I have seen her drawings. Lexi is gifted at design — her father’s protégé. She’s meant for what she is doing. Her drive, her determination, the way she moves to tuck a stray hair behind her ear… everything about her draws me in. She is so much more incredible than every other girl I’ve met.

  “Want to watch a movie? I didn’t know I would have company, so I planned an enthralling evening of popcorn and Cool Runnings.”

  “You rented Cool Runnings? Where the hell did you find that?!” I laugh.

  “It’s just one of the films we had here. My parents discontinued our internet service when we stopped coming as much. No streaming. It’s that or Princess Bride and I watched that with Lilly last week. There’s a Redbox in town.

  “I had plans to ride my bike down to pick up some movies, but I haven’t made it there yet. I didn’t bother since I had entertainment all last week.”

  “I could be your entertainment this week.”

  “Ha! You would say that. You think you’re something special Evans.” Even if her voice is even and teasing, her cheeks turn pink.

  Unable to help myself, I grin. “Well, I drove nine hours to be here…so yes, I think you should absolutely think I’m something special.”

  “Oh, true. I feel bad about that now.”

  I pull the movie out of her hand.

  “Pop the corn. I’ll dust off the DVD player.”

  She smiles and heads for the kitchen. I watch her walk away; my eyes glued to her perfect shapely ass. No one is made like her.

  Pace yourself, asshole.

  Lexi sits down close but not nearly close enough. My skin can feel her nearness and it takes all my ability not to slip my arm around her and pull her against my body.

  We’re halfway through the film, and if I know Lexi as well as I think I do, she’ll be out cold in about ten minutes. I look over and sure enough, she’s fighting to stay awake.

  “We don’t have to finish…”

  “No, I’m fine,” she insists.

  I look over two minutes later and she’s out like a light. I can’t help it; I chuckle at the girl from my childhood. She’s one of the few things in my life that stays the same. That one thing I can rely on and count on to never let me down.

  I decide to finish the film. No matter how many times Lexi made Luca and I watch it when we were kids, I still have to see how it ends. Maybe I should read more into that as it applies to this thing with us.

  When the credits roll, I softly say her name, but she doesn’t budge an inch.

  I hover above her and say her name again, but still, I’d be more successful trying to wake the dead.

  I pull Lexi into my arms and cradle her body against my chest. I climb the stairs without looking at the steps in front of me. I can’t take my eyes off her and besides, I know this house like the back of my hand.

  Carrying her isn’t any hardship and having her in my arms feels like a moment I’m stealing for myself.

  I walk down the hall to her room at the end. As I lay her down on the bed and pull the covers over her, I stall. I don’t want to leave this room, but I won’t assume I can lay next to her without her permission. I’d never take those kinds of liberties with any girl, but most definitely not with Lexi. I’ll protect her for the rest of my life, even if it means protecting her from me.

  She’s asleep and I’m out of time to stand here and watch her like a creep. I still have time — days here at the lake house, I remind myself. I lean down and kiss the scar on her forehead. The one that brings me nightmares. Last week I had the same recurring one. It's one of the reasons I had to see her. I had to see for myself that she was ok.

  Its’ been two years since I saw her last. Two years, too long.

  Lexi stirs at the connection of my lips on her forehead. “Mmmm.” She arches her back as her arms lift above her head in a stretch. It shouldn’t be, but it’s hot as fuck, and I can’t stop watching her.

  “Did I fall asleep?” she whispers, groggy from sleep.

  “Yeah.”

  “How did I get upstairs?”

  “I carried you up.”

  “Oh…”

  She trails off as she falls back to sleep. I close the door behind me and head for my room. This isn’t the way I imagined my first night with her, but then again, I wasn’t expecting her to rip my clothes off the minute I pulled up to the lake house. Though, I might have been hoping.

  I get down to the end of the hall and walk into me and Luca’s old room.

  It’s the same as we left it. The nostalgia of my best friend and the good times we’ve had here, hit me. I’m grateful that things between him and I are back to normal since our last head-to-head game.

  He’s the person I would confide in about Lexi. Obviously, it won’t work in this case since the girl I’m desperate for is the girl he’s already sworn me off — but still. Knowing he is always in my corner helps me get through a lot of shit that I don’t want to think about tonight.

  I undress down to my boxer briefs. It’s way too damn warm to wear any more than that tonight. I climb into bed. I know the blankets have been washed in the last few months. Sheila has been renting this place out as a vacation house so the place is being kept up regularly. The sheets still smell faintly of the “Fresh Linen” fabric softener Sheila has always used. The good memories come rushing in as I finally drift off to sleep. I pray the bad ones stay at bay.

  Later that night, the dream is back.

  In the dream, I’m fighting to get Lexi out of the water, like I do every time. She’s up on the dock. I’m checking for a pulse when I hear a voice call out to me.

  “Tucker.”

  It’s soft. I barely register it as my dream doesn’t stall in the least. I pull Lexi’s lifeless body into my arms to cradle her.

  I hear a voice again. This time I can’t mistake it.

  “Tucker! Wake up, it’s just a dream.”

  It’s Lexi. It’s her voice. I’d know it anywhere.

