I’m sure you’re aware you have a body that could launch a thousand ships.
Your face is pretty spectacular, too.
I really was feeling peculiar now. My breathing was all uneven, and there was a heat beneath the surface of my skin that simply refused to abate.
“Nice tent, by the way,” Adam went on, making conversation. “You must be a regular camper. Looks high quality, and you got that thing up faster than any of us.”
“I actually borrowed it from my boss. I only got it up so fast because I read the instructions,” Neil replied, and Adam gave a good-natured chuckle.
“Right, that always helps.”
I started to reconsider my theory about Adam fancying me. He wasn’t acting at all jealous about Neil. Instead, he seemed completely casual and laidback. Perhaps I’d been wrong about him.
“Well, I’d better go start on the food. We brought a portable barbecue, and I’m going to cook burgers and hotdogs for everyone. You both are welcome to share.”
“I actually brought a gas cooker and supplies,” Neil said, and Adam nodded.
“You came prepared. I like it. Okay, I’ll leave you to it then. Give a shout if you need anything.”
He left, and Neil and I fell into silence. He turned his attention to me, and I realised he was sitting so close that our shoulders were almost touching.
“So, you think my face is spectacular?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You’re well aware that you’re pretty,” Neil huffed. “Quit being smug about it.”
“I think I like being smug about it,” I teased, nudging his shoulder with mine.
“Of course, you do.”
“Look, you’re blushing. Have you gone shy?”
“Stop it, Afric.”
“Or what?” I challenged.
In a flash, he was on me, his chest hovering above mine as I lay flat on my back. Words died on my tongue while heat filled my body. Neil leaned over me, his hands circling my wrists and pressing them into the blanket. “Or I’ll kiss you,” he threatened, “and we both know how much you’d hate that.”
My breathing stuttered. “You’re right. I w-would hate it. So much.”
His eyes blazed. “Maybe I should do it then.”
“Go ahead,” I goaded, and his attention went to my parted lips. He leaned a fraction closer. I was stunned to discover the lack of distress I felt at the prospect of him kissing me. There was no sickness in my gut, no sense of revulsion. Only anticipation. Only want.
I was nervous, though. Anxiety mixed with need, practically paralysing me. All of the feelings I’d suppressed for so many years converged and swirled inside me, so much so that I could barely stand it.
“If you try to kiss me, I’ll vomit in your mouth,” I warned, panting.
“Will you?” he asked. He didn’t sound like he believed me.
My breasts rose and fell, pushing into Neil’s lean chest. He seemed to become aware of that, too, and I gasped when I felt a brush of stiffness in his pants. Then, dismay flickered behind his eyes. I must’ve given him some indication of nerves because he withdrew, instead bringing his mouth to my temple, the same spot he’d kissed after we’d shared a nap in my bed the other evening.
His kiss was delicate. When his mouth left my temple, he brought his forehead to mine and rested it there, a slow, minty exhalation leaving him and washing over my face. I wasn’t turned off by his breath. I relished everything about him, it seemed. No part of him was unappealing to me. Perhaps for the first time in my life, I actually wanted to explore someone else’s mouth with my tongue. I wanted to taste him.
The thought stunned me. It was revelatory.
All these years, the very idea of locking lips turned my stomach. Now I wanted it more than anything.
A second later, he rolled off me. It was my own fault that he’d stopped. I’d obviously given some non-verbal cue that the idea of kissing him scared me half to death. And it did, but not for the reasons he might’ve thought.
I missed his heat, the delicious pressure of his hands as he held my wrists down. The weight of his forehead resting against mine. The shocking brush of his obvious erection against my leg. Ugh! Why did I have to show him I was nervous?
Now I have become Disappointment, the destroyer of sexy times.
“It’s almost dark. I better get started on the food,” Neil said, his voice weirdly blank.
I didn’t speak, choosing to remain seated on the blanket while Neil went about setting up the gas cooker. It looked like he was making us steaks, and my mouth watered at the prospect. The last few minutes had played havoc with my hormones, and now I was absolutely famished.
Neil was busy cooking when Adam appeared again. He brought over two more cans of lager, handing one to Neil as he cooked before coming and sitting next to me on the blanket. Neil eyed him intently before grudgingly focusing back on what he was doing.