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“It’s so beautiful.”
“Yeah.”
“I mean the moon, look at the moon.” She looked up. “The moon and the stars and the purply blue sky. It’s amazing, David.”
“I did it just for you.” he replied.
“You did it?” Erin looked at him.
“Mmm hmm. I did the moon and the stars and…OK, the purply blue sky wasn’t me. But it is gorgeous, isn’t it?”
She laughed some as he drank from the bottle and passed it off to her. Erin was already tipsy but she didn’t care as she took another hit of Cold Duck to the head. A hot summer night, a cool breeze coming off the ocean, and just the two of them. She had no idea how he made this magic but she never wanted it to end.
They were sitting on a blanket on a beach in South Carolina, arms around each other and the whole world in front of them. Music from a little radio played cheesy love songs on some Southern station that she’d probably never hear again in her life. But Erin was sure that she would hear The Stuff that Dreams are Made Of and think of him and this moment. This was one of the most magical moments of her life.
“We should wish upon a star tonight.” Erin said.
“I wish this night would never end.”
“Well it only has a few hours left so you're going to have to work some serious magic to get that one to work.”
Dave kissed her. He kissed her and Erin felt on top of the world. She could only moan softly when he deepened the kiss. He made her whole body tingle, or maybe that was the champagne. Erin felt heady. She felt heady and light and…
“I…”
“What?” Dave smiled at her as he pulled away from her lips and caressed her face.
“I really…” she blushed a bit, not able to finish.
“Damn woman, I think I made you speechless.” He patted himself on the back. “I deserve a little pat on the back for that one.”
“Oh haha.” Erin kissed him again. “I needed this; I think we both did. It hasn’t been the easiest few months.”
“No,” he shook his head. “But I've still been very, very happy.”
“What's got you so happy, Rossi?”
“Well there's this girl you see…”
“You know a lot of girls.” Erin replied.
“I do, yes, but this girl is special.”
“So what's so special about her?”
“Her eyes, for a start. She has these big, blue eyes that just mesmerize me. And her laugh, and her lips, and the way she makes me feel like a big dope sometimes.”
“A big dope?” Erin laughed.
“Yeah. She’s beautiful, talented, smart, funny; I don’t know how a guy like me ever got a girl like that to give me the time of day.”
“I think,” Erin ran her fingers through his hair and loved the way he practically purred. “That you don’t give yourself enough credit. There's a rumor circulating that you're kinda awesome.”
“I didn’t want to tell you this but I started that rumor.” Dave replied.
“Is that what happened?”
“That’s what happened.” He laughed as he nodded.
“Well I think you'll be forgiven since you’ve lived up to it.”
Erin cuddled close, exhaling as Dave wrapped his arms around her. They both stared out at the ocean. Waves rushed and crashed onto the sand. The stars reflected like a million diamonds on the water and she wanted so much to tell him that she loved him but Erin’s lips couldn’t form the words. She’d stopped fearing some time ago that she was just another notch in David Rossi’s belt.
While she couldn’t say that she was wrong about how he used to be, he was not that way anymore. He was soft and sweet and never pressured her to do or be anything other than Erin. He did gentlemanly things like hold doors and umbrellas and always carried a lighter though he didn’t smoke and occasionally encouraged her not to. He was so damn smart; she’d met few men smarter. And the masses flocked to him when his El Jefe persona was in full swing.
Dave could command love and attention from a whole room and there were many times he reveled in that role. But sometimes he just wanted to be a guy who liked a girl. It wasn’t an act. For so long Erin wished people didn’t think one thing about her. And here she’d been doing it to someone else. How lucky was she that he kept chipping away at the misconception until the particles were small enough to blow away with the breeze.
“Tell me the first thing that comes to mind.” Dave whispered, kissing her forehead.
“I've never been someone’s girlfriend before. I've always been so busy with academics and doing all the things that get your picture on the wall and your trophy in the case. It wasn’t that I didn’t want romance, I just…even the rich boys were only after one thing. And here I am with you. I like being someone’s girlfriend…I like being yours.”
“I like that you're my girlfriend too. I like that you completely defy all expectations. I like the way you look in a pair of jeans and you should wear them more. I kinda like you, baby.”
Erin kissed him. She took his face in her hands, kissed him and never wanted to stop. Dave Rossi was on the top of her list for best kisser ever. That list was woefully short.
Still, Erin could say that for the most part she’d been satisfied with all the men who kissed her in her life. But with David it was something else altogether. If she could feel what she felt just from his lips on hers, what the hell was it going to be like when she finally surrendered her body? Erin quivered just thinking about it.
“Are you cold baby?” Dave pulled her tighter to him, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around their shoulders.
“No, I'm OK.”
“You were shivering.”
“I was quivering, actually.” She replied.
“Oh…ohhh.” He grinned. “We can go inside if you want. You can, um, quiver a little in there.”
Erin couldn’t help but smile and nodded before anything could stop her. She didn’t want to be stopped…she was ready. OK, she wasn’t completely sure that she was ready. One thing Erin knew for sure was that she couldn’t be virgin forever. She wanted it to be Dave so if it happened tonight then it happened.
She loved him and even if she didn’t have the balls to say it out loud yet, she felt it. She felt it all through her bloodstream like some damn good drugs. Erin had only been high once in her life and swore she would never be again. Well this feeling was better than marijuana could ever be.
Dave stood up from the blanket and held his hands out for her. He pulled Erin up, into his arms, and a passionate kiss. He didn’t know how far they would go tonight. The truth was they were still on first base even though they had been dating since practically the start of spring semester. Kissing, and a little breast touching was the most he’d ever done with Erin.
