Without You

  “Tay, you can’t blame him. If you were my daughter, there would be no way in hell I’d let you go to another country by yourself for a year.” Luke pushed a marshmallow in his mouth.

  Taylor sighed. “I don’t see why.”

  Luke looked at her and tilted his head. “Taylor, you’re a beautiful young woman. The problem is, you don’t know it, and that makes you even more beautiful. Those Italian bastards would stop at nothing to get in your pants. No. No way are you going to Italy for a year.”

  We all started laughing.

  Taylor stared at Luke. “You’re not my dad, Luke.”

  He looked back over at her and smiled. “No, but I say one comment about you in front of your dad, and he’ll lock your ass away for the next five years.”

  Maegan and Grace busted out laughing as the rest of us chuckled. Even Taylor giggled. When I looked over to Libby, she was staring at Luke until her phone went off. She pulled it out and smiled.

  Must be Zack.

  Luke was laughing, but when he glanced over to look at Libby, his smile instantly faded. Libby stood up and began walking off toward the water as Luke watched her.

  “Do you want to sneak away?” Lex whispered.

  I looked at her and grinned. “Do you even have to ask?”

  She bit down on her lower lip and looked around. “When?”

  “Once everyone starts heading to bed, we can go for a walk along the beach. I have a bag packed behind the guys’ tent.”

  Her smile grew bigger. “Look at you thinking ahead.”

  I winked. “Hell yeah.”

  “Wow, I’m exhausted. Must be all the sun from today. I’m turning in, y’all. Isn’t that one girl we met today having a big beach party tomorrow at her place? What was her name? Cassidy? I’m down for a good beach party,” Grace said as she stood up and stretched.

  “Oh yeah, I forgot that she mentioned having a big party.” Lauren jumped up. “I saw some really good-looking guys hanging around her place today.”

  Grace made a little fist-pump action. “Good, I need to get laid.”

  Luke jumped up. “What? What the hell did you just say, Grace?”

  Grace rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t even go there. How many girls have you hooked up with during the two days we’ve been here?”

  Luke looked back to where Libby was standing. She was now talking on the phone to someone and laughing.

  “None,” Luke said.

  Grace shrugged her shoulders. “Well, look at you. I’m impressed. Wear those shorts again tomorrow, big brother, and I bet they’ll be lining up for ya.”

  She walked past Luke as he glared at her.

  Everyone but Lex and me started getting up and heading to the tents. I watched Libby.

  “I’ll stay out here and make sure Libby is okay, Will,” Colt said.

  “Nah, that’s okay, Colt. I wanted to spend some time with Lex.”

  Colt shook his head and said, “Remember, my dad could come at any moment. Keep your hands off my sister.”

  “Colt, knock it off!” Lex said.

  Colt smiled and headed toward the tent. I glanced over and saw Luke standing there, looking at Libby. She was now off the phone, but she was staring off into the black night sky.

  “I’m, uh…going to say good night to Libby,” Luke said, barely above a whisper.

  I stood up, held out my hand, and helped Lex up. “Let’s go for a walk, Lex.”

  She quickly nodded her head. As we walked by the tent, I headed to the back and grabbed the backpack I had packed earlier. We started off down the beach, and I looked back over my shoulder to see Luke and Libby talking. They didn’t appear to be arguing, and that was a good sign.

  At least I hoped it was a good sign.

  Will and I walked in silence for a bit.

  Finally, I asked, “What is weighing so heavily on your mind, Will?”

  He sighed. “Libby and Luke.”

  I nodded my head. “Yeah, what about Colt and Lauren? Did you happen to notice how the two of them look at each other?”

  Will chuckled. “I have. What is wrong with the four of them?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not sure. I do know though that Libby is really starting to like Zack.”

  Will looked at me. “Really? What has she said?”

  “I don’t know. Normal stuff. He treats her really good and showers her with attention.”

  “That’s good. I wouldn’t want to kick his ass.”

