“Our friendship, Libby, has always meant so much to me. You were my best friend. You still are.”
Libby gave me the sweetest grin.
“Will had said something to me not long after we shared that kiss under the bleachers. I was so confused about my feelings. I knew for a while my feelings for you ran much deeper than our friendship. That kiss brought it all up to the surface.”
Nodding her head, Libby whispered, “Yes, it did.”
“My head started playing games. I started questioning if the kiss was a mistake. I wondered if you had thought the same thing. What if we started dating and it didn’t work—we would lose our friendship and that was the last thing I’d ever want.”
Libby took my hand in hers.
“Once I got to A&M, things were so different. Will’s words kept repeating in my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking of what an ass I was for kissing you and then leaving. That’s when I met Karen. It was only a few days after I got to school.”
Libby sucked in a small breath. I looked away. “I thought I could push the kiss from my heart—with Karen.”
“The girl from the Italian place?” Libby asked.
I nodded my head. “Yeah, but we were only together for a bit and then broke up.”
Libby’s eyes looked sad. “Was she—your first?”
Nodding my head I whispered, “Yeah. I went pretty far with Claire Montgomery once in high school, but not all the way. I kept thinking about—”
“Thinking about what?”
Looking into Libby’s eyes, I attempted a smile. “You. It’s always been about you, Lib. Even that night with Karen, you filled my mind and I tried so fucking hard not to think about you.”
Swallowing, Libby looked away. “Abigail?”
“My poor attempt to push you out of my heart. I swear to you I haven’t seen or talked to Abigail in I don’t know how long. She was lying to you when she said we were together again, Lib. I swear to God.”
Her eyes snapped back to mine as I searched them. I saw nothing but trust. Trust and love. “I believe you. I hate that she played a part in pushing me to Zach.” Shutting her eyes she shook her head. “Luke, we’ve both wasted so much time and have done such stupid things. I don’t want to waste any more time on the past. I want to focus on the future.”
Pulling my head back, I looked at Libby with a surprised expression on my face. “Lib, you don’t hate me? I mean I hurt you so many times.”
Libby frowned. “I want to be honest with you too, Luke. Two nights ago Zach sent me a text. I was confused and not sure where things were going with us, so I sent him a text back. I told him I’d call him yesterday, but I knew Zach wasn’t who I wanted. He was never who I wanted. It’s always been you.” She glanced down. “That day you showed up at my dorm.” Shaking her head, she wiped a tear away. She slowly looked back up and our eyes met. “I’d give anything to take that back, Luke. Anything.”
I lifted her hand to my lips. The sounds of the ocean rolling onto the shore made my heart take flight. Libby’s eyes danced with regret. I never wanted to see that in her eyes again. “I’m going to love you so much, Libby, that you will forget that day with Zach. I’m going to make your body feel so incredible that you’ll only know and remember my touch.”
Wiping a tear away, Libby smiled. “You already made me forget him the moment you told me you loved me.”
My heart dropped as I gazed into Libby’s eyes.
Grinning bigger, Libby said, “As much as I love your mom’s chicken salad, I’d much rather have you.”
I glanced around. The beach was fairly empty, but it was still the middle of the afternoon. Looking over Libby’s shoulder, I noticed the house. There was a deck and under the deck it appeared to be storage. The shutters were shut and locked, indicating that no one was occupying the house.
Standing up quickly, I reached for Libby’s hands and pulled her up. I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder as she let out a scream. “Where in the world are you taking me?” She asked as she pushed herself up with her hands on my back.
“I want you, Lib. Now.”
Giggling she said, “What? Now? Where, Luke? People are walking down the beach!”
I walked to the house and set Libby down. “Oh my God. We’re trespassing, Luke.”
I pulled her behind the wood trellis that separated us from the ocean and quickly pulled her shirt up and over her head. Her black bikini top was pushing up her perfect tits. “Fuck,” I hissed through my teeth as I pushed her top up and began sucking on a nipple.
