Page 5 of Sugar and the Skeptic
“No!” I shoot back. “Not at all. I love women’s bodies.”
“Just not this one?”
Pinning my lips together, I try to keep my cool as I shake my head adamantly. “Nothing against yours, either.”
“Then what is it? You’re not making a lot of sense.”
“Maybe I just don’t like the idea of anyone else seeing you like this,” I blurt, finally meeting her eyes and watching the moment the truth behind my discomfort registers and a slow smile breaks out over her face.
“OK. I can see I’m making you uncomfortable out here, and I'm sorry for that. Guess I should get some dry clothes on and head to the right cabin.”
“Sure.”
“Thanks for the use of your lake.” She picks up a small lawn chair and tucks it into the open side of her van. “Brief as it was.”
“Ah… any time, Sugar.”
“Sugar?” With a smile, she steps up into her van looking thoughtful. “I like it.” She gives me a wink then slams the door shut, yelling, “See you round, Rafe,” out the window as the engine starts up and she’s driving away from me yet again. Suddenly, I’m plagued with nothing but regret.Why the fuck did you kick her out of the water, asshole?
I feel the need to kick my own ass. I could have at least offered her a coffee...
CLEMENTINE
Iknow I have the right cabin this time when I pull up and find Serenity already sitting on the sunflower-lined porch waiting for me. After cutting the engine and throwing on a clean outfit, I exit my van through the side door and hug my friend hello.
“Where on earth have you been? I was worried you left town already,” she says, leaning back from our embrace and looking over me. “Why is your hair wet?”
“You’re gonna laugh when I tell you,” I start, linking arms with her and following her inside the quaint little cabin.
“Why?” She gives me a suspicious look as she walks into the kitchen and starts brewing a pot of tea.
“You know your brother-in-law, Rafe?”
“Of course.”
“Well, I kinda took a wrong turn and ended up spending the night on the lakeshore. It’s beautiful there. So beautiful that I couldn’t resist a quick dip.”
Serenity turns to me with a gasp. “Youdidn’t.”
“Oh, I definitely did.” I laugh. “I thought I was alone!”
She tosses her head back and cackles. “Oh my god. Tell meeverything.”
Which is exactly what I do, detailing how he scared the shit out of me when he came over with the towel demanding I get out of the water. But I played it off by acting cool like it was no big deal, while inside I was quietly freaking out. No man has seen me naked before, so I was surprised I held it together the way I did.
“And what did Rafe say?”
I press my lips together as I think about the way his eyes darkened when he said he didn’t want anyone else seeing my body. Like he’d somehow claimed ownership over me and wanted me only for himself. I’ve never had a man speak like that to me before either, and I have to admit I found it crazy hot.
“Clem?”
Blinking quickly, I blow out my breath, trying to act as though I wasn’t just lost in some possessive male fantasy. “Not a lot. He was just surprised, I guess. He held a towel up the whole time so he couldn’t see anything.”
She places the tea in front of me as well as opening a pink bakery box and offering me a lemon-smelling muffin. “He didn’t sneak a look?”
“Not while I was getting dressed,” I say, glancing at the muffins but not taking one. It’s not that I don’t want it—I fucking love all baked goods—it’s just that I have a sensitive stomach and not everything agrees with me. You wouldn’t think it to look at me, but I have to be careful with what I put in my mouth. Anything gluten is one of them.
“These are all safe for you to eat,” Serenity says when she sees my trepidation. “I asked Yvette to make them specially for you. She’s Otis’s wife, and the baker in town. I’ll take you in there to see her shop. It’s right by the yoga studio, and it’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.”
