“She’s got a crush on you.”

“So? Lots of girls have a crush on me, Kris. What’s your point?”

“So, you don’t hang out and flirt with lots of girls. And if you do, it’s for a limited time. You’re spending the week here with this one.”

“And her fiancé, remember? We’re here for his band to play Atlantic City. Stop being so dang paranoid.” He pulled his shirt over his head, letting it drop into the pile with the rest of the clothing from the beach, feeling the particles of sand starting to scatter around them. “Did I burn?” he asked his wife, trying to change the subject.

She hesitated a moment, watching him cautiously before shaking her head and coming over to examine his back. She pressed her finger against the darkened skin, and shook her head. “No, it’s just your Cherokee blood,” she answered, and he could hear the fakeness in her voice, trying to push past her suspicion.

He turned and captured her waist in his arms, leaning over to kiss her quickly and rest his forehead against hers. “Hey, stop,” he said, smiling down to her. “We’re good, okay?”

Again she hesitated, but slowly she consented and smiled with a slow shake of her head. “Okay. Go, shower. You smell.”

He lifted his arms and turned his head, inhaling loudly. “Fresh!” he teased.

“Ripe,” she answered, pushing her fingers against his back as he headed into the bathroom. “What do you want for dinner?” she asked, her voice trailing off further into the rental.

“Whatever,” he answered, knowing she didn’t hear as he turned on the water, noticing the different smell it had than at home. He liked the sound of a shower, noticing it more in the Summer for some reason. It was the sound of a good day, a sunny day. A day when you didn’t do the usual routine. Like now – showering in the late afternoon after a day at the beach. His skin scratchy and salty from the sand and water, tight with the dryness until he stepped under the stream of water. Briskly rubbing his face, feeling the water release the residue from his skin, his mind wandered back over the day.

Kris wasn’t entirely wrong. He was flirting with Anna, but it was worse, he was also attracted to her. Driving from the airport down to the shore, they had a quick-witted banter between them, easy-going as the wind blew through the open windows. Her hair whipped up and if it was just a few inches longer, would have blown outside with the breeze. Instead, it whipped around and she kept having to reach up and slide the unruly dark strands back behind her ears. Her skin was already tan, having been in New Jersey for a week on her vacation. She glowed with summer, and it agreed with her.

He checked in the rear view mirror to the car behind them where Ray was driving with Kristin and the rest of their gear for the gig tonight. Maybe he should have hesitated, or offered to drive with Ray, but Anna insisted that there be no work discussed. It only made Ray nervous and he was nervous enough for tonight without discussing the importance with Kevin for the two hour trip. Instead, he drove with Anna and watched Kristin laugh silently in the mirror before focusing back on the strands of Anna’s hair trying to break free in the wind.

“The jellyfish are starting,” she said to him as they drove along the busy highway.

“The Jellyfish? Is that some kind of local band or something?” he asked, settling back and adjusting the seat to compensate for his long legs.

“No, you idiot, the fish,” she laughed. “The water’s up from the Gulf – and it’s like bathwater it’s so warm. Prime jellyfish season and it’s started, so when you go to dive into the surf, you’ve been warned.”

“Well, that sounds real inviting,” he said, grimacing at the thought of diving face first into a jellyfish.

“They’re not swarming,” she chuckled. “You Californians…”

“Southerner,” he corrected. “I’m a transplanted Southerner and we don’t have to worry ‘bout no jellyfish in the Kentucky River.”

“And I’m sure this is your first time in the Atlantic, too,” she groused at him, rolling her eyes playfully. “Shall I find someone to go fetch the jellyfish out for you, Backstreet Boy?”

He just waved his hand at her and looked out at the highway. Lots of pine growing in with the other trees lining the road, but the grass was scorched and turning brown. It reminded him of Mountain Parkway on the way to Irvine for a while, except in the distance, there were no mountains and as they rounded the bend, he looked out at a bay. Sparkling water shone in the sun with jet skiers, water skiers and boaters scurrying about. Sea grass swayed slightly and seconds later, he breathed in the saltiness of the air.

“I love that smell,” Anna commented, and he could see her chest rise in a deep breath. She wasn’t what he normally found attractive, but she wasn’t unattractive either. She had curves, he considered. ‘Someone with meat on her bones,’ his mom would say, ‘not one of those that need feeding.’ Usually, he admitted, he preferred the one’s that need feeding, with long legs and large boobs. Anna had them, at least, and lots of other curves he thought that looked soft and inviting.

She reached back and pulled at the string tied around her neck from her bathing suit. “Damn thing is too tight,” she grumbled. “I swear Ray is more petrified about my top coming off than I am sometimes.” She tugged at one of the strings and it came undone with a relieving sigh. “Man, that feels better.”

Behind her neck was red and he reached out to touch it. “Looks a little sore,” he commented, touching the warmth of her skin without realizing what he was doing. She didn’t even flinch and simply shook her head. “Want me to tie it back up a little looser?”

“I’ll do it when we get out. No rush.” But a growing urgency as he did his best not to stare at her now free-to-flop breasts beneath the tee shirt she wore, almost wishing for a pot hole—or several. She turned the radio up and settled back into her seat, lightly singing along to the all too appropriate song.

‘My little girl, drive anywhere, do what you want, I don’t care …’

The song hinted sexual urgency—

‘ Tonight, I’m in your hands of fate,

—pleading desire —

I hand myself over on a plate now…’

—an understanding of the wrongness of it all.

