I couldn’t argue with him. “No, but I did make the main course.”
Alex’s lips twisted into a crooked smile. He watched me with suspicion as I unpeeled the foil from my creation. “Are those-”
“Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” I finished for him. “Crafted by my own fair hands.”
If Alex had smiled any wider, his lips would’ve split. He reached out and took one of the triangles before taking a generous bite. “This is quite possibly the best P and J sandwich I’ve ever tasted.” He wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth. “You’ll have to give me the recipe sometime.”
“Family secret,” I joked, tapping the side of my nose.
“This is…amazing,” Alex breathed, gazing out onto the water.
“I’m glad,” I said, exhaling a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t sure if you’d think it was lame.”
Stretching across, Alex took my hands in his. “Nothing or nowhere with you could be lame. But this? This is perfect.”
“Come for a swim with me,” I suggested, jumping to my feet and un-popping the buttons on my white shirt. The sky a dark gray now, I studied his face in the flickering candlelight, his smile beaming through the shadows.
“I don’t have shorts. Or did you think of that?”
“Oh, I thought about it. Just decided I’d rather have you naked.” I winked as I wriggled out of my pants. Raising each leg in turn, I removed my shoes and socks, leaving them in a pile with the rest of my things.
Knowing he’d follow, I ran toward the water, gasping when I immersed myself in it. It was cold, like always, despite the hot day we’d had. I stopped when the salty water rose to my shoulders, dunking my head under and then shaking the excess droplets from my hair. My heart raced, air catching in my throat, when I saw Alex in the distance, removing his last sock. Padding through the sand, his dick was hard as he neared the ocean. I couldn’t help thinking the shock of the cool water would soften it, at least until I got my hands on him.
“Holy crap!” He squealed when the water hit his chest. He waded over to me, splashing the water up and down his arms.
“Let me warm you up,” I said, curling my fingers around his neck.
I kissed along his jaw, inhaling the fresh scent of tea-tree bodywash and cologne. His stubble grazed mine as I worked my way to his mouth, sucking his bottom lip between my teeth and nibbling gently. He moaned and pressed his body to mine, the movement splashing water onto my cheeks.
My fingers wandered down his back, settling on his ass and gripping it firmly. We kissed hungrily, licking and sucking and panting for air. I felt his cock growing again between our bodies, hugging my own and making me shiver in desperation. I wanted this moment with him to last forever, but if I didn’t stop now it would be over in seconds. Forcing myself to break away from him, I flipped onto my stomach and started swimming away.
“Catch me if you can!” I called over my shoulder, using my legs to gain speed.
I heard a splash as Alex ducked under and I kept my momentum until I reached water levels that were too deep to stand in. Thinking I’d had enough of a head start, I paused, bobbing on the surface, only to find Alex right behind me. Extending an arm above my head, I went to swim away, but he caught my leg, wrapping his strong fingers around my ankle and pulling me into him.
“Too easy,” he said, before crashing his lips to my mouth.
Grinning, I created a wave with my hands, splashing his face and momentarily stunning him while I made my getaway. “First one to shore gets to come first!” I yelled, swimming away like my life depended on it. There was no way I could possibly lose.
Until I did.
“How the hell did you learn to swim so fast?” I asked, the sand squishing between my toes as I joined Alex on the shore.
“Splash was my favorite movie as a kid.”
“The Daryl Hannah version or the Amy Yasbeck one? Because if it’s the latter, I don’t think I can be your boyfriend anymore.”
Alex raised his eyebrows, seemingly impressed. “You know your mermaids. You never fail to surprise me.”
He tossed me a towel from inside the tent and I proceeded to dry myself off, noticing half the candles had blown out in our absence. Ducking, I crawled inside the tent. Alex followed, and it was as much of a surprise to me as it was to him, to see Ryder had set it up with pillows and blankets, complete with a sprinkling of rose petals.
We lay, damp and naked, facing each other in the small tent. Alex’s curls had dropped out in the water and a rogue droplet rolled tentatively down his cheek. I caught it with my finger, smoothing it across his lips.