Chapter title guesses here ------------------------>
Sterling
"Get up," I instruct as I burst into my shared bedroom with Jackson.
He glances up from the sheet music he is studying, and I toss a package of fireworks at his chest. "What's this?" He inquires, inspecting the vibrantly colored packaging with furrowed brows.
I roll my eyes. "God, you really are sheltered."
Plopping down onto my bed, I pull on my boots and begin tying my laces. "They're firecrackers," I explain before nodding at the papers in his grasp. "And that's no way to spend the Fourth of July, so come with me."
I smile at him mischievously and wiggle my brows. "We're going down to the dock and lighting them off."
He frowns as he turns the box over in his palms, scanning the writing printed on the cardboard. "Are they legal?"
"Nope," I reply with a smirk. "I just got back from a quick trip smuggling them across the border. It was touch and go for a minute there, but the patrol got distracted by a cute golden retriever, so I seized the opportunity and bolted."
Jackson's expression is one of sheer horror as he stares at me with his mouth agape. "Seriously?"
I erupt into a fit of giggles before nudging him in the ribs. "Not even a little bit. Some guy was selling them in a tent at the parking lot of the grocery store."
He tosses aside his sheet music, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "Okay," he readily agrees. "Sounds like a good time."
He follows me down to the shore as the sun sinks into the horizon, casting the long shadows of the pines across the sand. Instantly, he crouches down and holds up a large cardboard canister from the box. "What does this one do?"
I grin wickedly, lighting the wick that stems from it. "Let's find out."
With caution, he sets the explosive down onto the sand and almost immediately, sparks of red, white, and blue shoot out in a hissing waterfall of tiny orbs.
We both cock our heads to the side, studying the somewhat sad display. "Well, this is..."
"Lame," Jackson finishes. We both laugh.
I shrug my shoulders. "Sorry. I thought it would be way cooler than that."
"That's-" His words are abruptly cut off by the loud boom of a firework, sparkling in the now navy sky.
"Now that's an impressive display," I remark as another one crackles and shimmers. I glance around me, my eyes falling upon a rusty cornflower blue canoe wedged into the sand.
I point at it and shift my sights onto Jackson. "Do you want to get a closer look?" I ask.
He bites his lip, hesitating. "I don't know, Sterling. That canoe isn't our property. We better stay here. The view of the fireworks is just fine from the shore."
"Come on," I plead, tugging on his fingers and pouting my lips. "What's the worst that can happen?"
He fights the urge to smile as he shakes his head. "You're paying my bail if we get arrested for theft."
"Yay!" I cheer, clapping my hands with glee. I jog over to the canoe and with a hearty shove, I push the end into the water while Jackson hops in and picks up one of the oars.
I giggle with delight as he playfully smacks my ass with the paddle. "Get in loser, we're going rowing," he teases, referencing a quote from my favorite movie.
It may not be possible, but I swear the joke makes me fall in love with him even more. I jump into the canoe, sending it rocking violently from side-to-side.
"Whoa, easy there," he comments, thrusting out his arms to steady himself. "I didn't pack my swim trunks."
I dip my fingers into the water as Jackson glides the vessel with ease across the lake. The boom of the fireworks adds to the chorus of crickets. "I love summer," I breathe dreamily. "It smells of fresh cut grass and rain and there's just this hum of excitement in the air."
"I believe that's called an impending thunderstorm," he kids with a broad grin. He's simply adorable when he's happy and I ache to plant a peck on the tip of his nose.
Is that even allowed?
I'm not certain what the rules are surrounding our relationship. We had sex but somehow kissing him out on the water where no one else is around, seems more intimate.
He slows his paddling when the canoe reaches the middle of the lake, and he pulls in the oars from the water, resting them across his lap. I gaze up at the sky, mesmerized by the slow fade of red and green that sprinkles a shimmering dusting amongst the constellations.
Leaning on the wooden handles of the oars, Jackson stares at me. I can feel his eyes watching me and I tear my sights away from the fireworks to look at him. His face illuminates with a silvery glow and his expression turns somber.
"What?" I ask, my features scrunching into perplexity.
He sighs before running his palm over his hair. "Kelsi called me this morning. She wants to go out to lunch."
"The three of us...?" I ask in confusion.
He drops his gaze down onto his lap and slowly shakes his head. "No. Just me. On a date."
"Oh." My heart plummets into my stomach. "I thought that she...I thought that you..."
"I know." He shrugs, his expression one of pain. "I thought so too. But I guess she's still interested so..."
I nod, gripping my knees. "So therefore, you're still interested," I finish for him.
He swipes his jaw. "Sterling, I'm really sorry. I didn't know how to tell you."
I laugh bitterly. "You owe me nothing, Jackson. The only thing you agreed to is hanging out with me." I gesture at him sitting across from me. "Which clearly you are."
"Listen, if it makes you feel any better, I'm actually enjoying your company. I was going out of my mind with boredom from all that violin."
I chuckle even harder even though now, it's from anger. "Wow!" I exclaim incredulously. "I'm so flattered. Given the opportunity between isolation and spending time in my presence, you choose me but only because it's better than doing nothing."
