Finding YOU Finding ME (You & Me Trilogy Book 2) (18 page)

She
was beautiful, possessing sparkling green eyes and soft-to-the touch silky chestnut
hair, with gently sun-kissed caramel highlights. Growing up, I used to make
excuses to touch her hair… hair so soft and silky, it lit up moonless nights
and smelled like waterfalls and sweet flowers. Even as a seven-year-old, she
had eyes that bewitched me, and made it hard for me to look away. At times,
they were smiling. At other times, they were crying. But at all times, they
bore deep into me, reaching depths as deep as the ocean where we shared
countless sunsets.

Now
my dream shifts to another time before that night she stayed over at Astor
Fairway’s canyon home.  Summer appeared before us at the airport last summer,
where Drew, Rachel, and I laid eyes on her for the first time in years. Wow –
just wow, how much she had grown.

Every
part of me became well-aware of how Summer had grown. In three short years, she
had blossomed into a stunningly attractive young woman. Funny how three years could
alter so much. Like Drew, Summer has matured physically, from being a fun and
cute girl with sparkling eyes, braces, dimples, and wavy, sometimes frizzy hair,
to a jaw-dropping Victoria’s Secret beauty. Looking over at Drew, who seemed to
have lost his voice for a second, it appeared I wasn’t the only one who had
these thoughts.

For
the Lothario that he was, he seemed uncharacteristically at a loss for words as
we made our way over to Summer, where she was talking to Rachel. For a moment,
I think he even took a deep breath before he stopped in front of her, his face
flushed more than usual. His blue eyes staring at her with such intensity, it
didn’t take a rocket scientist for anyone to see that Drew still had a thing
for Summer.

I
nearly laughed witnessing the irony. He had become the man at school whom all
the girls sought to tame, wanted to score with, had even been coined having a
Drew Effect on. He was that male model you saw in muscle magazines with a face
and physique that would make leading men blush. Chiseled, sculpted, and
muscular, without an ounce of fat on him and having that perfect “v”, he could
be the model for any Adonis statue. He’s that guy who women of all ages would
drop everything to have sex with and not care whether or not he’d call her
afterwards. He’s Drew, and he had that kind of effect on women…every one of them
except Rachel and one girl -- Summer.

There
was something about Summer that always seem to make everything better. She has
that healing touch, that gentleness and loving nature that was so like Aunt
Sookie’s. I had tried to avoid her and treat her like a kid sister but she had
to grow up before my eyes and become a stunner like that. I avoided her
alright, like a cold heartless fish…until the night she came out of her room,
dressed as sexy as hell, and was headed out to have dinner at Astor Fairway’s
house. Dressed the way she was, I knew it wouldn’t be just dinner Astor would
have on his mind. Dressed like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Astor would
skip dinner and go straight to dessert…Summer being the decadent dessert any
guy would crave.

To
hell with all the reasons why I couldn’t be with Summer. All those years of
resolve shot down with one glance at the curve of her breasts, her long tanned
legs, her glistening lips. Damn, I couldn’t help myself, seeing her in that
slinky silk dress that showed off her soft, golden tan skin…skin I have long to
touch and kiss since that moment I saw her again at the airport. She was, for
lack of a better word, stunning. So much so, all my resolve to keep my distance
from her, dissolved. The well broke, and like a starving man who had kept his
feelings and desire in for a long time (three years at least!), I had
confronted her.

If
she were a chocolate bar, I would have torn off the wrapper and eaten her
whole, then go back and lick every last delicious bit of chocolate left
clinging to the wrapper over and over again.

The
dress showed off her curves and skin in a way I had to clench my hands to keep
from wanting to reach out and touch her, to pull her to my chest and run my
fingers through the caramel waves framing her face, and smash her luscious full
mouth against mine.

With
Summer, I’m wracked with feelings of intense desire and want. I’ve dated a few
girls and even went far with them, but I’ve never wanted anyone in bed more
than I wanted Summer, and I know it’s wrong. We grew up together. She’s my
little sister’s best friend, and she’s Sookie’s niece. We’re like family. And
she’s always looked up to me like an older brother. I know Drew really liked
her in that way, too, but he’s Drew, and to him, he doesn’t have an issue with
crossing boundaries. All girls to him, except Rachel, are fair game. But I’m
not like Drew, and falling for Summer is something I have to avoid. It’ll be
easy if I can shut my feelings off, easy if I just don’t care, but when Summer
looks at me with those eyes, and she moves close to me and puts her hands on my
shoulder or touches my face, it takes more resolve than I can muster up. She’s
the part of me that I’m missing, the part of me that completes me. She makes me
feel tenderness, gentleness, peace, and even a little bit of hope. She’s like a
dove, but not quite a helpless defenseless dove, but a steady and strong lioness
who has the gentleness of a dove. That’s a rare quality to find in a woman. I
guess that’s another reason I fell for Summer.

****

That night I
tried to stop Summer from going out with Astor dressed like that, didn’t end
well, for me. She shot me down and went off on her date with Astor anyways,
even staying over. Was it to spite me?

My mind tortured
me with scenes of her with Astor, scenes of her kissing Astor, of Astor taking
off that dress and doing everything to her that I wanted to do to her.  I fell
asleep dreaming of that as I was dreaming of it now. Only this time, instead of
me feeling tortured, there was someone else.  I saw another figure in that dream,
watching Summer with Astor. Hidden by shadows.  I couldn’t see his face, but I
felt his pain. Somehow we were connected in some way, and it was a pain harder
than mine…a pain deeper than mine. Was it me in the shadows?

            When I turned around,
the figure stepped out. It wasn’t I, but someone else.

            It was Drew, and he
had a gun cocked to his head with a look so full of pain and anguish, tears
flowing down his face, right before he fired.

Falling for Summer
(Loving Summer #2/Donovan Brothers #1) – New Adult Version Now Available
through Amazon Kindle. Adult Version Coming Soon!