Beyond The Waves

Twenty | Come Back to Me

As we drove closer, my leg bounced vigorously, then suddenly stopped when Wes reached across the middle console and splayed his hand over my thigh. The silk fabric of my dress rubbed against my skin, and heat bloomed in my core from his touch.

I looked to where his hand rested, then at him.

Despite the darkness, hunger flickered in his brown eyes, and the pressure in my body doubled. That was the exact moment I knew tonight would further complicate things.

He parked in his driveway and turned his car off; the hum from the engine died, and stillness hung between us. Now that his hand was gone, my thigh was extra cold from where his palm had been. Even though our little bubble of land was quiet for the most part, Clifton felt desolate with everyone congregated at the park tonight—like Weston, and I were the only two people here.

"Are you going to say anything?" my question came out louder than expected.

He stared out of the windshield at the blue paneling of his house. "I don't know what to say," he said, and I chewed on my lip to feel something more painful than my anxiety. "What do you want me to say?"

I looked at him, and he looked at me.

"I don't want you to ask me to stay."

"Okay," he nodded. "I won't."

"But I don't want you to let me go that easily."

He scanned my face tenderly and said, "I would never have let you go that easily, Ivey."

My heart tripped over his words which slammed into me like a ton of bricks.

I sat, unmoving, wracking my brain for something to say, but I couldn't conjure a single worthy reply. All I came up with was either 'thank you' or 'I've come to realize I like you too much to end things,' even though our relationship had barely begun.

His gaze dropped from my eyes to my lips.

Every breath and movement we made was amplified by the unearthly silence of the car.

Unable to stand the whirring tension, I reached for the door and climbed out of the car. He was right behind me but remained a few steps from where I stood, facing the water.

"Weston?" His name bounced off the gentle current.

"Yeah?"

"What do you want?" I turned around to meet his stare and found him leaning against the car, his hands tucked in his pockets, watching me. The white light from the moon melted through the trees and onto his face.

"I think it's pretty obvious what I want."

I swallowed as he pushed off the car and sauntered toward me.

My arms hung limp at my side while his hand slipped past my waist to the small of my back, pulling me against him. I draped my arms around his neck as the tip of his nose brushed mine, and my limbs turned into jello. It took all my willpower not to kiss him, and I wanted to savor the moment.

"What if what you want is complicated?"

"I can handle complicated." His words were hot against my lips.

"Okay," was the last thing I said before his mouth was on mine.

His cold fingertips trailed up my spine, over the open back of my dress. A shiver rippled through me, and my lips parted, needing, wanting him to kiss me deeper. The taste of whisky and champagne whirled between us.

Our mouths danced, his head turning left, mine turning right until I was dizzy enough to pull away and breathe. He took the opportunity to grip the side of my neck and kiss down my jaw and over the nape of my neck.