and they’d brought out a little cooler of beer and sodas.
Now that Laurel was fully caught up, and then some, on the status of Jasmine’s love life, it was Jasmine’s turn to listen to Laurel speak wistfully yet hesitantly of the potential for a happily-ever-after with Hank.
“I gotta be honest with you Jassy, when I saw how things went down for you and Kyle, it kind of killed my motivation to list my house. It’s my safety net, you know? I mean, Hank travels all the time. How do I know he’s not fucking around on me?”
“Do you two still fuck like rabbits when he comes home from his trips?” Jasmine asked over the lip of her beer bottle.
“Of course.” Laurel shrugged. “The man can barely keep his hands off me. And really, I’m just as bad. I mean have you seen him? Rawr!”
“Of course,” Jasmine repeated mockingly. “Within two years of being together, Kyle wouldn’t touch me for days, weeks. Didn’t matter if he was out of town for two days or two weeks. You two, on the other hand, have been together for two years and are still like a couple of freshly smitten kittens. I’m a little jealous, really.”
“Uh, sweetie, I don’t think you have any reason to be jealous anymore, considering your kitten’s been recently smitten.”
Jasmine lobbed an ice cube at Laurel. “Hush, you.”
All the same, there was an undercurrent of thought running through Jasmine’s mind. Would her relationship with Tyson, if one was to truly develop beyond this weekend, affect this friendship she held so dear? Laurel had not only given her blessing for such, she’d encouraged it. However, Laurel had always been Jasmine’s listening ear when she’d needed advice or to vent about her boyfriends and, later, Kyle. Perhaps she could still turn to Laurel for advice. Who knew Ty better than his own big sister? But to indulge her need to vent after a nasty argument? She’d hate to put Laurel in such an uncomfortable position.
Jasmine glanced over at her friend, who now appeared to be dozing, oblivious to the angst-laden thoughts Jasmine was entertaining. Deciding she was being silly and reading too much too soon into whatever was brewing between her and Ty, she banished those thoughts from her mind and set about enjoying the serene beauty that was the lake on a hot summer day.
Minutes passed, and Jasmine grew too warm from lounging under the sun. She went inside the lower level of the house to use the downstairs bathroom-slash-laundry room to freshen up. Smiling to herself when she heard the boat roar up to the dock just as she was entering the house. It had only been a couple of hours, but she’d missed Tyson’s company. She studied her reflection as she washed her hands and splashed water on her sweaty face. She’d got a little colour while sunning herself on the deck, she’d noticed. She slid a strap aside to see the faint beginnings of a tan line, and was more pleased than embarrassed to discover a small love bite on the side of her neck. It was like she was sixteen all over again.
She opened the door and was startled to find Tyson standing there waiting for her. “What are you…?” she began, but he pressed his lips against hers before she could finish, his body pushing hers back into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
He pulled away only to utter the words, “You were all I thought about out there,” before his mouth was on hers again, hands clenched in her hair to hold her still. His tongue invaded her mouth and she welcomed his intrusion only gladly, surrendering herself fully to his kiss.
Ty pulled away first, only to trail his lips down her throat, tasting, sucking, while his hands moulded themselves to her breasts, thumbs gently stroking her rigid nipples through her bikini top. Jasmine threw her head back in ecstasy at the immediate and utterly consuming sensations he generated within her in a mere matter of seconds, feeling her hair tickling her lower back.
He impatiently pushed