Page 24 of The Hookup Situation (Billionaire Situation #5)

The drive to our special spot will take about ten minutes.

The engine is too loud for us to chat, so we just enjoy holding each other.

Her laughter mixes with shrieks when I hit bumps and her hair flies in the breeze.

It’s a dream—all of it. When we finally stop, I can hear the soft whoosh of water against the shore.

“Stay here,” I tell her, quickly lighting the fire Zane set up. I unpack the supplies from the back, then quickly set it up.

When everything’s ready, I help her out and position her just right.

“Okay,” I say, untying the blindfold. “Open.”

She gasps.

We’re in a clearing surrounded by tall evergreens.

String lights twinkle next to the blanket I have for us on the ground.

A fire crackles in a makeshift fire ring, and blankets and pillows are arranged beside it.

Beyond that, the lake reflects the evening sky that’s fading to dark.

Eventually, it will be fully dark, and the stars will appear.

“Nick,” she breathes. “This is …”

“Too much?”

“A dream.” She turns to me, eyes bright. “How did you find this place?”

“Zane. It’s his and Autumn’s secret spot.”

“And they know you’re bringing me here?”

I nod. “He read it on my face. Zane knows me better than anyone. He stopped by before I left and suggested this spot. He knows what we have is only temporary.”

“Isn’t it always?” She tilts her head at me.

“Usually,” I admit.

She sighs. “I don’t want to hide it from them, but I don’t want the outside pressure, you know? That’s our decision.”

I tuck her hair behind her ear. “I know what you mean. We’re in the same canoe.”

This makes her smile. “Without oars.”

“Nah, we have those. Just dealing with a headwind.”

She licks her lips. “Better analogy.”

“Why?” I ask, the fire reflecting from her face.

“Because headwinds aren’t forever. It’s only a temporary obstacle,” she explains. “What is the solution to our problem?”

“First, we have to define the problem,” I tell her. I remove the food from the picnic basket, handing her a plastic container. “Imagine this being a five-star gourmet meal. If we were in the city, I’d have brought you to this rooftop restaurant with the best view.”

“This view is better.” She meets my eyes, then opens her to-go container. “And beef tips with gravy is gourmet. Very happy about this. ”

She pulls a plastic fork from the bottom of the bag and hands me one too.

“But you’re right. What are our obstacles? In our relationship?”

“I could make you a PowerPoint,” I offer.

Laughter bursts out of her and echoes off the trees. It makes me happy, knowing my one-liners crack her up.

“I thought we were never to mention the PowerPoint again?”

“True,” I say. “One problem is my inability to fully commit and give myself to someone.”

“You sound like a walking red flag,” she says.

“You’d better run,” I tell her.

“Actually, red is my favorite color,” she tells me.

I twirl a piece of her hair around my finger. “Mine too.”

“Our locations are a problem. You’d have to be willing to move because it’s a hard no for me,” she says. “Oh, and I don’t know if I can actually fall in love again.”

“Are you trying?” I ask.

Her eyes meet my lips. “Yes.”

“Will you let me know?”

“I’ll tell you on Halloween,” she says. “Right now, I’m happy and having an incredible time. I’m taking it one day at a time. And eventually, the future version of us will have to decide what happens.”

“Cheers to that.” The lingering stress about the future immediately melts away.

“Let’s make the days count. Be unforgettable,” she says with a soft smile.

“You’re so fucking special,” I mutter, wondering how I got so damn lucky.

Had I not gotten into an argument with Asher about attending my mother’s engagement party, I wouldn’t have been at the bar. I would never have met her. It was a combination of events I could’ve never predicted that kept bringing us together. And this is the third time .

“Third time’s a charm,” I say as we finish our food.

“Blaire said something to me along those lines. Oh no.” Julie gasps. “She did a love spell.”

Now I’m laughing until it echoes off the trees. I pour more champagne into both of our glasses. There is another bottle in the cooler.

“And? You think I’m obsessed with you because your friend lit a candle?”

She playfully rolls her eyes. “Yes! What if all this ends at the next full moon?”

I pretend to pull an invisible string, and she crawls over to me.

“You summoned me. Now what?” she asks.

“Oh, my string was connected to you?” I ask. “If I had known that, I would’ve tugged harder.”

She smiles, offering a soft kiss. “You make life fun.”

“I think it’s you. I like the things you say when you want to fill the silence.”

