Page 15

I think Jaxon is about to take things to the next level, but my stomach decides to show off the sounds of a whale’s mating call. I wish the earth would swallow me whole right now so I don’t have to deal with this shame.
I quickly pull away from the kiss and open my eyes wide. I pull away from him, but Jaxon won’t let me go very far. He keeps laughing as he pulls me into his chest, where my face is hidden in his neck. I can feel his laughter vibrating through his chest, and it only makes me feel worse.
He laughs and says, “You’re cute,” then lets me go and starts to open the picnic basket. He takes out a big silver thermos and gives it to me first. As soon as I open it, the most wonderful smell comes out of the bottle: coffee! It smells like sugar and cinnamon, and I blow on the steam right away to cool it down before I take a big sip.
“Is this… Cinnamon Dulce?”
Jaxon looks at me sheepishly and stops looking for food in the basket. “I don’t really know. I remembered that you liked coffee, but since I don’t drink it, I asked Skyler to get some for you. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s great! Anything with caffeine and sugar can’t be bad!” I tell myself.
He nods, looking relieved, and starts to take out cheeses, sandwiches, and fruits. I keep thinking he’s done emptying the basket, but like Mary Poppins’ magic bag, more stuff keeps appearing. He looks at me with furrowed brows when he’s done.
“Just so you know,” he says, “I didn’t do any of this myself. I got help from other people. I can’t cook or prepare food or anything, so yeah.”
“It’s so nice of you to do all this for me. To be honest, I can’t really cook either.” I take a piece of cheese and put it in my mouth. “I like to pretend that I can, but my mom loves to remind me that I almost burned the house down when I was twelve, trying to make her a surprise breakfast. The smoke alarm woke her up instead of her phone alarm, which was quite a surprise for her.”
We started talking and laughing while we ate and looked out at the view. As usual, Jaxon made fun of me while I was making a mess of the food. I pouted until he felt sorry for me and kissed me. I still got flustered when he kissed me, but it got better and better each time, if that makes sense.
The sun is just starting to set when we finish eating. The sky is a mix of bright pink and orange colors, and I can’t think of a better date. I lean my head on Jaxon’s shoulder and watch the sun’s reflection in the lake. Suddenly, I sit up and smile at him.
“I almost forgot! The gift!”
At first, Jaxon gets tense when I move away from him so quickly. But as soon as he sees how happy I am, he laughs a little and hands me the gift from the other side of the blanket.
I smile at him with a lot of teeth before diving in and tearing off the lavender paper from the box. I’m not nice to the gift because I’m so excited to see what’s inside that I rip the paper right away. I feel bad that I messed up the wrapping job Jaxon worked so hard on, but only a little bit.
Finally, I open the box and see a little snow globe inside. The base has a Canadian flag surrounded by ceramic plants and a mountain scene. Inside the globe is a red and orange maple leaf. It looks like one of those cheap souvenirs you can buy at the airport or in a tourist shop. That’s what my mom always brings me back from her job as a souvenir.
As I look at the priceless gift, I don’t even try to stop the tears from falling down my face.
“Ugh, I’m crying again.” I laugh dryly as I wipe the insides of my eyes in a failed attempt to stop being such a baby. I’m definitely an ugly crier, so this is perfect!
“Jaxon.” I look into his eyes, and they look like they are glowing in this light. He looks at me like I’m the most important person in the world to him, which is a nice thought but not true at all.
“I- This is- I don’t even know how to.” I try and fail to finish a sentence to show how grateful I am for this. He clearly remembered that this was a tradition that my mother and I kept up, and he was nice enough to think of me while he was gone and add to my collection of useless globes. He’ll never know how much it means.
I basically jump into his arms, and he is so surprised that I knock him over and he ends up lying on his back on the blanket with me hugging him. When he twists out from under me and rolls so that he’s on top of me, I scream in shock.
He plays with a strand of my hair, then gently tucks it behind my ear and smiles down at me. “I love how excited you are for a cheap trinket. Just wait until I buy you diamonds and pearls and jewels.”
He kisses me before I can say how silly and overblown his claim is. I grab the back of his neck right away, and the snow globe on the blanket next to us is forgotten. As he keeps kissing me, Jaxon puts his hands on my waist. But his hands don’t stay still. They go down to my hips, then back up to my thighs, then back down again. They go up my sides, across my back, and then back down again. I can feel the heat from his hands. The friction is like a burning pleasure against my skin. Still, he is polite and doesn’t touch my breasts or b**t. I want to tell him it’s okay, but I’m too scared and inexperienced to say anything. And… What if he doesn’t want to?
