Free Something Like Rain (Something Like... Book 8) by Jay Bell Page A

Antonio because she wanted to see the River Walk. The trip took longer than any of them expected, so they had all broken curfew that night and gotten in trouble. Except for Abby, who had managed to sneak back in undetected.
    William relaxed, laughing along with these stories and adding his own details. But he noticed how many of Lily’s memories focused on him. He had bought her a necklace at the River Walk. At the airport they had pretended they were a husband and wife catching a flight to Hawaii. That she was interested in him wasn’t a complete surprise, but now he was starting to wonder if she felt more. Did she love him?
    “That weird place with the go-karts,” she said. “Remember? They had a few waterslides off to one side.”
    William groaned. “How can I forget? You guys dared me to go down one, but none of us had a swimsuit, so I—”
    “Stripped down to your underwear.” Lily was sitting upright, her legs crossed beneath her as she smiled.
    “Hey, I had boxers on! I just didn’t expect them to be so heavy when they got wet.”
    “The whole world saw your left ass cheek!”
    William laughed but noticed he was alone.
    Lily’s teeth were hidden behind her lips now. “Do you think I’m pretty?”
    “Yeah!” he said. And she was. Of his three female friends, she had the most boyfriends, although none seemed to last for long.
    “It’s crazy how handsome you’ve gotten,” she said. “When I first met you…” She shook her head, as if it didn’t matter. “You deserve to be with someone who cares about you.”
    She leaned forward, reaching out a hand. His first instinct was to pull away. Then he thought of drowning people, a capsized boat, and a helicopter hovering over it all, except no one leapt from it. No rescue swimmer was there to help them. Instead he was at a seedy gay bar, sitting on one of the stools and drinking, ignoring the hungry stares of guys in leather chaps. Is that really what he wanted?
    He could at least try. If not for those drowning victims, then for Lily, because rejecting her would also mean hurting her. He cared too much to do that. Not in the way that she wanted but enough to try.
    Just as their lips were about to meet, William turned his head. This didn’t stop her. She began kissing his neck, rubbing her hands over his body. That felt good, although her fingers were more dainty than he preferred. His neck was getting awfully wet too, so he pulled away and laughed nervously.
    Lily looked at him like he was being sweet. Then she stripped off her shirt. William stared. Part of him was curious. He had seen his mother in a bra, but this was different. Lily had a nice body, her muscles toned but feminine. He definitely found her more attractive than he did most girls. She didn’t wear a lot of makeup. She didn’t need to, her lips naturally pink against her dark skin, the light sprinkling of freckles across her nose making him long for lazy summer days. What guy wouldn’t find her attractive?
    “What’s fair is fair,” Lily prompted.
    She nodded at his shirt. Okay. No big deal. He stripped it off, feeling a little thrilled. This was getting crazy! Then Lily scooted closer, one of her breasts pressing against him, the fabric of her bra itchy. She made another attempt to kiss him. Worried he would mess it up, he avoided her lips again and kissed her shoulder, then her neck. Her skin smelled like soap and sunshine. The breast pressed against his arm started rubbing back and forth. Then she grabbed his hand and moved it to the bra strap on her shoulder.
    He pulled it down, wondering if the contents would cause him to catch fire, if he would become boob-obsessed like other guys. Part of him was mildly curious, but— He gasped as a hand slid up his thigh. His body reacted, hungry as ever. The caress of someone else’s hand instead of his own… Wouldn’t that feel good on his cock? Wouldn’t her mouth feel even better? He was hard now and could practically see himself