Right as I was turning into the kitchen, I heard Heather’s voice. My heart stopped and fell into my stomach. Shit. Did it feel like this the first time I fell in love with her? My fucking hands started sweating, and I almost turned to go back upstairs. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I so nervous? Just tell her how you feel, Josh. That’s what Gunner said. Be honest. I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. They were both laughing, and then my mother looked up at me and smiled.
“Hey, handsome. I heard you had an exciting day,” she said as she winked at Heather.
I laughed. “I’d say. I taught Matthew a few new words, I think. I swam in the freezing cold water at Lake Travis while Jeff tried to drown me, got chewed out by Ari, and discovered that I…” I stopped myself.
Heather tilted her head. “Discovered what?”
“Um…I discovered…that I’m still a damn good fisherman,” I said, trying to cover up my almost confession of love.
My mother opened the refrigerator and started looking around. “Huh. You must not be that good ’cause I don’t see any fish in here,” she said, turning to me with a smile.
“Thanks, Mom. ”
For two hours, we talked about everything from the party to when I would move back into my apartment.
“Mom, I think I’m more than ready to move back into my apartment. Are you going to be moving in with me, Heather?” The blush that covered her cheeks turned me on so fucking bad that I found myself daydreaming about what it would be like to make love to her.
An image of me making love to Heather in the rain popped into my head. I closed my eyes as I tried to make it come into focus. Where are we? Is this real or just my imagination?
“So, we can set up a small table by the spa side of the pool. We can move the lounge chairs, so people can walk around a little bit more…” my mother said.
The lounge chairs! We’re in the lounge chairs. I stood up so fast that my chair fell backward, scaring Heather and my mother. I hustled outsi
de, heading to the pool.
“Holy hell, Josh. Where’s the fire?” Mom called after me.
I walked up to the lounge chairs and stared at them. Goddamn it! Remember!
“Josh?”
Just the sound of her voice had me wanting her so fucking bad. I couldn’t look at her. If I were to look at her, I would take her right here in this damn chair, and I wouldn’t even care if my mother were watching or not. Okay, that’s a lie. That’d be fucked-up.
“Josh, are you okay? Is something wrong?”
Oh god, that voice. I turned around and looked at her. That was a mistake.
Those beautiful blue eyes were looking right back into mine. It was like she could see into my soul, but I couldn’t see into hers.
“I, um…I think I overdid it today. I took some pain medicine, and I’m really tired right now,” I said, glancing down at her lips. Oh god, I want her so much. Control, Josh. Fuck, get control of yourself.
I looked back up into her eyes. She was smiling as her eyes glanced at the lounge chair for a quick second before she looked back at me.
Another image flooded my brain. Heather was on top, making love to me in the lounge chair. Her head was thrown back, and she was moving slowly while I was holding her in my arms. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Am I remembering this? Or is this just a dream?
I swore I could feel an electric bolt moving through my body. My eyes flew open, and she was standing right in front of me with her hand on my arm. Her touch felt like a million tiny zaps of electricity.
“Josh, are you okay?”
I pulled her to me and started to kiss her. I kissed her like I would never see her again. When my hand started to move up her shirt, I felt her whole body shudder.
I need you.
She ran her hand through my hair and gave it a tug.
Oh god. I want her so much. “Heather…”
“Josh, I’ve missed you. ”