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𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 ~ 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳

I wake up hungry.

So, the first thing I do is scramble out of bed to grab an apple; remembering that I didn't eat very much yesterday except that sandwich and that bag of chips...

Biting into the apple, I slide into the driver's seat, turning my phone back on again.

It fills me with a weird sense of relief to see that there aren't any new notifications. It's weird because, what feels like a lifetime ago, when I had my old phone, it would have filled me with anxiety to see that there were no new notifications.

Weird. But in a good way; it means I'm no longer dependent on what other people are thinking, saying or doing.

Continuing to eat the apple, I look up at the sea, where the waves are non-existent again. That's kinda karma, I guess. The waves were great yesterday when I was planning on leaving, and now they're anything but great.

"Hey Skye!" A voice says, knocking on the side of my van, making me jump out of my skin.

"Yeah, one sec!" I yell back, clambering towards the side door, and lifting it open.

"Morning, gorgeous." It's Ed, and he loops his arms around my waist, lifting me out of my van and into the sunshine.

"Ed!" I squeal, "I'm barely wearing anything!"

My pj's consist of a long t-shirt that just about covers my butt, ending at the top of my thighs, and—and, yeah, that's it.

"You look hot, trust me." He kisses my cheek, before gently seating me down on one of my woven-wooden chairs that he must've grabbed before grabbing me.

"What are we doing today?" I question, finishing off my apple as he seats himself next to me—both of us looking out across the ocean, hands linked together.

"Well, since there are no waves," He squeezes my hand, "Would you like to try some stand-up paddleboarding?"

"Really?" I scrunch my nose up, "I don't think I'll be any good—"

"C'mon Skye, it's easier than surfing." He persists, "I'll teach you how to do it. And then I was thinking we could catch up with Cole and Jessica at the sandwich bar later."

"I'm so happy that Cole and Jessica managed to make up." I tell him, "You know I helped with that?"

"Yeah, I know you did, babe." He smiles, and his eyes skim up and down my body, "But I'm even happier that we managed to make up."

"Oh yeah?" I smirk, getting to my feet and standing in between Ed's legs, kneeling on the part of the chair that's in front of his crotch.

"Yeah." Ed's hands pull my body closer to his, his head tilting up to kiss my lips.

"I've not even brushed my teeth yet." I giggle.

"Does it look like I give a damn?" He counters, before kissing me passionately.

"Is this you trying to convince me to go paddleboarding with you?" I question, giggling again.

"Maybe." His hands teasingly toying with the hem of my t-shirt.

"Fine, I'll go." I bite my lip, standing up and backing away from him.

"That was easier than I'd hoped." Ed stands as well, sticks his bottom lip out the way a sulking child would.

"I know, I just want to save that teasing for later." I wink, before wrapping my arms around him in an embrace, "But it doesn't mean I love you any less."

"It doesn't mean I love you any less either." He echoes sincerely, hugging me back, whispering in my ear, "And I love you so much."

My heart warms at that, feeling a wonderful sense of euphoria.

"I'll go grab the SUPs, and then I'll meet you back here in ten, okay?" He kisses my cheek again, "Get dressed."

"Will I need a wetsuit?" I question as he walks towards his truck.

"Depends." He doesn't turn around.

"On what?" I frown, calling after him.

"On how much of that sexy body of yours you want me to see." He laughs lightly, throwing a wink back at me, before climbing into his truck and driving off.

I get changed into a bikini and a rash vest—deciding that seems like an appropriate outfit combo, as it's what Sophie was wearing the other day when she was paddleboarding the other day.

Ping! My phone receives a text.

SAVVY:

Hey sis! Mom told me you got a phone again!

ME:

Hey, Savvy! Yep, got it yesterday. I was planning on heading home but I'm gonna stay here a bit longer. I'm loving it here.

SAVVY:

Good for you, Skye! I'm happy for you. I think you should stay in Cali for as long as you want. Nothing much is happening here.

ME:

Thanks, Sav. That means a lot to me 😊<3

Ed pulls back into the parking lot, parking up a couple of spaces away from Bessie.

"Hey." He smiles, jumping out of his truck, before beginning to unstrap two SUPs from the roof of his truck.

"Hey." I respond, before locking my phone in the glovebox, and then locking Bessie up.

"Are you ready?" Ed questions, the SUPs now lying on the floor, and he's constructing the paddles.

"Not really." I pull at face; "What if I'm utterly useless at this?"

"Trust me—you won't be." He reassures, stepping over to me, placing the now-constructed paddles on the floor beside the paddleboards.

"Okay." I smile up at him; I trust him completely.

Five minutes later, we're down at the water's edge, strapping the leashes to our ankles.

"Start off on your knees," Ed instructs, "And then you'll gain confidence to stand up. Remember that if you don't want to stand up, that's okay."

"Got it." I nod, following his lead, wading out into the water, before jumping onto the board.

Okay, so Ed jumped on; I inelegantly flung my body onto the board.

Well, it can only get better from here, right?

Wrong.

I fell off the board at least five times, and I mean it was huge—how do I keep managing to fall off?!

