Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I reach out and pull her into a hug. “How are you?”
“I’m great. How are you?”
I answer her with a kiss. Not a long one, but something appropriate for a public place. Her body softens in my arms, and I fall further for her. I love the way she responds to me, and how she keeps her hand on my arm after the kiss ends.
“Are you up for a walk?”
Ava looks down and flexes one of her feet to show me her running shoes. “Sure am.”
I catch sight of her shoes out of the corner of my eye, but my gaze lingers on her bare leg—I’ll bet her skin would feel like satin under my touch. And her thighs—
With effort, I tug my eyes up to the horizon line and then turn back to my vehicle. “I brought water and granola bars.”
“Oh, that’s so thoughtful. Thank you.”
She takes a bottle from me, and I tuck the bars into a pocket on my cargo pants to save for later. “Want to walk around the lake?”
“And up to the overlook?” She points to the pavilion on the dunes in the distance.
“Perfect.” I take her hand and we set off. As we make our way to the trail, I realize that I haven’t been doing much beyond working, studying, and helping out at my mom’s house.
Being out here in the fresh air, under the warm sun, with a gorgeous woman on my arm feels like a much-needed holiday.
“How have things been going?” I ask. We’ve kept in touch through text messages, but it’s been too long since I’ve seen her. When she says her week has been busy, I try not to think about how she’s probably spending time with other men. “How’s work?”
“Good. A new line of wool yarn came in. It was created by a knitting blogger I follow.” She briefly covers her eyes with her arm as if she’s embarrassed. “Let’s just say the bins in my apartment are overflowing.”
“You can’t crochet fast enough, huh?”
Laughing, she shakes her head. “I could stop buying yarn now and probably still never reach the bottom of my stash.”
A small flock of geese crosses the path in front of us and we stop to watch their progress. Ava squeezes my hand as the last of them waddles into the water and glides away. “So cute.”
As we continue on our way, she asks, “How did your big project turn out?”
“Good. I haven’t seen a grade yet, but I’m hoping the late nights pay off.”
“I’ll bet it’s the best project they’ve ever seen.” She smiles up at me in a way that requires me to stop us in our tracks and give her another kiss, a longer one this time. There’s no way I can’t kiss this woman.
“You’re so sweet.” I mean it in every sense of the word as I taste her on my lips. Her responding blush has me holding her hand more tightly as we continue along the path.
We circle around one half of the lake, watching more geese and ducks, and a few people fishing, and then we start to ascend the trail to the pavilion. Ava points out quail and ground squirrels, and stops a couple of times to take pictures of the wildlife. She also takes a selfie of the two of us.
“Will you share it online?” I ask.
She appears surprised by my question before she shakes her head. “No, I don’t do much besides lurk.”
I suspect her lack of posting has to do with her strict upbringing, but I don’t question it. A girlfriend I had a couple of years ago couldn’t get through any activity without broadcasting it on her social channels, so Ava’s quiet online presence is more than fine with me.
At the top of the dunes, we take a break to eat the granola bars and look out over the desert that surrounds us. I spot a couple of jackrabbits out in the brush, and Ava takes more pictures.
“I’ll bet it’s pretty up here at sunset,” she says.
I slide my arm around her shoulders. “We’ll have to come back soon.”
“Sounds like a plan.” It’s Ava who initiates the kiss this time. I take advantage of the fact that there’s no one else around at the moment, and bring her closer, feeling her soft curves press into my body.
Prior to meeting her, I probably wouldn’t have thought I’d be a fan of taking things slow, but I’m quickly finding out how good it can be. Each kiss is meaningful, even more so because I’m honored that she trusts me enough to share these moments with me.
I’m definitely looking forward to doing much, much more with her—when she’s ready—but for now, I’m savoring every touch.
When I hear footsteps approaching, I give her a final kiss and then put a couple of inches between us, since Ava might feel uncomfortable if there’s an audience around. We start back down the trail, and continue around the lake when we reach the base of the hill.