KINSLEY
It’s earlywhen I head down to the beach. The shore is empty even though it’s beautiful out. The waves quietly crest the shore. A couple of people are on surfboards, despite there being not a single wave to surf. I assume they’re here admiring the sunrise from the water and watching the dolphins swim around the pier, hoping for a handout.
I pull off my tank and slide my shorts off. Wading out into the cool water just beyond the rolling of the waves, I fall into the clear water. My muscles ache from working them so hard this week at the dojo. On top of all the studying, I’ve made a point to beat my frustration along with everything else out of me… Including my sexual dissatisfaction that Edge has managed to work into me. As hard as I try to keep him at bay or away from my thoughts, he still manages to worm his way into them at no fault of my own.
Wait, that’s a complete lie. It feels like I’m lying to everyone right now, and I can’t start lying to myself, too.
I did let him get close—too close. I not only let him kiss me but I kissed him back this time. And fuck, if I didn’t want more. With his impressive hard length against me, I knew he did aswell. If it were anyone else, I might have let him take me right then and there in the freaking science section of the library. He was rough and handled me in a fashion I could get used to. Which I won’t.
So I keep telling myself.
The water caresses me. I lie back, letting the soft waves control my body, holding me in their gentle embrace. The flow of the water moves me as it rolls toward shore, then back out to sea. I touch my wet fingers to my lips, remembering how Edge’s mouth felt against mine. The way his possessive lips and tongue dominated me as he explored my mouth and invited me to take part in the dance he led.
I lick my lips as the warm water grazes my bare skin. The taste of the salty water has me instantly imagining the taste of his cum. A surge of energy shoots straight between my legs. Instead of pushing the fantasy as far away as possible, I revel in the sensations loitering in my torturous mind.
“Ninja, is that you?”
I flail around, trying to get to my feet. The ocean floor is too deep for me to touch. I floated farther away from shore than I realized. I kick my feet, spinning around in the water as a surfer straddling their board comes up alongside me. I hold my hand over my eyes to block the sun. Wild hair is silhouetted as rays of sunshine filter through the unruly strands. “Gunner?”
“Yours truly.” He drifts on his board next to me. “So, what’s your reason for escaping to the beach this lovely morning?”
“Just clearing my head. You?” I lie and leave out the part about how I’m working on a plan to follow them to their dojo without being caught or how I’d like to find a way to get his best friend out of my head for good. He probably knows that Edge and I kissed, but I’m not about to say anything to verify it.
He points to the ocean. “I have to come out here when it’s this beautiful. It calls to my soul.” He holds out his arms as if giving himself over to a sacrifice.
It sounds like me training at the dojo. I don’t have to be fighting, just need to be in my special space, which gives me peace.
“I don’t even have to surf. I just need to be in the water frolicking with the dolphins.”
“Frolicking?” I can’t help but laugh at his word choice.
“Great word, right?” He rolls his head to the side to look at me. “I didn’t know you lived around here. I mean, I heard you walked home from the party last week, but I didn’t think much about it.”
“Yeah, I live up there a half-block east.” I point to the nearly covered path behind him.
He glances over his shoulder and then back at me. “You come here often?”
“Yeah, whenever I get the chance between the dojo and homework.”Shit!I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“Dojo, huh?”
I start to swim toward shore. He follows me, paddling until it’s too shallow, then gets to his feet and tucks his board under his arm. “Something like that.”
“So, your nickname, Ninja, fits more than just the one you ride?”
I smile without answering. Treading through breaking waves, I make my way back to my clothes. Sand cakes my wet feet. Plopping down on the sand, I lie back. It’s still cool and damp in the early morning. A shadow falls over me, blocking the sun.
Gunner lays his board on the sand next to me and then makes himself comfortable. “No dojo talk. Okay, I get it.”
“You weren’t forthcoming when I asked about your dojo.”
“True. Our—my training?—”
“You don’t have to act like Kade, Edge, and your brother aren’t into fighting as well. I saw you guys in the gym practicing headlocks and submission positions.”
“You got me. So, yeah, we are all into MMA shit.”
“And?” I press.
