Elizabeth Lee - Storm Warning

“So did you give it up to some hottie poolside or what?”

“Something like that,” she answered vaguely. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get home next week,” she lied. Cami had decided that she was going to let the summer blow over and then she was going to slowly introduce Kyle to her world. By the time the new school year got underway, everyone would be over the summer vacation gossip.

“Can’t wait! I’ll see you soon! Kisses!” Raquel disconnected the call, leaving Cami wondering why she’d ever even attempted a friendship with her. Kisses? Really?

When she pulled her phone from her ear, she noticed a new text message. It was one she’d been dreading all summer. Hayden.

We need to talk when you get home.

Cami thought about how to respond for the better part of five minutes. What does he need to talk about? She knew that when they’d agreed to take a break this summer, there had been an unspoken agreement that when school started back up they’d be back together, but things were different now. She messaged him back.

I’ll call you when I get back in town.

They had been friends for long enough that both of them knew the other person wasn’t truly content with the façade of a relationship they put up. Surely Hayden would understand that she was in a new relationship. He’d be happy for her. She hoped.

The summer sky was overcast that day, and according to weather reports, Cami and Kyle’s first official date was set to include a thunderstorm. Rescheduling was out of the question too. Nothing but thunder and lightning over the next few days.

She fiddled with the strap of the dress she was wearing as she watched out the front window for him to arrive. Mother Nature was right on cue, and as soon as she saw his truck pull into the driveway, the clouds opened up, releasing a summer’s worth of rain.

She giggled as Kyle booked it from his truck to the front door, using a bouquet of fresh daisies as a makeshift umbrella. Before he could knock, Cami pulled one of the double doors open and motioned for him to come into the foyer.

“Nice place,” he exhaled as he caught his breath and looked around her house, shaking the water from his head and hands. All those nights spent with Cami in the backyard and this was the first time he’d actually been inside.

“Thanks,” she grinned, waiting for him to hand her flowers. “Those for me?”

“Maybe,” he chuckled, tucking the flowers behind his back. “What’ll ya give me for ’em?”

She tiptoed up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “This,” she whispered, lightly pressing her lips to his. Before he could snake his free hand around her waist and cinch her to him, she reached behind him and grabbed the flowers from his hand.

“Hey!” He tried to grab her hand, but she gracefully spun away, taking her daisies with her.

“These are beautiful.” She beamed, admiring the ribbon-wrapped bouquet in her hands, and made her way into the kitchen.

“Yeah they are,” he agreed. “Definitely worth more than some measly peck,” he teased as she placed the flowers in a vase she had waiting on the counter. He made his way up behind her as she arranged the flowers the way she wanted them and wrapped his arms around her.

“I suppose I owe you a proper thank you,” she conceded as his lips burned hot against her neck.

“I’ll take an IOU.” He laughed. “Right now we need to figure out what we are going to do since my mostly outdoor date has been sidelined by the rain.”

“Lucky for you, I’m an excellent date planner,” she sassed. “I actually checked the weather.” Cami pulled away from Kyle’s embrace, linked her fingers between his, and led him out the French doors to the place they always seemed to end up. The steady flow of rain danced across the top of the pool as Cami and Kyle stood side by side under the porch awning.

“I hope you’re not wanting to take a swim,” Kyle said. As if on cue, a clap of thunder rumbled overhead.

“Nope,” she grinned and pointed at the pool house. “We’re headed there.” A soft glow illuminated its windows. She dropped her hand from his and, with a playful wag of her finger, invited him to follow her.

Despite her best efforts to make a mad dash across the patio, by the time Cami slid the glass door open and stepped in, the drenched turquoise sundress she’d picked out especially for Kyle clung to her skin. As she attempted to detangle her rain-soaked hair, Kyle stepped through the door behind her.

“What’s all this?” he asked, running his hand through his wet, sandy-colored hair. The low platform bed in the center of the room was surrounded by dozens of glowing candles.

