Veer (Clayton Falls #2)(33)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“You are amazing.”

“Gavin?”

“Yes?”

“Before you, uh, start anything, I need to go.”

“What? You can’t go.” He sat up on an elbow, face in a state of panic.

“Oh, no, not leave. I mean I need to go.” I pointed to the bathroom door.

He relaxed. “Oh, okay, you can do that.”

“I need your permission to use the bathroom now?”

“Not all the time, just when you’re naked in my bed. I’m kind of picky about when you get to leave then.” He tried to keep a straight face, but before long, a playful smile broke through.

Even though he’d obviously seen me naked plenty, I felt funny getting out of bed with him looking. “Could you turn away?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“No way. You’re not allowed to feel self-conscious in front of me. I love your body, and I don’t ever want you trying to hide it from me.”

Gavin seemed like such a contradiction. Sometimes, he was a real gentleman, others he was really aggressive and determined. I didn’t mind it. I liked the combination. I found both sides of him attractive in their own ways.

“You don’t feel self-conscious walking around naked in front of me?” I figured I’d make him put his money where his mouth was.

“Not at all.”

“Is that so?”

Instead of answering, he pulled back the sheet and got up. I couldn’t help staring—there was a lot to stare at.

“Your turn,” he said with an amused expression.

My hands went to the scars, but I took a deep breath and pulled off my side of the sheet. “There, I did it.”

I’d barely stood up before he had his arms around me. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Nope.”

“Good.” His lips moved to my neck again, so I shook him off.

“I’m going to the bathroom, remember?”

I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I slipped inside his bathroom and closed the door behind me.

I finished quickly and came back out to find him reclining on the bed, fully exposed.

“You’re really comfortable in your own skin, aren’t you?” I wished I could have even half of that confidence.

“Do I have any reason not to be?”

“Of course not,” I said quickly.

“Then come join me.”

I walked over and curled up with him again, pulling the sheet back over us because I felt more comfortable that way. “Don’t say anything.”

“I won’t.”

“That bathroom is so completely wasted on you, it’s ridiculous.”

He chuckled. “Why exactly is it wasted?”

“No man living alone needs a soaking tub, a shower to die for, and a double vanity. I mean, come on.”

“Well you’re welcome to come over and use it whenever you want, but just know you’re going to have company.”

“Very funny. But seriously, I think I’m in love with your place. It’s a loft, you have an amazing bathroom, incredible views of the ocean—is there anything better?”

“I’m glad you like it here. I hope you’ll decide to spend a lot of your time here, and I mean a lot.”

“I might be persuaded to spend another night or two.”

“A night or two? If that’s what you’re saying, I haven’t done my job.”

He pulled off the sheet, positioning himself over me.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I am.” He grinned. “We have lost time to make up for.” His lips returned to my neck. They seemed to always find their way there.

I had difficulty finding the words I needed. “Lost time? We’ve only known each other a few weeks.”

“That means we have weeks to make up for.”

“What about breakfast? I’m pretty hungry.”

He laughed. “I’ll take you to breakfast. I promise.”

***

Gavin was true to his word. We headed hand in hand to breakfast at Surf Song. We were seated at a table right by the open windows, giving us a great view of the water. The beach was crowded. A few volleyball nets were strung up, and a group of girls were already lying out for the day. The surf was calm, and I watched as several kids ran out into the water.

“Well, hello there.” Kelly approached our table with Tom right behind her.

“Hey, man.” Gavin greeted Tom with a grin.

“Out for a breakfast date, huh?” Tom pulled out the table’s two remaining chairs.

“More of a continuation of a date that started last night.” Gavin found my hand and squeezed it under the table. Had he really just said that?

As if he’d read my mind, he leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Just so we have it straight, we definitely will not be keeping this between the two of us.”

I smiled and met Kelly’s wide eyes. “Nice,” she mouthed.

“I guess it’s a little late to ask, but mind if we join you?” Tom signaled for the waiter.

“No, be our guests.”

“What are you guys up to today?” Kelly perused the menu. I already knew I wanted the strawberry French toast again. I was starving.

“I thought we’d take the boat out,” Gavin answered for us.

“Cool. It’s a nice day for that.” Tom picked up his menu.

“Tom, if you guys want to come, it’s fine. I’m sure Becca won’t mind. You’ll keep me well-behaved.”

Where was this side of Gavin coming from? It was like when he told Ronny we were together, but worse. Was that really just the night before? So much had happened in less than twenty-four hours.

“No way. We are not crashing your date. We already crashed breakfast. Besides, we’ll see you at Molly and Ben’s tonight, right?” Kelly asked.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that.” I took a sip of water, hoping the waitress would be over soon to take our orders.

“Are they having something tonight?”

“Yeah, Ben’s barbequing.”

“I don’t recall getting an invitation to this shindig, but I’m guessing Becca’s unofficially came with a plus one.”

“Shindig?” I laughed.

He smiled. “Yeah, you have a problem with my choice of words?”

“God, no. If you are as sensitive about that as you are about your accent, I’m in trouble.”

“I don’t have an accent.”