“I can see why.”
I gave her hand a playful tug and said, “C’mon,” then took off at a jog.
She laughed as I pulled her, a sweet tinkling sound that made me smile. It was a new laugh, one I hadn’t heard before, and I wondered what other things about her I’d still had yet to discover.
I stopped once we got to the edge of the pool of water at the base of the waterfall. Rocks surrounded the rest of the area, so with the fall in our front, and the forest at our backs, it was like we were in our own private paradise.
Zoey crouched and put her and in the water as I unzipped my pack and pulled out a blanket. I spread it out, then set out the other items I’d brought along.
“Do you want to eat or swim first?” I asked as I laid out the sandwiches, pitas, hummus, and fruit.
She turned and looked from me to the food, then back again and answered, “Eat.”
I sat, holding out my hand in invitation. My stomach clenched as she walked toward me to take it. Her hair was still up in a messy bun, and her tan skin glowed in the brilliant sunlight. She looked fresh, sweet, and I suddenly wanted to taste her more than I wanted to breathe.
When she placed her hand in mine, I tugged, causing her to fall into my lap with a laugh. Unable to wait, I dipped my head, capturing her happiness as I got my taste. Her laugh turned to a moan and her hands came around my neck, holding me closer. When we were both breathless I pulled back slightly and looked down at her.
“You taste good.”
“So do you,” she replied, her voice low and throaty.
I wanted to lay her down and sink into her, but I knew she hadn’t eaten all day, so I controlled the beast inside me and placed her next to me on the blanket.
“Let’s eat.”
I laughed when she didn’t hesitate, grabbing the closest sandwich, opening it quickly and taking a big bite.
“Mmmmm,” she said, eyes half closed. “So good.”
The sounds she was making coupled with the look on her face were about to make me lose control, so I turned my head and looked at the water, trying to concentrate on every drop as it cascaded over the rocks.
Once I had myself in check I turned back and chuckled when I saw that half of her sandwich was already gone. I grabbed mine and leaned back, watching her as I opened the sandwich bag.
“So, what did you guys do today?” Zoey asked in between bites.
“We got a lot done actually,” I replied. “After three years we’ve got a good system going on. All of the cabins are ready for the kids to start arriving, and the counselors, of course, who will start arriving Saturday morning. We have a lot of returning counselors, so the final preparations will take no time at all. Everything’s on track.”
“That’s cool that you all come here every year. It must be nice to get that time together with your family. Especially in a place like this,” she said, her gaze sweeping the beautiful view.
That was the opening I needed, so I sucked it up and said, “Zoey, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Her head swiveled, and her eyes looked worried as she said tentatively, “Well, that’s never good.”
I grinned in spite of myself, then sat up and admitted, “I may not have been completely forthcoming about who I am.”
Zoey lowered her hand, the last bit of uneaten sandwich forgotten.
“Oh, crap … You’re married?”
“What? No!”
“Wanted for murder?”
I just looked at her.
“Gay?”
“Seriously?” I asked, a laugh escaping me. “We’ve had sex…”
“Bisexual?”
I bit my cheek to keep from laughing. I wanted her to know that I was being serious, but she was making it difficult.
“How about you let me finish?”
Zoey nodded her head slowly.
“My full name is Gabriel Lewis.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, then I saw the light dawn over her face.
“As in Camp Gabriel Lewis?”
“Yes.”
I held back a chuckle as she smacked herself in the head.
“So, you’re a football player and this is your camp?”
“I’m a retired football player, and yes, this is my camp.”
“Wow,” she said, picking up a grape and popping it in her mouth. “Chris is going to lose his mind. He loves you!”
I smiled, pleased at her reaction, and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. I didn’t know you, and I’ve had women come here before in hopes of sleeping with an NFL player, or hell, getting married to one.”
Zoey’s eyes widened and she leaned forward. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a laugh. “You’d be surprised how many women want that … Then again, some of them just want my money.”
I kept my eyes on her face, looking for any sort of negative reaction, and was relieved when I found none.
“I get it,” she said, reaching a hand out and placing it on my knee. “You kept your true identity a secret just in case I was a gold digger or a groupie. I’m not offended. I mean, really, we’ve only known each other a few days … It was the smart thing to do.” Zoey smiled sweetly, then nodded again and said, “That explains Serena’s initial reaction to me. It also explains why you and your cousins come here every year to set up. I was wondering. I just figured you were the caretaker or something.”
I shook my head, my smile a permanent fixture.
“No, we all come up every year to see each other, like I said. Everyone but Reardon will leave on Sunday before camp starts. If they have the time, they’ll come back at the end of summer. Reardon usually takes two weeks off. He likes to stay for the first session of camp, get some time with the kids and blow off steam before heading back home. Plus, it gives us a little extra time together. He’ll be leaving at the same time that you and Chris do.”
Zoey scooted closer and pushed me slightly, causing me to lie back on the blanket, and then she lay next to me and placed her head on my chest.
“What made you decide to tell me now?”
