“Cheaters,” he calls out.
“You have to start again,” Mom says. “You have to get twenty in a row.”
“You are so dead to me,” Amanda calls out as Callan gets the sack into motion. I count them off, and he nearly fumbles at fifteen.
“Go, Callan!” I squeal and jump up and down, but something about me distracts him and he loses his concentration.
“Go David,” Amanda says, and I pick the sack back up and hand it to Callan.
He puts his hand around my wrist and tugs me to him. Our bodies collide and his mouth goes to my ear. “You probably shouldn’t jump up and down like that, Gemma.”
“What, what did I do?” I ask, as his gaze drops to my cleavage.
“Oh,” I say and chuckle, but I seriously love seeing him playful like this, and I also love the way he admires my body. “No jumping, got it,” I say, and he tosses me a grin full of promise when I step back. My stupid heart does a little dance in my chest whenever I’m the sole focus of his attention. God, I really love being with him. I turn, and when I catch Brad’s eye, I don’t miss the way he is staring at us as his girlfriend tackles the hacky sack challenge. I work to ignore him, as well as the uneasy sensations sliding down my back. Callan starts count again.
“Later, losers,” Amanda yells and disappears into the trees, with David in search of their next item. I run back to get a marshmallow and toss it at her. She dodges it and laughs.
“You’re going to pay for that,” I say.
“No, you are when you have to take us out to dinner. I’ll probably be in the mood for a big-ass lobster.”
“Twenty,” Callan finally calls out, and we look over our list to figure out the scavenger items we need to find. We dart into the trees, and I nearly trip on a stump.
Callan grabs me before I go down and pulls me against him. A moan catches in my throat as my back presses to his chest and he slides his hands around my stomach.
“Got you,” he says into my ear, and my pulse leaps. “You know,” he teases, “if we hang back a bit, we can make out behind that tree over there.” I glance at the big tree trunk.
“I’ve never made out in the woods before,” I say.
“Time to fix that,” he says and scoops me up. He hurries to the big tree, sets me on my feet and presses against me. His lips instantly find mine and I squirm against him when his cock presses against my stomach. How the hell can he be aroused again after this morning? I almost laugh at that. I’m one to talk. My panties are getting wetter by the second. He kisses me passionately, like nothing else in the world exists but the two of us, and I melt into him, lose myself in his mouth and his touches.
He breaks the kiss, and my half-lidded eyes open when he puts his finger to his mouth to quiet me. I mouth the word, “What?” and listen for sound. A second ago I couldn’t hear anything other than the moans in my throat. Before he can answer, I hear it too. Footsteps close to us. “Squirrel,” I whisper, and I don’t know why, but that makes him laugh, hysterically.
He backs up and bends over, laughing so hard, I can’t help but laugh along with him. As he laughs, it’s like the world lightens for him. His shoulders are less tense, his body more relaxed than I’d ever seen it, even after sex. I’m so glad he came with me this weekend. It’s been good for both of us.
“It wasn’t that funny,” I say when he finally stops.
“Yeah, it kind of was.”
“Come on, let’s go find all these items,” I say, and he captures my hand as we traipse through woods, collecting pinecones and hidden painted rocks. We eventually make our way to the cold water and kick around the sand, looking for colored shells. The private beach is full of my family and friends, and I can’t stop smiling. I was so dreading this and now I’m having such a great day. The sun shines down on me and I lift my face to it.
“It’s hot out here,” Callan says and scoops me up.
“Don’t you dare,” I say and put my arms around his neck.
My sisters both squeal and cheer him on. “Hey, you guys are supposed to be on my side,” I yell, but it does me little good. Callan kicks his shoes off, steps into the water and winces.
“Freezing right,” I yell as he goes out a bit further. I’m not too worried about him tossing me in, though. It’s too cold for even him. He swings me, pretending he’s going to dunk me, but he’s too sweet to do it. He just likes teasing me and I like him doing it.
Before I even realize what I’m doing, I lean in and kiss him, my heart so darn full of happiness it’s a bit overwhelming. He kisses me back, and when I inch back he says. “Okay fine, if you’re going to be nice and kiss me like that, I won’t toss you.” He looks around. “Want to continue with the hunt? We can’t win now, but I’m not a quitter.”
He sets me back on the sand and picks up his shoes to carry them. We hunt on the beach for all the items and by the time we make it back to the deck, everyone is there, and the barbecue is going.
I don’t have to ask who won. Amanda is prancing around like the queen bee, and I have to say, I’m glad it was her and not my ex, who looks like he’s sulking in the corner, while his girlfriend desperately tries to make him happy. Good luck,