  It takes a minute but my eyes open in the dark room. Only a little bit of moonlight streams through the window shades. I’m working as quickly to decipher where I am.

  I’m in the lake house.

  Lexi is here with me.

  I sit up and pull my hands over my face to try to wipe what’s left of the nightmare off me. I know I’ve been sweating and feel the leftover coldness on my forehead

  She sits next to me on the bed, her hand rubbing my shoulder to soothe me.

  “Are you OK? I heard you from down the hall. You were having a nightmare.”

  “Yeah…I’m ok now.”

  “Do you get them a lot?”

  “Sometimes…”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “It’s just a dream I have occasionally. It’s fine, really.”

  I avoid eye contact. She’ll know somethings up. I never avoid eye contact with her if I can help it.

  Silence builds between.

  Lexi clears her throat and fidgets on the bed beside me. Is she nervous? Why?

  She asks a question that takes me by surprise. “I could stay with you for a little bit…if you want?”

  Hell yes.

  There’s nothing I want more than to hold you.

  I can’t say it out loud. I might spook her.

  I nod and lay back down in the bed. I don’t realize how tense my shoulders have been since she woke me until they relax from knowing Lexi is going to stay with me for a while.

  I pull back the blankets for her to climb in. She hesitates for a second but then crawls under the sheets.

  She has good reason to be skeptical. This would be a move I’d make. But after a nightmare where I lose this girl every time, with no way to reverse it, all I want right now is some close proximity.

  I’m relieved to be in the same house as her when this damn dream came back.

  “We could talk…while you try to fall back to sleep,” she says shyly as she smooths out a piece of her hair. She’s still fidgeting, and my mind wonders to her uneasiness with me.

  Is she nervous I’ll make a move on her?

  Does she want me to?

  “Ok,” I say, even though I know this girl is going to fall asleep before I do.

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Silvia and Bruno,” I joke. I need to lighten the mood to put her at ease

  “Really?” she laughs.

  “No, not really.”

  There’s silence for a bit. And then I feel Lexi turn onto her side as she faces me.

  “So…you drove nine hours just to spend my birthday with me? Or did you have something to do in Chicago and this is just a stop over?”

  “You have me until Sunday.”

  I tuck a few strands of unruly summer-streaked blonde hair behind her ear. My fingers linger too long at the base of her ear and I’m debating keeping my hands on her skin while I lean in to kiss her. Instead, she breaks the moment between us as she looks away.

  “Ok,” she says.

  We’re both silent for a minute. Lexi shifts her body to lay on her back. I do the same. I knew I’d have to go slow to make sure Lexi trusted me. We both stare at the big and little dipper illuminated sticker stars that Luca and I hung the year he got them in his Christmas stocking.

  We were about eight years old. Luca was more excited to put them up then he was for the badass flying drone Tom bought him for taking videos of the lake. It took us all day trying to remember what the dippers looked like. Luca was adamant that they were anatomically correct.

  “Are we ever going to tell Luca that the little dipper is upside down?” Lexi asks.

  “Nope!”

  We both laugh. Lexi lets out an unladylike snort and covers her mouth in embarrassment, which makes me laugh harder.

  “Anything else you’d like to know?” I ask.

  “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” she asks, casting her eyes down, not looking me in the eye when she offers. She’s still nervous to ask.

  My heart is pounding so hard it about breaks a rib. Lexi makes me feel like a pubescent young boy rather than the twenty-year-old college student on his way to NFL grandeur.

  Do I want to sleep with her tonight?

  Yes, fucking please!

  Is that an answer she’ll accept?

  Would that freak her out?

  She quickly adds a stipulation. I knew this seemed too easy.

  “Just…you know…sleep.” Her eyes finally trail up to mine, and I search them trying to decode her thoughts in this moment.

  “Yeah, of course it is. I’d like you to stay. This is your show, I’ll take your lead. Can I ask for one thing though?”

  Her shy smile gets to me. I want to kiss her. God, I fucking want to kiss her.

  “What is it?”

  “Can I hold you tonight? Just hold you, I swear.” I hold up my hands as if I’d be hiding crisscrossed fingers under the sheets or something.

  She nods and bites her bottom lip. I know she’s not trying to be seductive. She’s genuinely nervous and I feel it too. But if she keeps biting her lip like that, I’m going to have to bite it too, and I already promised no shenanigans tonight.

  I pull her into me. She shifts quickly, giving me her back. I was hoping to get her front for a few minutes so I could look into her eyes. Soak in the fact that Lexi Benson is in my bed with my arms around her.

  She’s safe.

  She’s healthy.

  She’s breathing.

  That’s all that matters in this world.

  “Night, Tuck.”

  “Night, Lex.”

  She falls fast asleep in less than ten minutes.

  I can’t sleep with her so close, with all the fantasies I have rolling through my mind like a highlight reel. I want to press my hard-on against her. I want to show her what she does to me. But I need to earn her trust more than I need anything else. So, I lay awake, holding on to every minute, listening to her breathing change as she drifts off to sleep — laying in the safety of my arms.

