She relaxed back against him, and they watched in silence as the sun slipped completely beneath the horizon.
“Jules?” he asked when they were shrouded in darkness.
“Hm?” She closed her eyes and tried to hold onto the feeling of being held by him.
She felt him take a deep breath, as if he was going to say something. But then he shook his head and sat up. “I’d better get you back.”
She stopped him by leaning over and kissing him. She’d wanted to feel his lips against hers again. Wanted to hold onto his sexy scent. Carry his sexy taste with her to bed. Wanted to dream of him.
Taking what she wanted, she closed her mind to the fear of this not meaning to him what it meant to her. Even if this was one sided, the way she felt, she was going to enjoy every moment with him.
“My god,” he moaned against her lips when she pulled back for a breath.
Her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest. Her breathing was erratic, causing her head to swim.
“Jules, I’m not going to tell you that I don’t want you,” he said, running his hands over her bare arms. “But it’s cooled off and there are a gazillion mosquitos out here.” He chuckled. “Let me take you back. We can finish this…” He rested his forehead against hers. “This weekend.” He kissed her again.
He dropped her off at her car in the camp’s parking lot, and she headed home. Alone. She thought about spending more time with Damion, dreaming of what it was going to be like with him.
She was supposed to have the following day off work, but since she was trying to save up for a new sofa, she’d scheduled to work in the dining room for both lunch and dinner, which gave her a few extra hours in the morning all to herself.
Normally, she’d grab a bowl of oatmeal or some fruit and eat it at work. But today, she had arranged to meet her parents at a local café instead.
She arrived a few minutes early and grabbed them a table. She wasn’t surprised when her parents showed up a few minutes late. Her mother had taught her to be early or on-time for everything in life, but her father was always late for personal functions.
Her mother always joked that he was too busy in life to care what others thought. She knew that deep down it bothered her conscientious mother, as was evidenced by the look of irritation on her face when they walked in.
In the past few years, her father, a man she’d always deemed strong as an ox, someone who could easily surf big waves in his family’s home on the Big Island while clutching a delicate flower between his fingers, had grown more frail looking. He had a difficult time holding things, talking, and even sometimes walking.
The man was everything to her. Had always been. She had more in common with her dad than she had ever had with her mother.
Jules used to believe it was because of her mother’s ridiculously high standards. Nothing, according to her mother, was ever good enough. Even her own daughter.
But the older Jules got, the more she understood that she had played a role in their separation. Jules had given up trying to have anything in common with her mother years ago, and she’d never really done anything to change that.
Until recently.
“Mom.” Jules got up and hugged her and whispered. “Dad making you late again?”
Her mother chuckled. “It’s what he lives for.” Her mother hugged her back.
“Daddy.” Jules turned to her father and hugged him. His body seemed so small when she held onto him.
“Bean.” Her father hugged her, using the nickname he’d given her on the day she’d been born. He’d called her that not because of her small size, but, according to him, because she came out the color of a Kona coffee bean, a subtle light cream color.
They all sat and after they’d ordered their drinks and meals, she turned to her mother and said, “I’ve decided to take a sailing trip with Damion this weekend.”
Her mother’s smile grew. “That’s good. Tutu told me that she’d talked to Damion. She told me that the boy asked her if it would be something you’d be interested in.”
She didn’t know what was funnier. The fact that her mother called Damion a boy or that he’d actually asked her grandmother if she’d be interested in going sailing with him.
“Yes, he mentioned it to me. He just bought the land right next to Reed Cooper,” she informed them.
They chatted about that for a few moments until their food arrived. It was strange to hear how her parents basically thought of Damion as part of their family. They’d always liked him, she knew that, but hearing them talk about him, she realized that it was more than just liking him. They actually adored him.
Her mother talked about him as if she were a proud mother. She couldn’t remember ever hearing her mother talk about her in that way. Her father, yes, her mother… no.
Before their food arrived, a friend of her parents stopped by and briefly talked to them. Her parents knew almost everyone in the small town, even though they had only moved to Pelican Point six years ago, shortly after she’d graduated from high school. She’d grown up in the Panama City Beach area.