”Who is this again?” he questioned, hoping to talk through the rest of it. It wouldn’t matter, it wasn’t just the lyrics, it was the music. A driving, pulsing beat invaded his senses, distracting him from her answer.

Oh little girl, there are times when I feel
I’d rather not be the one behind the wheel….tonight

He was particularly happy not to be behind the wheel as he felt the need to shift in his seat. If he could only keep his eyes off the curve of her breasts and slight movement they made as they continued down the highway, slipping in and around slower cars, losing Ray and his wife miles behind.

Pull my strings, watch me move
I’d do anything…please

Please stop my mind from wandering, he pleaded.

“…sex on a stick,” she said as he focused back onto her words and not

“What?” he asked, sounding a shocked, making her laugh.

‘Sweet little girl, I prefer you behind the wheel
And me the passenger, so drive’

His eyes followed the shape of her tanned leg, the bulge of her calf muscle and below to where she rested her foot on the gas pedal. In his mind, he envisioned her foot elsewhere.

‘I’m yours to keep. Do what you want
I’m going cheap…tonight’

“Dave Gahan is sex on a stick,” she repeated. “Have you ever seen them live? He’s amazing.”

“No, never did. They weren’t quite my kind of gig.” But if I knew about this, I may have paid more attention to them, he finished in his head, clearing his throat. “And what exactly is ‘sex on a stick’ anyway?” he teased, making her laugh and watching her blush.

‘You’re behind the wheel…tonight…’

“Something good,” she promised with a sly grin, “very, very good.”

“So you like your sex…”

She lifted a finger at him and laughed. “Don’t even go there, Kevin Richardson. And get that twinkle out of your eye while you’re at it.”

But it was too late. He was there—beyond there, actually. Wondering what it would be like to be in her hands tonight, let her be behind the wheel, so to speak. “I don’t have any twinkle in my eye,” he laughed lightly, knowing exactly what she was commenting on. He didn’t think it was a twinkle, but was definitely flirting. Sexual tension building it. “Must be the sun in your eyes.”

She gave him a quick, knowing glance and grinned easily. There’s no harm in flirting. Flirting is what men and women do. She couldn’t possibly know his thoughts, or even guess where his mind kept wandering. If she could, he doubted she would have a playful reaction to his teasing. He’d probably be standing on the side of the road with a handprint across his cheek if she did.

Things like where his mind went to are for moments like now, water skimming down his back, rinsing off the event and remembering it as he held onto the towel rack with one hand and his stiff erection with his other. He could see the way the sun hit her skin, slick with tanning oil and sweat. Her hair, pulled back loosely and still a few strands insisted on blowing in the gentle, cool ocean breeze. His mind watched her rub oil along her legs, her hands swiftly making their way over her skin, around and down, and up and over without a thought as she sat on the blanket. The coconut and salt scents stinging his nostrils as he thought of himself rubbing the oil on her skin for her. What he’d do with his hands on her legs, and where they’d end up.

“…Kevin.”

He felt himself gasp, his erection waning slightly in the interruption as Kristin stuck her head around the shower curtain. A smile crossed her face as she realized what she interrupted and she flicked some of the cold condensation from her beer at him. “I didn’t know I was interrupting anything…sorry.”

“You don’t need to interrupt,” he said, leaning over to kiss her deeply and take hold of her beer. He pulled back and took a long, hard swallow. “You could get naked and join me.”

It didn’t matter who touched him at this point as long as he was touched and could release the tension. Maybe if he could come, he could get through tonight without thinking of Anna topless, on a beach blanket with him lotioning her breasts and tracing her tan lines with his tongue.

“ I think someone has a crush on the Backstreet Boy,” Ray teased, walking in on Anna as she dried off from her shower.

She scowled at her fiancé and rolled her eyes, bending her head back down to finish drying off. “Yeah, whatever,” she replied, taking the plastic cup from his hands as he walked into the air conditioning of the bedroom. “You shouldn’t be drinking yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re performing in a few hours and the last thing we need with your producer in town is for you to be three sheets to the wind playing the wrong song like you’ve been known to do.” She tasted the liquid in the cup and forced herself not to make a face when she got the burn of vodka in the back of her throat.

“It’s not like he’s the Backstreet Boy with the drinking problem,” Ray laughed, taking the cup back.

“He’s not a Backstreet Boy anymore, either. He’s your producer.”

“And your new fantasy?” he questioned, dropping onto the bed behind her. He placed the cup in the center of her back and she squealed with the cold from it. “Oh, Kevin…” he mocked, scooting closer to her and wrapping an arm around her waist. “Watch out for those jellyfish.” He giggled teasingly, reaching his hand beneath the towel to graze his fingers between her legs. “You’re already wet!”

“Get off me!” She pushed him back and stood up from the bed. “Asshole. Go shower and get ready.”

“Want to finish yourself off?” he asked, sitting forward and taking the final swallow of vodka. “Please, can’t I watch? I think it’s hot when you get yourself off.”

“It’s the only way I can lately.”

“Oh, is that supposed to be some kind of dig?”

“No, it’s reality. Would you go? Please? Get ready.” She waved her hand towards the bathroom and took her panties off the dresser, stepping into them. “They’ll be over in half an hour.”

“Talk about a fantasy,” he said getting up. “Kristin…now that is a fantasy.” He scoffed, pulling the towel from her and tossing it over his shoulder. “You think he’s going to look twice at you when he has a wife that’s a size 2?”

