Free Everlasting Sin by J. S. Cooper

me.
    “Haha. You know Eden. She’s always got the slang down.”
    “I wish she’d get her grades up.” He sighed. “So what about you? What are your college plans?”
    “I’m thinking I’ll go to State and study journalism.”
    “I’ll have to show you around when you come visit.” He smiled. “I thought you were going to go to Duke or something?”
    “I was thinking about Vanderbilt and Duke but decided State is fine.” I looked down. “It’s cheaper.” And I’ll be closer to you, I thought to myself.
    “Makes sense.” He nodded and grabbed my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
    We ran out of the house and to his car before stopping. “Want to just walk to the beach?” Hudson looked at me. “Or would you prefer to take the car?”
    “Let’s walk.” I nodded, suddenly excited. “But maybe we should get a towel or something.”
    “Hold on.” He grinned at me and ran back inside. About five minutes later, he came back outside with a bag and a cocky grin. “Let’s go.”
    The walk to the beach seemed to flash by in a blur. All I could think was, He’s holding my hand. Hudson Blake is holding my hand. It felt surreal. And I still felt a bit bad. Even though he had said he was about to dump Clara, he hadn’t yet. What I was doing was still wrong. I felt bad about it, but I wasn’t really thinking about it. I was too caught up in the moment. I’d never felt this excited and exhilarated before. I was with Hudson and we were about to do something bad—really bad—yet I felt so good.
    ***
    “Are you ready?”
    We stood at the edge of the water and stared up at the moon. There was a cool chill in the air, but I didn’t feel cold. In fact, I felt as if my body were burning up. I looked over at Hudson and gasped as he pulled off his shirt and pants in front of me.
    “I don’t know,” I whispered, suddenly shy. “I, uh, need a minute.”
    “Sure.” He smiled at me, and I watched as he pulled his boxers down as if he didn’t have a care in the world. I stared at his manhood and froze. I couldn’t believe it. I was seeing him naked. “See ya.” He grinned at me and ran into the ocean. I watched as he swam a few strokes and then jumped back up. “You coming in?”
    “Yes.” I called out and stared at him in the ocean. He was waiting for me, and I felt as if I were in some indie movie and this was some poetic scene.
    I took my clothes off slowly, feeling shy but excited. I was so excited that my fingers were trembling in anticipation. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. The air felt weird against my naked skin. I stood there in my bra and panties and took a step towards the water. I saw Hudson staring at me. I couldn’t see the expression in his eyes, but I knew he was anticipating this moment as much as I was. The moonlight shone down on him, and for some reason, he reminded me of a werewolf.
    “What’s so funny?” he called out to me as I started laughing.
    “Nothing.” I shook my head, quickly unclasped my bra, and then ran into the ocean. I was too scared to take my panties off. It felt like the moment would be too real if I went completely naked. It was like I was giving myself to him on a silver platter. I didn’t want to be easy.
    I dove into the water and stayed underwater as I swam. I wanted my body to become accustomed to the cold water. I came up for air and stared at the sky for a few moments before looking for Hudson.
    “Over here,” he called out and waved his hands. He was only a few feet away, and I swam over to him slowly. “Hey.” He smiled at me as I reached him.
    “Hey.” I smiled back at him, treading water carefully. I made sure that only my head was above water. I was too shy to let him see my naked breasts.
    “It feels nice, doesn’t it?”
    I nodded. “Yeah, the water is refreshing.”
    “Yeah, it is.” He reached over and touched my face for a second. “Sorry, I was wiping away some water. You had some on your face.”
    “I’m in the