I grab his silky black hair with my own hands while his hands are moving. I really wanted to know if his hair was as soft as it looked the first time I saw him. Yes, it is. His hair is smooth and soft, with no greasy gel in it. Whenever Jaxon held me tighter in a certain spot, I would tighten my grip on his hair, which always made him groan and then moan.
I finally decide to take a chance and shyly move my hands to his shoulders and down his back. When I trace Jaxon’s hard, tough muscles, he makes a breathy sound. His tongue goes right into my mouth, and my tongue meets his in the middle for a fight for control, which he always wins.
Jaxon’s kisses go in a perfect order: bite, lick, s**k, and then do it again. As he keeps attacking my mouth, my brain turns into a puddle of mush. Not that I’m complaining. I can’t even remember my own name right now. I thought I felt great right now, but that’s nothing compared to how I feel when I feel something hard against my stomach. At first, I don’t think anything of it, but when my nails dig into Jaxon’s back, the hardness jerks forward.
That’s when I understand that it’s his… thing.
I stop. I’ve never felt… That before. This is something I’ve never seen before. It’s not bad; in fact, it’s pretty good. But I don’t really know what to do next. Does he think I’m going to have s*x with him now?
Jaxon sees that I’m hesitating, so he stops kissing me and backs away to look at my face.
“Hey,” he whispers, looking worried. “We won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
As I look up at Jaxon, who is looking down at me, my teeth sink into my already swollen lips. I nod, then kiss him softly and say, “Thank you.” We kiss for a little longer, but it seems like the hardness only gets harder the more we kiss. I move around a little to get into a different position, and Jaxon groans and lifts himself off of me.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. Look at you—you’re beautiful.” His blue-Jaxon eyes glaze over as they look at me. My clothes are wrinkled and my hair is a mess from lying down.
I blush and try to push down the hair that is probably all over the place. Then get even more embarrassed.
I feel something wet on my cheek and reach up to touch it. What is-
More drops hit my face, clothes, and arms, and then I know it’s raining. I give Jaxon a quick look, and then I start to pack up the supplies. He just takes my hand, tells me to get the snow globe, and then we run through the trees, back the way we came. Jaxon says he’ll send people to clean it up, which sounds strange to me, but I’m not too upset because I’m trying to stay dry.
The trees’ canopy gives us a little break from the sudden storm, but as soon as we get to the park, we run to his car. We are both soaked, as if we just got out of the pool, by the time we close the doors on the Tesla.
“Oh my god!” I shiver as I look down at myself, which is wet. It’s not fair that I have to look up at Jaxon. Why do I look like a wet rat, and he looks like he’s ready to take pictures? His hair is soaking wet, but it still looks good. I look down at his black shirt, which is sticking to him like a second skin.
It looks like Jaxon sees the same thing about my clothes because his eyes get almost black. It’s strange how his eyes always seem to change. I don’t think it’s normal, but I’m too embarrassed to say anything. What should I say? “Hey, Jaxon.” Are you a vampire? Your eyes change color a lot.”Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were one. He’s that perfect.”
Jaxon reaches into the back seat and pulls out a pair of joggers, two new shirts, and a pair of sweats. “I have dry clothes if you want to change. I promise I’ll close my eyes. I just don’t want you to die of cold.”
I don’t even ask him why he has two full outfits in his car because it’s such a nice thing to do. I don’t want to think about why they’re here. I give him a shy smile and give him a black shirt and black sweats. He turns his head and shuts his eyes while I get ready. I know it’s gross, but I’m not going commando, so I decide to keep my wet underwear on and take off my bra.
I tell Jaxon he can look again when I’m dressed. His eyes move up and down my body, which is now covered in his clothes. His eyes are focused on my nipples, which have gotten much harder because of the cold and his lustful gaze. He clears his throat and quickly looks away, as if he just woke up from a trance. Then he starts taking off his wet t-shirt.
“Oh my—” I quickly cover my eyes to hide his body, but I can’t help but see his six-pack and all the crazy-defined muscles I don’t even know the names of. I really do appreciate them, though.
Jaxon laughs in a rough way, but he keeps changing until he is also in dry clothes. He takes my hand and pulls me close, kissing me slowly as he enjoys the moment. We say goodbye, and I smile as he holds my hand tighter. He leaves the parking lot and drives back to town. I grab my phone out of my purse without really thinking about it. I haven’t looked at it since before we got ice cream.
I am freaking out completely because I see twenty missed calls from my mom and a bunch of colorful texts telling me to get home.
I’m in big trouble.