The Shore (26 page)

Ryan and Cody worked out a system where one of them traveled every weekend to the other’s place. Cody had more flexibility in his schedule, so he tended to stay longer and they created a workspace for him in Ryan’s apartment.

They tried to work from home together but found they spent more time christening areas around the apartment than they got work done. That experiment lasted only one day as they decided different work locations would be more productive.

It was the middle of August and Cody’s turn to visit Ryan in Charlotte, but this was no ordinary trip. Multiple drives with six hours in a car each way had given him a lot of time to think about Ryan and their relationship. There was no doubt he was in love with her, and the thought of anything happening to her ripped at his heart. He hated that they were continuing to travel back and forth across the state. He wanted something more permanent. He wanted her with him.

While they were talking about Cody’s trip and making plans for the week, he asked about her schedule on Friday. He grinned when Ryan said she had a meeting out of the office around lunch time.

Perfect.

The next day, Cody sent a text to Madison.

Cody: 
Hey Madison. Please don’t say anything to Ryan, but I was wondering if you were available for lunch Friday.

Madison: 
Sure. What’s up?

Cody: 
I need your help with something.

Madison: 
Do I get any hints or anything?

Cody: 
No. I’ll fill you in Friday.

Madison: 
Okay. When and where?

Cody: 
I’ll text you Friday morning with the details.

Madison: 
So mysterious!

Cody: 
Thanks, Madison.

Madison: 
No problem.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what he was up to, but Madison agreed to the lunch. She had been wondering when she’d get the call from him, and was glad it finally happened.

While Ryan had gotten to know Cody’s family better when she went to the shore, Cody had gotten to know Madison when he came to Charlotte. She really liked Cody and she liked him for Ryan. They were an annoyingly cute couple, but he made Ryan happy. That’s all Madison cared about.

Friday morning, Cody texted Madison the time and location for their lunch. He hoped Ryan hadn’t caught on, or that Madison hadn’t put anything too revealing in her calendar. He wanted this to be a surprise.

Madison saw him right away when she walked into the restaurant. It was hard to miss that royal blue Cubs hat he always wore.

As she reached the table, he stood and gave her a hug.

“Hey,” he said. “Thanks for meeting me.”

“Sure,” she said as she took her seat.

“Ryan doesn’t know you’re here, does she?”

“No. No worries. She left about an hour ago to meet with her client. She thinks I’m back at the office slaving away.”

“Good,” he said with relief.

“So what’s up, Cody?” she asked, with a grin on her face.

“I’d like your help with something.”

“Okay…”

“I have a business meeting in St. Thomas over Labor Day weekend. I’m going to ask Ryan to join me.”

“Okay…” Madison said again.

“And I’m going to propose.”

Madison jumped up and down in her seat and clapped her hands like a five-year old girl.

“It’s about time!”

Cody grinned at her response. “I need your help with the rings. I’ve narrowed it down to three. Do you think you could come look at them with me? Help me decide?”

Madison reached across the table and put her hand on Cody’s.

“I would be honored. Absolutely.”

They finished their lunch and walked the block to the jewelry store. Cody had arranged an appointment with the owner, so when they arrived, the rings were ready to be seen.

Madison felt tears pool in her eyes as she looked at the three rings and held them in her hands.

“She is going to be so happy, Cody.”

He just smiled, looking at the rings himself.

“This one,” she said, handing him the second ring. “I think this one would be perfect for Ryan.”

Cody: 
Hey babe.

Ryan: 
Hey. How it’s going?

Cody: 
Good. I was just wondering if you’d want to go to the Virgin Islands with me this weekend?

“WHAT!?” Ryan nearly screamed into the phone when Cody answered.

Cody laughed. He knew she’d be excited about the trip, but hadn’t expected to get his eardrums blown out in the process.

“I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the Virgin Islands with me this weekend.”

“Yeh, I got that. What? How? Why?”

Cody started to chuckle and Ryan actually growled.

“We are 350 miles from each other, Cody James Calloway. Don’t you start that chuckling business when there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Actually, it’s 358 miles, but who’s counting?”

“Okay, smarty pants. Can you please explain this trip to me? What’s going on?”

“I have a client there. He wants me to fly out for a meeting Friday.”

“Sheesh. I want your clients.”

