Zoya looked up from her book as Liam flopped onto the towel next to her. Despite Emma’s dismissiveness, he really had filled out nicely. Not as tall or broad as Nolan, granted, but Zoya wouldn’t kick him out of her bed. Her eyes roamed down past his chest. There was just a hint of hair trailing below the waistband of his board shorts. She wondered if he trimmed. He looked up, catching her biting her lip.
“What’s up?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nothing,” she smiled. “I thought you guys were surfing?”
“Nolan said it’s too calm for surfing.” He shrugged. “Then he ran off with Emma.”
Zoya glanced in the direction he indicated and saw the redhead and the tall blonde frolicking in the waves. Liam sighed, drawing her attention back to him. She imagined tangling her fingers in his tousled hair and pulling his mouth to hers. Feeling his bare chest press against her… Fuck. She shook her head, trying to clear the haze of aroused thoughts. Watching Emma and Nolan fool around last night had left her worked up.
“How awful of him to run off and leave you with just me for company,” she teased.
“That’s not what I meant,” he grinned. “It’s just that he always does this. We make plans, and then he ends up flirting with some chick.”
“Hmm,” she considered, stretching languidly, and pretending not to notice him watching. “Maybe when he does that, he’s trying to give you space to hit on someone?”
“I dunno, I’m terrible at flirting.”
“Are you?” Zoya rolled her shoulders. “It’s not that difficult. Just a matter of being receptive to signals.”
“I guess.” He frowned. “Girls don’t send me a lot of signals.”
“I doubt that,” she said, turning away from him. “Will you rub my shoulders? I’m a bit stiff.”
“Oh, uh, sure.” He sat behind her and started massaging her back.
“That’s nice. I must have slept funny last night. How about you?”
“Not so bad. We surfed a lot yesterday, so I passed out right away.”
“You can go a bit lower,” she purred, leaning into his touch. “I’m glad you slept alright. I was worried about you, down there on the floor.”
“Yeah, uh, we got lots of, um, extra blankets…” He trailed off as his hands drifted down her sides.
“Good,” she murmured as he daringly reached forward just enough to brush the edge of her bikini.
“Uh, yeah.” He caressed the sides of her breasts for a moment, trying to act like it was part of the massage, before losing his courage and going back to her shoulders.
“Alright.” Zoya decisively got to her feet and offered him her hand. “Come on, Liam. Show me how to surf.”
“But,” he protested as she helped him get to his feet, “it’s too calm.”
“That’s fine,” she laughed, “just teach me how to stand up on the board.”
He shrugged, grabbed his board, and led her into the surf until they were chest-deep. The water felt lovely in the midday heat. As Liam had said, the waves were very gentle. Useless for surfing, but perfect for standing close, swaying with the flow.
He showed her how to straddle the board and float in place, holding her hand while she found her balance. Then how to lay full-length and paddle around. She smiled every time she caught him looking at her body. He seemed a bit distracted.
Finally, he tried to show her how to jump to her feet, as if she was about to catch a wave, but she kept falling off. Every time she came up out of the water laughing, Liam tried not to stare as she got back on the board.
The third time she fell, she not-so-accidentally came up against him. She was delighted to discover he was hard. He blushed and stepped back, but she allowed a wave to push her closer, pressing her body against his.
“Ah! Zoya!”
“Oh!” She pretended to be surprised. “Is this because of me?”
“I, uh… yeah,” he admitted, with his erection poking into her hip.
“Why, Liam, do you fancy me?” She grinned, teasing him a bit.
“I’m sorry, I tried not to be a creep!” He grimaced. “It’s just that since I saw you topless yesterday, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Good.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
“Oh.” Liam relaxed. “You’re not mad?”
“I’m not mad,” she murmured, pulling him into a kiss.
They swayed together with the movement of the water. Liam turned out to be quite a good kisser. When he cupped her ass to pull her more firmly against him, she felt a quickly growing heat in her core. His cock throbbed between them, and she moaned. She wanted to see it, to touch him, to feel it in her hands. She broke the kiss and took a half-step back.