Page 23

It’d been a weird morning to say the least. After completing the tasks I needed for the wedding—confirming vendors, double-checking that everything was in order, and checking in on Mom, to make sure she remembered her daughter was getting married—I finally had a chance to do the research I so desperately needed to do. Or so I’d thought—until June joined me, interrupting my tiny bubble of peace with her loud perfume and constant questions.

“Shut up, I’m trying to read,” I grunted as June invaded my personal space.

I’d retreated to the beach before everyone else in the hopes of some alone time. June had come bearing breakfast—and annoyance, in equal measure. My evil twin was hyped up on Red Bull after pulling an all-nighter and going on her masochistic hike up the mountain that morning with Roderick.

And she was being insufferable.

“How was your date with George ?” she wheedled after we’d finished eating. Normally, I’d bite. We shared most things, especially dating stories, but I only had a certain amount of time to figure out what I needed to and I seriously needed her to shut up.

It was a blessing that Hocking Hills wasn’t so far off the grid that cell service wasn’t available.

“Can I fill you in later?” I asked, tapping into a new window on my phone. A black and red website dedicated entirely to bondage. The images were as stimulating as they were distracting. I couldn’t help but look at them and picture George. George dangling from the ceiling, trussed up like a ham. George on the bed with a spreader bar between his legs, and his hands tied to the headboard. George coated in red shibari rope, laced around his puffy pink nipples and up his thighs to frame his cock.

George—

“That bad?” June frowned, interrupting my daydream. “Damn.”

“Jesus Christ, June.” I put my phone down, twisting to glare at her. She was laying in the recliner next to mine. Sunglasses on her head. Face and upper body in the shade of the attached umbrella. Her swimsuit was an ungodly shade of red that was offending to the eyes, especially given how much of her breasts it showed off. She wore sandals that made no sense. Sandals that wound all the way up her legs like the rope I’d just been looking at.

I nearly gagged.

I really needed to stop thinking about bondage when my sister was right next to me.

It was just…my phone—and all the articles I’d been reading.

They were getting to me.

“I’m sorry. I really thought you guys were getting along.” June looked genuinely upset on my behalf. “Fuck. And it’s my wedding! And now I’ve set you up to have a super awkward week?—”

This was never going to end if I didn’t put a stop to it.

“He’s great. Sexy. Cute. Perfect. We’re very compatible. Last night was like, epic levels of epic. He agreed to my stupid scheme—and now I’m trying to spoil the fuck outta him—And I only have a few more days to do it.” I cut her off before she could keep spiraling. “So I need to research .”

“Research?” June looked less guilty now, and far more intrigued.

She did not get the hint.

Sitting up, June wiggled her sunglasses down her nose by scrunching it repeatedly. “Research what ?”

“Research for George.” I was not getting into it more than that. “To…please him.”

“…what?” June blinked.

“During sex.”

“During sex…?” she repeated, trying to wrap her head around what I was talking about. “I’m confused. Why the fuck do you have to do research ? You know more about dicking-down than half the state of Ohio.”

“That’s not really a compliment,” I replied, even though it totally was. I grinned cockily, popping my back to get comfortable and sighing, before I turned my attention back to June. “He’s…” How did I explain this without saying something that would offend or betray George’s trust? “Fuck.” There wasn’t a way to do that. “Never mind.”

“I won’t tell him that you told me,” June promised. “I’m good at secrets.”

“Feels like betraying his trust if I say anything,” I shrugged. “Can’t do it. Sorry.”

“What if I figure it out on my own?” June batted her lashes. “Then I could help you without you having to outright tell me.”

I frowned…but figured that was one way to get around it.

“I don’t know. Feels fishy.”

June didn’t laugh, even though my joke was perfectly timed considering we were lounging at the edge of a lake. Lame.

“Since when do you hesitate to tell me anything ever ?” June cocked her head to the side. “Be so for real, Alex. I basically know how many butt hairs you have. ”

“Disgusting.”

“Disgusting, but true.” June’s pale eyes were knowing. And I knew…this more than anything was betraying how strongly I felt about George. Yes, I’d just told her. But I guess… seeing it in action was something else entirely. “I’m gonna put my big sister hat on when I say this…” She was barely older than me, by like five minutes.

