Eddie followed right next to us. Unfortunately, we’d chosen to go down an isle with all kinds of personal hygiene items, including condoms. I could feel my face getting hot as we walked by all the Trojans.
Eddie grabbed a box of condoms from the shelf and tried to hand them to Daniel. “You may need some protection tonight, Danny-O.” Then he tapped his temple as if he was pretending to think. He pulled the condoms back. “Or maybe you brought your own, hoping you’d finally get to seal the deal with Alexandria.”
The two men glared at each other.
Then Eddie directed his wrath at me. “Or did you bring the condoms, Alexandria? Maybe you were hoping to finally get lucky with Danny-O. You know our boy likes to take his time. But are you the kind of girl who doesn’t mind waiting?”
He turned to Daniel. “That is the million dollar question, isn’t it? Not all girls like to wait, do they, Danny-O?”
I could feel every muscle in Daniel’s arm tense. If we weren’t in the middle of a crowded supermarket, he would have probably jumped Eddie and beat the hell out of him.
Eddie looked at me with so much raw
emotion, it immediately made my chest tighten. I struggled to catch my breath. “But Alexandria knows she doesn’t ever have to wait. I’m always ready, willing and able to rock her world.”
I could feel my knees getting week and right before I dropped, Daniel grabbed me and pulled me close. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead as I stifled the urge to cry.
“I’ll be waiting out in the car,” Eddie said as he turned and walked away.
I buried my face in Daniel’s chest and let out a small sob. “It’s okay,” Daniel said. “It’s okay.”
***
T
he drive back to our campsite was almost unbearable because the tension between Daniel and Eddie was so thick. Joey-G and Ricky didn’t dare say a word either. Daniel kept me close, as if he was trying to protect me from any further abuse from Eddie.
When we got back to the campsite, Joey-G got the fire going and Ricky set up the barbeque. Daniel and I set out the buns, condiments and side salads. Eddie refilled the coolers with ice and beers. Within fifteen minutes, Ricky and Joey-G cooked the burgers and brats and dinner was served.
We all filled our plates and gathered around the campfire in folding chairs. We ate quietly as the campfire crackled in front of us.
“So,” Joey-G said finally after he swallowed his last bite of food. “Who’s up for clubbing tonight?”
“Count me in,” Ricky said.
Joey-G looked over at Eddie, who was taking a swig of beer. “Sure, whatever,” Eddie said.
Then Eddie glanced over at me and Daniel. “And what about the lovebirds? Are you staying or going?”
Daniel kissed my cheek and then said, “I think we’re going to stay here.”
“Shocking,” Eddie snarked.
“What do you say we leave in about 20 minutes?” Joey-G suggested. “The bars will just be picking up when we get there.”
“Sounds good,” Ricky replied.
“I’ll be ready,” Eddie said.
***
A
fter the guys took off, Daniel seemed to relax a bit. “Come here,” he said tapping his thigh.
I sat down on his lap.
“That’s better.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my lips. He looked into my eyes for a long moment. “There’s something I want to tell you.”
I gulped. “What is it?” I asked examining his face. His expression had turned so serious.
He cupped my face in his rough hands. “I want you to know that I’m completely crazy about you. I think I’m…” He swallowed. “No…I know I’m falling in love with you.”
When I saw that Daniel’s eyes were wet with emotion, I thought my heart might just stop beating. I was completely coming undone. I touched Daniel’s tanned face. “I’m falling in love with you, too.”
Without another word, Daniel put an arm behind my back and another under my knees. When he stood, he lifted me with him and carried me into the tent.
I could feel my heartbeat quicken. It had been months since I’d been with a man. Jeff had been my last and we had been together for several years. I suddenly felt like a teenager again.
I could hear the sound of the tent zipper, then it was quiet except for the faint sounds of the gulf waves. Daniel joined me where I was sitting in the tent. We had already unzipped Daniel’s sleeping bag and put it down as a ground covering. We would use my old Hello Kitty sleeping bag like a blanket if we needed it.
He put on a small battery operated lantern, which provided enough illumination for us to see each other now that it was getting dark. “Look at me,” Daniel said.
I looked into his blue eyes. “You’re so beautiful,” he said as he took in every inch of my face. “I never thought…” his voice trailed off as he looked away.
I turned his face back toward me. “You never thought what?”
He bit his bottom lip then swallowed. “I never thought I had a chance with you.”
I ran my thumb along the stubble on his jawline. “But here you are. And I’m all yours.” I gave him a coy smile.
He grinned. “All mine?”
“Every last inch,” I teased.
“Well, then…” he said as his lips crashed into mine.
