Sofia’s chin rested on the bridge formed by her fingers, her elbow on the plastic table between us. She had angled herself so she was sitting more beside me than across from me; her back to the inside of the restaurant and her gaze focused on the festivities taking place on the beach.
Carnival games had been set up a little way down, and a heated volleyball game was going on at a net set slightly off to the side in front of the beach shack housing the restaurant and bar. She hadn’t stopped smiling since we’d arrived about an hour ago.
Dipping her head to suck at the bright blue straw sticking out of her frosted cocktail, she swallowed and sat back in her chair with a contented sigh. “I love the fourth of July. Thanks for agreeing to spend the day with me. I’ve been really excited about it.”
She didn’t look at me, but I heard the sincerity in her voice. In the days since our fishing trip, we had kept texting multiple times a day. If I was being honest, I had been looking forward to spending more time with her.
“Yeah, I’m happy to be here with you, too.” Shifting in my chair to be closer to her, I slung my arm over the back of hers. “What do you want to do?”
“Stay here, have a few more drinks and something to eat. We can move to the beach before the fireworks start.” While she spoke, she slid her chair right up against mine and draped her hand casually over my thigh. “Unless there was something else you wanted to do.”
“Nah. I’m okay with that plan.”
As she got comfortable relaxing against my side, my fingers drifted to her shoulder and drew patterns on her warm bare skin.
She had matched her outfit to the occasion. Wearing a red cotton dress with broad straps, blue and white ribbons around the pigtails in her short hair, and a deep blue belt cinched under her breasts, she looked sexy as fuck and adorable at the same time.
From my new vantage point pressed up against her, every time I dropped my gaze to look at her, I caught a nice bird’s-eye view of her cleavage as well. I couldn’t complain, but it was going to make it damn hard to keep my hands to myself.
A slight shiver passed through her as I kept up the absentminded movement of my fingers, and she glanced up at me without moving away. “Enjoying yourself?”
“Absolutely.” I flashed her a grin. “But I kind of wish you were wearing more clothes. Just while we have to be out in public.”
She swatted my bicep, but the shade of her cheeks colored until it almost matched her dress. “Stop it. We’re not here for that.”
“Oh, I know. That’s why I wish you were wearing more clothes.” I dropped a kiss on top of her head and had to fight the urge to tug at a pigtail. What is it about those things that make them so damn tempting to mess with?
“I would offer to put on the sweater I brought with me for later, but it’s way too hot for that. Sorry, but you’re going to have to suffer right along with the rest of us.”
“Why are you suffering?” I pulled my head back to be able to see into her flecked hazel eyes.
Just when I had a proper view of them, they rolled and she arched a brow at me. “Seriously? You’re wearing a shirt that has no sleeves, is so tight that I can just about see your abs, and those shorts don’t make much of a secret of your… bulge, either.”
“My bulge?” I laughed, nudging her with my shoulder. “So that’s what you’re into then, huh? My arms, my tummy and my bulge?”
She scoffed, but amusement sparkled in her eyes. “What you have is not a tummy. Normal people have stomachs or tummies. You have motherfucking abs.”
“Motherfucking abs. I like that.” A smirk tugged at the outer edges of my lips. “But I object to not being a normal person. I’m just as normal as anyone else.”
“So not at all?” she teased but then straightened up to brush a kiss to the underside of my jaw. “Let me clarify then. You’re built like freaking Iron Man, not a normal man. On the inside, you’re no different from the rest of us.”
“Thank you.” I began drawing my patterns again. “For the record, I’m pretty sure Iron Man’s suit is what makes him built.”
“Probably,” she agreed. “To answer your original question, I’m not into your arms, abs, or your bulge. Believe it or not, I’m into you. Like the whole package.”
“So it’s all about the package then?” I joked because I needed a second to process that she’d admitted to being into me. It was closer than we’d ever been to talking about feelings, which wasn’t a conversation I was usually okay with.
Strangely, hearing it from her made weird shit happen in my chest, but it didn’t trigger the urge to get the fuck out of there.
Sofia laughed and poked me in the ribs. “I’m not talking about your package as a synonym for the bulge, but you already know that.”
“Yeah,” I said, bringing my arm forward on the back of the chair so it was almost completely draped around her instead. “I’m into you, too.”
“Good.” She flashed me a wide smile before hiding it by tucking her head into my shoulder. “Now that we’ve established that, can we go back to talking about what you want to do later?”
As she turned into my side, she slid her arm up and around my stomach. Her voice was muffled by my shirt, but I didn’t try to pry her out. I liked having her tucked into me like this.
Tightening my grip on her shoulders and pressing yet another kiss to the top of her head—because I seemed powerless to stop
