Before she can respond, I turn her around and walk her towards the right side of the room to stop her in front of dark curtains. Behind the curtains lead out to a balcony outside, but since the curtains are drawn shut--and with the dim lighting--you'd never know. I move forward and push the curtains aside, then open the double doors.
“A hot tub?” she squeaks and moves forward with excitement. The cool night air is welcoming as I follow Veronica out onto the wide balcony. On either side is a privacy fence, and above is a tent-like cover, with lights hung around the entire perimeter. The hot tub is already bubbling, and there’s thick steam rising from the surface. “Did Taylor pack me a suit?”
I smirk. “Nope, I told her to leave that out.” I’m teasing her; I made sure Taylor did pack her a suit. Veronica surprises me though. Only after a quick thought, she shrugs and smiles wickedly. She turns her back towards me while moving her hair to the side, then reaches behind her to lower the zipper at the base of her neck and slowly--excruciatingly--unzips her dress. Dammit, I'm trying to be a noble guy here. That is not what this night is about. Don't get me wrong, I've thought of it a million times. Okay, a billion, but I know that it's important to her. I quickly move forward to stop her from lowering it any further, before I lose myself. Placing a kiss on her bare neck, she shivers slightly. “Taylor packed you a suit.” She looks over her shoulder at me and leans back against me. Her hand reaches up to cup my face. “You're so sweet,” she says with a smile. Her voice laced with amusement.
“Only for you,” I respond.
She moves away from my body. My eyes move along with her and continue until she's left the bedroom. My focus returns to the darkness beyond the balcony. I take a deep breath and fill my lungs with the fresh night air. After a few more peaceful seconds of the wilderness--and bubbling water--I move back into the room to the small living room area to grab my bag. A sliver of light shines from underneath the bathroom door. Within seconds my pants are removed and replaced by my trunks. The bathroom door opens just as I'm on the last button of my shirt and the light turns off, but Veronica doesn't move out from the doorway.
“Um…” she says nervously. “I'm not sure whose suit she packed, but it's not mine.”
“Okay?” I question, not quite sure what it matters. “Maybe she got you another one.”
She steps out of the bathroom, and I see small strips of white covering her private areas. I'm not quite sure what the big deal is until she steps closer and, suddenly, I feel as if I'm choking on air. The bathing suit is teeny tiny, only covering the smallest of areas, and allowing all of her curves to be on display. She belongs on a cover of a swimsuit magazine. No doubt.
“Damn,” my voice is strained.
“I don't know what the hell she was thinking,” she huffs and turns to go back into the bathroom. I lunge forward, engulfing her in my arms. “What are you doing?”
“I'm taking this-this...,” she sputters, “this non-bathing suit off.”
I laugh, “What are you planning to wear? I vote for nothing,” I joke. I pull her back against me, and I'm sure my arousal is apparent.
“Oh!” she blurts. “I get it now, she was thinking about your penis!”
I laugh hard. “What?”
“I know what she's doing!”
I begin to move us through the room and towards the balcony. “And what would that be?” I ask her.
“Sex.”
“Yeah, she may be doing that,” I say amused.
“That's not what I meant.”
“I know what you meant.” I lean against the hot tub and pull her in front of me. “You look amazing. I'll have to thank Taylor.” She smiles and looks away at the compliment. I grab her face and turn it towards me, “But remember what I said earlier? I didn't bring you here for sex. You have control, alright?” She nods and I pull her face to mine, pressing my lips to hers. Her hands wrap around my waist; her body feels so good pressed against mine. “Okay, let's get in this bad boy.” I help V into the tub and follow behind her.
As soon as I've emerged under the hot water, I feel my whole body relax. “Ahh,” I groan and lay my back against the tub. “I could go for a massage right now,” I think out loud. “I think they have a spa. Maybe we can do that before we check out tomorrow.” I peek an eye open at the sound of splashing. V is moving towards me. “What are you doing?” She moves to my side and pushes my shoulder forward, then squeezes between me and the tub. “I'm gonna give my man a massage.” She places her legs on either side of my hips.
“My man.” I hum. “I like that.” I pull her hand that is on my shoulder to my jaw and kiss the top of it. She returns it to my shoulder and starts massaging. A groan escapes my lips, and my head lolls forward. She moves down from my shoulders to my biceps, then back up to the middle of my back. She's quiet as she works my muscles, and I fall into a haze. I hear her speak, but don't understand the words. “Hmm?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
Her massaging stops and she smacks my arm, “Wise ass.”
I laugh. “What's up?”
“I want you to know, don't feel obligated to agree just because we're together. I understand if it may not be your thing, and you already probably went to one…” She starts rambling, “So it's okay to say no. I mean, it's not for another...” she pauses and I can hear her counting out loud, “It's like six months away yet.”
“V.” I grab her calf. “Ask your question.”
She takes a deep breath, before rushing out a muttered, “Will you be my date to prom?”
I know I stiffen slightly, and not because I don’t want to go with her. It’s because I don't know if I can go. It obviously made her nervous to ask me--if her mumbling on and on had anything to do with it. My posture and lack of response must be a sign of my disinterest because she starts talking again.
“Yanno, never mind,” she says,laughing lightly, “I don't even know if I'm going. It was just a thought.”
“No, no,” I rush to assure her. I didn't want to tell her just yet. I want tonight to just be about us together. It was all going as planned until this moment, and now I'm going to have to break the news to her. “V, I'd be honored to go.”
“But…” she pushes, exasperatedly. I pull on her arm. She allows me to move her from behind and I place her between my legs then lock my feet behind her. As hard as this is, I stare right into her eyes. “I'm sorry.”
Her whole face drops. “For what?” she asks, her voice a hoarse whisper.
“I wanted tonight to be special.”
“It is! I don't think anything will ever top this. What's wrong?” She moves closer, and I pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her middle. She squeezes me. “Chase...” I nuzzle into her chest; I can hear her heart beating erratically. I'm sure mine matches hers right now. “Tell me what's going on, Chase, you're scaring me,” she whispers.
“I'm being deployed again.”