The One Left Behind (The One Series) (20 page)

She is completely disheveled and it makes me smile. She has on some yoga pants and a T-shirt, and her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail. She’s cute as hell. I stand to greet her and give her a hug and hold my hand out for her to take the chair opposite of me.

“I am so sorry I’m late. I overslept and literally just woke up,” she says, still out of breath.

“It’s okay, really.” I give her my best smile to reassure her.

“And I’m so mortified by my appearance. I didn’t have time to put anything on, or makeup, or…”

I cut her off, “Shut up, you’re gorgeous.” She seems to settle down a little and gives me a shy smile. I lean forward and brush my thumb over the corner of her mouth. I notice she’s holding her breath as I touch her. I hold my thumb up to her and say, “Sorry, you had some toothpaste in the corner of your mouth.” I wipe it off on a napkin.

She looks even more embarrassed. “It’s okay,” I tell her. “No one saw it but me.” I wink at her and she smiles and relaxes back into her seat. I can’t believe the pull I feel toward her with just that one, simple touch. It’s like electricity was coursing through my veins. Or a drug that I wanted another hit of. It was a little startling how insanely attracted and interested I was in this girl. And when she smiled at me, I knew I was a goner. Yep, hook, line, and sinker.

We continue to talk and get to know each other. She was the total package. Not only was she absolutely stunning, but she was smart, compassionate, and a driven individual. I asked her lots of questions about her job as a nurse, and she asked me about my final year of law school and when I was taking the Bar Exam. Talking with her was so effortless and it felt like I had known her all my life.

After talking to her for twenty minutes, I knew without doubt that I was going to marry this girl someday. She might not know it yet, but it was definitely going to happen. She was everything I’d ever looked for in a woman, and I wasn’t going to let her go.

Jeremy snaps his fingers in front of my face, “Did I lose you there, man?”

“Sorry, I zoned out a little.”

“I’m not telling you this to make you more upset, I just thought you should know. Plus, it could end up being nothing.” He shrugs his shoulders.

I take a deep, calming breath. He’s right, this could be nothing. She can’t be attached to this guy yet, and her memory could come back tomorrow. So, for now, I am going to relax and try not to stress about it. And, as always, keep on waiting.

FRIDAY IS FINALLY here and it couldn’t have gotten here any faster. I don’t know if it was because I was so nervous and excited for our first real date, but this week went by slower than normal. All week I have been trying to get Pierce to tell me what we’re doing for our date and he always changed the subject. I tried getting him to slip by telling him I didn’t know what I should wear. Of course, he knew what I was trying to do and told me that I would look great in anything.

So here I am, showered and standing in a tank top and shorts staring in my closet. I have the dress that I got when I went shopping with Morgan, but that’s kind of on the dressier side, and since he is picking me up at noon I don’t think I will need it. I dry my hair and maybe an idea of what to wear will come to me. I apply my make up a little bit heavier today since I will be out longer. I look at the clock and see it is eleven. Great, I have one hour to try and find an outfit for my date. As I make my way back to my closet, I hear a knock on the door. I walk over to my front door and open it. No one is there so I peek my head toward the driveway and see Pierce’s Jeep which is his other car he uses sometimes. Hmm, that’s weird. I hear a knock again and turn around and see Pierce standing at my back door.

I walk over to it and unlock the door to let him in. Pierce is smiling as I slide the glass door open, and pulls me forward with his arms wrapped around my waist and brings me in for a kiss. It is a slow, searing kiss and I swear my heart leaps up into my throat. My mind goes blank and I can’t form a coherent thought to save my life. Wrapping my arms around his waist, my body melts into his as my knees get weak and I struggle to stand. I move my hands up his back feeling his muscular body, but before I can reach his hair his lips separate from mine.

“I have been waiting to kiss you again since I last saw you.” Pierce wraps me in a hug and gives me a kiss on my neck. If he keeps this up, we will have to skip our date, so I pull away.

“As nice as it is to see you too, you’re early and I’m not ready because I still don’t know what to wear. It would help if I knew what we were doing.”

Pierce grabs two grocery bags and a duffel bag from the deck and makes his way toward my kitchen.

“Don’t rush. I came a little early so I could put these away.” He holds up the bag of groceries. “Just throw on your bathing suit for now. If you want to change later you can.” I notice Pierce is wearing a pair of baby blue and white board shorts with a white t-shirt. He is dressed for the water but he looks so damn sexy I can’t wait to get another glimpse of his well-defined chest. I haven’t seen it since the first day we met on the beach.

Hoping he didn’t catch me checking him out I say, “A bathing suit?” I’m sure Pierce can hear the hesitation in my voice.

“Don’t worry. I’m not taking you to a water park. I just thought I would share something I love with you. No more questions. Go finish getting ready. Please.” Pierce waves his hands at me in a shooing motion.

I stick my tongue out at him and make my way back to my bedroom. I am looking at all my bathing suits and decided on my white one since I have a good tan so far. I go to grab a pair of sunglasses and come across a pair I’ve never worn before. They are heart-shaped aviators. Colby had gotten them for me as part of a birthday present and I just didn’t feel comfortable enough wearing them. They seemed a little flashy to me. I place them on top of my head and grab two towels before going back out to the kitchen.

When I enter the kitchen Pierce’s back is facing me. As he is turning around, he says, “Ready to—” and freezes. He is staring at me and for a minute I think I might be hanging out of my top. I check both of my boobs to make sure they are fastened in. When I see that they are, I look back up at Pierce. I see his eyes scanning my body and, oh my god, he is checking me out. He swallows hard as his eyes linger on every inch of my exposed skin. He slowly licks his lips and a trail of fire lights through my body everywhere his eyes touch.