He parted my lips with his tongue and teased it with his. I loved the way his mouth moved with mine, like a perfectly synchronized dance. Our lips, our tongues, our mouths worked together in perfect union.
I had thrown a tee shirt over my bikini top when we went to the supermarket. It suddenly felt like I had too much clothing on. As if he was reading my mind, Daniel lifted me up far enough to remove my shirt. He ran his index finger from my collar bone all the way down to the top of my shorts. A shiver followed his finger all the way down my body.
Without taking his eyes from mine, Daniel grabbed the sides of my bikini top and pulled it over my head. He let out a small gasp as he took in the sight of me topless and bared to him.
He lay me back down and took my left nipple in his mouth. I could feel more small shivers flow through me as Daniel sucked and nibbled on me. Then he gave me a playful little grin and gave my right breast equal attention.
When he looked at me again, I asked, “Why
am I topless and you still have your shirt on?”
He quickly remedied the situation and I took in his wonderful physique. I ran my hand along his muscular chest and he inhaled sharply. Then he began kissing me again. His kisses were urgent and hungry.
Daniel’s hand touched my bare stomach, then he slid his hand down over my shorts and began to touch me between my legs. I didn’t want him just touching my shorts, though. I wanted him touching me. Everywhere.
He was getting good a reading my mind, because a moment later, he grabbed the sides of my shorts and slid them down. My bikini bottoms came down seconds later.
Daniel took a moment to examine every inch of my naked body. Then he put his hand under my chin. “Look at me,” he insisted.
Our eyes locked. “Tell me what you want,
Lexie.” There was a hard edge to his voice and his eyes grew stormy.
“I want you,” I managed breathlessly.
“Only me?”
“Only you, Daniel.
Only you.”
His mouth crushed mine as he kissed me savagely. Then he whispered in my ear. “Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m all yours, Daniel.”
He looked at me again with such intensity, I thought I might melt. “Mine,” he said. “All mine.”
“All yours,” I reassured him.
Daniel placed small kisses from behind my ear all the way down my neck, sending a wave of shivers through me. Then he kissed along my collarbone and down my chest. When he got to my breasts, he playfully teased each of them with his mouth, nipping and biting them.
I could feel my desire for him grow and my core began to yearn for release.
As he kissed his way down my stomach toward my belly button, my nerve endings were all activated. He playfully licked my belly button and a bolt of electricity shot through me. I let out a moan of pure delight.
“Oh, Daniel,” I whispered. “I want you.”
He slid his swim trunks off and I took in the sight of his magnificent erection. I couldn’t have wished for a sexier body. He bit his bottom lip as he studied my face. “Do you like what you see?”
“I love what I see.”
He kissed me again with so much passion and so much desire, I felt as though I could burst into a million little pieces. “I want you,” I nearly pleaded.
As he carefully slipped two fingers inside me, I was suddenly aware of how wet I had become.
“You’re so tight,” he whispered.
“It’s been a while since…” I trailed off, suddenly embarrassed by my admission.
“It’s okay,” he said softly as he continued moving his fingers inside me. “Is there anything else you want?” he teased.
“Make love to me,” I said.
He removed a condom from a front pocket of his overnight bag, removed it from the package and slipped it on. He moved between my legs and then lowered himself into me. He was gentle at first as he slipped between my legs.
“How does it feel?” he asked. He seemed to be afraid he was going to hurt me.
“Wonderful,” I whispered. The feeling of him inside me, filling me, was marvelous. After dealing with the heartbreak of Jeff’s betrayal, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed the intimacy and deep connection of sex.
My confirmation seemed to give Daniel the freedom he needed to fully engage. His thrusts became harder and deeper and I could feel an orgasm building in my core.
“Look at me,” Daniel demanded.
I opened my eyes and looked into his. They were full of so much desire, I nearly gasped.
“I want you to see me,” Daniel said.
“Only me. I want you to see what you do to me, Lexie.”
“Oh, Daniel,” I moaned as I started to climax.
He pressed his lips against mine to stifle my sounds of pleasure and I had the vague recollection that we were outside, in a tent, and not completely in private. That small bit of risk, of being overheard or caught in the act, sent me over the edge and I had the most intense orgasm of my life. I was completely and totally undone.
Daniel followed and I watched as he shuddered. “Oh, God,
Lexie,” he moaned as he took in a breath and made a final thrust.
We collapsed into each other, both spent. Neither of us moved for a few moments, savoring the connection we shared. Then he withdrew and a wave of sadness unexpectedly poured over me. Even though he was only a few feet away, dealing with the condom, it felt too far away.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he lay back down beside me.
“You’ll think this is stupid, but I already miss having you inside me.” When I snuck a peek at him, he was grinning.
“I’m able to give repeat performances,” he said. “You’ll just have a wait a few minutes if you want an encore.”