“I like how you appreciate it. Some don’t.”

I steal a kiss, and then Julie returns to sitting beside me.

The breeze slows down, and I add more wood to the fire as the sky darkens. Julie points out constellations, making up silly stories for each one.

“That one,” she says, pointing, “is the constellation of the coffee goddess. She was cursed to live a life where no man ever found her bean.”

“A terrible fate,” I say, unable to hold back my laughter, pulling her closer.

“The worst.” She turns in my arms. “What did you think the first time we met? Like, your first impression?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I thought you smelled like flowers. Then, when I turned my head and saw you crying, I thought you were a Dallas Cowboys fan too.”

She bursts into laughter. “I forgot they lost that night.”

I stare up at the sky, my eyes scanning over the stars. “You were like a goddess, and I couldn’t understand who would make you cry. Broke my heart.”

She turns and looks at me. “You were a godsend. I’ll never forget what you said to me.”

“What did I say?” I ask, not remembering anything that came from my mouth.

“ Only piece-of-shit men make pretty women cry . And then you asked me if I had an OnlyFans.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that now. You were so shocked I’d asked. But I wanted you to smile.”

“It worked.”

It grows quiet for a few seconds, and we listen to each other breathe.

“That night, I knew there was something between us, something I couldn’t name. I thought about that conversation for weeks. Was pissed that you had given me a fake last name, but now I understand why.”

“Yeah, well, imagine how surprised I was to see you standing in Zane and Autumn’s house. You lied and said you were a tourist.”

“Sorry,” she says. “I didn’t want to see you again.”

“Meanwhile, I was dreaming about your face, but?—”

“I wasn’t ready,” we say at the same time.

“That’s why I didn’t text you back,” I confess. “Because I knew if I did, I’d come back for you.”

“And yet here you are,” she whispers.

“We’re unavoidable,” I say, tucking hair behind her ear and sliding a kiss across her lips.

She releases a satisfied sigh. “That’s how it feels.”

I look up, noticing it’s finally dark and more stars are out.

“Come on,” I say, standing. “Ready to do this?”

“What?” she asks.

I peel off my shirt. “Stargazing while skinny-dipping.”

“Right now?” she asks .

“Next thing on that list, babe.” I kick off my shoes and unbutton my jeans.

“It’s September.”

“And? You didn’t specify a season. Plus, the water’s warm from the hot spring. No excuses. We have limited days to complete that list.”

It’s a reminder that the clock is ticking.

She tosses off her jacket and removes her shirt. Next, she’s unzipping her jeans and shimmying out of her sexy lingerie until she’s naked.

I watch, mesmerized, as she takes off running toward the water.

“You coming?” she asks.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I say, moving our phones and my wallet away from everything, then undressing before following her in.

The water is perfect, warm, and silky. Julie dives in, then comes up with her hair slicked back. She treads water like a mermaid.

“Shit, I’m dating Ariel.”

She hums “Part of Your World” and floats on her back, body glowing under the starlight.

“The Milky Way will be rising soon,” I say, swimming over to her, pulling her against me. “Another thing marked off your list.”

“Yes, thank you.” She wraps her arms around my neck, and suddenly, the teasing stops.

We’re kissing, hands everywhere, the warm water making everything feel dreamlike. She reaches down and grabs me, and I groan against her neck.

“Jules, if you keep doing that?—”

“Mmm.” She strokes me again. “Does it feel good?”

“Fuck. Yes,” I whisper against her mouth.

I slide one hand between her legs, rubbing against her clit. She moans out, wrapping one arm around me as I hold on to her, treading water like our lives depend on it.

We’re so lost in each other .

“There’s that sound I love,” I whisper against her skin. “Gonna come for me, pretty girl?”

“I’m so close,” she says.

I feel the build, and then I hear voices.

“Shit!” Julie freezes. “Someone’s coming!”

“I was hoping it would be you coming, but …” I say with a smirk.

With her orgasm disappearing, we’re on full alert.

Through the trees, I see several flashlights bobbing closer. There are deeper voices, but they’re not adults; it’s a group of teenagers.

“Our clothes,” Julie whispers as we keep everything but our heads underwater.

“Hopefully, they won’t notice,” I say. My cock aches for her.

I speak too soon.

“Dudes, a fire!”

“Look at this setup. Someone was getting laaaaid!” another guy says.

I chuckle, and Julie glares at me.

