I turned back to my wife. “See?”
“Well, I’d say our work here is done,” Sierra said, and I nodded.
We high-fived, and when Ava climbed up on my lap, the three of us snuggled together.
“Daddy?” Ava called just as I was on the verge of sleep.
“Yeah, baby?” I asked, squinting one eye open.
Her nose wrinkled and she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “Why does Jace keep kissing Lexi? Are they boyfriend and girlfriend now?”
Sierra laughed.
I perked right up. “That’s a great question, Ava. You should probably go ask.”
She slid off my lap. “Okay,” she said, scampering across the pool to where Jace and Lexi were.
“You’re awful,” Sierra told me.
“Hey, look what happened last time I told you we should stay out of it. They were apart for ten years. Plus, it’s Ava. She’s adorable and can get away with it.”
She snuggled up against my chest, both of us watching Ava approach them. Jace’s face lit up as soon as she asked her question, but when Lexi’s eyes widened, he simply shrugged, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and swam away, leaving her there to sputter on her own. He climbed from the pool and took Ava’s hand, and even though they were across the pool, I heard her squealing about seashells. Sierra gave him a thumbs-up.
The entire time, Lexi's eyes were unblinking, her lips set in a tight line, even though her cheeks had flushed pink from Ava's question. At first, I was worried Ava had gone too far, But when Jace was out of sight, a smile crept onto her face.
Yeah, Lexi was ready.
Later that night, things had progressed nicely outside the reunion. Or regressed, considering we were back to our old shenanigans, making out at the high school. Jeremy had me pressed up against the side of the building, licking and sucking my skin.
“God, I’m as horny as I was ten years ago,” he whispered, nibbling on my neck.
The truth was, as much as we enjoyed all our old classmates, the only reason we’d come to the reunion was for Lexi and to use it as an excuse to go to the beach. After an hour in the stuffy gym, we had been ready to make our escape.
Just as we had, we’d spied Jace and Lexi heading towards the baseball field. I’d giggled and hoped they were about to grace the dugout like we’d done so many times all those years ago. And that’s when Jeremy had pressed me up against the side of the field house and kissed the hell out of me, effectively making forget anything or anyone else.
I had no idea how much time had passed when Jace’s voice interrupted our make-out session.
Jeremy’s lips formed a grin, and he pulled back from me. His heated eyes were dancing with amusement. “Did he just tell us to get a room?”
“That’s what I heard. I think it’s a pretty good plan, babe,” I told him.
His grin widened even further. Then he glanced at his watch and let out a low whistle. He leaned down, bringing his mouth to hover just above my ear.
“Twenty minutes. What’d you figure they weren’t just talking?”
“Considering the shit-eating grin on his face, I’d say you’re right.”
“More like pussy-eating,” Jeremy quipped.
I giggled and took his arm so we could approach them. “Behave,” I warned.
When we were near, Jeremy slipped an arm around my waist and tucked me in close. “This where it all started, so it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t reenact one of our infamous make-out sessions. Plus, this time, there are no teachers around to break it up. Win-win.”
It was true. Though Mr. Turoff liked us, we’d gotten our fair share of PDA warnings in our time at Navarre High School. Deservedly so, of course. I was just about to agree when something caught my eye. I smiled with wicked delight.
“At least we kept things PG, unlike some people around here.” I didn’t mention I’d been about two seconds away from shoving my hands down Jeremy’s pants.
Lexi’s cheeks flamed red, while Jace held up his hands, palms out flat, trying—and failing—to feign innocence.
“No idea what you’re talking about,” he said. “We were just checking out the baseball diamond for old time’s sake.”
Jeremy gave me a knowing look, biting his lip to hold his laughter in. He’d seen it, too. Turning back to Jace, I raised my eyebrows. His jaw tensed as he held my gaze, not saying a word.
Jeremy snorted then lifted his chin in a gesture. “Dude, you have underwear hanging out of your back pocket.” He motioned for a high five, but a pale-faced Jace ignored him.
Lexi’s cheeks turned even redder—if that were possible—and I burst into a fit of giggles as I glanced back and forth between their guilty-looking faces.
Mother. Freaking. Score.
I wanted to fist-pump. Shout out, “Hurray!” or “Hoorah!” or whatever those Army guys say. I wanted to toss a bunch of condoms in their direction, lock them in a bedroom, and hold them captive until every single one was used.
Weird, I know, but if you could’ve seen the happiness simmering in Lexi at that moment, you would’ve wanted the same.
Instead of playing captor, I decided to tease. “I wish you could see your faces right now. It’s like you got caught with your pants down. Or, well, your panties, Lexi.”
Jeremy snorted and gave Jace a shoulder bump. “Guess she can’t call you that blue master thing anymore, can she?”
That was my undoing. We’d run into Jace earlier that morning, and he’d asked about blue clit, informing us that a very drunken Lexi had called him a blue clit master. I doubled over and clutched my stomach, unable to contain my laughter. My sides hurt, and tears were streaming down my cheeks, but I couldn’t stop. Apparently, that was enough for Jace and Lexi, because he took her hand and pulled her away, leading her to his car.
What Jace said next squelched my laughter.“Trust me, Banks. After tonight, she’ll never call me that again.”
Jeremy grinned, giving him a thumbs-up. As they got into his car and took off, Jeremy slid his arm around my waist, hooking a thumb in my belt loop. His phone beeped from his back pocket, and his grin widened when he checked whatever text message he’d just received.
“Is Ava good?” I asked, wondering if his mom was checking in.
His parents had agreed to keep her since it was our last night in town. I was more than looking forward to a night alone with Jeremy, making love in our condo with the sounds of the waves providing the perfect background noise.
“Of course Ava’s good, baby,” he told me as he slipped his phone back in his pocket. He peered down at me, but there was something I couldn’t quite read in his expression. “Wanna get out of here?”
My lips twitched as I pretended to mull it over. He waited patiently, however, so I rose up onto my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
In the car, Jeremey drove in the opposite direction of our condo. I was not surprised in the least when he pulled up to our special beach.
I was, however, surprised when he took my hand and led me down to the gazebo, where a beautiful sight was awaiting us.
Jeremy—with some help, I guessed—had recreated the night we’d first exchanged I-love-yous. White lights were strung up and a boom box was playing old-school R&B, and when I craned my neck, I smiled at the sight of a picnic basket and a blanket spread out on the beach.
“What’s all this?” I asked Jeremy, my heart fluttering the same way it had all those years ago. Hell, it hadn’t ever stopped.
He took my hand and twirled me around before pulling me into his chest and entwining our fingers. His other arm slid to the small of my back, and we swayed to the sounds of K-Ci and Jo Jo’s “All My Life.” That song had been playing the night he’d told me that he loved me. The perfect song for us, because all my life, I’d loved him. All my life, I would.