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Chapter 30
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Seasmoke Friends Chapter 31
SummerJerking his shirt over his head, I wet my lips as I took him in. Sun-kissed skin, light dusting of hair, ropey muscle shifting. A flex of his bicep and my gaze dropped to where his hands were unfastening his shorts. Through hooded eyes, he watched me as he dropped everything and kicked the garments away. Blood roared through my veins. He had a slight happy trail of hair that descended toward a thick erection. The crown brushed his naval as he wrapped his fingers around the girth and stroked. Mesmerized, my fingers twitched, and then he stepped forward, strong, hard thighs bulging.He nodded, indicating I should strip the rest of the way. Wasting no time, I shucked my shorts and panties. His heated gaze raked over me, and suddenly I was unsure. We'd been together before, but that had been on vacation. This time, we were at home and it felt more...real. A choice rather than a heated whim. With his slow exploration, his nostrils flared, and I wondered about the other women he'd b
Seasmoke Friends Chapter 32
SummerI had barely finished my laundry from our trip to Seasmoke when I sat down at the desk in my bedroom. Unfortunately, I'd been sitting here for two hours now, staring at my mother's address, the scrap of paper in one hand and an invitation to my art benefit in the other.I had questions for Sharon. Like why had she come back only to leave again? Or how was it a mother could abandon her child? What happened to keep her away? Why had Daddy lied?To be comfortable enough in my decision to officially end things with Matt and go for it with Ian required me to look into my past, possibly explain some things and get answers. Maybe it would help me understand myself, why I was the way I was. The past had shaped me into who I am, good and bad, and I guess I just didn't trust I could be happy.Or, really, that I deserved it.I couldn't keep doing this to myself. Dee had been right to confront me. It was the kick I'd needed. An image of Matt standing in my driveway holding a bouquet
Seasmoke Friends Chapter 33
Present-Summer"I still say you should have Ian here with you for this, not me." Rick shoved his hands into his pockets. I gave him a baleful look. "You're the accountant.""He's the business owner, and you're avoiding him."Yeah, well, couldn't deny that one. I couldn't shake all the doubts in my head. We had such a good thing going. I'd cook dinner at his place, we'd have eyes-rolling-back-in-my-head, I-can't-move sex afterward. We laughed. We talked. We acted like a normal couple. But the past couple days, I'd made excuses about needing to paint in order to avoid him. The painting part was true, not that I'd gotten any work done. I just...I just couldn't lose him. And I somehow knew I would. The kind of happy he made me never lasted.I was trying, though. So hard, I was trying. For him. Ian had been right in what he'd said at Seasmoke. I couldn't trust myself to be happy. And the only time in my life I could remember ever being that way was with him. Our childhood, our teen
Seasmoke Friends Chapter 34
SummerI hung my dress for tomorrow night inside the closet door. Dee, awesome friend that she was, had found me the perfect ensemble. Turning my head, I smiled in admiration at my latest painting. This one would not go on sale tomorrow, and was worth every moment of sleeplessness to complete. I had barely resisted the urge to run over to Dee's place the moment I'd finished. Tomorrow night, I'd give it to Rick and Dee when we had a quiet moment.The chimes in my window tinkled. A fresh breeze blew in, smelling faintly of wildflowers and rain. I needed air and to wind down, so I picked up my glass of sweet tea and headed downstairs. Sitting on my front porch steps, I breathed in humid summer air and closed my eyes. The crickets had died down and fireflies blinked in the distance. The creek behind the house ran steady over the crinkle of leaves whirring in the breeze. Stars twinkled overhead, too many for counting. Perfection.My cell phone chirped in my pocket. I pulled it out and
Seasmoke Friends Chapter 35
IanI watched from my seat as Summer walked up to the podium in the Charlotte Art Museum, fidgeting with her dress. What a dress it was, too. Long, deep burgundy, and a slip-satin that hugged her hips and waist. The neckline swept low, peeking at the swell of her breasts. The tone complimented her skin, especially when she blushed, and it was really damn difficult watching her move in that thing when all I could think about was getting it off her.She placed a hand to her hair, which was in some complicated twist concoction, and tapped the microphone. "Can I have your attention, please?" Yeah, she had my attention, all right. A new fantasy ran amuck through my dirty mind. One in which I took out those pins in her hair, one by one, until the strands fell over her shoulders so my hands could roam through them. Then I'd fist that dress and shove the material up past her hips and-Hell. I was flanked between my parents, Rick and Dee, in a room full of people. I folded my arms over my
Seasmoke Friends Chapter 36
SummerI drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as I made the last turn for home. It had been a struggle to focus on the drive so I didn't kill myself in a violent wreck before I was able to confront Sharon.Again. When someone had tapped my arm as I was leaving the benefit and Sharon stood there, that last hold I had on sanity pulled away like a rug under my feet. Just like the first time Sharon had shown up, it had taken me a moment to realize who I was looking at. She'd made the effort to come and I felt trapped. Not wanting to cause a scene, I'd told her to follow me back to the house.Headlights in my rearview mirror informed me Sharon had stayed close. I pulled into the drive, exited the car, and walked to the front door. I didn't say a word when Sharon silently followed me into the house. Making my way through the living room to the kitchen, I flipped the lights on and set a kettle to boil. Unsure what to do, my head was a mess, I turned away from the stove to my mother
Seasmoke Friends Chapter 37
SummerIf someone had told me three months ago my long-lost mother would be coming back to see me, that it had been Daddy's choice to keep her away, that Ian Memmer was in love with me, that Matt Holcomb would ask me to marry him, and that I'd be opening my own studio, I would've committed them to the loony bin, complete with a straight jacket, padded walls, and crafts on Sundays. But, there it was. That's exactly what had happened. And my head reeled.Leaning back on my elbows, I breathed in the early dawn from my porch steps and listened to the crickets fade into the morning. Cicadas buzzed. Leaves rustled with a caressing breeze. I hadn't slept a wink. Not. One. Wink.Ian and I had it out after I'd gone upstairs last night. He'd been sick with worry and I'd reassured him. We'd had angry sex, and then made love. We'd talked into the hours about what I planned to do about Sharon. He'd been unusually mum on the subject. Awhile ago, I'd left him sleeping in my bed in order to wai
Seasmoke Friends Chapter 38
SummerWithin moments of Ian leaving, my cell rang. If I hadn't been so shocked, I probably would've ignored it. But at that point, I was still numb, staring at the door, shaking uncontrollably. "Summer, it's Elizabeth." The elementary school principal. Why was she calling on a Sunday? In summer? "I'm sorry to report Jon Melbourne died late last night."I stared at the kitchen doorway, at the pictures my students had made for me posted on the fridge. Jon's was right on top. A cute scene of us holding hands in the grass. In the picture, he'd given himself back the hair chemo had stolen. It took me three attempts to find my voice and thank Elizabeth for calling. My phone fell from my limp fingers.Everything seemed to wash through me in that moment. Every single thing. Daddy. My mother. Jon and all my other students. Ian. It all erupted from that cavern where I shoved things, stored them away to compartmentalize. Tears brimmed my eyes until the room swam in splotches of color and
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