“Right?” She laughs, and her delight makes me feel as light as the ocean breeze.
We all agreed to meet down by the pool as soon as we unpack and settle in. I find the big closet and set our suitcases inside, and we take a few minutes to pull things out and hang them up or arrange them in drawers. Well, I arrange them. Emerie stuffs her things in.
She catches me side-eying her. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re very…neat.”
“Yes. I am.”
She shoves the drawer closed. “Does this give you hives?”
I grin. “Just about.”
“Sorry, O.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You’re right.”
She’s holding a bathing suit in her hands, and she disappears into the bathroom.
Yes, I’m disappointed I won’t see her naked. But soon I’ll see her in a bikini.
While she’s in there, I change into a pair of board shorts and pull a T-shirt on. I check out some of the resort info and find we can get towels down by the pool.
Emerie emerges wearing a loose tank-style dress that’s some kind of crocheted fabric. Through it, I can see hints of bright red. A red bikini. I lower my gaze to her bare legs and my tongue instantly becomes as big as a ham. Christ. Her legs are long and smooth and shiny, and all I can think is that I want them wrapped around me.
She picks up a straw hat and plops it on her head, then starts tossing things into a big straw bag.
“Okay, I’m ready,” she announces.
“Can you put this in your bag?” I hold up my sunscreen.
“Sure.”
“We’ll be the first ones there,” I say. “Everyone else is having sex.”
She blinks. “Uh…how do you know that?”
“I know them. They’re all still ‘newlyweds.’” I make air quotes. “Still fucking like bonobos.”
She spreads her hands and gives me a what-the-fuck look.
“Bonobos?”
“Yes…?”
“A kind of chimpanzee. They’re sex-crazed.” I hand her a key card and she drops it into her bag. Moving toward the door, I continue. “Males with females, females with females, males with males, apparently pretty much any combination you can imagine.”
“Wow.”
We start down a long hallway. “They also perform every position and variation you can think of.”
“I’m…dumbfounded. Also a little impressed.”
“Right? Apparently, sex isn’t just for pleasure, for them. It also strengthens bonds, relieves tension, and keeps the peace.”
“Again…wow.”
We leave the resort on a path that winds through elegantly manicured grounds. I slide sunglasses onto my face. “Humans could learn a lot from bonobos. Apart from the incest.”
Emerie chokes. “Incest?”
“Yeah. Like I said, they’ll have sex with anyone.”
“Oh my God.” After a few seconds she says, “How do you know that?”
“I read a lot.”
“I thought you only read about hockey.”
I slant her a smile. “You underestimate me, hot stuff.”
Her flip flops slap against the paved path as she strides with me. “I think you’re right,” she murmurs.
“There’s Brando.” I point to the far side of the pool. “And Jammer.”
“So we’re not the first ones here.”
“Well, they’re not fucking each other.” I pause. “Not that there’d be anything wrong if they were.”
We head their way. They’ve already got drinks in their hands, sitting on the side of the pool.
“Hi guys,” Emerie calls.
“Bon bini,” they both reply. Hello in the Aruban language Papiamento.
We find a couple of lounge chairs nearby and drop our things. And yeah, I’m watching when Emerie pulls her crocheted dress over her head.
Oh yeah. She’s fucking gorgeous. Her skin is pale compared to others here, but it’s smooth and her curves are perfect. The red bikini top is a halter-style and the bottom is modest, but it’s sexy as fuck.
She kicks off her flip flops and bends one leg to dip her toes into the water. “Ohhh, nice.”
“Sunscreen, my fair-skinned friend,” Jammer says.
“Right.” Then Emerie tortures me by pulling out a bottle of sunscreen and rubbing it all over her nearly naked body. I watch her hands glide up and down her legs, over her abs, then her arms and shoulders. God, I want to do that.
She catches me watching her. “Can you do my back?”
“Sure,” I croak. I hope the water in that pool is cold, because I’m going to need it. I spread lotion on her back while she holds her hair out of the way, exposing the soft downy hairs at the nape of her neck.
“I’ll do you,” she says when I’m finished.
I gawk at her, my mouth dry.
“Your back.” She motions with her finger to turn around.
“Oh. Right.” I peel off my T-shirt and give her my back, and she spreads sunscreen on me. The feel of her hands rubbing over my skin is not helping the wood situation below. Jesus.
Once we’re all greased up, I say, “Come on. Let’s swim over to the bar.”
“Okay.”
I’m only too happy to jump into the water where my semi will be hidden. I hope.
I am not going to make it through this trip without losing my mind.
13
Emerie
I can’t believe I’m having so much fun!
It’s been a long time since I could just lie around and do nothing. I’m drinking fruity rum drinks and soaking up the sun, cooling off in the pool, and listening to Owen and his buddies chirp at each other. That’s a new word I’ve learned.
“I still can’t believe they call you Cookie,” I say at one point.
“Yep. We all have nicknames. Jammer, Brando. Hellsy. Barbie.”
“Right. I remember being curious about Barbie. He doesn’t look like a Barbie.” I peer at Owen over my sunglasses, raking him up and down with my gaze. “Nor do you look like a Cookie.”
He definitely looks edible, though. Holy hotness, seeing him shirtless has a warm slide of lust pooling in my belly. He’s not body-builder huge, but his shoulders and chest are muscled and his abs defined. And his legs…those muscular thighs and bubble butt are literally mouth-watering. No wonder I’m so thirsty. It’s not the heat…it’s him.
“Thanks?”
I laugh. “I like cookies, though.”
“Good to hear.” He lifts an eyebrow suggestively.
I’m melting, and not from the sun. He’s softening me up, somehow, just by being him. Analyzing that movie. Talking about chimpanzees having sex. The affection he shows his teammates even when they’re arguing about what sun protection factor means, and he says to Brandon, “You ever look at someone and think, holy shit, you have the IQ of a crayon?”
I choke on a laugh, as does everyone else. Owen’s friends like him, too, I can tell, including Brandon, that charmer with the sexy smile, twinkling green eyes, flirty manner. When he flirts with me I know he doesn’t mean it, and so does Owen. This group is tight-knit and clearly loyal to each other. I guess that’s what it’s like being part of a team. I haven’t experienced that much in my life. It gives me a wistful, hungry feeling.