On the Rocks (21 page)

“Oh?” His lidded eyes gazed into mine, and I knew it wasn’t the time to share my plan yet.

“But I don’t want to talk about that.”

“What do you want to talk about, Carly?”

“I don’t want to talk.”

He grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.” His lips crushed into mine, moving against mine until he lightly bit my bottom lip and pushed his way into my mouth. I gladly let him in. He slipped a hand under my t-shirt and bra, fondling my breast while his mouth continued to explore mine.

He broke the kiss long enough to discard my shirt and bra before returning his lips to mine. I used the break to pull off his t-shirt. I wanted his bare skin against mine. We were outside, but there was no one else for miles. There was something so thrilling about being intimate while the rain poured down inches from us.

His lips moved down to my neck, and I leaned my head back to give him better access. His lips continued their descent, stopping on my breasts. I fumbled with his belt, unbuckling it before moving on to the button of his cargo shorts. I slipped my hand inside while he lifted me off his lap enough to unbutton my jeans. I stood up, and he slowly slid my dark jeans down my legs. While his eyes took me in, I got rid of his shorts and boxers in one movement. He slid off my underwear before he sat back on the swing taking me with him.

I gently stroked him while he slipped two fingers inside of me. I gasped at the sensation, but he didn’t take long before removing them. I was about to protest when he thrust inside of me. The movement rocked the swing, getting it moving again. I gasped again as he moved the entire length of him inside me, back and forth.

He pulled out the hair tie from my hair, letting it spill down my back. I always felt sexier that way. I pressed my lips into his neck, trying to control the urge to scream.

“I love you, Carly.” The words came out in short bursts as he moved.

“I love you, Macon.” I didn’t plan to tell him in the heat of passion, but sometimes that’s when we’re most honest.

“I’ve never heard a three word combination I liked more.”

I kissed him. I needed my lips against his. He kissed me back, continuing to move inside me. Right before he pushed me over the edge his lips moved to my ear. “Do you love me enough to stop holding back how you feel?”

“Of course.” I closed my eyes, letting myself enjoy the pleasure of our bodies joining, and when the time came I let out the scream I’d have normally fought down. That did something to him, and he reached his own release moments later just as a bright streak of lightning lit up the sky.

“I love you so much, babe. So freaking much.” He held me to him, his hands grasping me like he thought I’d disappear if he ever let go.

“Twelve. It’s definitely twelve.” Macon counted the small red dots on my body. We’d moved inside.

“I’ve had twenty bug bites before, this is nothing.”

“I don’t have any.”

“I guess my blood is sweet.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Every part of you is sweet.”

I laughed, loving how comfortable I was lying naked in front of him. Macon wouldn’t have it any other way. He liked to look at me, and although at first I was embarrassed about it, I loved to look at him.

I held up our entwined hands, squinting to see them in the near darkness of the room. “That was worth it though.”

“I hope so… it was incredible for me.”

“For me too.”

“Just in case you didn’t get the full effect since I had you distracted, I love you.”

I smiled. “It was actually an even stronger effect, but I don’t mind you repeating yourself.” I leaned up on an elbow. “And, I love you, Macon.”

“See, I was right. There is no better word combination then hearing that from your lips.”

I laughed. “I’ll try not to overuse it and ruin the effect then.”

“You could never over use it.”

“Good.” I kissed his shoulder.

“All right, I think this calls for ice cream.” He hopped out of bed and headed out of the room.

“Aren’t you going to get dressed first?” I didn’t bother to get up. He’d bring the ice cream to me.

“Nope, but we do have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” I asked, squinting to see him in the dark.

“The power’s out.”

“I guess that means we’ll have to eat a lot of ice cream.” I laughed.

“It’s incredibly awesome that you just said that. Do you realize how many girls would be freaking out?”

“Stuck in a cabin without power with a hot guy? Uh, most girls wouldn’t care.”

“When you put it that way…” He laughed. “I know I have a flashlight somewhere.”

“Just use your phone.”

“Oh yeah.” He grabbed his phone off the dresser and walked into the kitchen. He returned with a container of rocky road ice cream and two spoons.

