Part 14 (1/2)
”You were right,” Porter's voice behind me made me jump, ”I like this one better.”
I turned to face him and my eyes must've bugged out of my head because he bent in half laughing at me. When he came up for air, his eyes were watering and his face was red.
”Oh my G.o.d, Holly!” he said through gasps of breath, ”I wish you could see your face right now!”
I knew my mouth was hanging open, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. My eyes were glued to the tiny strip of cloth slung across his hips. If the thing were any smaller his b.a.l.l.s would've popped out of either side. There was nothing left to my imagination.
”How do you not have any tan lines?”
That's all you can come up with? Idiot.
The questions must've surprised him, too, because his eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline.
”You've got Ryder Ruff in a Speedo standing in front of you and all you can think about is tan lines? You're gonna be a tougher nut to bust than I thought!”
I could feel the flush creeping into my face again as the thought of him busting any kind of nut overtook my imagination and went on a brief, but intense joy ride with my sensibilities.
I knew he had done it on purpose the moment he flashed me that mischievous grin I had come to both adore and loathe.
”You, sir, are an a.s.shole.”
I turned back around and quickly scrawled my signature across the receipt on the counter. I shoved my toys into his arms and took the bag of clothes from his hand before stomping off to the dressing room to change.
I opened the bag to retrieve my beachwear and grumbled to myself when his clothes were balled up on top. I dumped the entire contents on the floor and picked up the bikini my stubborn a.s.s had picked.
”Boxer briefs,” I noted with a grin as I removed the tags from my top, ”I'm surprised he doesn't go commando for easy access.”
I changed quickly and neatly folded my work outfit before placing it in the bag. As I bent to scoop up his clothes, an idea struck me that had a wicked grin spreading across my face.
I fished my phone out of the bag then dumped his socks, jeans, and tee s.h.i.+rt back into it before scooping up his underwear by the waistband. I used the front-facing camera to snap a selfie with the coveted undergarment and fired it off to Becks and Mitch with the caption, ”Look what I've got...”
I returned my phone to the bottom of the bag and left the dressing room to rejoin Porter.
”Let's go dump this in the car and hit the sand!”
He had picked up two beach towels while I changed and nodded his agreement, ”My sandcastle is gonna kick your sandcastle's a.s.s.”
The jab spurred my compet.i.tive streak and I shot back, ”Game on.”
We deposited our clothes and phones in the trunk of my car and headed for the beach.
It was busy, but not crowded, so we didn't have any problems finding a spot out of the way of the volleyball games and sunbathers close to the water. He dumped our toys, towels, and sunblock unceremoniously and took off like a bullet for the water.
The spray of sand kicked up by his bare feet quickly gave way to a spray of water as he splashed through the surf. I couldn't help but laugh as he did the surfer run through the waves, lifting his knees as high as they'd go and kicking his legs out to the side.
He dived headfirst into an oncoming wave and disappeared beneath the surface. I shook my head as I tried to stifle my giggles and turned my attention to the pile at my feet. I'm not a water person, so joining his swim was absolutely out of the question. I shook off the towels and laid them out on top of the hot sand before crawling on top of the pink one and grabbing the sun block.
I had a tan to work on while my p.o.r.n star date frolicked in the ocean. If he returned with some kind of device for me to float on, I might consider joining him. Until then, it was time to get brown.
Once I was sufficiently slathered, I pressed the cheap sungla.s.ses onto my nose and laid back to enjoy the sun, the surf, and the fact that I wasn't stuck in my office.
I'm not sure how long it took, but I eventually drifted off to sleep.
I dreamt of Porter.
Ocean swimming had always been one of my favorite workouts. Fighting the currents just gives an extra boost to all those stabilizer muscles that you don't normally work out.
I had probably been in the water for a good twenty minutes by the time I finally dragged myself out of the surf and back onto solid ground. It took me a few moments to reorient myself and remember where I had dumped our stuff.
I'd been carried a few hundred yards south of the surf shop where I'd bought our swimsuits, so I used that as a marker and made my way north. I constantly scanned the bodies on the beach looking for Holly.
I was almost certain that she would've followed me into the water and tried to out-swim me. I had seen the glint of defiance in her eyes each time I posed even a subtle challenge. I'd been a little excited to get the first contest underway.
She was lying on a towel a few dozen yards off when I spotted her. It didn't take me long to realize that she had fallen asleep. I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face as I thought of all the ways I could mess with her just to get her riled up.
I stood over her, considering my options, and quickly became hypnotized by the gentle rise and fall of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She was definitely a California girl. She had a flawless beach tan, a body that screamed for a bikini, and perfectly smooth legs that could only be attained by a girl who had experience in being beach-ready at all times.
I wanted to reach down and run my hands up them.
A quick shake of the head broke the spell her body had put on me. The droplets of water that fell from my hair onto her body were just enough to gently pull her out of her slumber.
”How long was I out?” she asked groggily.
”I'm not sure. I was out there for about twenty minutes, I think. I thought you'd follow me.”
She sat up and stretched, pressing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against the thin cotton of her top, ”I'm not big on the idea of being in water I can't see through. Put me in a boat and I'm fine, but I'm not about to swim out there and become shark bait.”
My eyes rolled in their sockets. Jaws must have ruined her.
”Well, at least you didn't burn. That would've put a damper on things. Roll over and let me get your back.”
A flash of hesitance crossed her face before she slowly rolled over onto her elbows.
I warmed the lotion up between my palms and gently rubbed it into her skin.
”The tide looks like it's heading out. Did you still want to hit the tide pools in Dana Point?”
”Sure,” I agreed as I started on her legs, ”I think we should hit dinner first though. There's a sus.h.i.+ place up the street that has the best sus.h.i.+ in the state. I can't remember the last time I didn't eat there while I was here.”
”Mmmm,” the sound sent a bolt of desire through me, ”That sounds delicious, actually.”
”It's a date then!” I expected her to argue my use of the word ”date.”
Instead, she patted the sand in front of her, ”Your turn. Get your grape smuggling a.s.s over here.”
I handed her the bottle of sunscreen and sat down on the sand in front of her. She quickly lubed up my back, leaving blazing trails of lightning along my skin wherever she touched, then commanded me to stand up so she could do my legs.
”Make it quick,” I instructed as I rose, ”it's hard to hide a b.o.n.e.r in this thing.”
I heard her choke on a gasp and the sound of the lotion bottle hitting the sand. I looked down at her over my shoulder and gave her my million-dollar-smile, ”I wasn't kidding.”