I gave him a quick kiss on the nose. He returned the gesture. “Do you have any idea how crazy I am about you?” he said.
“I think I have an idea.”
He kissed my nose again. “I absolutely adore you.”
Then he gave me a soft kiss on the lips. “And I’m completely and totally I love with you.”
“I love you, too, Daniel,” I whispered.
I didn’t have to wait much longer for my encore performance.
TWELVE
Body Dragging
I
was awakened to the sound of rustling in the tent next to us. It was already light outside.
Daniel smiled as he awoke. “Good morning, beautiful,” he said, then planted a quick kiss on my lips.
“Sounds like your friends are getting up,” I said as a caution.
“Ready to face the day?” he asked. I knew he was also asking if I was ready to face his friends and if we were both ready to face Eddie.
I nodded.
We both changed into fresh clothes and I pulled my unruly hair into a pony tail.
“I love your hair pulled back,” Daniel said.
I smiled. I noticed his hair was sticking up in a few places, so I tried to flatten it down with my fingers. “There, much better,” I said admiring my quick-fix hair styling technique.
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Ready?”
“Let’s do it,” I replied.
When we climbed out of the tent, Joey-G was also climbing out of his. I could hear a female voice from inside his tent whine, “Joe–eeee.” She stretched the second syllable of his name out for what seemed like an eternity because her voice was so shrill. Then she yelled, “Help me out of this thing.”
Joey reached back into the tent and pulled out a small, dark-haired girl. She had such a large
voice, I was shocked to see that she was so tiny, maybe only five feet tall.
“Joe-
eeee,” she whined again. “You said you’d walk me to my car.”
Joey-G put his index finger to his lips in an attempt to quiet the abrasive young woman. “I’ve got a splitting headache; please keep your voice down.”
“Okay,” whined the girl. She seemed to have no ability to modulate the tone or volume of her voice.
Joey-G grabbed her elbow. “Come on, August. I’ll walk you to your car.”
The girl punched Joey-G right in the arm. “My name’s not August. It’s April.”
“Hey, at least I knew it was a month,” Joey-G replied as they headed toward the parking lot.
Ricky poked his head out of his tent and asked, “What the hell was that racket?”
He emerged from the tent with a buxom blonde. She had on a black mini skirt that just barely covered her butt cheeks and an extremely tight-fitting black tank top.
The blonde leaned up and planted a kiss on Ricky’s lips. The two made out for a few seconds until Daniel cleared his throat.
The blonde said, “The next time you boys are in town, give me a call.”
“Sure thing,” Ricky said, then gave her a quick slap on the rear as the blonde headed toward the parking lot.
When Joey-G returned, he was rubbing his temples. “Someone, please kill me now. I can’t take this headache. I don’t know which made it worse, the shots of tequila or April’s voice.”
Ricky laughed. “Maybe if you actually talked to the girls before you bedded them, you’d avoid situations like that.”
“Maybe I’ll try a little hair of the dog,” Joey-G said as he scanned the campsite, presumably for some alcohol.
We heard an unzipping noise coming from Eddie’s tent and he emerged from its depths.
The guys all stopped what they were doing and waited, but nothing happened.
“What the fuck, Eddie,” Joey-G said. “Were you alone in there?”
As if he didn’t believe it, Joey-G walked over, stuck his head inside Eddie’s tent and came out shaking his head. “This is a first.”
“Everything okay?” Ricky asked Eddie, with a note of seriousness in his voice.
When Eddie looked at me, his eyes looked vacant. Daniel instinctively put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. Eddie continued starting at me with empty eyes for several seconds. Then a look of disdain crossed his face.
“Did you two sleep well last night?” Eddie said finally, his tone oozing with sarcasm and innuendo.
Daniel’s stare shot daggers at Eddie.
“Better keep that girl of yours on a tight leash, Danny-O. Now that you’ve marked your territory, you don’t want her still prowling around, do you?”
Eddie gave me a look filled with so much lust, it made my stomach clench. I glanced over at Daniel. Rage filled his eyes.
Not good. Years of building animosity and underlying conflict were now bubbling up to the surface.
The air suddenly felt heavy with tension. My hands started to shake as a feeling of dread overcame me. I said a silent prayer to whoever was
listening that Eddie would stop. I knew if he said one more word, it would push Daniel over the edge.
Eddie moved in closer to Daniel but he kept his gaze focused on me. My heart started racing.
“Was she good, Danny?” Eddie asked. “Was she worth waiting for? Was she everything you’d hoped she would be? From the little taste I had of her, I’ll bet she rocked your world.”