"You're trying too hard." Ed informs me, as he smoothly glides past, stood up, paddle seamlessly cutting through the water.

"Trying too hard?" I echo, spitting out a mouthful of seawater, "How am I trying too hard?"

"You're worrying about it too much." He transitions from his feet to his knees, "Just relax."

"I told you I would be utterly useless at this." I huff like a child about to have a tantrum.

Ed sits down on the board, before dropping into the shallow water beside me. Leaving his paddle on the board, but the leash still attached to his ankle, it looks like he's about to try and help me.

"Right." He places his hands on my waist and lifts me up out of the water onto my paddleboard with ease. "Try and stay on this time."

I chew my lip, feeling rocky, and I'm only on my knees.

"I'm gonna push your board along, so just try and stay on it, okay?" He explains, not really giving much of a chance to say whether I'm okay with it or not before he's off, kicking with his legs, and using his strong arms to push my board forward.

"Woah!" I yelp as I start moving, keeping my paddle close by in case I have to end up using it.

"If you think this is fun," Ed tells me, "Wait 'til later."

What's happening later? I want to ask, but the loss of my concentration on my balance cause me to tumble backwards into the water with a splash.

"Hi." Ed says, because he somehow ended up catching me.

"Hi." I blush—his arms are around my body in a bridal-style carrying position. "What's happening later?"

"So, I heard that this rich kid, Thaddeus Reiley Junior, is having a mad party on his dad's superyacht tonight, wanna crash?" He jokes.

"Depends." I kiss him lightly on the lips, before clambering back on my board—answering in the same way he did when I asked what to wear.

"On what?" Ed questions, eyebrows joined together in confusion, as he swims to his own board.

"On how many people are gonna be there." I shrug; I want Ed all to myself.

"And why would that matter?" Ed teases, literally reading my mind: "Do you want me all to yourself or something?"

"Or something." I throw a flirty grin back at my lover.

Lover.

Damn, that sounds so good, especially about him.

"Come on Skye," He tells me, "You can do this. Try stand up."

Shakily, but fuelled by his confidence in me, I stand up. Just like he told me to, I keep my eyes fixed on the horizon and, paddle in hand, begin to paddle through the water.

A couple of strokes later, I'm still standing—much to my surprise.

"Yes, Skye!" Ed exclaims, as he stands and paddles next to me. "I knew you could do it."

I turn to beam at him.

And that's when I fall off the board—hitting the water with a scream.

"I'm done." I tell Ed firmly when I resurface, spitting saltwater and rubbing my eyes.

"Okay, Miss Bossy-Pants." He laughs.

"Wouldn't you like to know about my pants?" I flirt, exhibiting confidence.

Ed's jaw drops, and a stray wave happens to catch his board, knocking him into the water with me.

His lips connect with mine as soon as he resurfaces, and all I can taste is saltwater—but in his mouth it tastes surprisingly good. His hands slip around my waist, and my hands instinctively go to rest on his chest.

"I love you." I mutter into his mouth.

"I love you too." He mutters back, kissing along my jaw to my ear, before whispering, "And I want to show you how much I love you."

I think I know what that means.

"Do you wanna go get some lunch at the sandwich bar now?" I ask him before things can get too far whilst we're in the sea.

"Sure." He kisses me once more, "And then will you come with me to my yacht?"

"Maybe." I tease, as we wade back into shore, carrying our boards along behind us.

"God, you're being such a tease today, Skye." Ed rolls his eyes, but I can tell he's not actually angry at me; his free hand slides around my waist, and he seductively whispers, "Wait until I tease you tonight."

I squeak out a little giggle; I definitely know where he wants tonight to go...but that's okay, because I want it to go there as well.

"I've gotta take the SUPs back home, and then I'll come back and pick you up, is that cool with you?" Ed asks when we're back up at my van, already strapping them back onto the roof of his truck.

"That's cool." I smile, "I gotta change anyway."

"Don't worry," I reassure with a quick wink, stepping into my van—deciding I'll just stick some leave-in shampoo in my hair instead of showering— "I'll save some sexiness for later."

"I'm looking forward to it!" He shouts to me, before driving off.

*~*~*~*

Dressed in a cute denim skirt, and grey front-tie vest, I walk into the sandwich bar, my hand holding Ed's. It's later than lunchtime, but whoever said that sandwiches are a lunch food?

"Ed! Skye!" Are the first things I hear as we walk in; it's Cole, beckoning us over to a booth where him and Jessica are sat.

"Hey!" I beam widely, going over with Ed.

Cole stands up and hugs Ed, muttering something like, "I'm happy for you, bro."

Much to my surprise, Jessica stands up and hugs me as well.

This all feel so rightI love it.

We all order our sandwiches—Ed and I end up choosing the same thing, even though we hadn't even discussed it.

"Great minds think alike." Jessica grins, nodding at the two of us once we've ordered.

"Or fools never differ." Cole jokes, earning him a punch in the arm from Ed.

"Bro, you cannot talk about being a fool." Ed jokes back, messing with his best friend.