Dave Rossi, El Jefe, mack daddy, hadn't had sex since the day he met her…eight months ago. But sex was like riding a bike; he was sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Just the idea of Erin, naked, beneath him, quivering; good lord it was almost too much for his brain to consume. Maybe this wasn’t the right time.
They didn’t get to be alone that much at school, with all their friends, academic, and Greek obligations. They were all alone on Myrtle Beach. He would just go with the flow. If it happened it would be because they both wanted it to. He knew he had some strong feelings for her.
Dave wasn’t ready to call it love but he thought that might be because love hurt and he didn’t want this to feel that way. It surely wasn’t because he didn’t feel like he’d run into a burning building to save her, or give him the shirt off his back if she asked for it. The girl had him sprung, tripped out crazy, since last Thanksgiving. Always in control, always ahead of the next situation, this was an exhilarating, scary, awesome feeling.
After gathering up everything, the wine, radio, blankets, and champagne, they walked back to their room hand in hand. Erin was leaning on him, clearly intoxicated but not troublingly so. She was giggly and walking along as if on clouds. Dave looked at her.
“What?” he asked.
“What, what?” she countered, wearing a sexy smile. “Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind, David Rossi.”
“I would love to undress you and just hold you while we sleep.”
Erin stopped walking. Dave did too; he had to since he was holding her hand. He couldn’t quite read the look on her face. The woman had a million expressions and he was just getting the hang of a lot of them. This wasn’t a bad one, at least he knew that much.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Wow.” She sounded breathless when she said it. “Sometimes you know exactly the right thing to say.”
“Please remember this moment when I say exactly the wrong thing. It could happen in the next few minutes.”
Erin laughed, kissing his cheek. Then they started walking again. Back in the room, Erin went into the bathroom to change for bed. It was late and tomorrow was their last day on the beach. While she was in there, Dave put a CD in the boombox on the dresser and hit repeat.
He’d made it for her; know she loved love songs at night when she was reading, studying, or just relaxing. He quickly changed into his own pajamas, boxers and a Johns Hopkins University fencing tee shirt. Yes, she had bought it for him after they went to a competition. Dave actually loved it and had enjoyed himself.
He couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing behind that door. He wondered if she satisfied herself as much as he had because of the risk of detonation. Maybe she was just washing her face and brushing her hair. It didn’t matter anyway, she’d be out in a few minutes and they’d be all alone.
“I hope you don’t mind that I stole your shirt.”
“No, I…” Dave was damn near speechless when he saw her. Erin Strauss was wearing his Alpha Sigma Phi jersey, the one with El Jefe and the number 69 on the back. That seemed to be all she was wearing. He was sure she wore panties; Erin was a modest girl. And the jersey was oversized so there were still plenty of things he couldn’t see. It didn’t matter, his imagination had already placed him in a chokehold and wasn’t letting go. “Damn, you are so beautiful.”
“I feel a little buzzed.” She said. “I think I just need to get some sleep.”
“We put a hurting on that Cold Duck.” Dave smiled. It was probably for the best anyway. No way did he ever want Erin regretting anything that might happen between them. Sleep was just fine. “Are you alright?”
“Mmm hmm,” she went over to the bed and slipped under the sheets. The room was cool and Dave put a blanket on top of the big bed. It was just the excuse they needed to cuddle at night and they always took it. “I think I'm going to have a good night’s sleep.”
“In the morning we’ll have pancakes.” Dave smiled, turning on the bedside lamp so he could turn off the harsh overhead lights.
“You're the best David.” She moved into his arms as soon as he got into bed. “I think this has been my favorite vacation ever.”
“We’ll plan another one soon.” He held her to him while plunging the room into darkness. “Maybe over Christmas break we’ll go skiing or take a trip up to Toronto for New Year’s Eve. The drinking age is only 19. Hey we can even plan a long weekend during the semester…hit a nice bed and breakfast in Richmond.”
“You might be spoiling me.” she giggled, sounding half-drunk and half-drowsy.
“Damn skippy, baby. I like spoiling you.”
“I'm high maintenance.”
“You'll get no argument out of me on that one.” Dave replied, laughing some. “I can handle it.”
“I can handle you too. I just wanted you to know that.”
“Then when the time is right we’ll handle each other.”
Dave wasn’t sure if he should have said that but he knew Erin’s content sigh when he heard it. She just cuddled closer and he held her tight. After a while, Dave knew she was asleep. Her breathing changed and her body was completely relaxed on his. It had been a great day and an amazing evening.
Tomorrow there would probably be some sleeping in and then brunch and hanging out for their last day in South Carolina. Dave really didn’t want it to end. He just wanted to be with her. He wanted to be with Erin far away from obligations and friends and Erich Strauss. But that wasn’t real life.
Real life had obstacles that they had to conquer to get their happily ever after. And it wasn’t guaranteed even then. Guys like Rossi didn’t marry women like Strauss. Even if they were lucky enough to get her down the aisle it was sure to end badly. Wasn’t it?
He didn’t want that; he didn’t want everyone’s speculation and supposition. Even some of his “friends”, and hers too, whispered behind their backs that it would never last. But they were still in it. It was still going.
And more important than being able to thumb their noses at people, Dave and Erin were happy. Who would ever want to deny someone happiness just to be right? If feeling as good as she made him was wrong, Dave didn’t give a damn about being right. He didn’t give a damn about anything except never letting the feeling end for either of them.
***