Five
Blair
Blair watched Justyn anchor his boat on a secluded end of the banks where few beach-seekers visited. Light bounced off the water and caught the glistening of a swimming school of fish. Sometimes the wild ponies could be spotted on top of the dunes, playing a game of tag. Blair peered at the horizon, looking for the horses.
Blair’s mother had taught her well how to pack for a day at the beach. She had a cooler full of drinks, sandwiches, and suntan lotion. Justyn smiled as he loaded the cooler and other bags onto his boat.
“You know I usually just bring a six-pack of beer, sunglasses, and sometimes a bag of chips.”
“I want to make sure we have everything we need.” Maybe three bags were too many for a day trip, but she wasn’t about to admit that to him.
When they anchored, he helped Blair spread the blanket on a stretch of beach a few feet from where the waves lapped the shore.
Ever since the night at the lighthouse, things had been different between them. Blair could feel it when she would catch Justyn staring at her, or when he seemed to go out of his way to find little ways for them to pair off. Whatever it was that happened that night, it worked. Her summer was richly delicious and decidedly more fun with the sexy local by her side.
Blair kept reading the same page of her book over again. She couldn’t get past the second paragraph. Every time she looked up at Justyn, she noticed he had yet to turn the page either. There was something mesmerizing about his bronze skin, and her imagination was taking over as she watched him rub more lotion on his arms and chest.
“Either you can’t take your eyes off me, or you want some of this. Do you want me to put some on you?” Justyn held out the lotion bottle with a coy grin. “The sun is serious today. I would hate for you to get burned.”
“All right.”
Blair rolled onto her stomach, allowing Justyn full access to her back. He poured a generous amount of coconut-scented oil in his palm, rubbed his hands together, and worked the lather all over her back. Blair closed her eyes as the circular motion of his hand deepened while he explored the curves of her hips. He pulled the ties that fastened her bikini at the middle of her back and laid them on either side of her. She relaxed into beach towel as he massaged the untouched skin with more intensity, a move that almost brought a moan from her throat. He inhaled while his thumbs worked the small of her back, slowly dipping below her waistline.
“How does that feel?” He smiled.
“Uh-huh,” was all Blair could manage to stammer out of her intoxicatingly relaxed state.
“Is that all you have to say?” he teased. His hands made their way down her thigh, pressing in all the right spots.
“Do you want me to tell you to stop?” Blair giggled, hoping he would keep going. It took everything in her to keep her hands and mouth off this boy. It didn’t matter who was doing the seducing anymore; there was no doubt in her mind it was going to happen before the end of summer.
Justyn laughed and, with one firm hand, pulled the edge of her sun-kissed shoulder so that Blair rolled toward him. He gathered the scraps of bikini fabric clinging to her skin, letting his fingers brush across the pink flesh of her breasts, and tossed the top over her head.
Blair gasped as Justyn’s mouth found hers. It was sweet; his lips were soft and gentle, but she could feel the want and longing lingering between them. Playful teasing turned hot the instant he bit down on her bottom lip, just enough to make Blair catch her breath. She yielded to his tongue and tugged him down against her breasts. His skin was hot from the sun, and she dug her fingers into his shoulders, as if that would keep her from spiraling out of control. Yes, she wanted this, but she had meant to have him work a little harder for it. Everything felt too good to stop. She could taste the salt on his neck as her lips grazed over his shoulder and worked up toward his ear.
Arching toward him, she drank in the feeling of his rough hands exploring the inches of her exposed skin. Gradually, his lips trailed down the soft line of Blair’s neck until he was hovering over her breasts, casting a shadow on the creamy skin that only a few minutes ago was covered in a bright pink bikini top.
He stopped, and for a second, she worried something was wrong but she watching him. His eyes raked over her, taking in the curves of her body, her golden hair splayed all around the beach blanket, the rhythmic motion of her chest breathing in and out, and her eyes. She wanted him; she hoped he could see it. Everything happening between them right now felt hot, intense, and like they were in the same place, for the first time.
He reached for her hands and brought them over her head, nestling them in the sunbaked sand off the edge of the blanket. Blair lightly pulled against his grip, wiggling closer to him, but steadily released the urge to resist his positioning of her limbs. Extending one leg out, she wrapped it around him, forcing him to press into her.
“God, Blair, what are you doing to me?” he groaned.
His teeth grazed her neck then returned to her breasts. She arched her back so that their bodies were locked together, separated by only a tiny bikini bottom and a pair of swimming trunks. She smiled. She could feel exactly what she was doing to him. This was going to be amazing, she thought. The sensations taking hold of Blair’s every fiber were burning and pulsating below her skin.
With one leg tightly wound around his and the other outstretched, a cool, wet stinging numbness crept up her leg. The tide was coming in, but it was too late.
Before she and Justyn had a chance to move out of the ripping current’s path, they were both soaked by the unexpected wave. Startled and embarrassed, Blair scrambled for her bikini top as it drifted past her before the surf took it out to sea.
“Weren’t you paying any attention? This is unbelievable.” Blair flung an accusatory stare at Justyn.
“I’m sorry. I was a little wrapped up in—” He cleared his throat and reached for the drenched blanket and the sunscreen. Stuffing them in the bag, he turned to her. “Why don’t we find another beach? It looks like this one is going to wash away soon. I’ll load this stuff on the boat and we can find another spot.”
“No.” Blair snatched the blanket out of the bag and tried to wring some of the water out of it. “I think we should go back.”
She was instantly sorry she had snapped at Justyn, but the shock of the wave seemed to whip her back into reality and back into control of her hormones. She didn’t like surprises.
They loaded the remainder of the beach bags and cooler, neither one saying anything to the other. Blair felt burdened by the awkward silence. She knew it was her fault. Why did she have to snap at him like that? He was being so sweet, cute, and sexy. Her heavy sigh drifted out to sea as Justyn started the small twin power engine and careened the boat back to the docks. With one eye on the nearing horizon, Blair thought about how she could undo the last fifteen minutes.