“Jesus.”

“But, Alex. Baby. You do realize that if it’s something you need to research, maybe having someone to talk to about it would be, dare I say, healthy?”

I groaned, because she was right.

“Fine. I guess…if you’re not going to say anything—and I don’t give you details—” June nodded up and down, “and you guess it on your own, I can’t be expected not to…seek counsel.”

God, this whole conversation felt like pulling teeth.

June’s expression was thoughtful. “Okay so…you and George did something—something you haven’t done, despite being Columbus’s favorite slut—and you need to research it.”

I didn’t respond, instead feigning disinterest. In the distance, I could see Lacey and Mavis splashing around in the shallows. They were too far away to hear us, thank god. And thus far, they were the only members of the Milton clan present.

Where one Milton wandered, the rest were sure to follow.

Like ducklings.

I didn’t have much time.

And it was stressing me out.

I needed to get this right. I wasn’t afraid of putting in the work. Wasn’t afraid to hunt for answers. But I was on a goddamn time crunch. Tighter than anything I’d ever faced—and I really needed to stop fucking around and figure this shit out before I saw George next.

June kept talking, “You…and George…did something you don’t know a lot about.” She had literally just said that. This time was different though, because her mouth clicked shut immediately after the statement like she’d finally figured it out.

She blinked, then her grin went wolfish. “Oh. My. God. He’s kinky .”

She was right, so I simply shrugged. “ Hypothetically .”

“Oh-my-god he’s super kinky,” June cackled, way too excited about the prospect of said kinkiness. “Holy shit , Alex. And you’re…what? Figuring out how to…” She mimed throwing a whip.

“Kinda.” He was definitely into being restrained. Whips? I wasn’t sure yet. I got what she meant though.

“Ah! This is so fascinating. I love this journey for you. Hate it too—obviously—because thinking about you boinking anyone is…ew. But love it.” June beamed at me. You’d think I told her he rescued puppies or something, not that he may or may not enjoy BDSM. “Are you cool with this?” she asked, because even though she was actually evil, she did still love me. “You’re into that too?”

As much as it pained me to talk about kink with my sister, I figured she was right, given how new this was, it wasn’t a bad idea to seek counsel—especially when she was bound and determined to be my confidant.

“I think so,” I agreed.

“You… think so?” June looked dubious.

“Okay fine, yes, I am. I just—I mean, I never knew I was until last night. It’s new and I’m a little worried I’m going to fuck it up, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested,” I admitted. This felt…very personal. Way more personal than I wanted to get. “I shouldn’t be talking so much about me. This is your wedding. We should be talking about your pending nuptials .”

June snickered, clearly recalling George calling them that, just like I’d wanted her to. But then she sobered. “That’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard.”

June exited her lounge chair, picked it up like the tiny tank she was, and plopped it directly next to mine. When she crawled back onto it, the first thing she did once settled was smack my arm hard enough it stung. “Rod and I are old news. We’ve been together for ages. The wedding is important, yes, and I’m excited—but you and I both know I’ve been trying to set you up for years.”

“True.”

“And now it’s worked! Even if it’s ‘temporary,’ it’s still more permanent than anything you’ve had in ages. I still think I deserve flowers, by the way.”

“Noted.”

“And your undying loyalty.”

“You already have that.”

June smacked my arm again and I growled at her, intercepting the next slap with a huff. “Right, but… Okay. The point is—” she took a big breath, arm still raised like she wanted to whack me, “I am very, very invested in your kinky?—”

“Oh god.”

“ Emotional journey to monogamy.” June flopped back onto her back, adjusted her sunglasses, and spread her arms in an arc in front of her like she was painting a rainbow. “I can see it now—you can get married in a kink club. With one of those…cross things at the altar. Everyone can wear harnesses and you can toss a bouquet of dildos.”

“I hate you so much.” I couldn’t stop grinning, even if I wanted to. Especially because thinking about dildos only reminded me of George now—and everything that reminded me of George made me stupidly, embarrassingly happy.

“Look at that smiiiile,” June teased when she stopped playing charades. “Christ, you’re so whipped. Ha! I didn’t even mean to do that. Whipped. LMAO, I crack myself up sometimes.”