“Oh God,” Libby gasped as her hands went to my hair and began pulling.
I reached down and pulled out a condom from my pocket. I pulled my lips from Libby’s nipple and handed her the condom. “Take it, Lib.”
Her hands were shaking as she reached out and took the condom. I wasn’t sure if she was excited or nervous. Dropping down, I slowly began to pull Libby’s shorts down. Her matching black bikini bottoms quickly followed her shorts. She lifted her legs out of her shorts and bikini bottoms and stood there as I moved my hands up and down her perfect legs. They were muscular from running and sexy as fuck. I pushed her legs apart and lifted a leg.
“Ahh …” Libby called out as I swept my tongue over her hardened nub. I pushed two fingers inside of her and moaned with how wet she was. I moved my fingers in and out a few times and then stood up as I placed the fingers in my mouth and sucked on them. Libby’s mouth parted open slightly as her eyes widened.
“You taste so good, Lib.”
She bit down on her lip and closed her eyes quickly before opening them again.
“Lib, I always want you to know how much I love and adore your body.” She nodded her head. “I never want to hurt you, so you have to promise me you’ll always tell me if I do. Do you promise me, Lib?”
Nodding again, she held up the condom and smiled. “I promise you, Luke.”
I quickly pushed my shorts down and kicked them off to the side, releasing my throbbing dick. I took the condom and rolled it over my shaft. I glanced up and saw Libby watching me as she ran her tongue along her bottom lip.
“What do you want, Libby?”
Snapping her eyes to mine, they danced with excitement. She chewed on her lip for a few seconds before her eyes changed. Excitement was replaced with lust. “I want you to fuck me, Luke. I want to feel what being with you in nothing but raw passion is like.”
Swallowing hard and trying to keep my dick from exploding with Libby talking to me like that, I lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around me. I slowly sank her onto my dick. Inch by painfully slow inch.
She pressed her lips to mine as she panted out. “More. I want more.”
When I was all the way in, we stood there for a few seconds. I wanted to be buried inside her always. Our bodies felt connected. Each time with Libby it was more emotional than the last.
“Luke, you feel like heaven,” Libby whispered against my lips.
“God, Lib. So do you, baby. I wish we could be like this forever.” I pushed her against the house and pulled out of her a bit before moving back into her.
She let out a gasp and I looked into her eyes. “Promise me, Lib.”
She frantically nodded her head. “I will! I will! More, Luke. I want it harder—faster. I want to feel that you were in my body with every step I take.”
I gave her exactly what she wanted. With each pull out, I slammed back into her. Libby’s moans of pleasure were hot as hell. Libby looked down and bit her lower lip. “Oh God … Oh God … that’s so hot.” I knew she could see my dick moving in and out of her body and I was so turned on I wanted to let go. “Libby, baby I need you to come.”
Her eyes looked into mine. “I love you, Luke.”
Pulling out almost all the way, I pushed back into her hard. She threw her head back and began calling out my name as I felt my own release explode. I lifted her and gently pulled out as I set her back down onto the sand.
Our breathing was out
of control as Libby leaned against the wall with my arms on either side of her head as I attempted to catch my breath.
Libby finally smiled the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. “That. Was. Amazing.”
I laughed and nodded my head. “Sure as hell was.”
“I want more.”
My smiled faded as I stared at her. “W—what?”
She nodded her head and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Last night and this morning was more than I could have ever dreamed of. This though—this was beyond amazing. This was sexy as hell and I want to do this as much as we possibly can.”
I let out the breath I was holding and smiled. Thank God she wasn’t meaning she wanted to be fucked again, because my guy was exhausted from last night, this morning and our little fuck fest just now.
“I’m pretty damn sure I can arrange for a lot more fucking time in between the lovemaking.”
Libby kissed my lips and quickly pulled them away. “I’m starving now!”
Libby and I quickly got dressed. Reaching down, I picked her up and carried her back out to our picnic. We spent the next hour eating, talking, laughing, and discussing the future—our future. Together.
