Landon

It took a few minutes to gather the items she needed to cut my hair. With scissors and a comb in hand, I watched her hot little body take one of the chairs away from the table and place it in the center of the living room on top of the bedsheet we’d spread out.

Against my suggestion of a naked haircut, she pulled on her short denim shorts but threw me a bone by not putting her T-shirt back on over her bikini top. When she pointed to the chair, I sat with a pout.

“I don’t see what the big deal is. How about a topless haircut?”

Ignoring me, she stepped in between my spread knees and ran her left hand through my wet hair. Her boobs inches from my face caused every part of my body to thrum to life, with my cock leading the parade. My gaze fixed on the way her pebbled nipples stubbornly pushed against the shiny black fabric of her bikini. While she was busy running her fingers through my hair, I brazenly rubbed my thumbs across them.

“Lance.”

“What? Even they are complaining, they want out.”

More ignoring on her part, she leaned in and I felt the first snippet of hair fall onto my chest. Her breasts were so close, who could blame me when I closed the distance to suck on one pert, fabric-encased nipple?

She froze and looked down at me just as I looked up. “Do you really want to distract me while I’m holding scissors?”

I pulled away and shook my head petulantly. “No.”

“Okay, then.”

For the remainder of my haircut I was a good boy and deserved a freakin’ medal. After the last piece of hair cascaded to the ground, she stepped away to inspect her work.

“How did you learn to cut hair?” I asked while she ran both hands through the now shorter strands, driving me crazy in the process.

“I trim Marshmallow.” She looked down at my shocked expression with a half smile. “Now you ask me that? Shouldn’t you have inquired regarding my credentials before I started?”

“I trust you.”

She laid the comb and scissors down on the table before brushing her hands over my shoulders, back, and chest.

“Zara.”

“Hmm?” I caught one hand as it trailed over my abs and forced her to sit on my lap. “Don’t you want to see it, to make sure you’re not bald?”

“Nah. I want to kiss you.” She gave me a chaste kiss and pulled away. “No. That won’t do.” I had planned on going in for the kill, giving her the kiss that would leave us both in shambles. But the moment my lips touched hers, a knock on my door interrupted its progress.

“Fuck.” We both stared at the wood. “Probably Kaholo,” I whispered. “He comes by to see if I need anything before he makes his trip to Honolulu.”

“Are you going to answer it?”

“Do you want me to?”

“You can. I’m fine.” And surprisingly, she did look completely fine with the fact he was about to see her in my bungalow.

“Okay.”

She stood to allow me to open the door. Once I did, Kaholo’s smile went from friendly to ecstatic when his eyes landed on Zara.

“Hello, Mr. Lance…Miss Zara.”

“Hi, Kaholo. How are you?” she said with a small smile.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.”

I moved aside and waved him in. “No problem. Zara was just giving me a haircut.”

He ran a large hand over his shiny bald head as he took in the scene. “Not something I ever need to worry about.” With a wicked grin, he tugged on his braided beard and said, “Ah, but this does require major upkeep.”

I chuckled at his response while Zara busied herself putting the chair back at the table and folding up the sheet.

“I’m going to go shake this out,” she said before walking through the door and heading up the beach.

“Such a lovely girl,” Kaholo mused out loud. “May I give you some advice, Mr. Lance?”

“Of course.”

“Andres and I are good friends. He’s a very complex man. Please don’t let his pomposity deter you from pursuing his daughter.”

“Pursuing?” Zara might have been fine with Kaholo seeing us together, but I had no clue what details she’d be okay revealing to him or anyone in regard to our relationship.

“I am very keen in detecting one’s true feelings,” he continued. “Not only can I see how much Zara likes you, but I can also see how much you like her.” Zara walked in before I had a chance to respond. “So, is there anything you need me to pick up on my trip?” He switched gears flawlessly.

“Yes, actually. There is.” I grabbed a slip of paper off the kitchen counter and scribbled, two bottles of red wine, lots of candles, specific spices, whatever catch of the day was available, flowers, something for dessert, and a few other ingredients needed for a romantic dinner for two. Tomorrow night I would be pulling out all the stops in romancing Miss Zara Jobert.

I grabbed some cash from my wallet and handed it, along with the list, to Kaholo. As he studied it, he ran his thick fingers over his braided beard. With each item he read, the corners of his mouth lifted just a tiny bit more. I’d just confirmed his suspicions with a freaking grocery list.

“I’ll get right on this,” he said with a wink.

“Thank you.”

“Okay, you two. Enjoy the rest of your day.” He stood staring while grinning once more, before he left and closed the door behind him.

Zara turned to me and shrugged. “I hope you’re prepared to be outed. Kaholo gossips like a woman.”

“Now you tell me?”

“Does that bother you?”

“No. I worry about you, though.”

