Dirty little secrets

Chapter 27

Ava

The conference dragged on that morning with more boring talks about whatever academic crap he was into, me sitting in the back row doodling stick figures of us f*****g on the beach, and he kept glancing back at me from the panel with that secret smirk like he knew exactly what I was thinking. "Lunch break," he whispered when it finally ended, grabbing my hand quickly in the hallway, pulling me out before anyone could corner him with questions. "Beach time. I packed shit."

"You packed? Like what, professor picnic?" I teased, bumping his shoulder as we headed to the hotel room to change, and he laughed low, slapping my ass light when no one was looking.

"Something like that. Hurry up, Ava, or I'll leave without you."

We changed fast, me into a bikini that barely covered anything, him in swim trunks and a loose tee that showed off his arms and he grabbed this cooler bag I'd never seen, slinging it over his shoulder like he was Mr. Romantic all of a sudden. The beach was right outside the hotel, sand hot under my feet, waves crashing loud, but I didn't give a f**k about describing it, just followed him as he led us to a quieter spot away from the tourist crowds, spreading out a blanket he'd snagged from the room. "Sit," he said, plopping down and pulling out sandwiches, fruit, even a bottle of wine with plastic cups because glass was banned or whatever.

"Wow, you went all out," I said, flopping next to him, grabbing a grape and popping it in my mouth. "Trying to romance me now?"

He poured the wine, handing me a cup, eyes twinkling. "Romance? Nah, just feeding you so you don't b***h about being hungry later. But yeah, maybe a little romance. You deserve it after sitting through that snoozefest."

I laughed, sipping the wine, which was expensive as f**k and cold, and leaned back on my elbows, watching him unwrap a sandwich and hand it over. "Turkey and cheese your favorite, right? I remembered from that time in my office."

"Stalker much?" I shot back, but my heart did this stupid flip because yeah, it was sweet, him remembering dumb details like that, and I bit into it, moaning exaggerated. "f**k, this is good. You're winning points, old man."

"Old man? Keep that up and I'll bury you in the sand," he threatened, but he was grinning, leaning over to kiss me quickly , tasting like wine and salt from the air. We ate like that, talking s**t about the conference speakers one guy with a monotone voice that could've put a hyper kid to sleep and he kept refilling my cup, his hand brushing my thigh casually but on purpose, building that heat slowly.

Then random s**t started happening, like out of nowhere this seagull swooped down, bold as f**k, and snatched half my sandwich right out of my hand. "What the… hey, you feathered thief!" I yelled, jumping up, waving my arms, and the bird just flapped away with its prize, dropping crumbs everywhere.

Calder burst out laughing, doubled over on the blanket. "Oh my goodness gracious, your face! Priceless. Here, take mine."

"f**k you, that's not funny," I snapped, but I was laughing too, grabbing his sandwich and shoving him playful. "That bird's an asshole. Probably trained by the hotel to ruin picnics."

He pulled me down onto his lap then, arms around me, still chuckling. "Come here, I'll protect you from the evil seagulls." And he did this dumb knight voice. "My lady, fear not the winged beasts!"

"Shut up," I giggled, squirming in his lap, feeling him harden under me already, and I ground down a bit just to tease. "You're such a dork. Romantic picnic turns into bird attack.. classic."

But he flipped it again, serious suddenly, cupping my face. "Hey, seriously though. This… you here with me? Best thing that's happened in years. Makes all the conference bullshit worth it."

I blinked, emotion hitting fast, happy but with that edge of sad because yeah, this felt too good, like it couldn't last. "Yeah? Don't get sappy on me now."

"Too late," he said, kissing me slowly , deep, his hands sliding up my back, unhooking my bikini top just enough to tease but not fully, because people were around, distant but there. "Love seeing you like this… relaxed, laughing. Happy."

"Me too," I whispered against his mouth, but then another random interruption, a kid ran by chasing a frisbee, nearly trampling our blanket, yelling "Sorry!" as his parents shouted after him.

"Jesus, watch it!" I yelled back, but Calder just laughed again, pulling my top back in place.

"Beach hazards. Come on, let's walk." He stood, pulling me up, hand in mine, and we strolled along the water's edge, waves lapping at our feet, him picking up shells random, handing me the pretty ones. "This one's like your eyes blue and shiny."

"Oh God, cheesy," I groaned, but pocketed it, squeezing his hand. "You're turning into a Hallmark movie. Next you'll propose with a sandcastle."

He stopped then, dropping to one knee dramatic, grabbing a handful of sand. "Ava, will you… "

"No! Get up, i***t!" I yanked him up, laughing so hard my stomach hurt, pushing him into the shallow water. He splashed back, soaking me, and we ended up wrestling in the waves, me jumping on his back, him carrying me piggyback deeper until a bigger wave knocked us both under.

We came up sputtering, him grabbing me close, kissing salty and wet. "See? Romantic and random. Perfect combo."

"You're insane," I gasped, wrapping my legs around his waist in the water, grinding against him subtle because swimsuits hid nothing. "But yeah, perfect."