“And what are we?”
“Fri—“
“If you say friends with benefits I swear I’ll fucking puke.”
I laugh with an eye roll. “But we are friends.” I remind him…myself, whatever. “And I don’t want to lose you again.”
“You’re breaking my heart, Ron.”
I cup his cheek, pressing my lips to the ring circling his lip. A shiver runs through me, despite my words. If you’d have told me at the beginning of summer that I’d be here, sharing a room with Devin, kissing him, loving him in secret, I’d have never believed it, but here we are.
“I’m just trying to protect mine,” I tell him, honestly.
“I’d never hurt you, you know that.”
“I know you’d never intentionally hurt me, but I’ve never done this before. I’ve never even had a boyfriend, and I can see myself getting attached.”
He grins wider. “You? Attached?”
I lift a shoulder. “But unfortunately for me, you’re still in love with your ex.” His face falls a bit before he recovers with his signature smirk. He doesn’t deny it, and I have enough self-respect not to push him. I wiggle out of his hold and bounce to my suitcase with a confidence I don’t feel and dig my swimsuit out of my bag. “I should get changed before Chloe comes looking for me.”
“Ron?” he says, running his hand through his hair.
“Yeah?” As I look over my shoulder, my bottom lip wobbles.
“Are we good?”
“We’re at the beach. We’re great.”
The sun is high in the sky as Chloe and I make our way to the private beach behind our Airbnb. We decided to stay close to the house today, then spend the day on the boardwalk tomorrow.
“This was such a great idea,” she says, as we lay our towels in the sand.
“Definitely.” I inhale the fresh ocean air and resolve to enjoy my trip. Chloe lies out in the sun, while I pull out my sketch pad and lose myself in the sounds of the waves crashing into the shore.
I’m not sure how long we lay there before the guys come bouncing towards us.
“What are you doing?” Devin asks, his hands perched on his hips. He’s wearing swim trunks and nothing else and I’m rendered speechless by the sight of him shirtless. His long lean muscles and the ink marking his body make my mouth water.
“Laying out?” I say.
“We’re at the beach. This is your hot girl summer. We are not here to lay out.” He pulls the sketchbook from my hands and drags me to my feet. He bends, lifting me over his shoulder, and carries me to the water. “Devin!” I shout. “Devin, put me down right now.”
“Sure!” he calls running into the water. I can feel the waves licking at my heels and I squeal.
“Cold! It’s cold!”
He dips under the water, taking me under with him. The cold salty water invades me, it renews me, making me feel like a new person. A new Roni.
We break the surface and I grin, frantically wiping the water from my eyes. “Oh my god,” I say.
“Right?” Devin laughs and wraps me in his arms. His smile in this moment takes my breath away. When he’s happy, it’s like the whole world smiles. At least my whole world. I drop my gaze to his chest because it physically hurts to look at him. I know we’ll never be more than friends. I know it as well as I know my name. I know it as well as I know how to mix colors and paint still-life, and yet here, in the middle of the ocean, with the waves crashing against the shore, I hope.
Lifting my chin, Dev forces me to look at him. “Are we good?”
I give him a little nod, afraid if I try to speak, my voice will betray just how I’m feeling inside.
He grins at me, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Good, because I was thinking about giving you another first.”
I arch a brow at him, then squeal in surprise when he lifts me. I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me further out into the water until it reaches our shoulders. I glance around nervously. “Are you going to drown me?” I ask, only half-joking.
“No.” He scoffs. “I got you.” He gives my ass a gentle squeeze to reiterate his words, then he does something I didn’t see coming. He pushes my bikini bottoms to the side, exposing my pussy to whatever sea life is near.
“What are you doing?” I ask as he shifts. Seconds later I feel his penis bobbing between my legs.
“Ever had sex in the ocean?”
I roll my eyes. “You know I haven’t.”
“Want to?” There’s a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, one I can’t say no to, but, I glance over his shoulder to where our friends are lounging on the beach.
“It’s the middle of the day and everyone is right there.”
“They won’t know, and even if they suspect, they’re too far away to see or hear anything.”
I munch on my bottom lip. “What about a condom?”
“Shit.” He groans. “I didn’t think about that.”
His dick apparently didn’t get the memo because it feels even harder, between my legs. I lift up a bit, count to ten in my head, and then I chase my muse over the cliff.
“What are you doing?” he asks, his voice strained, as I try and fail to get him inside of me.
“It’s okay,” I say, reaching between us to grip his cock. “You’ll pull out. I trust you.”
He makes a sound in the back of his throat that’s half moan, half groan, then shifts, helping my cause. Seconds later he breaches me. “Fuck.” We hiss in unison.
“Do you need a minute?”
I shake my head, “Your dick is a lot bigger than your fingers.” I try to joke, but I’m sure it comes out pained.
“Does it hurt?” he asks, slowly pushing inch by inch.
“Yes,” I pant as the water crashes into us.
“Dandelion?”
“No, I want this.”
His mouth finds mine and he kisses me slow, distracting me from the pressure. After a few minutes, my body adjusts and he pushes in as deep as he can go. I have never felt so full. The sun beats down on us as water splashes around us and I lose myself in him, only vaguely aware of our friends at this moment. Once I get the rhythm down, I start bouncing up and down, pushing us each closer to the edge.
He fucks me in the ocean, searing his name on my heart. There is no going back for me. My entire life has been defined by a few key moments. My momma leaving. My dad spiraling, and through it all, Devin has been there. He’s more than my best friend, he’s my north star. He’s my home.
My fingers tangle into the damp hairs on his nape as his body convulses. He tries to pull out, but I don’t let him. “Roni, fuck.” He grunts, spilling his seed inside me.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I just wanted to feel it...at least once.”
He nods into my neck, panting. “And what did it feel like?”
“Like the sweetest oblivion.”
If you plan to continue with this story, there’s an epilogue…but I suggest you stop here if you don’t like cliffhangers and don’t plan to continue.
Thanks for reading!