Outside the storm still raged, but that just made the cabin feel cozier.

He settled in next to me, pulling the sheets and blankets up over us. I took the spoon he offered. “I’m not sure how I got so lucky, but I’m not going to complain.”

“You and me both, babe.”

“What kind of mood are you in?”

“The happy as a lark kind.”

“Okay. Then it’s a good time to discuss my plan.”

He took a bit of ice cream. “Ok, let’s hear this plan.”

“Why do you want to run your family’s business? What is it about the job that made you want it?”

He set aside the container of ice cream. “This is your plan?”

“Just answer me.”

He put an arm around me, and I rested my head on his chest. “I knew I could do more for the company. I could make it bigger, help it grow. I also like the idea of being my own boss.”

“But you really aren’t into risk management?”

“No. But it doesn’t matter what the industry is.”

“But wouldn’t it be better if the product or service was something you loved?”

“What are you getting at?”

“You said your boss at the scuba shop is handing over the business to his son at the end of the summer, right?”

My mood soured at the mention of Caleb. “Yes. There better be a reason you’re bringing up that asshat while we’re in bed.”

“There is.” I put a hand on his arm. “Just bear with me. What if you made an offer?”

“An offer?”

I sat up, wrapping the sheet around my chest. “Or rather, what if
we
made an offer.”

“An offer? Like to buy him out?”

“Yes. Really all you need to buy is the building and dock since it’s such a great location. And I guess the boats would help.”

“Carly, I love you babe, but do you realize how much all of that would cost?”

“I assume a lot. We’d need capital.”

“You keep saying we.”

“I want to go in on this with you. I’m great at marketing. That’s what I majored in, and I know with your expertise we can make this work.”

“Says the girl who’s only been scuba diving once.”

“You have enough passion about it for the both of us.”

“You’re ready to go into business with me?”

“I’m already sleeping with you. Don’t you think that was a bigger step?”

“The fact that you’d say that makes me very happy.” He pulled me back against him. “But where are we going to get this money? There’s no way I’m asking my parents.”

“Colin.”

“Colin?” He appeared to mull it over. “I know he’s got some cash, but not that much and he’s not going to hand it over easily.”

“We have to get him in on it. He has some capital and he’d be able to get a much bigger loan than us.”

“Where’s all this coming from?” He turned me so I could look at him.

“I just like to find opportunities where they don’t seem to exist.”

“Do you really think we can convince Colin to join us? It would be a huge risk and with the new baby and all.”

“I think he would if we made it worth his while. He’s the only one in my family who’s ever believed in me, and I feel good about this. I know we can make it huge.”

“All right, but we need to set up one thing before we go any further with this idea.”

“What?”

“You need to try to dive again. You can’t tie your future to something you don’t know anything about.”

“I didn’t mind the shore dive. Can we do that again?”

“Sure, and then maybe after that you’d want to get certified.”

“If I did a boat dive, would you be with me the whole time?”

He brushed hair away from my face. “Would you ever doubt that?”

“No. I wouldn’t.”

The days were ticking down. As August dragged on, I knew the summer was ending, and I was about to get booted from the only job I’d ever really enjoyed. Carly seemed convinced she could come up with a way for us to buy the shop, but I wasn’t sure if her enthusiasm would be enough. I gave her the space and time she needed to develop her business plan, but I wasn’t giving her space of the personal kind. With the end of summer came the possibility of the end of our nights together, and I was going to enjoy every last one of them.

I didn’t even mind the grunt work around the shop as much as I used to. Part of me would even miss that. I was filling some tanks when Ralph walked into the back.

“Get ready. We have a last minute dive.”

“Get ready? Aren’t you going to do it?”

“Nope. She requested you specifically.”

“She?” I groaned. Having a female customer request me specifically probably wouldn’t be a good thing in Carly’s eyes.

“Yes. She’s doing a certification.”

“Do you mind doing it?” The last thing I needed was to get in trouble with Carly. I wasn’t wasting a second of our time together fighting.

