True L̶o̶v̶e̶ Story (22 page)

He asks for a picture of my boobs at least once a day. I ignore him.

He also asks regularly about Asher—if I’ve seen him or heard from him. But Asher has disappeared from my life, and I’m not doing anything to try to find him.

I’m wearing my new red short shorts and high wedges when I pick him up from the airport. My navy and white striped tank has a scooped neckline that Ian will enjoy. I skip on out of the house before my parents can get a good look at me. They’re not used to seeing me showing any skin. I’ve spent some time by the pool since being home, and I’m glad my skin doesn’t look as pasty white as it did after the winter in New York.

I pull around to baggage claim and have to do an extra loop before I see him. He’s standing by his suitcase, with two guitars sitting close by. He sees me and holds both arms up high in the air, grinning from ear to ear. My heart does its usual thumpity-thump that I can only associate with Ian Sterling.

I hop out and he rushes toward me, hugging me so hard, I can’t breathe. He holds me back and looks me over, whistling softly. “Mmm, damn those legs. You look so good.” He leans over and kisses me, tasting like peppermint. I smile at the thought of him brushing his teeth right before he saw me.

I give him the keys and we drive to Bertolucci’s, an old Italian restaurant not far from the airport. He’s going to drive to San Jose with me and stay a few days at my house and then we’ll come back to San Francisco for his weekend gig. It took some convincing with my parents. They don’t necessarily want to share me but know how excited I am about his visit. They also want to get to know him better, so I think they might even be somewhat excited themselves. Then they’ve also agreed for me to leave them a few days earlier than planned and spend the rest of the time in San Francisco. We’re supposed to stay at Jeff & Laila’s.

Ian keeps glancing over at me. His eyes are twinkling and he hasn’t stopped smiling once. His eyes keep dropping to my legs. “You’ve gotten some sun.” His brows kind of crinkle into a semi-frown.

I’ve never known a guy to not prefer me with a tan. I’ve gotten tan my whole life; I guess it was just easier in California. I didn’t have to work for it. Until I moved to New York, I thought my skin was naturally olive-toned. Turns out, I am as pale as can be.

“I was happy to not be so ghostly,” I mumble.

“I like you white as the day you were born,” he says with a grin. “But the color looks nice on you too.” He leans over and rubs my legs. “Can’t stand the thought of you burning these.” He gives me another mischievous grin. “Damn, you’re fine. I am so glad to see you.”

We get to the restaurant and when he turns off the car, I lean over and kiss him. “I’m so glad to see you, too,” I whisper.

My parents fall for Ian during his time at my house. He is his thoroughly charming self, and they can’t help it, he gets to them. I see them fighting it somewhat at first, even though they’ve talked to him before and liked him. Knowing his age and his experience troubles them. But he completely wins them over. He takes time to answer every question, is interested in everything they have to say, and dotes on me like I hung the moon. He is respectful and stays in his bedroom at night, although we have mad make-out sessions in the car and before we go to our own rooms at night. It’s obvious this is all new to him, being in a relationship, taking things slowly, and he’s enjoying the process.

I, however, am about to go crazy with wanting him.

On the 4th of July, we drive to Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea and spend the day looking in the shops and going on the 17-mile drive. At sunset, we get our blanket and find a spot on the beach, where we wait for the fireworks to start. I sit between his legs, laying my head against his chest. My heart is content, full, overwhelmed with happiness. Being with Ian like this is beyond anything I ever even knew I wanted. He makes me laugh. He makes my heart pound. One look from him makes my insides glow. And what makes it even better is, I think he feels the same way.

We get to my house really late that night and stumble into my bedroom, intoxicated by the day we’ve had together. He kisses me and lays me back on my bed. “Pajamas?” He points at my dresser and I point to the right drawer. He pulls out a tank top and shorts and lifts his eyebrows. I nod. He gets a wicked smile when he looks down at my body. He pulls my white sundress up over my head and nods his approval when he sees my lacy underwear. “Here, you’re probably ready to get this off,” he teases as he unhooks my bra and lifts it off. He buries his head in my chest. His tongue leads the trail from my breasts, down my belly button to the thin fabric of my underwear and he blows his hot breath
there
. I feel it through the lace and moan.