“What you said on the way over here, about our connection,” I replied, hugging her closer to me. “Like I said, I feel the same way, and it didn’t feel right to keep part of who I am away from you. It’s a very big part, and can come with some complications. I wanted you to know everything, so we can move forward and see where this thing goes.”
Zoey’s arm tightened around my waist, but she didn’t say anything, so I pushed on.
“I don’t know the logistics yet, and I do have seven more weeks of camp left after you leave, but I’d like to keep seeing each other ... long distance, until we can figure something out.”
“I’d like that too,” she replied, and I closed my eyes, letting that feeling of warmth and contentment envelope me.
Chapter Sixteen ~ Zoey
“I’m so happy he told you,” Jasmine said as she watched me put makeup on from the corner of my bed.
I’d been barefaced and au natural for the entire time I’d been at camp so far, and since we were about to join the gang for a big bonfire, and I planned to sneak off with Gabe afterwards, I thought it would be nice to do myself up a bit and let Gabe see another side of me.
“I understood his reasons, but didn’t like feeling like we were all keeping this big secret from you.” My eyes came to hers in the mirror, and I knew what she was going to ask next. “Did you tell him who you are?”
She didn’t look accusatory, just curious, but I was saved from answering when Serena came to the door.
“Hello,” she called.
“Come on in,” I answered, giving her a smile when she pushed open the door.
She looked cute in a pair of cut-off shorts and a lightweight long-sleeved top with the Roxy emblem on it. Her hair was long and loose, the entire ensemble making her look sweet and fresh.
“Did I miss anything?” Serena asked Jasmine as she sat next to her on the be
d.
“No, we were just getting to it,” she told her cousin, then they both turned their attention on me.
I tried to think of a way to change the subject, but the look on their faces told me there was no getting out of this one.
“No,” I admitted after taking a deep breath and turning to lean back against the dresser. “I didn’t tell him.”
“Why not?” Jasmine asked gently as she wound her long red locks up into a bun. “You have to know he’s not going to care. In fact, he’ll understand more than most people would … the fame, the money, people using you for who you are … He’s dealt with all of it.”
I bit my lip and tilted my head down.
“I know you’re right, and I thought about telling him right then, I really did, but all I kept thinking about is how different we are. How different our pasts are, and our lives out there.” I lifted my hand and swept it, indicating the outside world.
“So what?” Serena asked. “So you’re different, that’s a good thing. Haven’t you heard the old adage, opposites attract?”
“Of course,” I answered, lifting my head to face them. “But he’s a football player. A big one. He said he played in high school, college, and the NFL. Now, I don’t watch or understand the game, but I’ve seen stuff about the players. He’s been a big deal his whole life, could have his pick of women, and probably has … He’s had women work hard to get in his bed, and to get him to marry them, he said so himself.”
Jasmine stood up and took a few steps toward me as she explained, “Yes, that’s all true. Gabe has never had a hard time finding a date, and women have gone to crazy lengths to be with him, but, Zoey, that’s in his past. When he was a teenager, at college, and in his early twenties, he was swept up in it, I’ll admit, but he’s not like that now. He’s a grown-up. A man. I’d say in the last five years he’s dated only a couple women. He’s done with all of that playboy stuff.”
“I believe that, believe you,” I said, pushing off the dresser to stand in front of her, trying to make her see where I was coming from. “But my life was nothing like that. I was the quiet girl in school, helped with sets in the drama department in high school, and studied hard in college. I’m a total geek, a nerd. I started out writing Star Wars fan fiction, and can count the number of guys I’ve been with on one hand … if I only had three fingers on it. The football players never looked at me, and I gave them a wide berth.”
“This isn’t high school,” Serena said from her perch on the bed. “You’re both adults, and I can tell he really likes you.”
“Yeah, here!” I shouted, then realized I was yelling and lowered my voice. “But this is like a fantasy world, it isn’t real. He said he wants to keep seeing me after camp, but how is that even possible? I spend my days in my house, usually in my pajamas, writing and talking to my virtual friends online. I only go out when I get low on coffee and my supply of Red Vines is gone. I have no social life and the only people I interact with are my sister and nephew. I doubt that’s the kind of thing he’s into.”
“Have you talked to him about it? Not the fact that you’re a famous writer, but the rest of it, the day-to-day stuff that you’re worried about?” Jasmine asked softly.
“No. I didn’t really start freaking out until after we came back here and I was left alone with my crazy brain,” I replied. “He said he wanted to see me after, and I said that I did too.”
“And, do you?” Serena asked.
I met her eyes and nodded, causing a beautiful smile to cross her face.
“Then that’s all that matters. The rest will work itself out.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yes,” Jasmine answered, then surprised me by pulling me in for a hug. “Just talk to him.”
“Okay.”
“Now, hurry up and finish getting ready. Those guys will eat all the s’mores and drink all the beer if we’re late.”
I finished by putting a shimmery gloss on my lips, then grabbed my sweater off the back of the chair, just in case.
“Ready,” I announced, and we all headed out of my cabin.