“I didn’t want our date to be a total waste because of the rain.” Cami pulled a towel from the shelf next to her and wrapped it around her shoulders before tossing one to Kyle. “I thought maybe we could move our picnic inside,” she added, walking over to the bed and opening a picnic basket that was waiting in the middle.

Before Cami could retrieve the items from the basket, Kyle stepped up behind her, closing the basket lid.

“Not hungry?” Cami asked, turning to face him. “I cooked all day for you,” she said, trying to fight back a smile. “And by me I mean Sophie.”

She expected Kyle to give her some grief about being a stereotypical spoiled, rich girl who couldn’t cook, but his eyes said that whatever he was about to say was serious.

“It can wait.” Reaching for the towel Cami held snugly around her, he tugged her toward him. “There’s something I need to do first,” he stated.

Cami felt her heartbeat speed up as Kyle removed the towel from her shoulders and tossed it aside. She thought about the first day they met and how she was quick to reveal what she had under her towel. But now, something had changed. Despite the fact that she was fully clothed under that towel, she felt ten times more vulnerable than that first day.

Maybe it was the fact that she knew what was about to happen in that candle-lit pool house, or maybe it was the fact that, unlike that first day, she was in love with the boy standing in front of her. But she was pretty certain that it was because she knew, without a doubt, that no one was ever going to love her the way Kyle Mason did.

THIS was it. The moment he’d thought about pretty much every hour on the hour since he’d first laid eyes on her. Kyle felt his hand tremble as he brushed a piece of hair from her face and hoped that she couldn’t sense how nervous he really was. He’d never told a girl he loved her before, and as much as he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, a small part of him was worried she’d reject him. She was champagne and caviar and he was beer and corndogs.

Cami pursed her lips the way she always did when things started to get intense. He would have bet money that she was racking her brain for some sarcastic remark to detour the palpable tension that had thickened the air in the room. But as Kyle ran his hand down her arms, helping her fight the chill of the air conditioner against her wet skin, he watched her pull in a breath and let her eyes fall shut at his touch.

“I haven’t told you just how pretty you look tonight,” he said, placing his lips on her bare shoulder. Her hands found his chest and fisted the damp gray T-shirt he was wearing, pulling him closer. “I mean it, Cami.” His lips hovered above her skin as he moved his mouth up to her ear. “You’re amazing. I, um, I…” Kyle nervously stumbled over his words while trying to read her expression.

He remembered one of their lounge chair conversations. The one where she confessed that she had never been in love. Hell, the girl had told him that she’d never even said those words to her parents, and sadder yet, they’d never said it to her. He couldn’t imagine growing up in a house where he didn’t hear those words. His mom told him and his sister that she loved them all the time.

Back then, it was easy for him to give her a flirty response “Let’s see what we can do about that then.” But that was two months ago, and he knew now that they were beyond a summer fling. He loved this girl and he wanted a future with her. He wanted to be the one to say I love you to her every day.

Just as he’d finally mustered up the courage to tell her how he felt, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. The urgency of her mouth against his led him to believe she was done talking.

Her hands moved down to tug at the hem of his shirt. He lifted his arms, allowing her to pull it over his head. A questioning smile appeared on his face as she tossed the shirt to the floor. A questioning smile that silently asked if she was sure she wanted to continue. He had never pressured her to do anything with him. In fact, he was the one who had set the pace for their physical relationship.

Cami may have been reluctant to get to know Kyle back in the beginning. She’d made it pretty clear that day they met that if he’d wanted to hit it and forget it he could have. As he looked down in her brown eyes, he was glad he’d suggested they take it slow. Sure, it might have resulted in more than one cold shower on his part, but he’d known the moment he saw her that she was something special.

Every Sunday they’d spent together in that lounge chair—the sweet kisses in the pool, the late night phone calls and texts, the sharing of secrets and dreams. They had all led here. To this moment. A moment that would change the rest of their lives.

His body moved to hers and he slipped one strap of her dress down her shoulder. As if to confirm her desire to be with him, she reached her hand up and pushed the other strap down, sending her dress to the floor.