A radio station's playing in the sandwich bar, and it announces the next song as the intro starts: "This is 'ily (i love you baby)' by Surf Mesa."

"I love this song." I grin as it plays over the speakers.

"Me too." Jessica beams at me, "It's one of those songs that's hardly ever on the radio, so it's not overplayed, and yet it's so chill."

"It's a bit repetitive." Cole frowns, listening in to the lyrics.

I love you, baby
And if it's quite all right
I need you, baby
To warm these lonely nights
I love you, baby
Trust in me when I say

I love you, baby
And if it's quite all right
I need you, baby
To warm these lonely nights
I love you, baby
Trust in me when I say...

"Yeah, but it's still a good song." I shrug, before nudging Ed, "What do you think?"

"I think I'm hungry." He laughs, taking a mouthful of sandwich.

I roll my eyes, "About the song, duh!"

Cole and Jessica are now talking to one another, so when Ed speaks next, he faces me and directs his statement at me, "Depends on what it means to you."

"What do you mean?" I blush, "It's a tropical house song about love and warming lonely nights—what do you mean about what it means to me?"

"Do you feel the way the song says?" He rephrases, making a little more sense, but not much.

"About needing someone to warm my lonely nights?" I check.

"Yup." He takes a sip of Coke.

"I mean, my nights have been pretty lonely recently..." I lean forward and whisper in his ear, "Fancy warming them up for me?"

Ed chokes on his Coke, struggling to swallow it.

"What did you do to him?" Jessica chuckles.

"It's actually what I said to him." I wink at her, laughing as well.

I continue eating my sandwich, trying not to tease Ed too much, because otherwise I'll have no flirting game left for later—and I need my flirting game on later.

"What are you two doing tonight?" Ed asks Jessica and Cole.

"We were probably just gonna hang out at the Oasis Moon." Cole shrugs, "What about you two?"

"We're going on Ed's yacht." I tell them between mouthfuls.

Ed sends me a look, that reads something along the lines of: why did you tell them? Now they'll want to come!

I swallow quickly and take another bite, figuring I can't say anything I'm not supposed to say with my mouth full of food.

"Aw, that's nice." Jessica smiles, but then directs at Ed, "Don't worry, we're not about to tag along."

"Nope, never even crossed my mind." Cole smirked, winking suggestively at Ed, "Have fun tonight, you two."

"You too." Ed forces a smile.

I hold his hand under the table, squeezing lightly—telepathically sending the message: just ignore him.

Either he receives my telepathic communication, or he simply figures it out on his own, because he just rolls his eyes at Cole, before looking at me and squeezing my hand back.

*~*~*~*

A couple of hours later, our sandwiches are long-gone, and we've continued talking and chatting about all sorts: mostly just Ed, Cole and Jessica talking about high school, with me listening, and wishing that I'd grown up in California with them.

"You okay?" Ed asks as I stifle a yawn.

"I'm fine." I smile tiredly.

"You ready to go?" He tilts his head to one side, "We don't have to go to my yacht tonight if you don't want t—"

"No! I do want to go." I quickly interrupt, grabbing his hand, "I really want to go."

"Okay, then." He smiles, pressing a kiss to the side of my head, "We're gonna go now, guys."

"Go for it." Cole says, and as if on cue, both him and Jessica wink at us.

My phone bleeps as we leave the sandwich bar.

MOM:

SKYE JAMESON YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON A FLIGHT HEADING HOME YESTERDAY!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT???

"Who is it?" Ed asks.

"My mom." I sigh and let him read the text.

"Oh damn." He hands my phone back, "What are you going to text back?"

"For now," I explain, turning my phone off, "Absolutely nothing."

"I'm so glad you decided to stay in California." Ed tells me sincerely, as we walk from the town down to the docks.

"Me too." I smile up at him as the sun begins its steady descent.

"My yacht is moored up, so I'll have to drive it out of the harbour." Ed explains, his hand holding mine as we walk along the boardwalks, arms swinging.

"Does your boat have a name?" I ask after reading all the names of other boats.

"Well, the model is an Ocean Emerald, but I named it after my mom." Ed tells me, blinking at the mention of his mom, "My boat's called Julianna."

"That's a beautiful name." I state, glancing up at him.

"Yeah."

After a few minutes of us silently walking along to his boat, I ask, "Do you miss her?"

"All the time." He admits, beginning to unmoor his yacht from the docks, "But you make it better."

My heart warms, and he helps me onto the superyacht, "Can I ask you something?"

Climbing the stairs beside me, he says, "Sure."

I wait until we're at the top, until we're stood at the wheel, and he's looking directly at me.

"Will you be my lover?" I take a step closer to him, placing my hands lightly on his shoulders.

"I already thought I was." He smirks, leaning down to kiss me gently, "I'll be your lover if you'll be mine."

"Deal." I kiss him a little harder.

"Let me get the yacht out of the docks, and then we can continue this." Ed strokes the side of my face, "Okay, babe?"

"Of course." I smile back.

Lover...lover...lover...I don't think I'll ever get over how good that sounds...

Lover...



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