Page 60 of Stolen Bases

If she lets me, I’ll give her everything.

Taking two steps around her, I unlock the latch and open the boarding gate door for her. She doesn’t move.

My stubborn girl.

I place my palm on her lower back, caressing the exposed sliver of skin below her cropped shirt. Her body reacts to my touch on instinct and relaxes.

I give her back a little shove towards the entrance. “Watch your step.”

She shakes her head in disbelief but follows my directions anyway and steps onto the pontoon. “I can’t believe you spanked me.”

“I’m going to do a lot more than spank you if you don’t get your sweet ass onto the boat,” I growl as she passes. Leaning down, I whisper in her ear, “Don’t act like you didn’t like it, baby. I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d put my money down on you being as wet as I am hard.”

I step behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, placing my hand on her stomach. With her back flush to my chest, I let her feel for herself just how hard she makes me.

With a moan, she drops her head onto my chest and melts into me. I spin her around and give her a quick peck on the lips. You couldn’t pay me to stop kissing her. But I have to. I want her to see the surprise I have set up for us. For her.

It’s all for her.

Breaking our kiss, I grab her hands and drag her to the back of the boat. I step out to the side, giving her a clear view.

White twinkling lights wrap around the canopy as they illuminate the sun bed covered in big black and white pillows. A few small accent pillows—in the blue she mentioned liking back at the house—adorn the bed as well. A small serving tray with two place settings sits in the center of the bed, and to the side is a red and white ice chest with our dessert inside.

I watch as Talia takes in the scene. Her silence makes me nervous. The setup is nothing crazy. I knew she wouldn’t like that, so I put my effort into making sure she would like what I have in store for our first date.

“What do you think?” My voice shakes, giving away my anxiety.

“You did all this for me?”

“Of course.”I’d do anything for you,I think, shocking the hell out of myself. But it’s true—I would. I don’t know what it is about Talia, but I want to give her the world. I want to keep her. “This is our first official date. I wish I could do more—”

Talia leaps into my arms. “I love it.”

My hat falls to the floor as she peppers my face with kisses.

Letting out a relieved breath, I carry her over to the sun bed and lay her down. She kicks off her shoes before sitting up and arranging herself in a crossed-leg position in the middle of the bed.

I grab the ice chest and place it next to the tray before following her lead and taking off my shoes as well. My large, muscular frame prevents me from sitting cross-legged, so I sit back against the pillows and pull out the container of chocolate ice cream—her favorite flavor—that I have sitting in dry ice and hand it to her.

“Cam,” Talia says my name, and there is no mistaking the delight in her tone. Her silver eyes catch mine, and a flood of warmth hits me in the chest as she stares at me. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.” She crawls over to me and places a kiss on my cheek before sitting back with her tub of ice cream in hand.

Emotion clogs my throat, forcing me to clear it. “You’re welcome.”

Talia smiles as she peels the lid off the pint and grabs a spoon. The acrylic containers in the center of the tray catch her eye. They sparkle in the soft white light as she opens each one, investigating the contents, all of which are her favorite.

“You remembered,” she says in awe.

“Of course I remember.” I remember every word she utters. There isn’t a single thing I’d miss about her. Everything she says and does has been etched on my brain like an invisible tattoo forever imprinted on me. “You said ice cream sundae with everything on top is the best dessert. So…” I shrug.

She scoops ice cream into two bowls and starts adding toppings. I don’t tell her to stop, even when she adds gummy bears. I hate those fucking things.

“All that’s missing is—”

“Don’t say it.” I pull out a bottle of chocolate sauce and a can of whipped cream. “I didn’t miss a thing, itty bitty.”

Talia grins, and it’s one I haven’t seen before. It’s wide and carefree. She looks happy as fuck, all because of me. I take her smile and add it to my collection.

I want all of her smiles, all for myself.

---