THE COLD WATER ran over my head, causing me to let out a moan with the relief it provided from the heat. “Damn it’s so hot out,” I said as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
“Welcome back home, son. One week at the beach and you turned into a pussy.”
I turned and looked at my father and shook my head. “Pussy? I’m out here, aren’t I? Where the hell are Colt and Will?”
My father shrugged his shoulders as he laughed. “I told them to take the day off.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? Why in the hell would you do that?”
Looking over at me, my father winked. “I wanted to talk to you.”
Hell. This wasn’t going to be good.
Walking over toward him, I picked up the fence pullers. “About what?”
He grabbed the wire cutters. “Libby.”
I stopped moving. I watched as my father went about his work as if nothing he just said should cause me to worry. He told Colt and Will to take the day off. He had me out here working in the damn heat of the day. He wants to talk about Libby. I began spinning around, looking for Josh. Was Josh here?
“What in the hell are you doing? What are you looking for?”
I spun around and looked at my father. “Is Josh here?”
My father lifted his eyebrow. “Should he be here, Son?”
I stared at my father. “Um, is that a trick question, Dad?” I looked around again before looking back at my father. Rolling his eyes, my father mumbled something under his breath. He threw down his wire cutters and walked over to the back of his truck. He opened the cooler and pulled out two beers. Tossing one to me, he motioned for me to sit down.
Beer. Alone time with my dad. Something was fixin’ to go down.
“Dad, just come out and say it.”
He popped open the beer and took a drink. “Tell me about you and Libby.”
Walking over, I jumped and sat next to him on the tailgate. I couldn’t help but smile. “Ah hell, Luke. I’ve seen that goofy-ass smile before.”
Turning, I looked at him with a questioning look. He threw his head back and laughed. “I’ve seen it on my own face.” Nodding, I tipped the beer back against my lips. “It sure took y’all enough time to get together.”
My smile faded. “Yeah, that would be my fault.”
Raising his eyebrows my father asked, “How so?”
I shook my head. “Where should I start? I was afraid of my feelings for Libby, so I acted like an asshole. I pushed her away and into the arms of another guy. I hurt her more times than I care to think about.” Glancing at my father I asked, “Should I keep going?”
He smiled and let out a throaty laugh. “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, that’s for sure.”
I chuckled. “I’m going to take that as a good sign though. Seeing how happy you and Mom are, Lib and I would be lucky to have a love like yours.”
My father smiled and his eyes sparkled. Anytime I mentioned my mother to him, his eyes lit up. “May I offer you some advice?”
“Yes, always, Dad.”
He took another drink of his beer and looked straight ahead as if he was recollecting something.
He inhaled a breath and slowly blew it out. “No matter how bad things seem to be, never give up on your love. Fight for it with all you’ve got, Luke. There were times your mother had me wanting to pull my hair out—many, many times.”
I laughed as I took another drink of my beer. “I feel a ‘but’ coming.”
Nodding his head, my father said, “Your mother saved me, Luke. I tell her all the time if it hadn’t been for her love, I’m not sure what I would have done. Life without her is not an option.”
Looking straight ahead, I let his words sink in. “I feel the same way about Libby. I think I’ve been in love with her for so long, the idea of actually doing something about it scared the hell out of me. I kept thinking if it didn’t work out I’d not only being losing the love of my life, but I’d be losing my best friend as well.”
Laughing my father shook his head. “It’s like I’m listening to my younger self.” Turning, he looked at me with a serious look. “Do everything in your power, Son, to never hurt her again.”
Swallowing hard, I nodded my head. “Yes, sir.”
He nodded his head and looked away. “I know you won’t, because if I don’t kick your ass first, I know Josh will.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, for some reason Josh scares the piss out of me now.” My father threw his head back and laughed his ass off. “Trust me, someday, when you have a daughter, you’ll understand.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. I had never thought about kids before. Ever. That was the last thing on my mind. The idea of having a baby with Libby filled my heart with excitement. I smiled as I pictured Libby pregnant.