“I was thinking we could catch a flight Thursday evening and fly out again Monday. I know it won't be a long trip, but it’d be nice to get away.”

Ryan thought for a brief moment. “Taking Friday off shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Does that mean you want to go?” Cody smiled.

He had already known the answer, and given he was planning to propose this weekend, he wouldn’t have taken “no” for an answer anyway.

“I think a weekend with you in the Caribbean sounds fantastic.”

“Good.”

“What airline are you flying? I’ll book a seat on the same flight.”

“It’s already taken care of, babe. All you need to do is pack.”

“You already booked my flight?”

“Yep.”

“I guess you were pretty sure I’d want to go.”

“I’d say I was pretty confident, yes.” Cody paused for a second. “Be ready to go at 3 on Thursday, okay? I’ll pick you up at your place and drive us to the airport.”

“That sounds great, Cody. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Love ya, babe.”

Ryan hung up the phone and squealed. The furthest south she’d been was Key West, and she could see the aqua colored water in her mind already. She had only three days to get ready for four days of paradise.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On every flight Ryan had ever taken, she was seated in what she referred to as the “sardine section” of the plane. She had been taken completely by surprise when Cody handed their tickets to the gate agent and learned they were sitting in row 3 – first class.

“We’re flying first class?”

“Yep.”

“But Cody, that’s expensive isn’t it? And you only just booked these flights, and that had to of made them costly to begin with.”

“No need to worry. The client took care of the airfare.”

“For both of us?”

“What can I say? My clients love me,” Cody just winked at her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

They were nearly to the end of their flight when Ryan finally relaxed. She could soooooo get used to this. The first class seats were bigger, reclined farther, and the flight attendant kept handing her a glass of wine each time her glass became empty.

“This is the life. You have spoiled me forever. I never want to fly in the sardine section again.”

Cody chuckled and Ryan turned to look at him over her wine glass. She had that look in her eye telling him she wanted him. Now.

“No, don’t go getting any ideas. I can see the ideas swirling in your eyes, but we don’t have time to join that particular club. We’ll be starting our descent any minute now.”

Ryan pouted for a second then leaned forward and gave Cody a soft kiss, placing her hand high on his thigh.

“That’s okay. We’ll have plenty of time for other things when we get to the hotel.”

At the hotel, Cody checked them in while Ryan looked around the lobby. It was beautiful. There were high ceilings and marble floors. A row of windows faced the beach, but since the sun had already set, it was too dark to see anything. However, she could hear the waves crashing into the surf.

Cody walked over and took Ryan’s hand in his.

“You ready?”

“Yes,” she smiled at him.

“Come on.”

They walked to the elevator hand-in-hand, and Cody pressed the call button. A moment later, the doors opened and they stepped into the empty car. Cody slid his room key into the slot on the control panel and pushed the button for 10 – the second to top floor of the building.

Ryan looked questioningly to Cody, but he just shrugged his shoulders in response.

The doors opened and Ryan noted only four doors in the hallway. They walked to the furthest one and Cody slid the key into the door.

When the door opened, Ryan stood with her mouth hanging open.

Cody laughed, “Come on, you,” and gently tugged on her hand.

The suite was beautiful. As Ryan stood there catching flies in her open mouth, there was a soft knock on the door. Cody went to answer it and the bellman stepped into the space, walking directly to the bedroom and placing their luggage inside.

“Would you like me to show you the accommodations, Mr. Calloway?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. Thank you,” Cody answered as he handed the man a tip.

The bellman nodded briefly and walked back to the door. Just as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone again.

“So do you like it?”

“Cody, I …” She finally turned to look at Cody.

He tugged on her hand again. “Come here, I want to show you something.”

They walked to one of the sliding doors and opened it. Ryan gasped. She was led onto a huge balcony that was sectioned off from the other guests, giving them complete privacy. She could just barely make out the waves lapping the beach below them and the illuminated pool to the left.

Ryan finally gathered herself and turned to look at Cody.

“Okay, first class seats I understand. But this suite?”

Cody smiled and raised his hand to Ryan’s cheek and caressed it softly.

“Babe, it’s okay. I wanted this to be special – it’s our first trip together.”