“She’s a size 6,” she corrected, stiffening to his comment. He’d already drank too much and there were still hours to go before he had to be on stage. “Yes, I know, exactly half my size,” she made the comment for him. “Whatever. Go.”

“Oh, Baby.” Ray turned and stepped closer, pouting at her and cupping her bare breast in his hand. “I didn’t mean it like that. You know I love you just the way you are.” He jiggled her breast and lowered his mouth to kiss it. “If you lost weight, you’d lose these babies, and these babies are priceless. Let’s have a quickie, huh?” He kissed her shoulder and ground his damp bathing suit against her waist. “It won’t take me long to get ready.” He kissed her neck and up to her ear. “You can imagine I’m Kevin,” he whispered playfully.

That was already a given. She had imagined he was Kevin for a few weeks now, ever since he came and said he wanted to produce Ray. Today was just a continuation as she let him guide her to the bed and slide her panties off. She was wet, but that was from when she made herself come in the shower imagining Kevin was behind her and feeling her up, sliding himself into her to please her. Now, she just closed her eyes and imagined it was Kevin pumping into her, grunting above her and pinching her nipple painfully.

She smacked his hand and mumbled ‘gentle’ not even bothering to open her eyes. The touch went from pinching to simply grinding his hand against it instead. He continued to grunt and she knew by the breathless sounds that he’d be coming soon and she could get him off of her. He may not need much time to get ready, but she needed to be seen in public with Kristin – yes, a woman half her size—and attempt to look good.

When Ray groaned loudly and bucked against her, she knew none of it mattered. Ray would be drunk. Kristin would be stunning and Kevin wouldn’t notice her at all outside of the polite comments and maybe some playful teasing. At least it was something, some attention from someone.

“You rock, Babe,” Ray said, slapping the side of her leg lightly as he rolled off her, got off the bed and headed towards the bathroom. “Do me a favor? Can you go get me a beer?”

“No,” she answered, closing the door between them and reaching down between her legs, closing her eyes to imagine again. Kevin was watching her pleasure herself, that playful knowing smirk on his face, that twinkle behind his deep green eyes. The wind blew his sleek black hair around his face and his tongue darted out to lick his deep red lips quickly. Oh, if only he could use that tongue…

“Now why don’t you do that when I’m around?” Ray dripped in the doorway with the towel around his waist.

“Why don’t you so I don’t have to?”

“I thought you came already.” He sat down and slipped his hand over hers. “But, wow, Baby, you’re so wet.” He smiled to her and leaned closer to suck at her nipples. “Come for me, huh? Let’s let the whole place wait on us. Let’s let the whole place know we sexed it up before we got there.”

“Keep doing that,” she said, her breath coming quicker, “and I will.”

His fingers stayed steady on the spot she guided him to and she relaxed into the touch, letting the sensations take over whatever sound he was making. Her body was too wrapped up in thoughts and touch to care who or what was touching her, as long as someone continued to touch and please. She raised her arm up and touched her breast, fondling herself, knowing Ray would get excited over it like some high school kid, but she didn’t care. It helped with the urgency, knowing they really didn’t have time for any of this, but something about the sun and air and flirting. It made her need this, need to be touched, need release, need sex.

‘I’m in the hands of fate…I hand myself over on a plate. Now.’

“ Here you go.” Kevin came back from the bar holding three beers by the neck and small white plastic cup filled with ice and a rich caramel colored liquid. Taking a seat between Kristin and Anna, he lifted his glass up in a toast and they all tapped their drinks. “Knock ‘em dead,” was all he said before taking a sip.

“What’re you drinking?” Anna asked.

“Taste.” He handed her the cup with a smile. She sniffed first and then let the liquid just touch her lips. “Well?” he asked when she handed it back, and licked her lips.

Grimacing, she took a sip of her beer. “Bourbon,” she yelled over the music and crowd. He lifted his glass again and sipped. Sex with his wife was great, but it still didn’t take away his awareness of Anna. She was deeply tan after today and he thought her hair was even lighter than it had been a few weeks ago. It was pulled back now in loose, heavy curls. Before, guiding her to the table, he’d felt them and they were as soft as they looked. Her cheeks were touched with a hint of sunburn, but it only brightened her pale green eyes and made her lips seem darker. All she had on was a touch of mascara, so it wasn’t that she was wearing lipstick.

She leaned up on the table and kissed Ray quickly when he got up to head over to the venue. Kevin watched her close her eyes and it seemed a genuine tenderness on her part. On his, it was a duty. He barely had time for it, but he also knew the panic Ray must be feeling. The venue was sold out and Kevin arranged for some radio station to broadcast from the club to hype it up. And, he had to remember, Ray considered him his producer, so he was probably nervous considering that too. It made him smile as he sipped his bourbon again. Making anyone nervous always cracked him up, but now it seemed even more so. These weren’t fans anymore. This was his client. What he said, suggested, could make or break a career. If anyone was supposed to be nervous, it was Kevin, but this part always came easily to him. He understood sound and music. He knew notes and arrangements, and more importantly, he knew how the game was played. Some people would have to get over the fact he was a Backstreet Boy, but in the industry, when you’ve sold mega albums and broke records, others paid attention and wanted to be associated with you—privately, anyway. They’d knock him in public, but if he called, he usually got through.

“He’s ready,” Kevin said watching Anna as her eyes followed Ray leaving.