He looks up at me and I wait, daring him to do more. He sees it in my eyes and he takes my panties off and puts his mouth on me. His tongue, his fingers, his lips. I try to be still, but I can’t. He starts a rhythm with his tongue and fingers and goes in deeper and deeper. I pull his hair, and the chaos he is creating in my body feels so good, I lose it. He doesn’t stop; he just keeps going until I feel like I’m going to scream. I cover my face with the pillow and yell while my body is wracked with wave after wave … after wave. He raises his head to look at me, and I can barely focus on him. He smiles and goes back down for more. I didn’t think it was possible to feel
any
better, but … it is. This time I bite my pillow.

Ian kisses slowly up my body then and when he reaches my head, he lifts the pillow. He kisses all over my face and checks my eyes. “You okay?” he asks sweetly.

“Ta—Ps—sheah,” I stutter.

He laughs softly and then goes completely still. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you, too.” My insides feel like jelly, and he just told me he loved me. I don’t think it could get any better than this.

He runs his finger over my eyebrows and across my nose and cheeks. “It’s probably not fair that I said that right then. You don’t have to say it back.”

I
am
still a little speechless. “I meant it. But yeah. You’re really …
good
at that. You could probably talk me into … anything…” I admit with a grin.

“I’m gonna get out of your room before I lose what little is left of my restraint. But this was just a small sample of what I plan to do to you. You looked too enticing laying there, looking at me like that.” He kisses me and sits up quickly. “As soon as we leave tomorrow, if you’re up for it, I have a plan.” His eyes never leave my mouth as he talks.

I lean up on my elbows. “Oh, I’m up for it.”

He runs his hand down my breasts again and his eyes have that hooded look he gets that oozes sex. “I have to get out of here. If your dad catches me in here like this, it won’t bode well for me.” He puts my shorts on first, leaving my tank top for last. “I hate to cover them up,” he whispers, leaning down to give each side one more kiss.

“When you sleep with me every night, I want you nekkid.” He laughs before he walks out of my room.

I go to sleep thinking about sleeping with him every night. Nekkid.

My parents make a huge breakfast before we leave the next morning. We’ve had a really nice visit. Charlie pulls me aside in the kitchen when we’re cleaning up.

“So Ian …” She looks at me and waits for me to say something, and I look at her and wait for her to say more. Finally, she says, “He is crazy over you. That man is in love with you.”

“You think so?” I ask, unable to stop beaming.

“I do,” she answers. “Are you ready for that, Sparrow Kate?”

“I’m in love with him too,” I tell her.

“Well, just please proceed carefully, baby girl. We really don’t want to see you get hurt. He’s the first one I’ve seen you date that I know has the potential to really hurt you. But it’s also because I see how much you care about him. Just, please…” She hugs me and leans her forehead on mine.

“I’ll try, Mama,” I say. I know I’m already in too deep. If I lose him now, I may as well curl up in a hole and let worms overtake my body.

She pats my cheek and looks at me with concerned eyes. I want to take her worries away, but I know that I have the same uncertainties. It’s a big risk I’m taking, I know this. I can’t stop now.

“Okay, make sure…” She shakes her head and stops herself from saying anything else. “Let Jeff and Laila know we’ll be by to pick up the car on Tuesday afternoon. I hate that we couldn’t come to the show. We just couldn’t miss this weekend with Michael gone.” She kisses my cheek. “I really wish you could have seen him while you were here. Maybe give him some closure.”

“I don’t know how much more closure I could give him,” I tell her. “I do wish we could have stayed friends, but I get it.”

“Yeah, maybe eventually, he’ll come around to that.”

“Love you, Charlie.”

“Love you, too.”

Ian and I climb into the car, all packed up and with snacks from Charlie even though we’re just going the 45 minutes south to San Francisco. We look at each other with unspoken promise. My belly tickles like I’ve just gone down a huge dip in the road. I have to look out the window and catch my breath. Ian grabs my hand and we drive the whole way to San Francisco with our hands laced together. We don’t talk much. It’s a gorgeous day and we’re comfortable in our silence. Ian lets a deep breath whoosh out of his mouth, and I look over and realize he’s nervous.