  I giggled. “She said things are moving along…in their relationship.”

  Will rolled his eyes. “Ugh, Lex. I don’t want to hear that.”

  I stopped walking, and so did Will.

  “Will, I don’t want Libby to do something she would regret. I asked her about her feelings for Luke.”

  “What did she say?”

  I shook my head. “She won’t answer me. She dances around the subject by saying things like, ‘He has Abigail,’ or, ‘He doesn’t feel that way about me.’ It is so frustrating.”

  Will looked down at the ground and then back at me. “Maybe Libby’s moved on.”

  I just looked at him. “Do you really believe that? Do you not see the way they look at each other? Will, you and I both know they are in love with one another. One of them is going to make a mistake and possibly push the other away for good.”

  Will placed his hands on my shoulders. “Do you remember when your father said if our love was a true love, it would find a way?”

  I nodded my head. “Yes, I do remember that.”

  “The same thing holds true for Lib and Luke, and for Colt and Lauren. We need to let them work it out for themselves, Lex. We can’t force any of them to be with someone unless they feel it in their own heart. Love always finds a way, baby.”

  My heart did a little skip as I smiled. I looked down at the backpack and then back up into Will’s eyes. “Make love to me, Will,” I whispered. I leaned up on my tippy toes and kissed him.

  Will dropped the backpack, pulled me into his body, and deepened the kiss. When he pulled away, he said, “With pleasure.”

  I watched as he opened the backpack and pulled out the blanket. He spread it out, and then he took out two bottles of water and set them to the side. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and swiped across the screen. He hit a few buttons, and music began playing. When I heard Dan + Shay’s “19 You + Me,” I couldn’t help but smile.

  I pulled my T-shirt up and over my head as Will pushed his shorts down. I swallowed as I looked when his dick sprang out, clearly showing how much he wanted me. I wanted him so much, but every time, I would get nervous as hell. I wasn’t sure why. He walked up to me as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the ground. All I could hear were the waves crashing against the shore and my heart pounding in my chest. I pushed my shorts and panties down in one movement and stepped out of them. Will looked my body up and down as if he couldn’t get enough of me.

  “Lie down, Lex,” he said in a husky voice.

  My libido came to full attention as I lay down on the blanket. My insides were clenching with anticipation as I watched Will move over my body. He gently began kissing my neck, and then he moved his lips up to mine. The way he kissed me so tenderly caused me to let out a small moan, and I pushed my fingers through his hair.

  “Oh, Lex, I love you so much,” he whispered against my lips.

  I was so overcome with emotion that I wanted to cry out.

  “I love you, Will. I love you so much.”

  He began moving his lips down my neck. “I can’t wait to make you my wife someday.”

  I let out a moan as I felt the wetness between my legs. I needed him to touch me.

  “I want to make love to you every morning and every night.”

  “Will, please touch me.” The need in my voice surprised me.

  The way he could make my body come to attention with just his words was unreal to me. He placed his hand on my thigh, and I gasped.

  “Yes. Plea
se…” I said.

  He moved his fingertips gently across my leg, and then he finally brushed his fingers across my lips. He slipped his fingers inside me and let out a long, deep moan. “Lex, you’re so damn wet. Baby, do you want me?”

  I nodded my head frantically. I wanted to go slow, to enjoy him inside me. “I always want you, Will. Always.”

  He began kissing my nipple as he slowly worked his fingers in and out of me. He was building me up, and I loved every second of it.

  “Feels…so…good. Will, I’m so close,” I whispered as I tugged gently on his hair.

  The next thing I knew, Will’s lips were taking me to heaven and back, and I softly called out his name. He moved his lips up my body and to my neck.

  “Lex…” Will quickly pulled back and looked at me. “Oh God. Lex, baby, I don’t have a condom. They are in my other bag in the tent. We can’t do this.”

