Free Waterproof by Amber Garr

under me, brought back the same eagerness I had earlier. Only this time, I wanted to be in control.
    “Ready for more?” I asked, sitting up high enough to lift my hips off of him.
    “I think you already know the answer to that,” he groaned.
    I lowered myself slowly onto him, fully aware of the sensations building inside of me again. Although a little uncomfortable at first, after a few adjustments we found another relaxed rhythm. Each time Zach tried to take control of my hips, I pushed him away. This was my show.
    “I could do this all night,” I said with a throaty, yet breathless voice.
    “Me too,” Zach said.
    This time, when he grabbed my hips, I reached back to hold his legs. It forced me to arch in a way that instantly sent me over the edge, but Zach held out longer. When finished, we lay side by side for a while before hearing someone call our names.
    “Will they come in?” I asked.
    “I locked the door,” Zach said.
    “Smart.”
    “I’m always prepared.”
    I sighed. Tearing myself away from Zach’s warmth, I started to get dressed. “I’ll go out first.”
    “How’d you get in?”
    “The window,” I said nodding toward the living area.
    “Smart.”
    “I know,” I replie d and bent forward to give him one last kiss. “See you outside.”
    Just as I tried to leave the room, Zach jumped up and squeezed me in a hug. Running his fingers through my hair, I closed m y eyes. It was such an intimate gesture, yet one that melted my heart.
    “Okay, now you’re presentable.”
    I punched him in the shoulder and walked away. Scooping up my bra, shirt, and jacket, I was out the back window before Zach emerged from the room.
    Determined not to le t anyone bring me down, I jogged around the cabin to join the others at the fire. Max looked at me and smiled, but never stopped playing. A second later, Hunter grabbed my hand and pulled me into a dance. During our most memorable moments inside, the world hadn’t changed out here.
    And I suppose I was thankful for that.

 
     
     
     
    SEVEN
     
    Zach
     
     
    Nothing could wipe the smile off my face. Even when Trevor made some snide remark about me digging holes my entire life, I let it roll off my back. Instead I watched Vee. Her hair, her body, her movements while she danced in the light of the fire. Everything seemed more alive. Why had we waited so long?
    “What’s going on with you?” Max’s voice interrupted my assessment of Vee’s tight black outfit.
    “Nothing.”
    “Really? Because you’re smiling like a schoolgirl.”
    I looked more closely at Max who had taken a break from the fiddle. His forehead glistened with sweat and his eyes sparkled in amusement. If not for the dark night and orange glow surrounding our camp, Max would have seen me blush. It’s not that I was ashamed or embarrassed, just afraid to admit what happened for fear it was all a dream.
    “You two were gone for quite a while.” Sasha swung her leg over Max’s lap in a rare show of affection and continued talking to me. “Are you finished in the cabin?”
    My cheeks definitely flushed now. “What?” I asked with a squeaky voice.
    The couple laughed at my di scomfort. “I just hope you cleaned up in there,” Sasha teased as Max began to play again.
    I shrugged . No need to admit or deny anything. Let them believe what they want. All that mattered to me now danced her way freely around the bonfire. Hunter positioned himself closer to Vee while she showed him how to waltz. I don’t think she really knew what to do. Still, it amused me to watch the boy repeatedly trip over his feet.
    “Drink?” Jackson sat down next to me and pushed a bottle toward me.
    “What is it?”
    Jackson laughed. “Nothing as nice as that moonshine. Just a little something I’ve been working on.”
    I looked at my friend with curiosity. When did Jackson have time to create a drink?
    “I brewed it last week,” Jackson answered my unspoken question, “but have been letting it ferment.