do to me. I struggle to rein in my hormones, tearing my eyes away from him.
“I feel like you know a lot about me,” I say, “but I don’t really know that much about you.”
“Shoot,” he says.
“Last night you went out with your family.”
He nods in agreement.
“Tell me about them.”
“Well, I have two sisters and a brother. I’m the youngest in the family . . . and the disappointment,” he says with a laugh.
I’m taken aback. “Disappointment? How so?”
“I didn’t become a lawyer at my dad’s firm.”
“Wow. Okay, so your dad’s a lawyer.”
“So is my sister, Audrey”—he pauses to wink at me—“and my brother. My mother also used to be an attorney before she stayed home to raise us. Now she has her gardening club and society functions to keep her busy.”
“So what does your other sister do? Why isn’t she a disappointment?” I tease.
“She’s a nurse practitioner. They’re fine with that,” he says, chuckling.
He seems so light-hearted about being the “family disappointment.” I wonder if it’s his way to cope, or if he really is okay with it.
“Why did you become a math teacher instead of a lawyer?”
He rubs the side of his jaw, and I almost lose my focus again. “I grew up always thinking I’d join my dad’s firm, and even went to school with that intention, but I honestly didn’t enjoy law. It’s so boring.”