“You are being totally unhelpful,” I groaned again, turning back to my phone with a sigh. “I don’t have that much time. I have to figure out how to be what he needs before he comes back from helping his mom.”

“Good luck with that. I’m pretty sure there’s not a crash course to kink on Google. ”

“I thought you were going to be helpful ?” I whined, picking my phone back up and trying to read.

“I am,” June said. “Maybe not with the research, but I can definitely distract George if he comes.”

“That would be great, thank you.” As much as it bothered me to miss out on precious time with George, I needed a minute to figure out what to do next—and how to do it properly. He’d told me he had experience with Brendon.

I had zero experience.

And I didn’t want to fuck this up.

Realistically, I knew June was right, that there wasn’t a “crash course on kink” that I could simply follow. But I had found a website for a local kink club in Columbus after I’d clicked through the bondage website—and that website had a number for one of the Doms that worked there full-time.

I figured it wouldn’t hurt to reach out.

Learn directly from a trusted source, rather than Reddit threads.

“Anything for you, lover boy.” June wiggled her eyebrows playfully before flopping on her back to tan. “I’ll make him help me pick my veil.”

“I want you to distract him, not torture him,” I sighed.

“I’m still deciding what length it should be for the ceremony itself. I want to go dramatic—but short is good too, more?—”

“I’m going to go back to my phone now,” I informed her, tipping the device up to block the sun so I could see it better. I’d been through the veil thing with her fifty fucking times. I literally could not afford to go over it again. “Don’t make George help with your veil.”

“No promises,” June chirped.

“Phone, June? Remember? Research?”

“With my blessing,” she replied magnanimously before putting her headphones in and trying to catch up on our buddy read again.

True to her word, when George eventually showed up, June was quick to intercept his advance toward me. I barely got a glimpse of his cute blond head before she was yanking him toward the bridesmaids’ cabin to torture him even though I’d told her not to.

I felt a pang of loss as they walked off, especially when I caught George glancing at me over his shoulder, an adorably baffled expression on his face. I waved, so he’d know I wasn’t ignoring him, but settled back in to make use of the time June had bought me when he was out of sight.

It really was a shame there wasn’t a quick guide to becoming a Dom, but I knew with tenacity, maybe some outside help, and a whole lot of stubbornness, I was bound for success.

Ha.

Bound.

Fuck, I was no better than June.

No better at all.

I wandered off to speak to the Dom from Columbus. A phone call that I’d expected to last a couple minutes at most, had gone on for well over two hours.

By the time I returned, the sun was high in the sky. The lake water glistened as I approached George’s blond, fluffy head from behind. He had neglected to style his hair today. Which meant the waves were downy, drifting up in lazy spikes with the brush of a pleasant breeze. He didn’t look traumatized by his time with June. In fact, he appeared flushed and somewhat rejuvenated.

The scent of the lake itself was thick in the air. Along with mystery pollen, and whatever algae was lurking below the surface.

Off in the distance, Roderick was zooming around on a wave runner with his pack of groomsmen, June riding behind him. I could hear her laughter, loud and riotous, from all the way across the lake.

Trees lined its edges, dipping reflections in the water, as the great blue sky above filled in the rest of the gaps in the waves .

Beside George sat Mavis. Across from them, Mrs. Milton, Mr. Milton, Joe, and Lacey sat in the sand, holding various types of popsicles and other sweet treats.

Man, what I wouldn’t give to see George eat a popsicle.

Especially wearing those goddamn shorts.

Joe was halfway through burying one of Lacey’s legs, a wrapper at his side. Lacey was on her phone, not paying attention to him, aside from delivering a scathing comment or two that I saw more than heard.

George didn’t see me at first, as engrossed as he was in his current project. Specifically, a giant sand castle that Mavis was “helping” construct. And by helping, I mean knocking it down every time he built a new tower. I could practically hear the maniacal giggle she emitted before the sound escaped. Her wicked glee was written all over her chubby, unicorn-themed-swimsuit-wearing form.

“Bigger!” she said, like a tiny tyrant as George gamely began to shovel sand into a castle-shaped cup. He’d flip it over when it was packed, pull the cup off, then smooth the edges just like he had with all the other peaks she’d demolished, based on the wreckage of sand lumps surrounding them.