My father jumped off the tailgate and pointed at me. “No. Stop it right now, Luke Johnson. Right now.”
I held up my hands in surrender. “Stop what?”
He kept pointing. “Don’t you even picture it in your mind. I know what you’re doing. I’m too young to be a grandfather and you have two more years of school.”
My mouth dropped open. How did he know what I was thinking? Then I decided it was time to play with good ole Dad. I smiled when I looked at his shirt. My mother would flip if she saw it.
Lick it like a lollipop.
I chuckled inside. I got my love of crazy shirts from my father, that is for sure. I put on a serious face and dragged my hands down my face. “Sorry, Dad. It’s just, it’s gonna happen.”
My father took a step back. Horror washed over his face. “I’m going to kill you, Luke Drew Johnson, if you say what I think you’re fixin’ to say.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “The passion between us is too strong.”
His mouth dropped open. “What the hell does that mean?”
Looking down, I kicked a rock. “We didn’t want anything between us, Dad and well, I’m afraid you and Mom are gonna be a memaw and pappy sooner than you thought.”
The beer dropped from his hand and he let out a gasp.
“W—what? Why in the hell would you think I’d want to be called—Pappy? I mean, Pappy?” I stood there shocked. He was more worried about the name Pappy than the possibility of Libby being pregnant.
I smiled as I walked over and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, you just look like a Pappy, Dad.” He pushed my hand off his shoulder and turned and walked away. He was mumbling something, but I was trying too hard not to laugh so I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I pulled out my phone and sent Libby a text.
Me: Do you love me?
Libby: More than anything.
Me: Do you trust me?
Libby: With my life.
Me: Text my dad and say, Hey Pappy, what’s up?
/> Libby: Okay … why?
Me: I told him you were pregnant and we are calling him Pappy!
Libby: What? HAHA! OKAY doing it now!
Spinning around, my dad pointed to me. I slowly dropped my phone to my side. “Your mother and I taught you better. Always, always wrap your stick!” He pushed his hands through his hair as he let out a moan.
“I’m not going to be able to keep Josh from killing you. You know this, right?” He dropped his head back and looked up at the sky as he lifted his fist. “Why a boy? You did this to pay me back, didn’t you?”
I looked up and laughed. “Yep, it’s a blessing indeed.”
“You think this is funny? Luke, you’re going to start your life out struggling. And what about Libby?” His phone went off in his pocket and he pulled it out. The face he made caused me to smile bigger.
“What the fuck?” His head jerked up as his mouth dropped open.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. He started walking toward his truck shaking his head. He turned and looked at me. “Luke, you have to know that y’all are too young to be having a baby. I’m too young to be called Pappy, and Josh is going to kick your ass.” He turned and showed me the text from Libby.
Libby: Hey Pappy! How is your day going?”
God I love her. Libby always went along with my pranks. No matter what the outcome was, she was always in. One hundred percent.
“Dad, it’s a joke.”
He began running his hands through his hair. “Oh God, Josh is gonna kill me. He’s not only going to beat the shit out you, he’s gonna beat the shit out of me.”
I walked up to him and put my hands on his shoulders. “Dad, look at me. It’s a joke. Libby’s not pregnant; I’ve always wrapped the stick and always will.” I frowned and made a face. “Well, I guess I won’t always, but—”
Anger washed over my father’s face. “Luke Drew Johnson. I ought to kick your ass now for doing that to me.”
I laughed as he pushed me away. “Little bastard, you scared the hell out of me.” Placing his hand on his heart he looked up and mouthed, Thank you.
I SAT ON the porch of Gram’s house as I listened to my mother, Alex’s mom, Ellie, and Grams, talk about life. Listening to them always made my heart soar. I glanced over and looked at Grams. She was talking about Gramps. Grams and Gramps were Alex and Colt’s great-grandparents, but it felt like they were all of our grandparents. I can’t even begin to count the number of times we have all sought them each out for advice.