After we make another couple of last minute rounds back to the gift shops to find a souvenir for Maddy, we head towards the beach house. The day went by insanely fast but it was amazing.
"Mom and Penny are already back cooking dinner. We can stay on the beach a little longer if you want. We're definitely going to be by the water the entire day tomorrow." He tells me as we approach the trail to the house.
I let out a deep breath. "I'm beat from walking around all day. We can go back to the house. I could really use a shower."
Shopping is more exhausting than anyone expects. I'm not one for shopping for enjoyment because I find zero enjoyment in it at all. It's probably because whenever I go shopping to buy things, I don't really have the money to be spending.
"Yeah, me too. I feel gross." He mumbles and walks through the bushes.
"You're more than welcome to join me."
Of course I was joking, but I wouldn't mind if he did.
He laughs and shakes his head. "You're relentless." He says.
"I'm relentless? You were being relentless about paying for the damn seahorse!"
He laughs and shrugs his shoulders. I roll my eyes, flashing a smile. I grab his free hand and continue the walk down the path.
When we walk inside, the entire house smells like a hibachi steakhouse. Lauren and Penny are in the kitchen steadily cooking. The dining room table is perfectly set with four plates, silverware, and glasses.
"Did you two leave any work for us to do?" Miles asks.
Lauren looks up from her assortment of cut vegetables, grinning from ear to ear.
"Not at all but feel free to pick a bottle from the cabinet."
Miles shoots her a thumbs up and walks over to the glass cabinet filled with a whole variety of wine and liquor. He pulls out a bottle of red wine, reads the label, and sets it on the table.
"Dinner is in twenty minutes." She says over the sound of the pan on the stove sizzling.
"I'm gonna take a shower." I whisper to him and walk upstairs.
I could feel his eyes watching me as I left the room. I dig through my suitcase and pull out an evening outfit of shorts and a tank top. The hot water felt perfect, hitting every achy spot on my body. It melted away the stress and soreness I got from today's rendezvous.
When I get back to the bedroom, I shove my dirty clothes in the extra bag I brought. Miles is standing at the end of the bed with his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, everything okay?" I ask and walk over to him.
He looks at me, a little troubled. I don't know why I always assume the worst but his expression makes me think something terrible has happened.
"Yeah. Dinner is almost ready. I was just coming up here to get you."
"I was going to come back down."
"I know. I just needed like two seconds alone with you."
I look at him again. "We've been alone all day and we have the rest of the night together."
"We've been around people all day and they might want to play games or something afterwards so that'll take away from that."
I cross my arms and stand right in front of him. "Why are you suddenly worried about it?" I ask.
He bites his lip and takes a deep breath. "I feel like I've been acting off." He says slowly.
What is he talking about? I've never seen him act off. At least nothing out of the usual.
"You haven't been acting off. You're perfect." I tell him with a reassuring smile.
"No, I'm not."
He reaches forward and grabs both of my hands. My heart skips a beat and now I'm really worried that something is wrong.
"I really like you. I don't want to screw this up so I want to be completely honest because of how badly I care for you."
Why would he choose right now to have this conversation when we are supposed to be eating dinner with his mother in five minutes? I press my lips together firmly and nod for him to go on.
"I hear your little joking remarks- like about the shower thing, and I don't want you to think I have no interest in having a sexual relationship with you at all." He continues.
Oh boy, he does want to have this conversation right now. I can't imagine myself feeling better about the subject if we only talk about it for a couple of minutes.
"I don't think that..."
He's made it very clear he isn't into being touchy. At least that's the impression he gives off.
"I know you do. I know it bothers you when I don't act a certain way towards you. It bothers me too so I just wanted to explain."
"Explain what? You don't have to explain yourself. You said you wanted to take things slow so I can respect that. I'm not that desperate."
I smile again to show him that I really mean what I'm saying.
"That's sweet of you, but at some point we're not going to be on the same page and I wouldn't want to hold you back from getting what you want."
I shake my head and let go of his hands. "Miles, we've been together for four months and I have never in my life felt for anyone the way I feel for you. If I wanted something different then I wouldn't be here meeting your mom."
His cheeks lose their nervous shade of red. He looks a lot more relaxed now. I'm hoping I was able to calm him down a little bit.
"Look-" I begin and shove my hands into my short pockets. "We're both adults in a grown up relationship. We both have things that we want and things that we need. We both have things we wouldn't mind waiting for because we care that fucking much. I don't feel like I'm being held back from anything. I know you think I'm trying to rush you into something you don't want right now but I promise that's not the case. We're obviously very different when it comes to that stuff and it's totally fine with me. I want you to be comfortable with us being together. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."
He steps forward and pulls me in for a fucking enchantment of a kiss and a small part of me regrets what I just said. I do want a lot of things but I have no reason yet not to wait.
Revised;