“He’s been drinking,” she said, surprising him. He thought her worried look was nerves.

“He’s ready though. He’ll be fine.”

“He’ll get up there and it won’t make any difference,” Kristin assured her, smiling. “Just you wait and see.”

“I’m hoping he’ll get up there and remember what he’s supposed to be doing.” Now probably wasn’t the right time to bring all this up, but she knew how much he’d drank before leaving and how much he’d had at the club.

“He’ll be fine,” Kevin said easily. He knew how he performed drunk. It happened to all of them at some point, more with some than with others, but it happened to all of them, and Ray didn’t seem all that bad. “But we should head over so I can freak out a few people and double check on the arrangements again.” He finished his drink and reached both his hands out, taking Kristin’s in one, and Anna’s in the other, squeezing Anna’s hand for assurance.

Anna still had to get accustomed to being separated from the rest of the crowd. This wasn’t the local pub anymore and she wasn’t hanging out with the locals. She had a former Backstreet Boy holding her hand, leading her and his wife to the front of the line and being let in. She didn’t have to go through the main doors, or wait for entry. She was allowed directly in, down hidden back corridors – which were grungy and smelled of stale beer and mold – and brought up to a VIP section where a waiter took her drink order and she could see the whole stage without angling for a better vantage point.

Ray’s friends were also in the box and she felt some kind of familiarity in seeing their faces. She couldn’t help but feel the energy in the air, and she looked over the balcony to see the crowd filling in. All those people just to see her fiancé. She still couldn’t quite grasp it.

“You’re not still nervous are you?” Kristin asked coming to her side and looking over. She wanted to see how perfect she was for Kevin, what everyone else saw in her, but Anna had a hard time finding beauty in most blondes. They seemed to lack distinction, and Kristin seemed to have a large mouth. Not that Anna should be casting stones. Like Ray pointed out to her, Kristin was half her size. She was also making an attempt at being nice to her. She didn’t like the way Kristin looked at her though, and she couldn’t really figure it out. If she was jealous because Anna had a crush on her husband…? How many other people in the world had a crush on her husband? That was just ridiculous. But she couldn’t think of anything else.

“I can’t believe all these people are here to see Ray,” she answered, turning back to the box. “I mean, I’m sure it’s nothing compared to Kevin’s career, but still, this is a lot more people than Ray’s ever played to. It’s petrifying, and exciting at the same time.”

“It’s a little weird, isn’t it?” Kristin asked, leaning on the edge. “I mean, I knew Kevin at this stage, and before, like you know Ray. And you know them as some—guy. Talented and all that, but still, he’s just some guy. And they,” she glanced over her shoulder, “see a whole different person. At least Kevin wasn’t the only person. He had 4 others’ to deflect the praise and all that, but still…it’s a little weird and I still don’t know if I ever got used to it.”

“I hope I don’t,” Anna said, turning back to the crowd below. “I hope it’s always as exciting as it is now.”

Kristin placed a hand on Anna’s shoulder and smiled sadly. “I hope so, too.” But she knew she didn’t mean it. She understood that Kristin was telling her it wouldn’t. But she was going to hold on to this night anyway. However awfully it started, it was going to be a night that would change their future.

Anna rolled over to find Ray flat on his stomach, sleeping soundly. Both of them poured into bed just after sunrise after partying on the boardwalk and hitting several casino’s. She could feel the nagging headache starting from drinking too much but she expected worse, so it was a pleasant surprise. Ray, she knew, wouldn’t be so lucky so she didn’t try to wake him and headed out into the living room.

The ceiling fan blew full force, keeping the warm air moving around and sunshine streamed in through the windows, casting bright rectangle shapes on the hardwood floor through the sliding glass doors. When she opened them, she could hear kids on the beach and the waves pounding against the shore. The cooler breeze struck her, carrying the salty coconut smell with it.

This was summer. Since renting their first beach house in Jr. High to today, this grew to become what summer was about. Even when she was younger, she wanted at least one morning with everyone else sleeping to have the house to herself, to just sit, and listen, and soak in the sun as if it belonged only to her.

After making a cup of coffee, she went out onto the deck and settled in the bright blue and white striped cushion on the deck seat, rested her cup on the railing and watched her small section of beach. Again, last night rushed back into her and she looked around, wondering how those two worlds could exist together. The sound of the crowd and music crashed together like the ocean on the beach and she felt carried along in the undertow. Last night, Ray was a celebrity. She was a celebrity. People carried on about them, pointed when they walked around the boardwalk, moved aside. She sat in VIP sections in places she’d gone to her entire life. All their friends came along for the swim, drinking and not paying. Playing the parts of lifelong celebrities and pretending it always had been like this.

But now the morning sunshine cast its rays on the night before and she was somehow still the same person, in the same world. So how was it everything had changed around them and nothing looked any different? Then she heard stirring next door, heard the sliding glass door open, but nothing more until a few minutes later when Kevin walked out onto the deck in a pair of blue shorts, his chest and back already tan, and his hair tousled from sleep, holding a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, neighbor,” she said, startling him briefly before he recovered with a smile.

He came to the matching corner of his deck and sat down alongside her. “Good thing we like our neighbors,” he commented, looking down the rows of houses, seeing most of them were built right on top of the other.

