The Good Girl (11 page)

“Why would I be possessive? We have a nice arrangement. We both have plans. I’m going to write a column. You are going to travel…doing good. Whatever the hell that means.” Shaking my head, I started to walk away. Instead he grabbed my wrist.

Gesturing to the boat seats, he said, “Please sit.” Without speaking, I plunked down on the seat and looked at him warily. Sitting opposite me, he swallowed, clasped his hands and looked down before he spoke. “For the last four years, I have been plotting my escape. “ He sighed. “I took the job at City Tavern, bartending. My parents hated it. They never understood why I would lower myself to have that kind of position when I could be groomed to work in the family business. Ah, but I had absolutely no interest in corporate law, chasing the almighty dollar, and crushing the common man.”

Tilting my head, I wondered where this was going. “So, what was your plan?”

“Simple, really. Believe it or not, the motorcycle was a practical purchase. It wasn’t about being a rebel. In South America, it was one of the best modes of transportation.” He smiled at me before continuing. “Of course, the fact that it pissed my parents off to no end was a serious perk.” This time I received a wink. “The rest of the money I’ve saved. It was my goal to visit all of South America and make a difference. There were different projects planned for each country. My hope was to set up schools, help ensure medical treatment for lower income individuals, help families get out of the vicious poverty loop…”

“Those are really ambitious plans,” I said. “Wow. I mean just…wow.” Four years of planning. Didn’t I just pop into his life at just the right moment?

“It was a great plan. Of course, now I’m rethinking it.” He smiled meaningfully at me. Dare I hope he was rethinking it because of me?

“Why is that?” I asked as I leaned in, wearing what I hoped translated into an alluring and seductive look.

“Oh…um…the shots. I have to get all these crazy shots this week.” He chuckled.

“Right. Shots.” Standing, I looked at him. “Let’s get this boat ride going.”

“Absolutely,” he said with a smile.

Seriously, I’m not sure which of us was happier to be done with this conversation. It was a close call, but I can say that I wasn’t the one with beads of sweat on my forehead. Nor was I the one with a shaky hand when it came time to unhook the last rope from the deck cleat. That guy was a wreck.

Though I thought I wanted the subject changed, I soon realized that I didn’t.
My inquisitive mind was demanding still more answers. Making him comfortable was the only way that I was going to get them. One idea haunted me.

“Hey, Wyatt,” I began slowly. “Have you ever had a serious girlfriend?”

He grabbed my hand that I had laid on his shoulder. Drawing it to his mouth, he kissed it and smiled at me. “No¸” he said, shaking his head. “I haven’t really dated since high school.”

Hmm. “So, all those girls that I kept meeting in the hall leaving your room freshman and sophomore year were just one night stands?” That was the belief I had been operating under all along, but now it seemed that all that was for an entirely different reason.

“Hell, I didn’t even sleep with the majority of them,” he mumbled. “Man, isn’t the lake beautiful today. There’s no one out here. It’s just us.” He squeezed my hand.

“It is,” I admitted, but I wasn’t done yet. “You just took them home, like...strays?”

Letting out a huge sigh, he looked up at me, standing behind him. “You clearly aren’t going to let this go until you get all the answers you want.” He cut the engine right there in the middle of the lake before standing and turning to face me. “I’m tired of shouting over it,” he said by way of explanation. “As for the girls, if I was working and there was some dangerously drunk chick at the bar I took her home...preferably hers, but if she couldn’t tell me where she lived, it was mine. At the time, I lived in the dorms. My parents built the apartment over the garage the summer before my junior year. That’s when I started living there.”

“Like me!” My eyes widened. “That’s why you brought me home.” I punched him in the shoulder. “Oh my God! You aren’t bad at all, are you?!” This was where I would normally be pacing, but since there was nowhere to pace on the boat I was even more worked up.

“I’m a little bad,” he said, “but I firmly believe that with the right woman, I can be
oh so good
.” He leaned over me and nibbled on my shoulder.