In an instant, Daniel jumped on Eddie and knocked him to the ground. Daniel quickly pinned Eddie down and straddled him. Then he started punching Eddie’s face repeatedly. Eddie put up his arms in a defensive gesture but didn’t fight back. He didn’t throw one punch as Daniel beat the hell out of him.
I looked over at Joey-G and Ricky. They were shaking their heads. “Aren’t you going to do anything to stop them?” I asked with urgency.
“I’m not,” Joey-G said.
“Nah,” Ricky said. “Eddie deserves it.”
The look on Daniel’s face scared me to the core. He wore a mask of blind rage. I wasn’t sure Daniel was capable of stopping himself and in an instant, I realized, if I didn’t do something, Eddie could get seriously hurt.
I got as close to Daniel as I could without getting hit myself and called Daniel’s name. I could see something register on his face when he heard my voice.
“Daniel, please stop,” I begged.
“For me. I want you to stop.”
And he did.
He looked down at Eddie, now bloodied and beaten, and shook his head. Then he rose and walked away.
Ricky and Joey-G each grabbed one of Eddie’s shoulders and lifted him off the ground. They eased him over to one of the folding chairs and set him down in it.
“Dude, your face is fucked up,” Joey-G said.
Eddie didn’t say a word. He just stared into the empty space in front of him.
“I’ll get you some ice,” Ricky said as he headed over to the coolers.
I hurried to catch up to Daniel, who was walking toward the beach. It was still early on a Sunday morning, so the beach was vacant and desolate. It reminded me of the look in Eddie’s eyes.
When Daniel saw me run up next to him, he grabbed my hand and held it tight.
We walked together down the deserted beach for a few minutes before Daniel spoke. “You know that wasn’t just about you, right?”
“Yeah, I know. But it was a lot about me.”
“I’m now intimately familiar with the term blind rage.” Daniel said and gave one forced laugh. “I could have killed him if you hadn’t…” His voice trailed off then he looked at me. “Thank you for stopping me.”
I stopped walking and Daniel turned to face me. I looked into his eyes. “I stopped the fight for you not for him.”
He nodded then closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his eyes were damp with tears. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but you’re the only girl Eddie ever wanted in any meaningful way. You’re the only girl he ever really wanted but couldn’t have.”
I knew that was true. Eddie was a womanizing asshole, but I also knew deep down inside he had real feelings for me. I knew he cared about me and maybe even loved me in his twisted Eddie way.
Daniel placed his hand on my face and stroked my cheek. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
I could feel my heart start to flutter. “I love you, too.”
He leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss.
When he withdrew, he said, “I guess we’d better get back and see how much damage I did to my roommate.”
I nodded and we headed back to the campsite.
Eddie was still seated in the folding chair. A blood-soaked towel was now resting in his lap. The right side of his face had gotten the worst of it. His top lip was busted open and getting fat and his right eye was nearly swollen shut. He held a make-shift icepack on the right side of his head.
“I’m glad you’re not dead,” Daniel said as we stood next to Eddie.
“Yeah,” Eddie said. “I’m not worth rotting in prison for.”
Eddie had his eyes fixed straight ahead. He wouldn’t look at either one of us.
“Guess your face isn’t going to be so pretty for a while,” Daniel said.
Eddie tried to laugh but flinched in pain. “I’ll still get the girls,” he said. “Chicks love tough guys. They love fighters.” Then he looked at me. “They especially love guys who’ll fight to defend their honor.”
My chest clenched as Eddie continued looking at me. It was the first time he looked at me without any lust or desire. His eyes were filled with a bit of sadness and love.
***
T
he car was heavy with tension during what felt like an extremely long ride home. None of the guys said a word to each other. At one point, Joey-G started to whistle what sounded liked “Tainted Love”, but was stopped mid-whistle when Eddie glared at him.
I rested my head against Daniel’s warm chest. He pulled me close and placed a soft kiss on the top of my forehead. Nuzzling him was fast becoming my new favorite pastime. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep in the coziness of Daniel’s embrace.
***
J
oey-G dropped Eddie, Daniel and me off first. Eddie bolted out of the car before it even had a chance to come to a complete stop. He had his gear out of the back of the car and was in his apartment before Daniel and I were barely out of our seats.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked Daniel as we grabbed our bags from the back of the SUV.
“I hope so,” Daniel said.
“You can stay with me if you want to,” I offered.
Daniel kissed my cheek. “I would love to stay with you every minute of every day, but I don’t want you to get sick of me. And I know you probably want and need your space.”
I touched Daniel’s cheek. “I could never get sick of you. It’s a standing offer. Just let me know.”
“Thanks,” he said as he headed toward his apartment with his stuff. “Wish me luck.”
“I’m right next door if you need me,” I reminded him.