“I really think you’re going to want to handle this one.”

“Fine.” I sighed. There was no reason to put it off. I walked back into the front of the shop and did a double take.

“Carly? What are you doing here?”

She grinned. “I’m here for my first dive or dives or whatever. I already did all of those video thingies Ralph said I had to do first. I passed all the tests.”

“You’re the client?”

“I heard you’re really good at what you do.”

I laughed. “So you’re really in? You’re letting me take you on a boat dive?”

“Can’t we do another shore dive?” She gave me her most charming smile.

“Nope. Boat dive.” I picked up her hand. “If you suffered through the videos you might as well get to do the real thing.”

“Okay, but we have to wait a few minutes.”

“Why?” I looked at Ralph. Was there something up with the boat I didn’t know about?

“Because Brody’s running late.”

“Brody’s coming?”

“Yes. He’s coming for moral support. He said he figured you’d make me go out on the boat.”

I took her face in my hands. “I’m not enough moral support?”

“You’re plenty, but it never hurts to have a little bit extra.”

I shook my head. “You’re crazy, but I love you. Let’s get you ready.”

We surfaced after the first dive, and Carly immediately pushed up her mask. “Wow, that was crazy.”

“Crazy good, crazy bad?” I helped her climb up the ladder back onto the boat.

“The good crazy mostly.”

“Mostly?” I took off my gear and went to help her, but Brody was already doing it.

“I’m a little bit tired.”

Brody looked at me. “You know what the answer to that is, get her nitrox trained.”

“Uh, no more training right now. But I am starving.”

“Oh, yeah. There’s stuff in the cooler.”

She opened the cooler and pulled out a wrapped sandwich. She made a face as she unwrapped it. “Peanut butter and jelly? I just dove and this is what I get?”

I laughed. “Sorry if our offerings don’t work for you.”

She took a small bite of the sandwich. “Do you have anything else?”

I shrugged. “Crackers.”

“And how long do we have to wait before the next dive?”

I unzipped my wet suit and pulled my arms out. “About forty minutes.”

“Oh.” She carefully wrapped up the sandwich. “Can I get something to drink?”

“Sure. We have bottled water and juice boxes.” I looked in the cooler. “There’s just grape left.”

Brody nudged her shoulder. “If he really loved you he’d have brought you some apple.”

“We’re out of them. Customers always choose that flavor.” I handed her a bottle of water. I assumed she’d prefer that. She accepted it and took a sip before setting the bottle down and unzipping her wet suit. I tried not to get too distracted by how good she looked in her tiny bikini top.

Brody rested his arms on the side of the boat. “They choose apple because no one over the age of eight likes grape juice.”

“The water’s fine. I’d prefer a fruit smoothie, but what can you do?” She took another sip of her water.

“A fruit smoothie? What were you expecting, gourmet food?”

She froze. “That’s it. Oh my gosh, Macon, you’re a genius!” She flung her arms around my neck.

“I know I am, but why are you suddenly realizing it?”

“Gourmet. That’s what’s missing. That’s what our company needs.”

“Uh, am I missing something?” I stared at her blankly.

She sat down and turned to Brody. “And you, you’re perfect.”

He gave her a funny smile. “Thanks… I think.”

“Guys, focus. Who’s your usual clientele?”

“Young to middle aged people looking to learn to dive or just to do a few dives on vacation,” I answered automatically. I knew the details of the business pretty well.

“Who’s it missing?”

“What are you getting at, babe?” I didn’t bother starting the boat. When Carly was hit by inspiration you couldn’t rush it.

“Diving’s fun. It’s recreation, yet educational, it’s fairly easy once you get the hang of it, and it’s the perfect activity for a beach vacation.”

“I’m glad you finally see it my way.” I took a swig of water.

“But it’s not glamorous. You feed people like fourth graders. I mean pre-made sandwiches and juice boxes?” She wrinkled up her nose.

“Don’t forget about the crackers.” I walked over to the cooler and held up a bag.

“That’s not any better, Macon.”

“If you want fancy you do luxury live-a-boards.”