“This year anyway,” she commented, sipping her coffee. It was not possible to be this aware of someone’s body this close to waking up, but she couldn’t help noticing how well his skin fit over his chest and showed off the muscles in his arms and stomach. “There was this one year we had a whole feud with our neighbors. When we came out, they came in. When they came out, we went in. When we stayed out, the comments flew over the railings…” She groaned. “It was the longest two weeks of my life.”

“Why didn’t you leave?”

“It was our summer vacation,” she answered. “My parents weren’t going to give up their vacation.”

“Oh! You came here with your family? I thought you were talking about you and Ray.” He sat up for a moment and looked out at the beach as a little girl walked unsteadily before her mother carrying a small plastic pail and shovel. The smile was immediate on his face and he settled back down, keeping his eye on them. “How cute is that?”

“Too,” she answered, watching sand fly when the girl threw a shovel full unsteadily. Anna wasn’t sure the girl knew what she was supposed to do with her toys, but she was cute in her little yellow polka dot bikini and tiny sunglasses. “Although, her mother’s going to be cleaning sand off of her until Christmas.”

Kevin laughed and looked at her with a nod. “You’re probably right. So, were you that big when you started coming here?”

“No, we were old enough to be left to do our own thing before we started coming here. My parents wanted a vacation, which meant not having to watch us 24/7. I was in 8th grade – just old enough to do things on my own, but young enough that I probably shouldn’t have been.” She winked at him knowingly. “That was the summer I really discovered boys, and boys on the boardwalk will forever be a weakness.”

He laughed easily and nodded. “Yeah. I have a weakness for cheerleaders.”

“There’s a shock. You don’t say? Where is your cheerleader anyway?” She looked past him toward the sliding glass doors.

He sipped his coffee and kept looking out to the beach. “She headed back a few hours ago. Filming a pilot in Canada,” he said easily.

“She’s going to be exhausted.”

He wrinkled his nose. “She’ll sleep on the plane. If you want a life in this business, you have to learn to sleep on a plane, or in an airport, or the floor of one, or…you get what I mean. It helps now that we can afford anything but coach.” He winked at her with a smile. “But those days of flying coach were pretty painful.”

“Still are,” she informed him.

“That’ll change,” he assured her. “He did great last night. We’ll be building on it from this point out. I’ve got calls in to a few people about having him be an opening act on a leg of a tour, and his single is dropping next month so the publicity machine will really kick into gear now.”

“More than it has been? He’s been on every radio station on the East Coast.”

“There’s radio, and internet, and TV… He hasn’t even begun to start.” He put his cup down on the railing and rubbed his eyes with his fingers before stretching his arms up above his head. It was all one sleek, solid muscle, tightly woven together directly in front of her. “But that’s a conversation for some other time and not before either of us finished our first cup of coffee.”

“This could be my sixth for all you know.”

“The houses are only a foot apart.” He leaned over slightly and picked up his coffee. “I heard you come out and you weren’t sitting in the house with the doors closed in this weather.” She received another playful wink. “Want to go play on the beach with me?”

“Huh?”

“I’m going down to the beach.” He put his mug down and wiggled his fingers at her as he spoke slowly. “Do you want to go play on the beach?”

She reached over and playfully slapped his arm, shaking her head. “O-kay,” she replied slowly. “I’ll go put my suit on and meet you down by the steps.”

She stood up and headed in the house feeling not only the sun’s heat, but raging heat from her insides. His skin was soft and already warm with the sun beating down on it when they sat on the deck, even just for that little bit. And his skin was firm, his muscle firm, and she had no right getting this infatuated by it. All before she even finished her first cup of coffee.

Kevin finished his coffee, put the coffee mug in the sink and went back outside and down the steps alongside the deck. Already the wood was hot, beginning to burn the bottom of his feet, but the sand felt even hotter when he ventured out onto it waiting for Anna. The sun heated things up—and it wasn’t just the sand, he considered heading back upstairs for some shoes. All he could think was soft when he looked at Anna. She just looked soft all around. It was a softness he wanted to touch, caress. She tried so hard to have an attitude, and she did have a quick wit that matched his when he was playful, but he could see it was just that – an attitude. Behind her eyes, as she watched the life around her, she was gentle, and caring. She was protective of everyone inside of it, making sure people were taken care of and were happy.

He just didn’t see anyone doing the same for her. Ray was her fiancé, yes, but he didn’t see tenderness between them. He saw years of comfort and familiarity, but he didn’t see gentle care, or concern. Perhaps it was something they kept private between them, and that’s why she was still with him. Perhaps Ray needed her in private.

He was squatting down and letting sand slip through his fingers when she started down her deck stairs. “Like sand in the hourglass, so are the days of our lives…” she chuckled, plagiarizing the soaps tagline. “Keeping time?”

“Wondering how the hell this shit gets so damn hot so damn fast.” He wiped his hand on his thigh and they started down the beach. She, of course, was prepared with her beach bag and the chairs were kept below the deck for easy access. “Do you want to just go for a walk first? Leave this.” He put her bag behind the chairs and stretched out his hand to her without thinking, but surprisingly, she took it just as easily and they started down the beach to the surf.

“I don’t think we’ll get very far without walking into hoards of people,” she said, her pace slow and comfortable.

“We’ll walk around them.” He had to release her hand—had to. It felt all too right and all too wrong at the same time. “So tell me about your boys on the boardwalk,” he said, bending down when the surf came over their feet to splash the water up his arms and over his chest. It was still warm, but the breeze hitting it on his skin cooled him slightly.

