“Oh my god, that was crazy, James!”
“If you’re going to beach, beach properly,” I say, chuckling and shivering as I put her back down on dry land.The wind is catching the loose strands of her hair as she looks out over the ocean. I’ve snapped more pictures of her than anything else this morning, but I can’t help it—she’s radiant.
“Come on, my hair is a mess and you’re wasting film! Fuck, we need to find some new clothes before I die.”
I wrap around her, trying to warm her up, but it’s no use since I’m freezing, too. We hurry back up to the street, finding a tourist trap of a store with overpriced everything. She grabs a ridiculously enormous hat and matching sunglasses and directs me to sit in a display beach chair. Over the next twenty minutes, she models different hideous outfits for me by holding them up and spinning around or walking between the racks like it’s a runway at fashion week. She adds her own soundtrack and even starts doing commentary in a goofy German accent. I’ve never laughed this hard—or felt this free—around anyone. I don’t know how she does it considering she has every right and reason to be furious at the world, to be miserable and angry—like me.
Instead, she’s snarky and full of life, curious and playful, and god is she sexy. She’s effortlessly breathing new life into me every moment I’m with her.
“James, I simply cannot choose!” she says in an awful posh accent, dramatically holding her wrist to her forehead and giggling when the giant hat falls off. “What am I to do! I can’t wear these to the ball! You must choose.”
“Well, sure as fuck not that thing.” I take the shapeless muumuu she’s modeling and change it out with something I’d been eyeing. Standing behind her, I slip the hanger over her head, and we look in the mirror. It’s a white dress with tiny pink flowers that match her hair. There’s a deep v-cut front, and the bottom hits her mid-thigh. I wouldn’t blame her if she smacked me for picking it out.
“Come on, there’s no black in that. Are you trying to be my mother?”
My hand is on her hip, and I whisper against her ear, making her shiver. “Your mother isn’t going to be who you think about when I get you so wet you’ll drip down those pretty thighs.”
“James!”
“I can’t wait to rip this dress off you, cherry blossom.”
The hand I’ve splayed over her belly slips down, bunching the skirt fabric so it rides up her thigh. She swallows hard, watching. All I can think about is bending her over in this thing later.
“I don’t know, James. I can’t wear these leggings under it since they’re soaked. It’s…that’s not a lot of…dress,” she laughs and turns to hang it back up, but I stop her.
“We could consider it payback for the tight grey sweats you gave me this morning. You know you were looking.”
“I would never,” she giggles while she blushes and holds up the dress again. She bites her lip and thinks it over before giving in. “Fine, I guess fair is fair. Don’t think this is going to be a thing, though. I don’t even like dresses.”
“You might like them more, now that you’ve got me.” I kiss her before she slips into the dressing room.
The woman at the register has been eyeing us since we walked in, so I can’t sneak in after Lexi. So I find a cheap pair of board shorts and change into them. When Lexi comes out, she’s clutching her wet clothes to her chest and has a dusting of pink on her cheeks. She refuses to let go of her things as I pay, and I’m dying to see how she looks.
“I really don’t get how this is supposed to keep me warm,” she grumbles as we head out. I feel a tug on my t-shirt followed by a groan. “Dude, we need to go back. You forgot to get a shirt and I should find something else to wear,” she decides as we’re almost to the Jeep.
I glance down at the t-shirt I borrowed from her. She tossed it at me this morning since it’s the largest shirt she owns. It’s tight, but the way she looked at me when I pulled it on was pure sin. I have no intention of letting go of it until she forces me. “No chance! It smells like you and no one could pry it off me now. I’m girlfriending this shirt. It will dry while we walk.”
“Girlfriending?”
“Yeah, my idiot friend, Steve, calls it that when one of his dates permanently borrows his clothes or other stuff.” I hold the bag open and nod toward it.
“If you tell Dani about this, I will murder you.”She takes a deep breath and reluctantly drops her leggings and shirt into the bag.
“Tell Dani about what?” I freeze the moment I pick my head up and take her in. I can’t stop staring.
“It’s stupid, isn’t it?” She glances down at herself and groans. “Shit. Let me go back in and pick something else. I’m too pale and no where near skinny enough for this thing, James.”
I grab her arm, swallowing thickly as she turns away. I can’t catch my breath. “Stay,” is all I can manage as I step back and study her body. “You…you’re…breathtaking.”
“Breathtakingly dumb. This is why I don’t wear dresses. Did you know there’s a literal office pool for when I’ll be seen in public in a dress?” With her arms outstretched, she spins carefully, making sure not to go too fast. “This is what you can’t tell Dani about. Me. In a dress.”
“Hey, unless she cuts me in on the office pool, my lips are sealed.” I grab my digital camera, knocking a bag out of the back and accidentally spilling stuff everywhere. I go to pick it up and she beats me to it, holding up one of the small blue ducks that fell out.
“Rubber duckies?”
“It’s a Jeep thing. I always keep them handy in case I see another Jeep around.” I bring the camera up and snap a series of quick pictures.
“Fuck, James? Come on, I look like an idiot.” She holds a duck up, trying to hide her face behind it even though it’s tiny. Her nose scrunches and it kicks up a fresh wave of butterflies in my stomach.