“You stopped dating because it might derail your plans! That’s why you’ve had only superficial relationships all of your adult life!” It felt like this huge epiphany after which I was left to wonder if I would have treated him differently had I known that he really was a good guy in wolf’s clothing. This man had a heart of gold. Sure, part of his desire was fueled by a need to escape his parents’ hold, but didn’t all kids want that? Wasn’t that what motivated all of us to leave the nest?

Apparently he was pondering what I had said because I watched him rub his neck for a moment and look down at the water lapping against the sides of the boat. “I don’t know. Maybe? Mostly though, I think I just never found anyone worth dating. It was too easy. There was no challenge there. We’d go out and they’d feel this instant love connection...probably for my family name or my family money.” He shrugged. “None of it was real. I just stopped trying, figured I wasn’t meant for that life...the conventional one, with a wife and kids and a mortgage.” He stared straight into my eyes. “This has been a really intense conversation. Before you make me re-examine any more of my choices can we please just go relax and have some fun? That will all end tomorrow when our finals start…”

Nodding, I stepped closer and waited, smiling, looking up at him expectantly.
Sure enough, he wrapped his arms around me and hauled me close despite the rising temperatures. Soon he was smiling down at me and I felt instantly comforted. “Let’s go,” I said.

“Right on,” he agreed.
Pulling his sunglasses over his eyes, he turned toward the dashboard. “You don’t need a sex column, doll. You need to be an investigative reporter. Damn.” With that, he started the boat once more. “Hang on,” he warned.

“Always,” I said, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist and laying my head upon his back.

With a smile and a squeeze we were off, headed toward the island in the middle of the lake.
All I could think about was how lonely his life must have been. He wasn’t me. My life had been so full. Leaning against him, I let that thought comfort me for a moment before it started to eat away at me instead. We weren’t so different. Wyatt had thrown himself into his plans, and in reality I had done the same. He didn’t seem to have any real friends. Who did I have? Molina. My mortal enemy was more of a frenemy. Crap. The only difference was that I was still trying to meet my parents’ expectations. For some reason, I had never shaken that good girl role. A little sadder now, I hugged him closer. This time with Wyatt had changed me. It seemed to be changing him, too. This didn’t bode well for the futures we had planned.

Thankfully, before I managed to work myself into a funk, we pulled up to the one sandy area of the island. It was on the backside and completely out of the regular boat traffic path. Wyatt turned around in my arms. “What’s this for?” He asked with a teasing smile.

“You said hang on,” I replied with a shrug. “You seem sturdy.” I smiled back at him.

“Oh no, I’m nothing to hang onto,” he said. Then he must have seen the look in my eyes, one that I couldn’t hide: sorrow. “Thank you for trying, though.” He pulled me closer. “Doll, it’s the drugs. Fight this sadness.”

With those words, tears formed. Was he right? Or was it more that I had just had to face some hard truths that were eating at me? Since I didn’t want to discuss it, and disagreeing with him would have resulted in a discussion, I simply nodded and looked down, concentrating on stopping the tears that threatened to spill out onto my cheeks.

“Willow, let’s make the most of our time.
Give me some happy memories to tide me over. I have a lot of hard work ahead of me. Lots of character to build,” he joked.

“You aren’t kidding,” I said, sniffling and smiling.

Before I could say another word, he had captured my lips with his. In an instant, my body was responding. My lips bent to his every whim, my arms were around his neck, my fingers ran through his hair. This body of his that I had become so accustomed to, the inherently male physique, I couldn’t get it close enough.

Somehow I was soon on my back on the fiberglass floor of the boat, my legs spread to accommodate him. He had shoved my bikini top up enough to expose my breasts and seemed to be admiring how they fit in his hands. “Perfect,” he commented before his head dipped and he had sucked my nipple neatly into his mouth.

It was ecstasy, being with him, having him lavish attention on my body. Though I had grown more comfortable with this in a short period of time, I doubted I would ever grow bored. This was not a man I could easily tire of. His hands had worked their way to the button on my shorts and suddenly, I was wishing that I had a skirt on instead. It would have been so much easier. What the hell was I thinking?

“Shorts, doll?” He asked, once he had released my nipple. “From now on, only skirts for you.”