  Chapter Seven

  Lexi

  My eyes dart open the next morning after sleeping in the same bed as Tucker. It wasn’t a dream! Because here I am, waking up in his bed. Only, I’m alone.

  I look up to find any remnant of Tucker. His backpack is still here — a little disheveled. Probably from Tucker going through it this morning when he snuck out. His keys, wallet, and other belongings are still sitting on the dresser, where he’s always put the contents of his pockets since we were kids. The room smells like him. I take a long inhale to take it in as I close my eyes and remember everything that happened yesterday. From the moment his truck pulled in the driveway, to the minute my eyes fluttered closed with the warmth of his chest behind me as I fell asleep.

  I walk downstairs in search of the party crasher, but he’s nowhere in sight. As I round the kitchen island counter, heading for the orange juice in the fridge, the French doors open. A sweaty, bare chested Tucker walks in, still panting from his early morning run. The same run the two boys did every day we were here since middle school.

  My eyes are glued to the sweat dripping down his hard chest. The deep inhale of his breathing causes me to wonder what else might make him breathe that hard. An image of being under him while he’s try to catch his breath floods my subconscious and I try to shake it free.

  “Morning,” I say as he enters the house

  Tucker glances down at my chest and then looks up at me with a smirk.

  “Yeah it is.”

  I look down to find my nipples have hardened at the sight of him. His chiseled chest glistens like it’s covered in bronzing oil.

  I cover my arms protectively over my breasts and lean over the island in embarrassment. He chuckles and begins to walk toward the fridge. His large hand grips around my left hip and squeezes gently and curves his body around mine.

  “I’ll make us some breakfast,” he says sensually by my ear, creating a waterfall of hair-raising goosebumps down my spine.

  “Did you go for a run?” I ask.

  “Yeah. Creature of habit.” He smiles as he opens the fridge door. “Looks like a couple houses down the street has been refurbished. I guess it’s been awhile since I’ve been here.”

  “You’ve missed a lot,” I say, and I mean it.

  He glances over at me. “I know I have. I’m going to make it up.”

  He waits for my answer.

  How?

  That’s what I want to ask. But am I ready for that answer? This whole thing takes me off guard -Tucker showing up unannounced. I’m still processing what this means.

  “Ok.” I nod.

  He looks in the fridge, checking for eggs, bacon, and a few other things.

  “What the hell is this? How is a man supposed to survive on eight eggs and a bookmark worth of bacon?”

  “My mom went shopping before she left town. She didn’t buy more than I’d need.”

  He still shakes his head.

  Tucker would never be disappointed in my mother. The woman walked on water as far as Tucker was concerned.

  “Sheila didn’t know you were coming…and neither did I, may I remind you? I’m sure if she knew the human food-dumpster was coming, she would have bought out the entire dairy and meat section for you.”

  “If your mom knew I was coming, she wouldn’t have left.”

  “Ha! There you go again, thinking you’re so damn special that she…”

  “That’s not why she would have stayed.” His eyes focus on me until he knows his words sink in.

  Oh…

  He starts taking out the items in the fridge and begins making breakfast.

  “I got the bikes out this morning from the garage, but we’re going to drive into town to do some grocery shopping. I need more sustenance to keep this body fed.” He winks.

  He gives a little flex. I wave it off as if my stomach didn’t flip flop at how incredibly hot Tucker’s biceps are. There’s no doubt, they’re larger than they were two years ago.

  “You got out the bikes?”

  “Yeah, you said you had planned to ride into town this week to get movies. I thought we could do that today but, new plan. Bikes tomorrow.”

  My heart warms. He got out our old cruisers we used to run around on before drivers' licenses. We still used them even after Tucker got his license, then Luca after him. Those bikes are well loved. My parents got their money out of that Christmas gift.

  I can’t hide the smile blooming from inside of me, or the one so obvious on my face. Not only has he made plans to spend time with me today, but he is making future plans for us tomorrow.

  For some reason, I was having such a hard time believing he had showed up for me. Every time we get close to something happening, he backs away. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little gun shy with Tucker. Am I going to get rejected again if I give in like the two times before.

  Still, he is here, isn’t he? I stare down at my plate of bacon and eggs to hide my happiness.

  After we clean up the dishes and get dressed, we head out for the grocery store in the small neighboring town.

  Before we make it to the grocery store, Tucker suggests we check out the pier to see what has changed in the two years he’s been away. We end up spending most of the day walking around our old stomping grounds and reminiscing about memories from the past.

  Tucker goes crazy buying a cart load of items that would take me a month to eat. As we check out, one of the familiar cashiers chats it up with Tucker the minute we get in line.

  Tucker has always been so good with people. I don’t think he’s ever met a stranger, and everyone else who meets him, loves him.

  We unpack the cart of groceries into his truck and then we head to the Redbox on our way out of town. Our movie selections differ widely, but we rent enough options that we are bound to agree on something to watch for the next few nights.

  We barely make it back for the sunset as we hastily throw the groceries in the fridge and dart down to the beach out front. We lay out the towel and Tucker jumps down first, laying out his arm for me to lay my neck on and swear my heart misses a beat.

 

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