“This is the only size I have,” George responded, patient as ever. He was only ever patient with children. Like he found nothing at all irritating about them. Not their questions, or their chaos, or their sticky, sticky hands. It was charming, to say the least. Personally, I’d always been fond of kids. I liked their honesty and I had an excess of energy of my own that I enjoyed burning off with my nephews and nieces.

They were kind by nature.

Hate was taught.

And it was humbling to spend time with creatures that were so quick to emote, as though emotions were not the tricky, uncomfortable things they were.

They didn’t have walls like I did—at least not yet. And I hoped they never would, even though that was maybe a bit naive .

Seeing George with Mavis only served to remind me that we had that in common. Which was…maybe even more overwhelming than my revelations about my own sexual preferences. Or the conversation I’d just had with “Dominic the Dom” who had agreed to, for all intents and purposes, “tutor” me if I needed it.

Slowly, I stalked through the sand, careful not to alert George to my presence until I was literally right behind him.

“Hi Georgie,” I said, leaning into George’s space from behind with a grin. He jerked in surprise and dropped his shovel. When he swiveled to look up, he was glowering. “Didn’t you see me coming?” I teased, amused to discover that he most definitely had not.

“I am too busy building a masterpiece to care about where you are,” George groused, turning back to his half-filled bucket. His red ears betrayed him, as did the way he peeked at me through his lashes, like he was frightened his ire would scare me off.

Quite the opposite, really.

I’d just spent all morning dedicating every ounce of brain juice I possessed to learning how to please him. He didn’t know that, sure, but still. There was no way a little snarking was going to frighten me away. I was made of far sturdier stuff than that.

Besides. We only had a few more days left. And I refused to waste any of them.

Until the end of the wedding, George was stuck with me.

I was the peanut to his butter, after all.

“You’re pink, Georgie,” I said, crouching into the sand at his back. “Did you put on sunscreen?” I kept a watchful eye on his bandage-covered fingers, but he dutifully kept them out of the sand as much as he was able.

“Of course I did,” George huffed, stuffing his bucket full as his shoulders climbed higher and higher. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Idiot,” Mavis repeated, her small ears sharp as always.

“Are you sure you did?” I teased, still crouching. The sand was cool, which was unsurprising, given the fact that the beach had been mostly shaded all morning. Soon it’d heat up just like the water, molten to the touch. “It doesn’t look like you did.” Reaching up, I skimmed my fingers along the edge of his oversized t-shirt, just to taunt him.

He wasn’t shirtless, which came as no surprise.

What was a surprise, however, was the sheer size of the shirt he sported. It was huge on him, drooping over his slim frame and gaping at the shoulder where it slipped low. The skin there was especially pink—and not because he was embarrassed.

Which meant my teasing turned to real concern.

“How long has it been?” I’d been gone for a while. And I genuinely had no idea how long June had kept George occupied. Judging by the piles of sand surrounding him, he had to have been out here in the high heat for quite some time.

“A while,” George admitted, shivering as I continued to stroke the pink skin.

“Baby I don’t know if you realize this?—”

“Stop calling me that.”

“You like it,” I shut him down immediately, keeping my voice quiet enough his family couldn’t hear.

“Ugh.”

And then, as if he hadn’t interrupted at all, I continued, “But sunscreen doesn’t last forever. And you are paler than milk.”

“Okay, so maybe I didn’t put it on my shoulders.” George flinched, like he expected me to get mad at him. Why? I frowned, squinting. Reading his mind was my new favorite hobby. George betrayed himself before I could figure it out on my own. “I wasn’t trying to lie,” he shrank, peeking at me through his lashes again, head tilted away. “I know you don’t like liars.”

“Don’t like…” It took me a second to remember why he knew that. Right. The car ride. My ex. I’d told George I didn’t like liars. Outright. “Oh. Hey .” His cheek was warm beneath my hand as I tipped his face back toward mine over his shoulder. “I didn’t mean stuff like this , Georgie. Everyone lies a little .”

“Right,” he sniffed, obviously confused.

Sweet thing didn’t want to do something to upset me.

“It’s just the big stuff that bothers me,” I promised. He still did not look convinced. Mavis made an angry sound, diverting both our attention. I’d honestly gotten so absorbed in him I’d nearly forgotten we weren’t alone.