Part 9 (1/2)

It made me laugh. All it took was Chip and Dale to get them acting all girly.

We did a little more exploring, even finding an old cave that Im not afraid to admit freaked me out a little bit. Luckily, it was pretty open so we had enough light to peek around.

Boo! Jaden grabbed Priss waist and she screamed, then proceeded to kick his a.s.s. While they were engaged in World War Five Hundred, I took advantage and snuck Aspen into a dark corner, hoping I didnt get attacked by a killer bat or something.

My hands found their home on her hips and I pulled her toward me. I think Im addicted to you. Now that I know I can kiss you and touch you, I dont want to stop.

I bet you tell all the girls that, she teased.

What girls? There arent any other girls, but you.

Her arms wrapped around my neck. They felt good there. Youre good at this.

Im a natural. I dont know if she was going to reply, because I kissed her again. It was slow, and smooth. Not rushed, but definitely hot. I let my lips slide down her chin, to her neck. Her skin tasted so sweet that it pulled a groan from the back of my throat. Who would have known kissing someone you love was so much better than kissing other girls? Slowly, I slipped my fingers under the bottom of her s.h.i.+rt, brus.h.i.+ng my thumb along the smooth skin of her side. I just liked touching her, savoring the little zing that I got from being skin to skin with her.

Dude, if you guys wanted to get busy, all you had to do is ask for some privacy. Now I understood why Aspen and Pris were always telling Jaden to shut up.

I second that.

I stepped away from Aspen. Well at least we found something you two can agree on. I gave both Pris and Jaden hard looks. Lets go get some lunch.

After they started to walk away, I stopped Aspen. It wasnt a line.

I know. I trust you, Bastian.

Her words made me stumble a little bit. That was a heavy burden, someone completely putting their trust in you. But I loved her and that would make everything okay. She could trust me. Id find a way to make sure I earned it.

I lay in the bed with Aspen curled beside me wondering why the h.e.l.l Id ever made fun of guys who were whipped. Okay, so those guys who got whipped over every girl needed to get a life, but when it was the right girl, youd have to be an idiot not get whipped. I mean, I had this great girl. She was funny, smart, hot, gave me s.h.i.+t and I could touch her, kiss her, hold her, and lay with her any time I wanted. She looked at me like I hung the friggin moon. It made me feel invincible. Like the luckiest seventeen year-old guy in the world. Why wouldnt I want to do anything for her? Want to be with her all the time? Despite popular belief, I wasnt stupid.

After lunch, wed come back to the house. Jaden and Pris were off at separate ends of the house and I was cuddled up with my girl. If this was being whipped, chain me up, baby!

A couple hours later, I gently rubbed Aspens shoulder. She slept like the dead. I couldnt do more than an hour nap even with her body against mine. Id gone downstairs to hang out with Jaden and Pris for a while. When we got tired of waiting for her, so I offered to go upstairs and wake her up to go swimming. Come on sleepy head. Time to get up. The beach is calling our names.

I changed into my swimming shorts in our room while Aspen and Pris got changed in her room. Id now been sitting downstairs with Jaden for thirty minutes and they still werent out yet. Dont ask me why it took so long to put in a swimming suit, but we were both getting antsy so went ahead and headed out, figuring theyd find us easy enough. On the way out, I made sure to grab both mine and Aspens beach towels because I was sweet like that.

After laying them both out on the sand, fixing the corner so it was just right, I walked over to Jaden who was eyeing me like I had ten heads or something. What?

Dude, you are so messed up.

Okay, so I had two choices right now. I could just blow Jaden off because I knew he was wrong and it didnt really matter what he thought. Or I could give it to him straight. I wasnt really the quiet type. Sure, I knew he was just surprised to see me like this and that a few weeks ago, I would have been the same way if the situation was reversed, butI guess you could say Id been enlightened and I wouldnt be me if I didnt rub that in his face just a little. Id expect the same thing out of him. We were guys and thats just how guys roll.