He holds up his palm. "Sterling, that's not what I'm saying."
I leap up, causing the canoe to rock some more and Jackson glances around at the rippling water nervously. "What are you doing?"
I kick off my boots. "Leaving you behind!" I shout over the boom of another explosion. "You can go finger your violin strings instead."
"Don't be rash," he insists. "We're in the middle of the lake. It's a far swim back to shore." He gestures at the dock in the distance.
I scoff. "That doesn't frighten me. Unlike you," I spit out, "I don't spook easily."
"I'll take you back," he says, dipping the oars into the water.
"Don't bother." As I pull my hair back into a ponytail, a mosquito pierces my flesh on my thigh. "Ow," I mumble, jerking to swat at it.
The canoe tips dangerously to one side. "Watch it," Jackson warns.
Another bug lands on me and then another and I wave my arms wildly, shooing off the swarm. The vessel violently sways back and forth before succumbing to the shift in weight. As it flips over, I am thrown into the water alongside Jackson.
I swim to the surface, searching frantically for him to emerge from the depths. I hold my breath as seconds tick by. When finally, his head pops up, the air whooshes from my lungs. Shock spreads across his features and he chatters his teeth from the abrupt change in temperature.
"I told you to be careful!" He shouts at me, droplets dripping from his chiseled jawline.
"The mosquitos were biting me!" I fire back. "Did you expect me to just let them use me for my body?"
Huffing loudly, he glances up at the sky. "What else were they supposed to do? They were presented with something that appealed to them and instinct just took over."
"That's the problem, Jackson. They didn't want me because I was special. It was because I was their only option. How do you think that makes me feel?"
He treads water, his irises growing dark as they land down upon me. "You intruded into their territory, Sterling. You disrupted their life; told them you had a crush on them out of nowhere. Maybe, they don't know how to handle that information and they freaked."
I pull back, slowing my strokes. "Huh?"
"Fuck, Sterling," he rushes out, gripping onto the edge of the canoe. "You can't just dump the fact that you have feelings for me into my lap and then immediately get mad when I'm not sure how to respond. You're Gabby's best friend for God's sake."
"So?" I retort. "Do you honestly believe that your sister is so petty that she wouldn't want you to be happy?"
Biting his lip, he shakes his head. "You don't understand."
"Then tell me!" I exclaim. "Look me in the eye and swear to me that you didn't feel the chemistry between us when we were having sex."
His sights slowly meet mine and the energy that crackles in the air is no longer from the fireworks but from the pulsating heat that simmers between us. The gravitational pull that lures us to one another is strong and wordlessly, our lips connect in a fevered hunger.
He rakes his fingers through my hair, the tips getting tangled in my damp locks. In response, I wrap my legs around his waist as I deepen our lip lock. The only thing that keeps us afloat is his grip on the canoe, but his hands begin to slip.
"Hold on," he murmurs, breaking away. With a grunt, he pushes the vessel right-side up and it lands on its back with a loud splash. He hoists me into it, and then carefully, I help him up too.
Our mouths find each other once more and he peels my wet t-shirt off, leaving my top-half in the nude. His palms immediately knead my breasts, my nipples hardening at his touch. Then with a tug of his hand, he lowers me down against the cold rough metal of the floor.
Hovering himself above me, he unbuttons my denim shorts and slips them down my still wet skin. He presses his lips to my inner thighs, and I shiver at the sensation of his chilled mouth. His tongue glides down my calves towards my ankles and up again before he settles on the moist spot between my legs.
I sigh softly, the action unexpected from him.
He flicks and teases my slit with his touch and my body begins to tremble. I grip onto the edge of the wooden seats to keep from losing complete control. "Oh, Jackson," I breathe. "Don't stop. Don't ever stop."
My eyes flutter close, my fantasies transforming into reality. Did I smack my head when I fell out of the canoe or is this really happening?
A ripple of pleasure courses through my veins as he swirls his tongue around my nerve-endings and I moan loudly, the sound echoing off the surface of the quiet lake. The orgasm that proceeds is an explosion of fireworks, more vibrant and satisfying than the ones that I had witnessed earlier.
I pant as he settles down beside me on the bottom of the vessel and gazes up at the clear night sky. When my breathing steadies and I can finally speak, I question, "Have I slipped into a coma, or did you just give me oral?"
He chuckles softly, reaching over to stroke my hair. "I was wondering the same. The canoe knocked me pretty good on the skull when we tipped over."
"You poor baby," I soothe, gently massaging his head.
I inhale deeply, afraid to ask the question that pesters my thoughts but knowing that I need to. "Does this change anything with Kelsi?"
He exhales, dragging his hands down his face. "I don't fucking know, Sterling. Just because we fooled around, doesn't mean I now magically possess all the answers. I'm still confused about what to do."
I bit my lip. "Are you still going to have lunch with her?"
He glances over at me, and our eyes meet. "Yes," is all that he says.
Question of the day: Why do you think Jackson has accepted the lunch date with Kelsi even after everything that has occurred between him and Sterling?