Dylan left his mind and gave in to his senses. Holding her, touching her, was heaven. He could not get enough. He kissed her until neither of them could breathe. In the moments of air, he ran his tongue along her jaw, nibbled her ear, and kissed her neck. Returning again and again to her delicious mouth. He rubbed her perfect ass then cupped it with one hand, wedging her against his groin, almost dying from the pleasure. He slid the palm of his other hand against her breast, his thumb caressing her nipple. He felt the hardened bud and savored their joint arousal.
Mmm...
Her throaty moan tingled his ear and made him harder. He could make her come. He wanted to so, so, bad.
The buzz of her phone hit them like ice-water. They broke contact as if they’d been tased. Nile read the message. “Crap. Come on.” She talked, walked, and texted.
Dylan was still on automatic; he followed like a robot.
She led him to a pier that housed five boats of varying size and purpose. She climbed into a black speedboat named Snape.
“I’m sure there is a story to this.” He climbed in and sat across from her.
“There is,” she said, “Mackey loves Harry Potter. He has a red and gold jet ski he named HP. We use this one to chase him.” Switching topics, she said, “The meeting is over. Tigris told my dad she’d call me, but apparently, she decided to find us instead. Where we were is secluded. Not a good thing.”
“Oh. Who’s our savior?”
“Mackey. I love that kid. He told her we went the other way which bought us some time.”
“Thank you, Mackey.”
“You will. All that means is he’s been spying on us. He wants a ride on your motorcycle in exchange for his silence.”
Dylan laughed. “Done.”
She sent Mackey a message. “I told him, you’ll give him a ride to school tomorrow.”
“Totally worth it.”
Nile grinned. “Okay, we have to get serious now. For the rest of the night, you have to flip your script.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Whatever your instinct is, go against it. If you feel like avoiding eye-contact, look at everybody. If you like to stare down your troubles, make yourself look away. You cannot, under any circumstance, come across as being in control. And, whatever you do, please don’t reveal you almost got laid.”
His eyes popped. “Did I?” He had no idea he was that close.
She looked down, up, away, and at him, then tried to push her smile back into proportion. “None of this matters, so I’m just going to say it.” She took a steadying breath. “I’m nineteen. I’ve dated. I’ve kissed. But I’ve never had a serious boyfriend. I’ve never been stimulated like that. I’ve never come on to a guy like that. I’ve never had sex. I wasn’t ready...until now. You make me feel...ready... If there had been time...and you wanted to...yes...you would have gotten laid.”
His body—which had finally begun to cool—heated again. Her raw honesty blew his mind. “I want to make love to you so bad, I can’t function. But, beyond that, I want to see you. I want to hear your voice and get to know you. I want to be around you.”
“I promise, I wouldn’t be so whorish if there was time. I wish I could get to know you too.” She tucked her hair behind her ear.
“You’re not whorish. This is something. I don’t know what, but it’s beyond us and it’s powerful. We need to figure it out.”
“We don’t have time.”
“Why not? May I call you? Can we talk?”
She reached for his hands, then remembered herself and pulled back. “There is this old movie. Gene Kelly, I think. Brigadoon.”
He shook his head. It didn’t ring any bells for him.
“It’s about a magical town that sleeps for a hundred years and wakes up for one day. When the day is over, they go back to sleep and the town disappears. Rain is your Brigadoon. After tomorrow, we’ll be gone.”
The idea was too depressing for him to think about. “Why do I have to leave? What if I stayed in the town? Is Brigadoon going to disappear around me?”
“Staying is the one thing you can’t do. If you’re in Brigadoon too long, you’ll disappear too.”
He didn’t fully understand the metaphor, but he felt the truth in her tone.
“Would that be so bad?”
“It’s always bad to have your choices taken from you.”
“What if the decision were mine?”
Her chuckle was warm but without humor. “A few hours and a little distraction isn’t sufficient for life-changing decisions. Again, time is everything and yours is almost out.”
“Okay, this is too heavy. Can we take a timeout and talk about something that doesn’t make me want to punch somebody?”
“Me?”
“Never.”
“I don’t know. I can be exasperating.”
“I don’t doubt it. This has been the craziest day of my life. And, that’s not including the mystery meeting or my brother’s impending heartbreak.”
“My best advice is to tell your brother to cooperate. Anything else will be a disaster. You cooperate too...please.”
“Will you give me your number?”
“No.”
“Then I’m not cooperating.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I. I’m being resigned to hell. If I have to go, I want something to remember you by.”
“So take a picture.”
Tigris walked down the pier. She stepped into the boat. “Give me your phone.” She held her hand out.
Dylan unlocked it and gave it to her.
“Get over there by Nile.”
He switched seats.
“Hug her. You’ve been wanting to all night.” She surprised him with a smile. “Yes, I know a thing when I see one.”
Dylan surprised himself by laughing with her. He put his arm around Nile.
She leaned into him and put her hand on his leg.
Tigris took several shots. “You are bad news, hot-guy. Seriously, you two would make a cute couple.” She showed them the pictures.
Nobody could deny it; they made a cute couple.
“I want that one.” Nile touched his screen.
“Me too.” Tigris helped herself to his phone again. She sent the picture and two more to Nile’s number and her own. Then she deleted the numbers.
Dylan tried to keep his expression blank. He’d go through his trash later.
Chapter Twelve
Returning to the house, Dylan received a cold reception, but he expected it. Tigris warned him, things didn’t go well and Jake’s reaction was extreme. According to Tigris, he threw things like a tantruming toddler. Expensive things that weren’t his to throw.
Dylan offered Roland his business card. “Please, bill me for the damage.”
“Why? You didn’t break anything.”
“Don’t worry. I have access to his accounts. I’ll get my money back.”
“Fair enough.” Roland took the card. “We’ve got no hard feelings toward you or your brother, Mr. Spegal. But, we have to look to our own.”
Dylan accepted the formality and thanked them for dinner and their hospitality. He turned to Nile and took her hand, wishing he could do more. “It was a pleasure talking to you. Thank you.”