She laughed and lifted a shoulder slightly. “Not much to tell.” She stopped briefly and pulled the loose fitting tank top over her head. She wore a different bathing suit today, the tan lines not matching up to the one she wore yesterday, but the straps seemed to fit with the previous markings, and this one covered her up more as a one piece.

“New bathing suit?” he asked, having to comment. He liked the bikini from yesterday better.

“Real bathing suit,” she replied. “I thought inflicting myself in public yesterday was enough punishment. Besides, no one would be looking at me with Kristin in a bikini near by.”

“Oh, stop,” he groaned and splashed her slightly. “You looked great yesterday.”

“That was your wife, Kevin. No one looked at anyone else…”

“It was you and you looked great. Trust me, I know a lot about women. I saw more than my share of them in my former career.”

“That, I’m sure you did.” She splashed him back with a laugh. “And they were all screaming for that little blonde one, weren’t they?”

“Bitch,” he laughed, tossing his head back slightly, “but I admit it. Most of them, yeah. I was the scary, hairy, old guy.”

“Not that scary,” she said.

“I hoped not.”

“So, is this why you left? To take someone like Ray under your wing and bring him into the frenzy of what you left behind?”

“Pretty much, yeah. And to spend more time with my friends and family, and Kris. Slow down a little, I suppose. I don’t have to tour anymore. If I go out on the road, it’s not going to be for a year or six months. I can have more of the life I wanted to have.”

“And, have you gotten it?”

“I think so. For the most part, I think. Nothing’s ever perfect, but it’s better. It’s mine at any rate and doesn’t belong to the industry or management.”

“Instead you became it. Sleeping with the enemy.”

“Sleeping,” he replied. “Just actually getting to sleep in my own bed makes it worthwhile. And watch people like Ray go over that crest. He’s got amazing potential and hasn’t said ‘why’ or ‘no’ to anything asked of him.”

“It’s been what he’s been working for his entire life. Since I met him – on the boardwalk as a matter of fact. He’s been watching the business and listening to people all along to get here, and trust me, when he thinks something isn’t right, he’ll tell you why and no. So far, you’re not asking him to do something he isn’t willing to do.”

“So, you met on the boardwalk?”

“Outside one of the pizza places when I was a junior in high school. I knew him all along. His family always seemed to come down to the shore the same week, but really, that summer, he grew a foot and lost all the baby fat. I didn’t recognize him until he said my name, and man was I thrilled he knew who I was. After that, we kept accidentally meeting up on the beach, or on the boardwalk and by the end of the 1st week, we were kissing under the boardwalk and not going home until well after dark.”

“Under the boardwalk…” Kevin sang, laughing easily.

“Oh, absolutely,” she agreed with her own laugh. “We’ve been together ever since.”

“What’d you do when you weren’t on vacation at the beach? Did he live in your hometown then?”

“No, but he had a license and I didn’t live far from him. We graduated high school and I went to community college for a while. He was playing his music and singing in the local bars. Eventually, being out at the local bars every night supporting him interfered with my classes and I just quit. Ended up being his full-time groupie and we moved in together to save money. Next thing you know, he’s playing more and we’re going to New York to play open mic nites. People are asking him to discuss contracts and record deals. We got engaged over Christmas and next thing you know, I’m standing on the beach with his producer.”

“What were you going to school for?”

“For the hell of it, I guess. I wasn’t the best student, but I knew that if I was going to get some kind of job, I was going to need to go to college. Now, I guess I’ll just be a professional groupie. I don’t know. I’m thinking maybe I could go back once Ray’s more settled and see if I can look into some kind of business classes. It may come in handy, you know?”

“It definitely will,” he agreed. “You gonna be Sharon to his Ozzy, you think? Become his manager?”

“Hell, no.” She bent over to splash herself this time. “We already decided that I wasn’t going to be involved in his career. This way we can just be each other and not have to draw lines between being a manager and wife. Besides, he’d never listen to me anyway. I’m not in the business, and I’m not a musician, so I wouldn’t understand.”

“That doesn’t sound like something you’d say.”

She lifted an eyebrow and looked at him. “It’s not. But it’s Ray’s career and I don’t need to be part of it. He’s done just fine without me, don’t you think?”

“It’ll get a lot more complicated,” he warned. “Just so long as he keeps talking to you about things.”

“We’ll make it work. Like I said, we’ve come this far.”

They had wordlessly started heading back and Kevin watched as Anna looked to the waves. She had a contented smile on her face looking out, as if she lost herself in them. The wind blew her ponytail forward and around her face lightly, and her eyes looked darker reflecting off the churned up ocean. Suddenly, she jumped and hopped onto the beach, squealing.

“What?” he asked, following her quickly.

Her entire body shivered and she shook her head tightly. “Jellyfish. Euch!”

He dropped into the sand and laughed, kicking her lightly and making her drop down beside him. “You’re nuts. Want me to hire someone to remove them?” he teased, using the line she gave him yesterday.

“I’m still a girl sometimes,” she replied with a tilt of her head. “Deal.”

“And you make a very pretty one at that,” he added, nodding. In his head he screamed ‘kiss her!’ but no part of him moved to do so. Perfect timing. Perfect place. Absolutely imperfect situation. Behind them he suddenly heard a cow bell, remembering yesterday that it meant the ice cream truck was out by the road. “Ice cream for breakfast?” he asked, standing up and reaching out to help her. She lost her balance and fell into him slightly and he caught her with a laugh. Soft and warm, he noted silently, holding her against him. Fuck.