I clear my throat. “Like what you’re seeing there, boss?” I smile knowing it is his turn to be embarrassed. Although when his gaze meets mine I see he is anything but and has a hungry look in his eyes.

His lips curve up into a smile and he stalks his way over to me with two glasses in his hand. He holds out a glass for me and leans in to kiss the back of my neck just below my ear. “I love what I’m seeing. We need to drink these and head out because I don’t know how long I can be a gentleman when you’re in that suit.”

I smile and drink the bay breeze he made me as he takes a swig of his beer. We finish our drinks real quick and place them on the table.

“So I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go.” I wave my hand toward my bathing suit.

Pierce grabs my hand and leads me out the back door. It is bright out so I slip the sunglasses off my head and over my eyes. I look on my porch and see two surf boards. They are obviously Pierce’s since I don’t surf.

Turning towards Pierce I say, “Surfing, huh? One problem with that.”

Pierce taps my sunglasses with his fingers. “I like these; they look cute on you.” I smile at his compliment and he continues, “What’s wrong with surfing?”

I start to count off the reasons on my fingers as I say, “Well, for one, I don’t know how, and two, I’ve never broken a bone in my body and today is definitely not going to be the day I do, and three, I am not too keen on being eaten by a shark. And let’s not even get into the fact that I can drown if I get caught under a wave.” Pierce gawks at me like he is amazed by something I said. Not being a mind reader I ask, “What?”

“You’ve never broken a bone? Ever?” he asks incredulously.

“Out of all that the part you caught was I never broke a bone?” I shake my head and continue, “No broken bones. Why is that so fascinating?’

“That’s crazy. Didn’t you ever fall out of a tree when you were a kid or, I don’t know, just do something that you thought was a good idea at the time and later turned out not to be?”

I have to think about it. I always remember playing it safe. Safe is good because you know the outcome and no one gets hurt. In fact, I don’t even think I climbed a tree when I was a kid.

“Nope, I always played it safe and in return, no broken bones.” I shrug my shoulders not really understanding why this is a big deal.

“Okay, how about this. Just let me teach you the basics. That starts on the sand. I’ll teach you how to paddle, stand and balance your weight on the board. Then you can try it out in the water. Sound good?”

“I don’t know,” I say as a play with the string on my bikini bottoms.

Pierce brushes my hair back over my shoulder and whispers in my ear, “I’ll make it worth your while.” He takes off his shirt and places it on the sand waiting for my answer. He is fighting dirty and it’s working since I agree in no time. We walk up to the boards and Pierce takes out his phone and holds it up.

“Firsts thing’s first. We have to take a picture of the first day you surfed.”

I put my lips together for a kiss and he snaps the picture.

When Pierce said he would make it worth my while, he wasn’t kidding. The entire time we are on the sand his hands are all over me. He finds a way to touch me even when it isn’t necessary. When he is showing me how to paddle, he straddles me and presses his muscular chest against my back. He starts moving my arms with his in a paddling motion and helps me up by showing me the proper way to stand on the board and balance my weight. One hand is on the lower part of my back, and the other is lying flat on the lower part of my stomach. He slowly slides his hand up my back making sure not to remove it from my body and straightens my shoulder. With all the contact between our skin, I am about to explode with all the sexual tension forming between us when he says, “Okay, I think you’re ready to try it.”

He removes his hands from me and I am saddened by the loss of contact. We both paddle out to the water and are sitting on our boards making small talk waiting for a good wave to come our way. Pierce wants to make sure I get a small one so it is a bit easier for me, or so he says. I think he can tell I am scared and he’s trying to boost my confidence. Regardless of what he says, I’m still terrified I’m going to get hurt.

“Don’t get upset if you don’t get the first wave. Sometimes it takes a couple times to be able to stand and ride it. If you don’t get it, no big deal, you can always get the next one.”

I nod at him. “How many times did it take for you to get up?”

“Two. I tried too big of a wave the first time. The second time I picked a smaller one and got up and got a feel for it. The next time I knew what to expect and it was easy sailing, or surfing I should say, from there. Don’t worry, you will do great. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He gives me a sexy grin and winks at me. My insides quiver slightly and I momentarily forget about my nerves. Then the fact that I’m about to surf hits me again, bringing me back to the here and now.

I nod and bite the corner of my bottom lip. This is totally out of my comfort zone. I float in the ocean, not surf in it. This is one of those moments Pierce was talking about. It seemed like a good idea when we were on the beach and his hands were all over me, but now? Not so much. What the hell was I thinking? Pierce’s voice pulls me out of my silent freak out.

“Okay, here comes a small one. Remember to paddle and how to balance your weight on the board. Ready?”

No
. “Yes.”

“Okay, start paddling. Go, go!”

I do as Pierce tells me and start paddling in the water. I remember him saying that I would know when it is time to stand because the water would be moving faster than my paddling speed. Suddenly, I recognize that moment and know it is time to stand up. I suck in a deep breath just in case I get pulled under water and hop up on my board. I make sure my feet are placed like I was instructed and keep myself low and centered on the board. And just like that, I am riding a wave and it feels ah-maze-ing! The salty wind is hitting me in the face as the water rushes below me. I feel so free and I don’t want this wave to ever end. In the background I can hear Pierce hollering and whistling at me. Because I’m floating on cloud nine right now and not thinking, I turn to look his way and down I go. I crash into the water in the most awkward way which disorients me for a millisecond. I swim my way back up to the top of the water and see Pierce swimming quickly toward me.

Once he reaches me, I see the panic in his eyes. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

I laugh and splash water in his face as he pulls me into his arms. I have a huge rush of adrenalin running through me and it feels great. “Are you kidding me? That was amazing! And I got it on my first try! I want to try it again!”