“Check out this lingerie! Oh, I wonder if they’re worn.” The kid sniffs her panties. He has to be no older than sixteen.

I try not to chuckle.

She elbows me in my ribs. “Little perverts.”

“They’ll leave,” I say.

But they don’t.

They sit down at our fire, open the other bottle of champagne, and laugh at my boxers.

“Douchebags wear underwear like this.”

“Oh my God, is that a bra? Dibs!”

“I’m going to kick their asses. I swear that one kid looks familiar.”

“You’re going to fight them naked?” I ask.

“Yeah, I will. Tits out and all,” she says, growing pissed when they pocket her panties, then throw the rest of our clothes on the fire. “Little bastards! I loved those jeans!”

They suck down the champagne, toss the bottle, throw sand on the fire, then stumble away, laughing.

Julie frantically swims to shore. “Please tell me they didn’t get our phones.”

I check the rocks where I stashed them. “Still here. Thank God.”

“Small miracles,” she mutters, then looks at our situation and starts laughing.

“What?”

“The universe has a twisted sense of humor,” she says. “We have to drive back to Zane and Autumn’s, naked.”

Her laughter starts light, and then we both crack up until our voices echo through the trees.

“Hopefully, they’re asleep,” I say.

The breeze blows, and goose bumps spread over me.

“We should go before some other asshole kids stumble upon us like this,” I say, holding my junk as I pick up our mess.

Once everything is stuffed in the picnic basket and cooler, I walk back to the side-by-side, shaking my head.

Julie laughs. “Didn’t realize there was a full moon tonight.”

“Hush,” I say, grabbing the extra blanket and handing it to her so she can at least cover herself. I crank the engine and sit on the leather seat. “Ready?”

She laughs, pressing herself against my side. “You make me feel young again.”

“Same, babe.” I chuckle, and then we take off.

She hangs on to me as I weave in and out of the trail and back to Zane’s.

“What an experience,” she screams into the silence, hair blowing in the wind, and all I can do is chuckle. Julie shrieks every time we hit a bump, pressing closer against me.

When we finally reach the Range Rover, we rush inside, the blanket barely covering me .

“I can’t feel my ass,” I mutter.

Julie collapses on the passenger seat, laughing hysterically. “You think Zane and Autumn saw us?”

“I hope not. We might have some explaining to do.” I run around to the other side of the Rover, then crank the engine.

“Kinda pissed we got cockblocked by drunk teenagers,” I say.

“And robbed!” She’s wiping tears from her eyes. “They took my favorite lingerie! Bastards!”

On the drive back to the cabin, I turn on the heat. She reaches over and grabs my hand. The checkered blanket is wrapped around her like a towel, and I capture this memory forever.

“What?” she asks.

“Nothing,” I say, grinning. “I want to remember you just like that.”

When we arrive, I punch in the code and rush inside.

I grab us robes from the bathroom. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you kidding?” She moves to the couch, pulling me with her. “Tonight was perfect. I’ll never forget this.”

She yawns.

“I should probably take you home. You have to be up early.”

“Ugh, I know. Can’t be late again.” She’s quiet for a moment. “I really like you, Nick Banks.”

“I really like you too, Julie Loveland.”

I put on some clothes, and she stays in the robe. Then I drive her home. I think about how this disaster of an evening somehow turned into something even better than what I’d planned.

As I walk her to her door and kiss her good night, I think that maybe that’s what this is with Julie—perfectly imperfect, but it’s ours. And that’s all that matters right now.

“Nick?” she says as I turn to leave.

“Yeah?”

“Blaire will interrogate me in the morning.”

“Tell her what you want.”

She laughs. “She’s not going to believe me. I take that back. She probably will believe me because the two of us have the oddest luck. The stories I could tell you.”

“I hope to hear them one day.” I lean forward, sliding my lips against hers, pressing her against the door. “Good night, girlfriend.”

“You drive me wild,” she whispers.

I laugh against her neck, then pull away. “It’s mutual. Sweet dreams.”

I walk backward toward my car, watching her breasts rise and fall.

“You’re going to make me work for it, aren’t you?”

“You know it,” I tell her, smirking. “Are we marking skinny-dipping off your list?”

“Yes, we are,” she says.

As I drive away, I can’t stop thinking about her. And somehow, it was one of the best nights of my life because it was real. Unscripted. Just like us. And maybe that’s exactly what makes being together so damn perfect.