They headed back down the beach and he did his best not to look closely at Anna as she licked her ice cream. His seemed to be dripping more down his arm than anything, and by the time they made it back to the surf, he felt like a sweet, sticky mess. She didn’t seem to be much more and he caught her licking the side of her hand, along her finger and sucking the tip of it. Even dropping his ice cream in his crotch wouldn’t change the state he was in after that. He sat down quickly and pretended he meant to do so, silently finishing his ice cream while looking at the sand or surf.

“Jellyfish be damned,” he said when he finished. “I’m going in to rinse off. You coming?”

“Jellyfish be damned,” she said in agreement. “Then we have to go back so I can put some sunscreen on.”

Thankfully, the water was colder than he anticipated. His mind swirled with visions from yesterday watching her rub lotion along her legs. It swirled again as she came up out of a wave and he noticed the water was colder than she anticipated as well, her nipples standing erect and poking through the thin swimsuit material. Ignoring it as best he could, he splashed her playfully and she ended up jumping up in the swell of the wave and dunking him under.

Their bodies moved beautifully together under the water, arms and legs intertwined gracefully, playfully. They came up for air at the same time, went under water again at the same time, swimming or treading water as the waves rushed over them or they rode them, breathless from their efforts.

“I’m going in,” she said, dunking under once more to pull her hair off her face. He liked watching her come up from the water, her head back and a long, sleek neck exposed.

“I’ll be right there.” He wasn’t about to get out. Now he had an excuse to watch her, making sure she made it to the beach and he could watch her simply move and dry off for a minute of two, waiting for the erection he had growing to disappear, or come already and be done with it. No one would notice with him standing in the ocean either way.

Sitting next to the window, Anna listened to the rain drum against the deck, watching the lightening crackle over the raging ocean waves. She hated thunderstorms except for when she was in the beach house and could watch it swirl in around her. The thunder complimented the crashing waves instead of sounding threatening like it did at home.

As another crash rattled overhead, she saw him dashing up the stairs and scrambled, letting in a sheet of rain as she opened the door. Kevin’s hair was flattened to his head and the tee shirt was darker across the shoulders from the rain – already seeping down to the rest of the shirt. He laughed immediately though, shaking his head to get the water out of his eyes. “Dang, you’d think I showered with my clothes on!”

“You didn’t notice it was pouring when you left?” she asked, tossing a towel at him playfully. “What part of water falling from the sky confuses you, Kevin?”

“There’s water and then there’s the heaven’s opening up,” he argued, toweling his hair and dabbing his face. “I just ran from next door, it’s not like it took me a long time to get here.”

“Why are you here?” she asked. “Do you want coffee or tea or something?”

“I was sitting over there by myself, and you were sitting over here by yourself,” he started, pulling his tee shirt over his head and drying his shoulders and arms. “I thought, why don’t we watch the storm together?”

She chuckled, sticking a mug in the microwave. “So, you were watching the rain come down and was still taken off guard? Observant is not one of your many talents, is it?”

“Now, see, I thought I was being all neighborly and friendly-like, but you’re gonna stand there and be all critical…” he teased, leaving the towel draped around his shoulders. “That ain’t very neighborly.”

“No, it’s not,” she agreed, taking the mug from the microwave and handing it to him. “But I’m offering you coffee so shut up. And why are you here? I thought you went into New York with Ray.”

“He didn’t need me to hold his hand.” Kevin replaced the towel with his tee shirt before putting it down on the chair. “They’ll let me know if he was a pain in the ass, and if he is, I’ll rip him a new one when he gets back.” He sipped his coffee and looked out the window. “It’s pretty impressive from this view, isn’t it?”

Anna peeled her eyes from him and forced herself to look out at the storm. “The storm? Yeah. It’s one of my favorite things to do here. Cloudy days at the beach suck, but storms can be amazing.” She glanced at him, noticing that his eyes weren’t on the ocean or waves or clouds either. They were watching her and he had a slight grin settled on his lips. “What?”

He shook his head, sipped the coffee and looked away quickly. “Nothing.”

“Then why were you smiling like that?”

“Because you just—had a look. Kind of like a kid at Christmas or something.” He glanced at her quickly and looked back to the waves, sipping more coffee nervously. “Excitement suits you. Lights up your eyes.”

“Does it—” She couldn’t look at him now, feeling the blush burn her cheeks but with a grin she couldn’t suppress for some reason. His compliments lately had the same effect each time lately. She couldn’t look at him, but she liked hearing it. She liked that he noticed something, anything, about her.

She didn’t have to look at him because this time, she felt his fingers under her chin as he lifted her head up. “Yeah,” he said softly, leaning close, “it does.”

Don’t pull away. Don’t pull back…stay close. Kiss me. Please. Kiss me.

He heard it. He must have because he did. He leaned closer and closer, keeping his eyes steadily on hers. She couldn’t pull away, look away. Didn’t want to. It may have been minutes, or less than a second before his lips were against hers, but once they were, she became hungrier for them, greedy, all she was aware of was his lips, wet hair in her fingers, cool skin beneath her palm.

Until he touched her. His hands buried deep in her hair, holding her against him as he explored her mouth with the warmth of his tongue. Chills danced up and down her spine when he moved his thumb along her neck. Moments later, his palm was hot against her spine, his fingers spreading over her back pulling her against him, pushing her back against the cushions.