  I placed my hand on the side of his face. “Will, I’m on birth control. Please, please make love to me. I want to feel you inside me. I want it to just be you and me.”

  He closed his eyes and then opened them. “I never want—”

  “Will, it’s okay.”

  He leaned down and gently kissed me. He moved over me and slowly began to push himself inside me. We continued to kiss, and after he pushed all the way in, he pulled back and moaned.

  “You feel amazing, Lex. You mean so much to me, and I’ll always love you.”

  Feeling how our bodies were one caused tears to build in my eyes.

  “Will…” My voice cracked.

  He stopped moving.

  I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him closer to me. “I love you so much. I need you.”

  I had never felt so wanted in my entire life. The way he was making love to me was beyond anything I could ever describe. It was more than magical. The love between us felt as if it had grown even more. Will made love to me slowly, lovingly, and passionately. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life.

  Will whispered in my ear, “Lex, I never want tonight to end.”

  I ran my fingertips up and down his back. “Neither do I.”

  I began to feel the familiar buildup my body craved so much. “Will, oh God…I’m going to come.” I looked into his eyes.

  “Lex…” He pushed in deeper.

  I let my release go as I grabbed his arms and quietly called out his name. Our eyes never faltered as he continued to work my orgasm.

  He briefly closed his eyes and then opened them. “Baby, I’m going to come. Lex…my God…”

  I moaned when I felt his warm liquid spilling into my body. I knew that I would never be able to breathe without Will in my life.

  He slowed down and hovered over my body. The moment was so intense for both of us that I thought we just needed to…be…just for a few seconds.

  Will slowly pulled out of me as he looked into my eyes. “Alexandra Eryn, my life would be nothing without you. You are my entire world, the reason I breathe.”

  A small sob escaped my mouth as we wrapped our bodies together. We held each other for a while as we whispered back and forth how much we loved each other. I didn’t want to break our connection.

  “Lex, we should get back. It’s getting late.”

  I pulled back to look into his eyes. “Thank you. That was another amazing moment in my life.”

  He smiled, and my heart melted all over again.

  Will he always have such an effect on me?

  “It was for me, too, Lex. I can’t even put it into words right now. Being able to give myself into you like that…it was beyond words.”

  I smiled back and started to stand up. Will pulled me into his arms and kissed me again. The love poured between our bodies and mixed together as the sounds of the waves crashed on the shore.

  I’ll never forget this night for as long as I live.

  I heard the front door open and then slam shut. I was studying for my last final exam. I also had to get the house ready to close up for a few months since we’d be heading home in a week. I headed downstairs and saw Luke pacing back and forth with his hands in his hair.

  “Fuck. Son of a bitch. Fucker. Fucking bastard!”

  I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Luke, what the hell is wrong?”

  He snapped his head over and looked at me. “She slept with him. She…she gave herself to him.”

  “What? Who?”

  He looked like he was about to be sick. I had been worried about him ever since we had come back from spring break. He never went out. He stayed home almost every weekend, only leaving to go study or go to the gym.

  “Oh my God. Oh God, what have I done?” Luke dropped his hands to his knees and leaned over. He was sucking in one deep breath after another. “That was why she didn’t move in here. That was why. She knew she was gonna sleep with him.”

  Libby? Is he talking about Libby? My fists balled up.

  I walked over to him and grabbed him. “Luke, look at me and calm the hell down. Are you talking about Libby? What’s going on?”

  He dropped his head back and let out a long, drawn-out breath before looking back at me. “I went to Libby’s dorm room. I needed to talk to her because seeing her with him was too much. I couldn’t take it anymore. It turned out that she wasn’t alone. Zack was there, and…and…”

  “And what?” I asked him even though I knew the answer.

  “She was in a robe and kept telling me that now wasn’t a good time to talk. She said if I wanted to talk, we should have talked months ago. I pushed my way into her room and saw…”

  I closed my eyes. Dear God, no.

  “I saw Zack in her bed. I took one look at him, and I just turned and left.”

