He watches me, thinking for a second before reaching out wrapping his hands around my ankles. He pulls me toward him, sliding me between his legs and hooking my thighs over his. My dress slides up my legs to a decidedly unladylike degree, but I don’t mind, especially when he runs his hands up my legs, his fingertips stroking the skin of my upper thighs.
“I always wanted to take you on a date. And after that camping trip out here, this is what I pictured. I wanted a do-over without all the drunk assholes. Just you and me. Whenever things got really bad in the service, and I needed a place to escape to mentally, this is what I pictured. You and me, alone up here.”
Mateo’s chocolate brown eyes roam over my face. It’s hard to breathe, my chest squeezing tight around my lungs as tears prick the inner corners of my eyes. How could I have ever missed this? To say that I’ve been blind is dramatically understating my lack of awareness. I might as well have been blindfolded, in the bottom of a pitch dark cave wearing soundproof earmuffs and screaming “La-la-la-I-can’t-hear-you” like a petulant child.
Mateo’s eyebrows draw together and he cups my face with both hands, a worried expression creasing the corners of his eyes. “You okay, Jules? I didn’t mean to upset you—”
“You didn’t.” I shake my head, looking down at his chest. “I’m just… really annoyed with myself. I can’t believe I never realized—”
“Stop,” Mateo chuckles. “What are you going to beat yourself up for? It’s not like I was here. Who’s to say what would have happened if I’d told you I had a crush on you in high school? If we’d started dating and then I’d left you here when I enlisted? If I was on the other side of the world, out of touch for weeks on end while you were buried in schoolwork or working at the hospital? We were kids. We could have just as easily have fucked it up trying to manage things long distance.”
I frown at him. He’s not wrong… I’m definitely not the same girl I was eight years ago.
He kisses me gently, trailing his lips along my jaw. “Don’t scowl at me just because you know I’m right…”
“I’m not!” I laugh.
He brushes the hair back from my face as his eyes take me in. “The timing just wasn’t right, that’s all. But we’re here now.”
“This does feel pretty right...” I admit. “And I guess you can only run off and join the Navy once.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Jules. And I can think of at least one way to make up for lost time…”
20
Mateo
The sad little frown on Julia’s face nearly cracks me in two. I meant what I said. I always wanted her, but I can’t help but think about all the ways I could have fucked it up. All the ways we’ve grown into the people we are now. I’m not one to speculate or regret the past.
The sight in front of me right now? That’s demanding my full attention. The last time we were out here was just before I left for the Navy. Lukas and I planned it as a graduation camping trip but it blew up into a full blown bonfire party. Most everyone got hammered, but not me. I didn’t drink at all. I knew I had one last chance to be near Julia before entering basic training and I didnt want to forget a minute of it.
She said that night was a blur and I believe it but the memories of that night are etched into my brain. She drank a six-pack and did shots with a girlfriend. She sat by my side all night, calling out requests to the classmate who was playing music with a pair of crappy speakers and an iPhone. At one point, I had to talk her drunk, adorable ass out of sending someone to get Taco Bell. She rested her head on my shoulder as she sang a Matt Nathanson song, loudly and off key. It was one of the best nights of my life… up until last night.
Julia is facing me, her thighs resting on top of mine, her knees straddling my waist. Slipping my hands under her knees, I pull her closer. The bottom of her dress pools around the tops of her thighs, exposing long tantalizing stretches of golden skin.
Julia watches me through heated eyes as I slide my palms up her legs. Her skin is silky smooth under my hands. I feel like a big, calloused brute compared to her, but she doesn’t seem to mind when I grab handfuls of her tight ass.
“How were you planning to make up for lost time, exactly?” she asks, wrapping her arms around my neck. She pulls herself up to sit on top of my thighs, and through the thin wool of my dress pants, I can feel the heat of her pussy as she shimmies on my lap, getting comfortable. “Hmm…” I eye her thoughtfully. The weight of her in my lap, the subtle shifting and rubbing… it’s all torture and part of me wants to give it right back. “So many options…”
She presses her soft mouth to mine, her tongue teasing my bottom lip. Reaching under her dress, I run my thumb along the panel of her panties. The material is so thin that it’s more the idea of underwear than actual clothing. I can feel her skin right through it, hot and wet.
“Fuck,” I groan, looking at the sky for strength. “What are you wearing?”
Julia smirks at me. “I thought you’d like those.” She leans back, supporting herself on her palms and giving me an eyeful of see-through black panties.
“You wore these to the lawyer’s office?” I mutter, petting her through the material.
“It’s not like I wore them for Janelle,” she laughs, her breath hitching as my thumb skates over her clit.
“I fucking hope not.” My voice comes out more growly than I meant it to, but she shivers, her eyes lighting up.
“Possessive,” she accuses breathlessly.
“You’re Goddamn right…”
Julia smirks at me, her eyes fluttering as my finger toys at the edge of her panties. “You really thought about me? When you were away?”
“More than I had any right to.” My thumb slips under her panties. Her eyes close, her head dropping back as I press my first knuckle into her wet heat.