“But …”

Rather than waiting to hear her objections, Cody lowered his mouth tenderly to hers. He released her hand and wrapped one around her waist and the other behind her neck, pulling her closer to him.

Breaking the kiss, he asked, “You want to check out the rest of the place?”

Ryan grinned like a school girl and nodded.

As they entered the room, there was a full kitchen to their right, a coffee table surrounded by two comfortable looking couches, a large TV hanging over the mantle, and a bedroom to the left.

They entered the bedroom and Ryan's jaw dropped. In the middle was a king-sized bed that looked like she could get lost in for days, a small reading area near yet another sliding door leading to the balcony, and a walk-in closet that rivaled the size of her own bedroom. The enormous bathtub from the adjoining bathroom caught her eye and she walked into the room.

“We could get ready in here and never touch each other,” she remarked. They were often bumping into each other in the bathroom in her apartment.

Cody grinned and walked up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and looking at her in the mirror's reflection.

“Where would the fun be in that?”

Ryan couldn't believe she was in this paradise with Cody. She knew he had meetings most of the next day, but after that, he was all hers. They could lie around on the beach together, wake up late, or spend all day in bed if they wanted.

“What are you thinking?” Cody asked as he turned in his face into her neck and started placing small kisses along her neck.

Ryan turned to face him, remaining in his arms, and smiled.

“I'm just really happy. Thank you for bringing me here.”

Cody reached for the top button of Ryan’s shirt and quickly popped it open. He followed suit with the other buttons, and when the shirt was merely hanging on her shoulders, he pushed the fabric and let it fall to the tiled floor. He ran his hands down her arms, leaning down to place soft kisses from her collarbone up to her ear, causing goose bumps to form.

Taking the remaining cotton shirt in his hands, he pulled up and lifted it over her head. As his hands came down, they rested gently on top of her breasts, his thumbs caressing her nipples.

As Ryan reached behind her and unfastened her bra, she told Cody, “Take off your shirt.”

Cody looked at her with an eyebrow raised. He removed his hands from her breasts and pulled his shirt off, baring his chest to her.

Ryan let her bra fall to the floor. “Your pants, too.”

“Hmm,” Cody grinned as he followed her orders. “I’m kind of liking this side of you.”

Ryan grinned and waited until Cody was completely undressed before she put her thumbs in her shorts, ready to pull them down. Ever so slowly, she wiggled out of them, showing Cody she had gone without any panties.

“This whole time?” he asked.

“Hmm mmm,” she grinned. “I wasn’t sure if we would have time for some fun while we were in the air, and I wanted to make it as easy as possible.”

Cody was hard before, but now his cock almost hurt. If he had known she had worn nothing under those shorts, they would have had a very different flight.

Ryan took a small step and pressed herself against Cody, feeling her nipples rub against his chest.

Cody wrapped an arm around her waist and brought his other hand to her face, kissing her. The more they kissed, the hungrier he became. He placed open-mouthed kisses from her mouth to ear and sucked on her lobe.

He knew she loved it when he did that, and he could hear soft moans coming from her.

Ryan reached her hands into Cody's hair, moving her mouth to his ear.

“Take me to bed.”

Cody started to move backwards toward the bedroom, and when Ryan's hands fell to her sides, he took them in his own. He walked them to the bed.

“Lay down,” he said hungrily.

Ryan did as she was told and laid down.

Cody began kissing her left ankle and trailed up her leg. As he went to lay down between her legs, Ryan tugged on his shoulders.

“I want you in me. Come here.”

There was no way Cody was going to argue. He placed a small kiss at her center and dragged his body along hers, stopping to pay special attention to both of her nipples.

Ryan began to rock her hips, feeling Cody slide from between her folds to her clit. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she reached down with her hand and pushed his cock down, causing him to enter her. They both groaned as he slid into her.

She felt Cody increase the tempo, his cock sliding in and out and in again. Thankfully, once they determined they were in this relationship for the long haul, they both got tested and Ryan started on birth control. It was a small relief not having to worry about condoms.

Ryan’s hold tightened and Cody could tell she was getting close. He reached down with one hand to rub her clit and that was enough to send her over the edge. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she had, and then she felt him fall apart inside her.

They were both breathing heavily as Cody slowed and eventually fell to the side so he was only half laying on her.

“Holy crap,” she sighed, taking in a deep breath.