There was no one else in this world besides my parents that could have gotten away with speaking to me like that. Oh, but Wyatt could boss me around all he wanted, as long as he tempered it with these incredible sexual trysts. Despite his complaint, he had made short work of my clothes and had managed to kiss his way down my body until he reached the juncture of my thighs. My breathing was ragged and for some reason I suddenly had to concentrate on something that was supposed to come naturally.

Playing with my lips, he rubbed them and slowly separated them to expose my most sensitive parts. “Lovely,” he murmured with his face against my thigh. “Absolutely perfect.” With two hands, he pushed against my inner thighs spreading me wide before he smiled at me and buried his face in my most secret parts. He knew better than I where to touch me. His tongue was lapping against my clitoris while his fingers inside me had found the most perfect rhythm. My hips were squirming already. Then he sucked and tugged ever so gently on the hood and I thought I was going to come completely undone.

“Let it go, Willow,” he murmured. His face was against me while he spoke and every word, every breath served to make me more excited.

It wasn’t like days before where I didn’t know what to do, how to let go when he played with my vagina.
This time, I embraced the feelings, the sensations. I focused on the intensity of it. My hands shot up to tug on my nipples. He growled in satisfaction at that.

“In me,” I moaned.
“I want you in me.”

My eyes were closed, but they didn’t need to be open to feel him shake his head against me.
“One condom,” he grunted by way of explanation.

Apparently we were saving it for later. It didn’t matter. All that did was ensure that I savor this, savor his tongue on me, his fingers expertly maneuvering in me, and those lips sucking. There it was. The pressure was building, slaking the need. Suddenly my insides were contracting in a way that was pleasant and unexpectedly strong. Grinding my hips against his hand, I let out a satisfied whimper. “Oh, Wyatt,” I sighed. Releasing my nipples, I reached down and stroked his face, pressed against my inner thigh. After a few deep breathes, I murmured, “Now you?”

Shaking his head, he said, “Nah, me later. This was all you. Now you can cross ‘#19: Sex on a boat’ off your list.”

Just when I thought we were having fun, simply enjoying each other and being together, I was again reminded why were here. “Thank you,” I said simply, hoping it didn’t sound as crisp to him as it had to me. Given the look I received as he tried to help me up, it did. With a shrug, I explained, “It’s the drugs.”

He nodded, but I’m not sure either one of us was convinced.

Moments later I had dressed once more and we had stepped off the boat onto the sandy beach.
While Wyatt worked to secure the boat on a fallen tree, I walked about the beach. “Ready?” He called, interrupting my thoughts.

Pasting a smile on my face, I nodded and walked to meet him. “Now what?” I questioned.

Taking my hand, he said, “Come with me.
I have something to show you.” He seemed incredibly proud of himself.

After walking up the slight hill and through the trees about twenty yards in, I could see why.
Somehow, I’m guessing while I was sleeping, Wyatt had managed to come out here and set up a tent. Only, it wasn’t this ordinary boring tent. It had this whole Saharan Desert air to it, from the outward style to the interior, which was lined with pillows. There was even food set up and covered under a lid.

“What?” I asked, struggling to speak through the huge grin on my face. “How?”

“Eh, there are some benefits to having money in the family, right? I can make things happen.” He drew me into his side with one arm. “Willow, I want this to be special for you, memorable in every way. You deserve that.” Then he punctuated his words with a lingering kiss.

“For you,” he said, pointing to the garment bag hanging up on the back wall of the tent.
The rest of it was mostly open, only filmy fabric served to shield us from the rest of the world.

Leaving his side, I walked through the pillows and blankets to see what was inside. Unzipping it just a bit, I squealed. “Really?” I asked as I yanked the zipper the rest of the way.

“Put it on,” he said. “I’m dying to see you in it.”

With a shrug and a nod, I grabbed the bag and walked around behind the tent. His voice called to me. “Hey! I wanted to see!”

Giggling, I responded, “You will, when I’m done!” It didn’t take long to slip off my clothes, and given how little I had to put on, it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes, but I still took my time. There was no rushing this. He wanted it to be special for me, and I wanted it to be super memorable for him. While he may not have as much experience as I imagined, I wanted to stand out in his mind forever.