“What are you up to?” I ask.

“What makes you think I’m up to something?” He holds his shoulders up with fake innocence.

I poke him in the gut.

He goes over the Golden Gate Bridge, which means we aren’t going to Jeff and Laila’s. The houseboats in Sausalito look so pretty, floating happily on the water. It reminds me of the night we came and ate over here, watching the houseboats. I think Ian loves them as much as I do.

“Oh, look at that one!” I point to a huge white one with windows all the way around each side.

We take a turn toward the houseboats and admire several large ones. Some of them have full gardens on their decks. One is painted every color imaginable. A few look too big to move.

“These huge ones are really nice, but I thought we might prefer one more like this…” Ian says, stopping in front of the cutest little houseboat I’ve ever seen. It has a gorgeous garden on one end of the deck. The roof goes into a point, and the houseboat looks like a cottage treehouse on the water. “Think you would enjoy staying here for a few days? Or would you be more comfortable at Jeff and Laila’s?”

“It’s just right!”

I’m so excited. I hop out of the car before we’ve even stopped all the way. It’s absolutely perfect. The thought of being in this quaint little getaway with Ian for three days is enough to make me hyperventilate.

Ian shuts the car door and comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Okay, Goldilocks, why don’t we step inside and see if it really is?”

We step inside and I gush over every feature. I can’t help it. It does feel like I’ve stepped into a storybook. It’s cozy with plush, comfortable fabrics, a wood floor and an old-fashioned wood-burning fireplace in the corner. The kitchen has glass-door cabinets and a bistro table overlooking the water. Two curtains hang on either side from the ceiling and behind the curtain is a huge bed covered with soft pillows. The loft has the slanted ceilings and an all-white bed. Outside the loft is a deck that winds around the whole upper level. The view from the deck is extraordinary.

“I love it, Ian. I can’t believe you found this place.”

“It’s how I’ve managed to distract myself from sneaking back into your bedroom the last couple of nights,” he says, tucking my hair behind my ear and kissing me. Softly. Gently. We’re still in the loft and I feel the boat floating more up here than the other two levels. Kissing Ian and floating, that sounds about right. “Someone else was scheduled to be in here, but I presented my case. Rather desperately,” he adds.

“Is this our first vacation together?” I raise both eyebrows.

“Yes, yes, I think it is.” He tickles my side as he says it and I jump out of reach. He’s on my tail, and I run down the narrow stairs to the living room. I give him a warning look as he gets close, and he holds up a hand, letting me know he’s done tickling. For now.

I take a better look in the kitchen and see it’s fully loaded with food: bottles of wine, loaves of French bread, and a huge basket of fresh vegetables and fruit. Inside the refrigerator, there’s specialty cheeses, eggs and bacon. Sliced ham and a rotisserie chicken. Flowers sit on the countertop and two boxes of Ghirardelli chocolates.

“I had some help. Turns out Judi, the owner, is a romantic at heart.”

“Oh my goodness, look, we even have two kinds of ice cream in the freezer. Chocolate Peanut Butter and Maple Nut, my favorites. How did you know?” I stare at Ian, stunned.

“Tessa.” He grins.

“Tessa!” That girl. I can’t believe how well she’s doing at keeping secrets from me. I’m gonna have to have a talk with that girl. Enough is enough. She better start spilling.

“Well, if you’re not hungry, should we go explore the town? Go kayaking? Um … fishing?” He holds up a little book and recites all the things that are available to do within a 10-20 mile radius. “Hot air balloon ride? Look at the redwoods?”

“I’m happy just staying in. We have all we need right here. It’s gonna take us a while to eat all this food. And look at all the movies they have. Plus, cable.” I hold up the long list of channels. “Unless you wanted to go do some daredevil things this afternoon.” I shrug. “I’m game for anything.”

“I’m game for anything, too, but all I really want to do is look at you,” he says.

It’s the way he looks at me that says so much more.

Thunk
. There went my self-restraint dropping to the bottom of the ocean and anchoring us to this very spot.

“I’ll be right back.” I leave before I maul him and go to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. I take my toothbrush out of my purse; it’s always handy to carry a toothbrush wherever you go. You never know when you’re gonna have sex for the first time … that you can remember.