In the back of her mind, buried deep and roaring with the waves in the storm was a drowning whisper, gasping for breath between crests, drawn back in the undertow and pulled further and deeper away from reason. Before it was washed out completely, she heard its final whimper before releasing its hold on her. It may have whispered ‘wrong’ but she didn’t care. She would hold on to his body when she crashed back to shore, remembering this ride with each scrape and bruise it made.

When he thrust himself inside her, she knew it would all be worth it.

He leaned up on his elbow, brushing the hair back as she dozed against him, unable to keep the smile from his face. The storm still rumbled far off in the distance, but the clouds were breaking through and sun reflected off the honey colored hardwood of the floors through the sliding glass doors. Seagulls screamed into wind and through the corner of his eye, he could see them suspended in the air current. Maybe everything was suspended in the moment and whatever just happened between them was only a frozen suspended moment in time.

“You came over here on purpose,” she mumbled contentedly, turning slightly onto her back.

He smiled more broadly and traced a finger along her cheek down to the curve of a still bare breast. She was soft, and offered comfort and pleasure with each touch and caress. “Maybe…” He leaned over and kissed her gently. A seagull screeched into the wind and he knew time was no longer suspended. He didn’t care. “Maybe not. Does it matter?”

“Truthfully?” She reached up and pulled him back down for a lingering kiss. “Not in the least.” She slid a leg up along his thigh and shifted slightly further beneath him. Soft fingertips slid over his shoulder and she blinked up at him playfully before they danced down his spine. His body instantly responded to her and his hips rocked against her. She closed her eyes and moaned gently. “We kind of fit well together, don’t we?”

“We respond well together,” he answered, his voice already gruff with wanting to be back inside of her, creating another rock in his hips. “And yeah, I came over with a purpose.” He lowered his head to kiss her. “I didn’t know if I was going to go through with it though. I’ve come over with the same purpose for a few days now, but never went through with it.”

She opened herself to him, pulling him down into a deep, inviting kiss. “You should have,” she whispered into his ear, bringing her hips up to meet his and moaning deep with pleasure

They jumped when her cell phone rang, and she pulled the towel around her tightly, keeping her back to him as she answered it. “Hey, Ray…”

He wanted to feel guilty hearing his name, knowing he just slept with Ray’s fiancé, but he didn’t. He’d watched them together for a week and never saw any kind of gentleness between them. Not even passion like they just shared. It was between him and Anna instead. He knew it. Felt it every time they talked, or laughed. Every time he looked at her across the room and she smiled at him. Kris was right all along. She had a crush on him. She just didn’t notice his crush on her. Eventually, maybe he would feel guilty, but right now, he felt satisfied pleasing her – and pleasing himself.

“Well,” she put the phone down and headed around the counter into the kitchen, “he’s staying in New York tonight. Doesn’t want to drive home in the storm.”

He reached his hand out, bringing her back next to him on the couch and kissed her shoulder. “Have any plans tonight?”

She watched Kevin finish the French toast, sitting at their little kitchen table in his boxers and now dry tee shirt. His eyes continued to gleam playfully and his hair now curled slightly around his face between the dried rain and sweat. Too beautiful for words, she thought, pushing the final piece of her French toast around the plate. And we had amazing sex on the couch….

“What are you thinking?” he asked, already chuckling. “You have a very peculiar look on your face.”

“We had amazing sex on the couch,” she told him with a smile.

He laughed and sat back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head. “What part is so surprising? That we had sex on the couch, or that it was amazing sex, or that we had it at all?”

She rested her chin in her hands and laughed. “Yes.” He only laughed and reached over to drink his coffee. “You don’t seem all that surprised by any of it.” He lifted a shoulder as he swallowed, looking at her over the rim of the mug. “Shouldn’t you be at least a little—I don’t know—surprised? Or does every woman just fall for the charm that easily?”

“All the women?” he asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table. “How many do you think I have?”

“Isn’t that one of those perks of being in an internationally famous band? Women in every city?”

He laughed harder. “Do you really think we’d have the energy to do what we do if we were trying to juggle hundreds of women? It’s hard enough figuring out how to make it work with one.”

There it was – the guilt Anna waited for all morning. “And…this is how you make it work with the one?”

The smile left his expression and she watched his chest lift in a deep breath. “This is not as common as you’re thinking.” Something behind his eyes made her actually believe him. Maybe it was the way he didn’t take his eyes off hers, and just kept searching her face.

“Okay. Me neither, for what its worth.” He nodded with a slight smile. “It’s actually the first time.” He continued to nod slowly. “And I keep waiting for the guilt to slam me.”

“Hasn’t happened yet?”

It was her turn to shake her head. “Maybe when I see him later. What about you?”

“I honestly don’t know.” He dipped his spoon into the coffee mug and stirred slowly, watching it for a moment. “What do we do from here on out?”

“I don’t know.”

“Me neither.”

“Want to go for a swim?” she suggested, standing up and taking the dishes from the table. “It may be one of the last days this summer.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Hurricane season’s already in full swing.” She put the dishes in the sink, relieved to be talking about something else. “Oh, there will be another heat wave or Indian Summer, but it’s Labor Day. Summer is officially over.”

When she turned, he was right behind her, smiling down to her. He lowered his head to kiss her gently, and brush his fingers over her shoulders. “Let’s just do what feels right, okay?” he asked, his voice a deep hush in her ear. She couldn’t even answer, just nodded and kissed him in return. She was just doing exactly what he said–what felt right.