For You(36)
Author: Mimi Strong

She said, “I’m fine.”

“Then why are your shoulders up around your ears?”

She uncrossed her arms and dropped her shoulders back down, pretending she wasn’t cold, but I already had my jacket off and was sweeping it around behind her. She let me drop it onto her shoulders, and I seized my opportunity to snare her with my coat, pulling her in close to me.

Awesome move, Sawyer.

I stared down at her lips and leaned in closer.

She turned her head to the side, as if suddenly very interested in people walking their dogs nearby.

Her ear was so close, and I planned to bite her earlobe if she wouldn’t kiss me. I hesitated, and she wriggled back and the edges of the jacket slipped out of my hands.

She slipped out of my hands.

Next time, I’d hold on tighter.

She ran one hand back through her wavy brown hair and flipped her hair out over the collar of my so-big-on-her leather jacket, shooting me a look as if to say, try again later.

I noticed her left hand was bare. No ring.

“I see your divorce went through,” I said.

She frowned and stuck her hands in her pants pockets.

We were walking along the sand now. I had my boots on, so the sand wasn’t a problem, but it was probably getting into her shoes. Aubrey wasn’t grumbling at all. My ex-girlfriend Janine would have been complaining her face off with this amount of sand.

Aubrey didn’t complain. She didn’t seem to notice minor problems.

I asked her, “Am I doing anything right?”

She glanced over at the ocean, then up at me.

“This is nice,” she said. “I’m glad you invited me out.”

“Really?”

She frowned at the horizon, her lips in that tight, straight line again.

I wished she’d give me some sign of encouragement. Should I even bother trying to win her over?

We continued walking, she with her hands pushed down in her pockets.

I got distracted by some dogs on leashes barking as they passed each other.

Aubrey wasn’t giving me anything to work with, so maybe she didn’t like me at all.

I had to move on, get over it. If Aubrey and I weren’t going to happen, it was better to know early.

Something touched my hand.

She didn’t look at me, but she slipped her hand inside mine.

Chapter Sixteen

AUBREY

Holding a guy’s hand wouldn’t seem like such a big deal to most girls, but to me, it was. Sawyer was so cute about the whole thing, occasionally switching my hand to his other hand and walking backwards alongside me as he dried off his palm on his jeans, then turning back and putting my hand into his freshly-dried palm.

We walked by the water for a ways.

I’d worn my bikini under my clothes, in case we wanted to tan for a bit. The sky was blue and cloudless, the sun getting warmer by the minute. Taking off my clothes and feeling the breeze on my damp skin would feel amazing.

Sawyer squeezed my hand. “Shall we shop for a bit, then work on our tans?”

“Perfect.”

We crossed over the road and visited the little gift shops along the strip. I found a bean-bag frog that I thought Bell would love. We didn’t have much extra money, but we had a little, and the frog would be less than ten dollars with taxes.

As I was paying for it, Sawyer said, “Be honest, that frog’s for you.”

“It’s purple. Bell loves purple animals.”

“Yeah, but the frog is your totem animal.”

Right. The drawing.

“I’m not getting a frog tattoo,” I said.

“Not today, no.”

“Not ever.”

“I’ll have to get myself a frog tattoo on your behalf, then.” He held open the door and we walked out of the shop, back into the sun.

I sneezed in the bright light, then said to Sawyer, “Sure, get one for me. Get a frog tattoo right on your ass.”

He made a shocked face. “You swore.”

“Surprise. I’m just a regular person. I swear sometimes.”

We were standing outside the shop, and he reached for my hands. I had the stuffed frog limply in one, and Sawyer’s long hand fit easily around it. He pulled me into him, and I had no choice but to stare up into his gorgeous, sea-green eyes and let him kiss me.

His lips pressed against mine, pulling feelings from me. Desire. Aching. Wanting.

I parted my lips and our tongues touched as I pushed up onto my tiptoes to bring myself closer. He pulled my arms so that they were wrapped around him, and once I was latched on, he moved his hands to my face. His fingers touched below my ears, then feathered through my hair to the base of my neck.

My body went limp, and I was floating, held up by Sawyer’s fingers, his mouth electric against mine.

He moaned, low and barely audible, and the vibration of his voice shook into my spine. My body pulled to his, my h*ps seeking his.

With another groan, this one the kind you make when you don’t want to do something, he pulled away from me, away from our kiss.

He looked from side to side at the people passing by on the sidewalk. Nobody seemed to care about two people kissing, but I blushed and looked down, certain that people could guess how turned-on I was right then.

My apartment was so far away, but we could go there. I could kiss Sawyer some more, and we wouldn’t have to stop. I stuck my hands in my pockets and sucked in air between my teeth to help me straighten my thoughts. Going back to my place was a terrible idea, because what if I couldn’t get him back out again? What if he wanted to come with me to pick up Bell after school, and meet her? Right now? Before I’d even considered how I would introduce him?

No, my place was out.

He nodded for us to continue down the street, inviting me to scope out where I wanted to get lunch.

I followed along, looking around in the few clothing shops along the street. I didn’t shop much for recreation, unlike some girls my age. I didn’t even have a credit card, much less the money to pay for unnecessary things like earrings and fancy, leather-colored journals. Sawyer bought himself a journal, not even blinking at the price.

We had lunch at a fish and chips place, where we had malt vinegar on the fries again. I was starting to like my fries that way. With vinegar. And with Sawyer sitting across from me, our knees touching underneath the table.

By now the sun was at full power outside, and when we went back out again, neither of us wanted to wear our jackets, so we slung them over our arms.

Sawyer took my hand and walked us across the street again, toward the beach. “Did you wear your swimsuit under there?”

“I did, but I don’t think it’s warm enough to go into the water.”

“Probably not, but I am thinking about getting your clothes off.”