Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“It’s fine, Levi, no one can see us, right?” She doesn’t wait for my answer as she steps into the pond nor does she test the water before she dives in. When she disappears under, I adjust myself again, knowing full well that I can’t take off my jeans without her seeing the issue I have growing.
Yet, when she surfaces, she beckons me with her finger, and I find myself quickly shucking off my boots, tossing my hat to the side and undoing my pants. I think about anything from planting a garden, working on my truck, to witnessing my parents going at it. That right there curbs my erection.
I dive in and swim toward her, popping up behind her. The cool water does exactly what I need it to do and keeps my hard on at bay. I’m going to have to learn to control myself around her mostly out of fear that she’ll think I have her here for only one reason.
“This is nice,” she says, turning around. Our legs touch often as we tread water and each time there’s a stirring of excitement.
“It is.”
Out of the blue, her hands grip my forearms. Her blue eyes bore into mine and her tongue darts out to lick her lips. There’s a slight tilt to her head, and for a brief moment I think she’s going to kiss me, but Night and Abby make sure that doesn’t happen when they start neighing.
zara
Seventeen
I don’t know what I’m thinking or what has come over me, but the urge to kiss Levi is growing day by day. I don’t know if it’s the thought of kissing someone new that has me trying to make it happen or because I know that Van would be hurt if he ever found out. Thinking about Van’s feelings is enough to know that I can’t make a move on Levi. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us, and I can’t be certain that I wouldn’t be doing it as some sort of rebound.
But I can see it in his eyes that he wants to kiss me, and that makes the urge to follow through so much heavier.
The horses make my decision easier with their neighing. Once eye contact is broken with Levi, I swim back toward the shore, angry at myself for putting either of us in this position. It’s not long before I can hear him behind me as I struggle to put my shorts on over my wet underwear and pull my shirt over my head. Levi is there to help, though. I turn to face him and step back. He looks hurt and I know I’m the one that made him feel this way.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him as I shake my head. “Are you ready to go?” he asks. His voice is sweet and calm without a hint of anger toward me for ruining the mood. I don’t know what I was thinking, stripping down in front of him to go for a swim. I put us in an awkward situation that will likely be hard to overcome.
I nod and step back into my shoes, pocketing my socks. I am doing everything I can to hold back my tears. They’re out of frustration more than anything. It’s easy to say that I know better, but the truth is, I don’t. I have never been put in a situation like this because I have always been with Van.
Levi dresses as fast as he can, but since he has to put his boots on, it’s taking him a bit longer. I have to turn my back on him. I can’t watch him struggle with putting dry clothes on over his wet body especially when it’s my fault that he’s now in this position.
“I’ll help you up,” he says from behind me. As much as I want to tell him that I can do it myself, the truth is I can’t. There is no way I can get up on the horse or find my way back to his property without his help.
Levi instructs me to put my foot in the stirrup and to hold onto the horn like I did last time. I try to pull myself up, but my body is dead weight, and each time I try, Abby seems to want to move away from me, causing my legs to do the splits.
“Let’s try again,” Levi says patiently. We try multiple times until I inadvertently fall to the ground in a heap. There is no holding back the tears now though as I bury my face in my hands and sob as quietly as possible.
His strong arms wrap around me and pull me to his chest. Levi cradles me, keeping his hand pressed to my head as I cry into his shoulder. I can’t even begin to explain what has come over me other than frustration.