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Her eyes widen and she quickly looks back and forth between the people on the shore andacross her face but no words are coently and look into her golden brown eyes "Focus on et them" I reach out and squeeze her upper arm three times and with each squeeze, I say the words, "I Love You"

That must have been all she needed because before I can steady myself, she launches her body across the board intoon to one another tightly Fortunately, we haven’t drifted too far out because I can still stand in this depth

She squeezesher ar her head into the nook of h at her reaction

"Okay, now I’m really confused," I say into her ear Audrey pulls back frorip and looks me in the eyes Her smile steals the breath fro forward, no going back I want to stay right in this in to chatter fro to my body, I sloalk us back to the shore Thankfully, the board is still attached to o hunt it down I step out of the water while holding her up I don’t have to work too hard because she’s clinging tothe board further up the beach so it can’t get washed aith the inco tide and release the leash fro her ass, I sit down in the sand with her on ainst rab hold of her head and intensely return the ravishing She lets a erly search her ue

We sink farther and farther until I’ on my back in the sand and she’s perched on top ofher breathing erratically with sobehind her creates a halo effect, perfectly showcasing el

"God, you’re beautiful," I whisper "I love you so much" My hands are still wrapped up in her hair and slowly I move them up to her scalp, so I can pull her back down to s back from my movement and whispers uncertainly, "You’re the second person to ever tell lare into her eyes "Who the hell was the first? You’re definitely the first girl I’ve ever said that to"

My stomach clenches I don’t knohy it bothers me that she’s already been in love before but it does We’ve talked about our past relationships, pretty le one of the she loved any of those bastards I hover over her, waiting for her answer

She eyes me with nervousness and a little confusion "Lane was the first"

We both stare at each other, trying to figure out what the other is thinking Then it clicks, and I dread the question I need to ask "Wait, are you talking about all kinds of love? You mean, even when you were a kid, no one told you they loved you?"

"Who would have done it?" she asks with an almost childlike-innocence

I’ht talks about our childhoods, I never put it together that no one loved this girl The selfish part of me wonders if she’d had a different childhood, would she be here in er part ofthe love she deserved

"You deserved it, baby Just know that You deserved so her face She stares deep intofor the words to say

I try to let her off the hook and say the first thing that comes to mind "You knoatched Jax tell E a reply I used to wonder how hard that was on him How painful that must be But now I understand that when you love someone, as much as you would kill to hear it back, you also just want theive you all the time you need, babe I just need you to kno I feel about you," I say And it’s true I don’t feel pain or anger about not hearing it back Just relief to finally have that out in the open

Quickly, she pulls the back of my head toward her and says, "I don’t need time, Jace I’ve been crazy about you since the day you picked avefrom her neck "I love you tooso much"

The words are a choked bubble inher I love you

She looks down ather ar before I reht we hooked up in Texas You also did it that night out on the beach when I told you and Jaxon what happened toe did a ‘hook-up,’ it sounds too fleeting Second of all, I honestly don’t knohere it came from I just had all of these emotions toward you that I didn’t kno to convey out loud I guess it means I" Squeeze "Love" Squeeze "You" Squeeze

"I’m not sure what I did to deserve you," she whispers

"That’s funny because I’ve been wondering the sa about myself"

She still has my face in between her soft hands but I push forward to capture her lips My hands slowly graze down her body, and when I feel , I re her ski eyes

Still holding her, I quickly stand up before setting her down on her bare feet She whierness

"Soon, babe," I whisper on her lips "But for now, you need clothes and I need to have that talk with my brother"

"My suit is still wet, I can’t put my clothes on now," she replies

We help each other dust the sand off of one another’s backs When I’les and shovesany clothes on, then neither will I," I declare Her eyes quickly scana trail of heat from my head to my toes "I meanyou’re practically nad It’s only fair"

Slowly, I start to undo the top button of my shorts and her eyes widen When I pull my zipper slowly down, her handI hookmy shorts deliberately downcoasps with bulging eyes, reaching for my waistband Quickly, she pulls them back to my hips, and then hurriedly re-hooks the button and yanks the zipper back into place "You win! You win! I’ll go graband s "Hurry I’llaway and turns back to holler, "Love you!"

I smile like a damn Cheshire cat and call back, "Love youback to where I dropped my clothes earlier, I feel as if er in the air My body feels lighter than it ever has before I remember the first time Lane told me he loved me To have that kind of connection with another person is a necessity in every hu until I was loved

But to be loved by your significant otherto be loved on a soul-deep level is an a To have so I ever iht past it We almost missed this opportunity and what a shah his lips will forever be ingrained in my memory

When I reach my clothes, I quickly pull my shorts up, put my shirt on, and tie the halter back aroundit must have fallen out of my pocket I dust it off and check the time My heart beats wildly when I notice twenty-three missed calls Why would anyone need to call me that many times?

Quickly, I unlock it and see that they are all from Cole, and all were er across his na back toward the party