So I told him what was up. You went to bed alone last night, Jay. I held a girl all night. Ill do it again tonight. She likes it when I kiss her, she kisses me and on top of that, shes a seriously kicka.s.s girl. She doesnt play games, isnt out there making out with a different guy every weekend. Just me. If thats messed up, Im there, bro.

Jaden threw his hat at me. Still trying to figure out why shed want to kiss your ugly mug.

Because I have skills. One day, Ill pa.s.s that knowledge on to you. I threw his hat down and ran out to the water. Jaden was right behind me. As soon as we were waist deep, he splashed my face, so I tackled him and tried to drown his a.s.s. Dont start a fight you cant win.

Please, I can take you! We kept going after each other--we took our compet.i.tions seriously, even if they were just with water--until I heard a whistle from the beach.

Will you guys ever grow up? I turned toward Priss voice. My heart nearly stopped when I saw Aspen standing next to her.

Hol-y s.h.i.+t.

You can say that again. Jaden said from beside me.

That snapped me out of my visual pleasure for a minute. Dont look at my girl, a.s.shole.

Im not.

Have they worn bikinis every summer? I asked.

No clue, but Im glad they are now.

Pris and Aspen stood with their feet in the water. I took my eyes off Woodstock just for a second. Red, Pris wore a red bikini, but it was nothing compared to the turquoise gift from G.o.d that Aspen wore. The dark blue was a nice contrast to the creamy white of her skin. It looked like some kind of Hawaiian pattern with white flowers scattered on the blue material. It was the most I ever remembered seeing of her body. I liked the view: a nice stomach, curvy hips and legs, man the girl had nice legs. Humina, humina, humina.

I knew my eyes were probably bulging out of my head, but I didnt care. My whole body, and I do mean whole body, came alive at the sight of her. She was gorgeous.

Still think Im messed up? I asked Jaden as they started walking in the water toward us.

When he didnt reply, I glanced at him. Jadens mouth was still hanging open. I laughed and headed toward Aspen, meeting her halfway.

Playing with Aspen in the water was way better than beating Jaden in a splash contest. We spent hours out there messing around. Im not going to lie and say I didnt dunk her, because whipped or not, I still liked to have a little fun. She loved it though, splas.h.i.+ng around and playing like she needed to be rescued after Id pull her under the water. The rescuing was fun Then we floated together, riding the waves and holding onto each other, salt tinged her skin when I kissed her.

Hot.

Building a fire should not be this difficult, guys. Aspen laughed at Jaden and me as we messed around trying to get the fire pit going.

Its not me. Jaden keeps s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g it up. I nudged my friend with my shoulder.

Dude, Im the one who said douse the thing with lighter fluid. That will get it going. Jaden fell onto one of the blankets, obviously handing the reins over to me. Good. Id get it done faster without him anyway. Once I had red flames popping and cracking in the pit, I smirked at Jaden, before joining Aspen on our pallet, pus.h.i.+ng my guitar over to give me room to sit down.

You warm enough, baby? I asked her. Funny how one little phrase can ignite reactions faster than my blazing fire. Aspen blushed, Pris sighed, and Jaden snorted. Whatever. I only cared about one response. She nodded as I sat down beside her.

The sun slipped behind the ocean a few minutes later, so we went ahead and roasted some hotdogs on the fire for dinner. It was our last night here, so Aspen and I managed to talk Jaden and Pris into a truce of sorts so we could spend the night together. The beach was dead, leaving nothing but flames, waves, a dark night, and the four of us.

What do you guys want to do? Aspen asked. I sat behind her, with her between my legs, her back against my chest. I squeezed her tighter trying to tell her that I just wanted to be close to her. Pris looked over at Jaden, their blankets were beside each other while Aspen and I shared one.

Hey, remember that time we all went camping with Aspens parents? Pris asked.

Dude, so glad we didnt end up with tofu dogs this time. Jaden laughed.

What was that story her dad told us? Remember the claw man or whatever and this punk over here, Pris tossed a glance at Jaden, decided to try and scare us in the middle in the night.

Try? You screamed like a little girl.