Page 58 of Conception
Knox runs a large hand over the top of his head, his form perfectly illuminated in the moonlight. “The kind of guy who knows exactly what he wants for his future yet knows that that future is missing something.”
I swallow hard. I don’t want to push, but I have to know. “What does that mean, exactly?”
The sound of him gliding through the water towards me echoes in the still night. When he gets to me, he pulls me close. “I’m not sure, Amelia. But what I do know, is while I’m with you, I don’t want to think about it.”
Touché.
“Then we won’t,” I say. “We’ll stick to what we agreed on. Friendship. Sex. And lots of it.”
I’m okay with that. I tell myself I’m okay with that. Iwillmyself to be okay with that. Because the sooner I get it through my skull, the sooner I’ll be able to block him out of the deepest part of me. And I hope like hell he’s not already there.
“Besides, I said I wanted to get to knowyoubetter,” he says, interrupting my thoughts.
“You already know more about me than most people.” Ha. Two can play coy.
He raises an eyebrow. “Pretty sure I haven’t even scratched the surface, babe.”
“You’ve scratched plenty…”
Just as Knox moves to close the distance between us, we’re illuminated from the shore. We both turn towards a vehicle’s blinding headlights. The contrast in the darkness makes it impossible to make out the two figures standing on the beach, seemingly waiting for us. My eyes widen when one of them bends down by our piles of clothes.
“Um, Knox…” I begin, stopping when his fingers grip my hip.
“It’s fine, baby.”
I momentarily forget our visitors. It’s the first time he’s called me that. I want to relish in how possessed it makes me feel.
“We received a few calls of loud noises coming from the lake. Everything okay out there?” a deep voice booms from the shore.
A deep,familiarvoice coming from a body standing way too close to my clothes.
“Sam!” I yell. “What are you doing here?”
“Dammit, how’d you know it was me?”
A third silhouette steps away from the car. A more petite one, and I roll my eyes. Why am I not surprised?
“We closed up the bar and figured we’d take a dip in the lake sans clothes. We had no idea you two beat us here first. I thought you were going home because you were exhausted.”
“Took a detour, Sunny,” Knox tells her. “Now, if you’ll be kind enough to let us get dressed, the lake’s all yours.”
“You guys want some company? We could totally play naked chicken!” Sunny exclaims.
And she’s not kidding.
“Joe,” Knox growls in warning.
Sunny’s giggles stop abruptly. “Okay, okay, we’re going!”
“Have fun, kids!” Joe hollers.
“Oh my god,” I mutter.
We wait a few minutes to make sure they’re truly gone. I wouldn’t put it past Sunny to stick around to try to get a glimpse of Knox’s goods. Not that I can blame her. Fortunately, we get back to our clothes without incident and stumble back to my house, holding hands and laughing. I can’t remember a time I’ve felt so carefree.
For the second time today, we find ourselves in my shower. As I reach for my shampoo, Knox scoops up the bottle and squirts product into his hands.
“Turn.”
