Me: I’m already on my way. Don’t tell her I’m coming.
Tessa: Do you think I have a death wish?
She can’t hate me forever. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving myself to her if I have to. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’ve done things that I regret. But what Mia and I shared two nights ago, wasn’t one of them.
I just need to somehow make her see that for herself.
I don’t see Tessa or Mia’s car when I park in the grass at Rocky Point. And I’m happy about that. I want to beat them here, that way Mia doesn’t get to do anything without me. Even though I probably don’t deserve it, I want all of her time. I am a greedy bastard when it comes to her and I’m not ashamed of it. I want everything.
Every smile, every orgasm, every fucking noise that comes out of that pretty mouth. And I’ll need as much time as she’ll give me if I’m going to make up for being such a shit to her when we were younger. She isn’t going to easily let go of all the hate she has stored up for me. That hate runs deep.
Luke is seated at a picnic table with Reed, a friend of Tessa’s. I walk over to them, throwing my stuff down on the bench and keeping my eyes out for a familiar vehicle.
“Why do you have two towels, man?” Luke asks as he searches through my stuff. “Oh wait, does this have anything to do with that hot piece of ass?”
I pick up my towels and move them out of his reach. “What the fuck did I say about calling her that? Her name’s Mia, and that’s what you’ll call her. Nothing else. Got it?”
He holds his hand up, leaning away from me. “Sorry. Jesus.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
I need to calm the hell down. I’ve never felt this anxious about seeing someone before. And for fuck’s sake, I just saw her yesterday.
I scan the line of cars that head down the dirt path. No sign of them yet.
“This is the girl that used to live here, right?” Reed asks, moving off the bench to stand.
“Yeah,” I reply, not prying my eyes from the vehicles. “She moved to Georgia a while back and is here for the summer.”
I still can’t believe it myself. This is the same girl that used to have sleepovers every weekend at my house with Tessa. I’d fucking kill for a sleepover with her now.
A red Jeep comes up over the small hill, and I suddenly find it difficult to take in a deep breath.
“I’ll be right back,” I choke out with a shaky voice. Get it the fuck together, Kelly.
“Fuck that. I’m coming with you,” Luke states, getting to his feet.
We both walk toward the Jeep as it pulls in between two other cars. As soon as Mia locks on to me through the windshield, her jaw drops open and those chocolate brown eyes widen. I can see her hands tightening on the wheel as she leans over, saying something to Tessa with a tight jaw.
“She looks thrilled to see you.” Luke laughs before walking over to Tessa’s door.
I ignore him and the look Mia is giving me and open her door for her. “Hey. I’m really glad you came.”
I feel calmer now, but my heart is still beating like I’ve just taken a shot of adrenaline. She is in a tank top, her bikini straps poking out, and tiny white shorts that barely cover the legs I want to be buried between. I pry my eyes off her lap to give her a smile.
“Someone failed to mention that you’d be here.” She ignores the hand I hold out for her and steps out of her Jeep, pulling the seat back to get her bag.
I close the door and move to walk next to her. “I warned you of my persistence. This just proves that I’m a man of my word. If I find out you’re going to be somewhere, there’s a pretty damn good possibility that I’m going to show up.”
She tries to ignore my comment, but I don’t miss the way her cheeks flush at my vow. That has to mean something. Her mind, and its memories of the guy I used to be, might hate me, but her body doesn’t seem to.
I take the duffle bag off her shoulder without a fight, slipping it on my arm. “I brought you a towel in case you needed one.”
She stops in her tracks, causing me to double back. “I don’t need you to do things for me, Ben. I don’t need you bringing me towels and carrying my bags.” She reaches for her bag but I step back.
Fuck that. I’m carrying her bag.
“Fine. Whatever. But just know that this nice act doesn’t wipe out all the shitty things you’ve done to me.” She steps closer, brushing her body against mine.
I freeze, completely unprepared for this type of contact from her.
She tilts her head up and looks into my eyes while I use every ounce of strength in me to keep myself from getting hard. “That shit is still very raw. And no amount of bag carrying is going to make me forget it.”
I watch her ass as she walks away, realizing now that I’m going to need to step up my game to knock down the walls she’s building up around her. Which is fine. I’m all for a challenge. Especially one where getting close to Mia is the reward.
By the time I reach the rest of the group, Mia is talking to Reed while Luke and Tessa dive into the reservoir.
I