It was already dark as we made our way through the woods to the bonfire site. Jasmine was telling us a story about Dillon getting in trouble for stealing a freshly frosted lemon cake out of their kitchen when he was seven. His mother had found him sitting under the porch, half the pan empty with bits of yellow cake all over his face. He’d tried to blame Jasmine for putting him up to it, but their mother didn’t believe him.
“I totally did put him up to it too. I knew how much he loved lemon cake and told him Mom had made it just for him … She’d made it for a business dinner our father was having that night. He got in so much trouble.” Jasmine was laughing at the memory as we neared the sight, and when I noticed Dillon glaring at us, I knew he’d heard the whole thing.
“I was grounded from my Nintendo for a week,” he said, scowling at his twin.
“Awe, I’m sorry, bro,” Jasmine said with a jaunty smile as she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek.
“Get away from me,” he replied, his voice rough, but the quirking of his lips giving him away. “Dad still blames me for losing that account, and it was over twenty-five years ago.”
I was grinning as I walked over to where Gabe was sitting, watching his cousins bicker around him. He patted the log next to him and I sat down, leaving a space between us. I was still a little freaked out over my earlier mental freak-out about the differences between us. Of course, he had no idea about any of it. When he left me with a kiss and a promise to see me at the bonfire, everything had been hunky dory.
Gabe put his hand around my waist, putting slight pressure there so I would scoot over until our sides were pressed up against each other. When I looked up at him shyly, all I saw were his luscious lips as they descended and greeted my own.
Sigh.
Maybe I needed to stop worrying about what happened out in the real world, and just enjoy my time in fantasyland.
Chapter Seventeen ~ Gabe
“You good?” I asked Zoey. She was lying on top of me, we were both naked, and my hand was drawing circles on her back.
After we had our fill of beer, s’mores, and the company of my cousins, we’d come back to her place, and this time, I took the lead. She’d been sweet, responsive, and sexy as hell, and now we were both working on evening out our breathing as we laid in the dark.
“Mmmm,” she responded drowsily. “Yeah, why?”
“You seemed a little off when you first got to the bonfire. I just wanted to make sure nothing happened.”
Zoey pushed against my chest with her hands, tucking her thick hair back so it flowed in a mass around her. Damn, but she was beautiful.
“I had a minor freak-out after we got back from the waterfall,” she admitted.
“What about?”
She chewed on her lip nervously and averted her eyes, then said to the wall, “I started thinking about how different we are. Not just in our career paths, but in our relationships … I realized that you’ve probably been with a lot of women.” She flinched when she said it, and my stomach clenched at her words. “Not that I’m insinuating anything. It’s just, I’m much less experienced.”
I grasped her chin gently and brought her face back to me.
“I’m not going to lie to you, but I’m not going to go into great detail either. Yes, I’ve been with my share of women. The first few years I was in the NFL, I was a little out of control. It was a lot to handle all at once … the money, the fame, the women, but after a while I realized I wasn’t living the life that I wanted, so I stopped.”
Her dark eyes were wide, but I didn’t see any judgment there, so I asked, “Is that the only thing you were freaking out about?”
“I’m worried that you’ll find me boring … once the shine wears off.”
The chuckle escaped before I could help it, causing Zoey’s face to grow tight.
“Hey,” she said as she slapped a hand on my chest. “I?
??m being serious.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” I replied, biting off my laughter. “But, Zoey … Babe … the last thing you could ever be is boring.”
“You say that now, but just wait until every time you see me I’m in pajamas or yoga pants, with my hair a mess, a coffee stain on my teeth, and a half-eaten Red Vine in my hand. Or, when you want to hang out, and all I want to do is catch up on The Walking Dead. I don’t have friends that I go out with. I don’t have an active social life. I’m just me … B-O-R-I-N-G Zoey.”
My chest was shaking, and it was nearly impossible not to laugh out loud as she ranted.
“Look, it’s early stages yet, but let me lay some stuff out for you,” I started, lifting to give her a quick kiss on the lips before going on. “I sometimes have to go to events, make appearances, and stuff like that. I’ll invite you, and you can come if you want. If not, no problem. I’m not going to make you do things you don’t want to do. I have friends, but mostly I have family. My family’s important to me, and yours is important to you. I may ask you to come meet the rest of my family, or join us for holidays, but I won’t expect you to be at my beck and call for all social outings. That work for you?”
She blinked, then nodded slowly.
“I like The Walking Dead, and I also have to catch up on the last season of Sons of Anarchy. Have you seen it?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s up to you whether you watch it with me or not. I like to watch sports. I already know that you don’t, but maybe while I’m watching sports, you can read, or write…”
“That sounds good,” she said softly, the fear starting to leave her face and her lips twitching.
“Do you want to have kids some day?”
At that, her eyes widened so much I feared they’d pop out of her head.
“Yes,” she squeaked.
“Me too,” I said, then brushed my knuckles over her cheek. “Does that cover everything?”
“It covers a lot.”
“Good. If anything else pops into your head and freaks you out, talk to me … That’s the only way this thing is going to work.”