Strip Search (Tap That)

But damn, it seemed like they were exactly on the same page.

It wasn’t something he should even be thinking about at all but he was. He couldn’t shake it. Leighton was special and it felt like the ground underneath him was rocking like this boat.

“How did you get your name?” he asked, wanting to change to the subject.

“It’s my mother’s maiden name.”

“That makes sense.”

“How about you?”

This story always kind of amused him, even though he’d hated his name growing up. Well, he should say it amused him now, because the idea of his mother throwing caution to the wind seemed so out of character. As a kid, he’d hated when they would tell this story because it was just embarrassing. “Back in the day, my mother was a huge Guns N’ Roses fan. Apparently, I was conceived in a hotel room after the concert. My parents had to drive to Wisconsin for the show and my mother was really excited. My father likes to joke he had an appetite for seduction, which is awkward as shit when you’re sixteen and he tells that at holiday dinners.”

Leighton looked confused. “I don’t get it.”

“It was the Appetite for Destruction tour. So, my dad’s lame joke.”

“Oooh. Oh, gosh, that would be embarrassing as a teenager. But at least your parents are still together. It wasn’t a wham-bam.”

“Whoa.” Axl put up his hand. “Can we just move on? I do not want to think about my parents having spontaneous sex.”

Leighton shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s nice to know my parents have passion. Obviously, I don’t want details but I love that they still flirt with each other. It’s…reassuring.”

That was an interesting response. “Reassuring of what?”

“That they love each other. But also that passion isn’t solely for the young. Don’t you want to know you’ll still have passion when you’re eighty? Like Bill and Soon-ja?”

Every time he tried to keep the conversation casual Leighton seemed to steer it into something serious. The future. She was the kind of woman who wanted a commitment.

And he actually wished for a brief second that he could give it to her. Full on, marriage and the house and the boat and the dog and the kids.

“I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting sex,” he said, purposely missing the point. “I certainly want it right now.”

She could have pressed, but she let him change the subject. “I am not having sex with you on this boat in front of a hundred buildings.”

“There is always below deck.”

She was considering it, he could tell. Axl moved closer to her, pulling her sunglasses off her face so he could see her eyes. “It will warm you up,” he murmured.

“That sounds like man logic.”

“Let me show you.” Axl ran his hand over her thigh, up to where he could brush over the front of her shorts.

Suddenly, her phone started squawking. She jumped back and dug in her pocket. “That’s my alert. Oh, my God, what did I forget?”

Axl sighed. Blue balls on the lake for him. He could just tell she wasn’t in the sex zone. She was distracted by plans and parents and future dogs.

“Darn it! I totally forgot I have a staff meeting in thirty minutes. Axl, we have to go back.”

He could have argued with her. Used all his sexual powers of persuasion, but he decided to let it go. Leighton was right. He had started all of this. Now his job was to make sure Leighton didn’t lose her mind in the process of pulling out a fake wedding on five days notice. They worked really well as a team, something he wasn’t used to, but had to admit he liked. They brought out the best in each other, complemented each other. It was more enjoyable than he ever could have imagined.

“Hang on,” he told her. “I’ll have you back in ten minutes.”

But he did give her a kiss, hard, and cupped her sex through her shorts.

“I’m glad you drive too fast,” he told her truthfully and stood up to start the boat.

“I wasn’t speeding,” Leighton said. “You just drive too slow in Minnesota.”