  I needed to calm myself down before I attempted to calm Luke down. I knew my sister was a grown woman, but all I wanted to do was beat the shit out of Zack.

  “Ah shit. Damn, Luke. You had to know she was going to move on. I mean, they’ve been dating for a few months, and I’m sure that wasn’t the first time—”

  “Stop! I don’t even want to think about any of this.” He started to head up the stairs.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Out.”

  I closed my eyes and pulled out my phone. I quickly sent Libby a text message.

  Me: Libby, you’re a grown woman, so I won’t tell you what you can and can’t do, but I sure hope you know what you’re doing…with Zack, I mean.

  Libby: I need to get out of here. Please come get me.

  My heart started pounding. What if that fucker forced her to have sex with him?

  Me: Libby…did Zack hurt you? I’ll fucking kill him.

  Libby: No.

  Me: What’s wrong then?

  Libby: I just made the biggest mistake of my life, Will. I slept with Zack. I thought it would help me forget Luke. I need you, Will.

  Me: I’m on my way.

  Luke came down the stairs with a duffel bag.

  I grabbed his arm to stop him. “Don’t go to Abigail.”

  He looked at me, shocked. He slowly shook his head. “I haven’t seen Abigail in weeks. I took my last final today. I’m going home.”

  He pulled his arm from mine and headed out the door. I let out a deep breath and hit Lex’s number.

  “Hey, handsome. I’m about to take my last final, and then I’ll be packing up the rest of my stuff and saying good-bye to UT!”

  I smiled, and if I wasn’t so worried about Libby and Luke, I would be turned-on. Just the sound of her voice had my body craving her.

  “Awesome. Baby, I’ve got a problem.”

  “What? Are you okay? Is everything okay?”

  “I’m fine. It’s Libby and Luke.”

  She sighed. “Grace just showed me a text from Luke. He said he is on his way home and that he ruined everything with Libby. Is he okay?”

  “No, he stopped by Libby’s dorm room to talk to her. About Libby and Zack. The only problem is, he walked in on Libby and Zack together. I
texted Libby, and she is really upset and asked me to come get her.”

  “Oh God. She slept with Zack? He didn’t force her, did he?”

  “No. I asked her, and she said she just made the biggest mistake of her life. Lex, can you call her? I’m on my way, but talking to you and Grace might help.”

  “Of course. Yes. Grace will call her right now, and we’ll talk to her.”

  “Thank you, baby. I’ll call you in a little bit.”

  “Will?”

  I grabbed my truck keys and started heading out of the house. “Yeah?”

  “I love you so much.”

  My stomach did that funny little flip thing, and my heart felt like it skipped a beat. I realized how damn lucky Lex and I were.

  “I love you, too, Lex, more than you will ever know.”

  I knocked on Libby’s dorm room door and slowly started opening it. I walked into the room and saw my sister sitting on her bed. She had her legs pulled up to her chest as she rocked back and forth. The moment her eyes met mine, my heart broke, and I wanted to kick someone’s ass.

  “Libby…Jesus, honey, what’s wrong?” I quickly walked over and sat on the bed.

  She threw herself into my arms. “I should have moved into the house with y’all. What did I do? Oh God. Oh God.”

  Her body was shaking, and she was crying so hard that I could hardly understand her. I pulled back to look at her and used my finger to make her look at me.

  “Libby, you’re scaring the hell out of me right now. Honey, please tell me what happened. Please, Libby.”

  She shook her head. “His face. I’ll never forget the look on his face.”

  “Whose face? Did Zack do something to you?”

  She shook her head. “No, I thought I was ready. I thought it would help me move on and forget…forget…”

  I was so confused. “Libby, I need you to calm down. You’re not making any sense, and honestly, I’m ready to go find Zack and pound the shit out of him.”

  She smiled slightly, and she started to take in a few deep breaths before letting them out. I waited patiently as she calmed herself down enough to talk.