She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around my waist. Looking up into my eyes she said, “No need to, I’m okay with people knowing the hottest visitor we’ve ever had is into me.”

“I like your choice of words,” I responded with a wiggle of my eyebrows. Flashing me her dimples she leaned up and kissed me long and hard. During it my thoughts screamed how I couldn’t wait to get into her…literally. More than that, I couldn’t wait to hold her afterward. The thought of postcoital cuddling with Zara was as hot as the act itself.

“Thanks for my haircut.”

“You’re very welcome.” She looked up and ran a hand over my head. “You have great hair.”

Funny, I’ve heard that compliment at least a thousand times in my lifetime, mostly from stylists I had worked with, sometimes from a past lover. Never had it meant anything to me. Yet Zara complimenting my hair thrilled me. What was it about her that made me feel like a schoolboy who landed his crush?

An amused smile lifted the corners of her lips. “What are you grinning at?”

“Nothing. It’s really hot in here. The heat is getting to me.” I kissed her nose before asking, “Would you rather go back to the bedroom to cool off or go for a swim?”

Maybe using the one tiny air conditioner in the bedroom, which wasn’t powerful enough to cool the rest of the bungalow, was a sneaky way to get her either on my bed or nice and wet…but a man had to do what a man had to do.

“Going back to the bedroom would not cool us off, Lance. Just the opposite, in fact.”

“Maybe not, but it would be fun regardless.”

Tapping a finger over her bottom lip pretending to ponder her choices, she blurted out, “Race you!”

She took off out of the bungalow, shedding her shorts along the way. I caught up quickly, lifting her over my shoulder and sprinting into the ocean all while tickling her. She squealed and giggled, and it was the most perfect sound I’d ever heard.

Zara and I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon engaging in some heavy petting and making out, both in and out of the ocean, before I drove her home.

Her parents were inside, thus forcing us to say goodbye while in the Jeep.

“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow,” I admitted with a kiss. “Do you want me to pick you up at work or your house?”

“I’ll get a ride. Do you mind if I bring Marshmallow?”

“Not at all. I miss the little guy.”

“He misses you, too. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Just as she opened her door, I grabbed her hand and she looked at me expectantly.

After a quick glance at her front door, I asked, “Can I walk you to the door?”

“Next time,” she said quickly. “I don’t want my father ruining my good mood.”

“Okay, then.” I held her face and pressed my lips against hers. “Dream of me,” I said after breaking the kiss.

“I always do.”

She darted out of the car and ran up her steps, giving me a small wave and a huge smile.

I looked down at my cock and adjusted myself. He had been extremely patient all day, and if I didn’t get home to jerk off soon, I might have ended up causing some kind of permanent damage. There had to be side effects from having at least a dozen hard-ons with no release in an eight-hour period. The pressure building in my balls had become unbearable. I had no doubt that, if they were to explode, I’d be responsible for a sinkhole in the earth the size of a small swimming pool.

The moment I got home I jacked off to give my dick some relief. At that point I realized I had about twenty-two hours before I saw her again. I spent the evening working on Logan’s story out on the porch while enjoying the warm breeze. When my eyes couldn’t focus on the screen any longer, I went to bed knowing I was down to about nineteen hours left, and then woke in the morning with ten hours left.

Then eight.

Then six.

Throughout the day my countdown both pissed me off and excited me. With each passing hour the anticipation increased as the ire diminished. According to the traitorous clock on the wall, I had only a few more minutes before she arrived.

Dinner was almost ready. Candles were lit. Wine was uncorked. Table was set.

I had the whole night with her, and God, I couldn’t wait.

When I realized we wouldn’t even be having sex, I laughed out loud. “What the fuck has happened to me?”

And like music to my ears, the yipping of a dog nearly made me hop up and down like a kid on Christmas morning. I walked outside and around the bungalow to where Zara was getting out of the small white car her dad was driving the day of the rainstorm. Apprehension slowed my steps until I saw her mother in the driver’s seat and not her father.

“Hi,” Zara said cheerfully. She placed Spike down, and he dashed in my direction, catapulting into my arms.

“Hey, dude. How are you?”

One would have thought, based on the sounds that came from him, that he was in pain. But I knew better. The best way to handle Spike’s greetings was to just let him do his thing. Until he got out every lick, wiggle, and whimper, he wouldn’t be happy.

“Hello, Lance,” Mrs. Jobert said after getting out of the car.

“Nice to see you again.”

She came closer and shook my hand as Zara pulled a small duffel bag from the backseat.

“Hi,” she repeated, walking toward me before leaning up and kissing my mouth. I didn’t know if the surge of excitement I felt was because she initiated the kiss in front of her mother or because of the actual kiss.

“Hi. You look beautiful,” I said, looking into her eyes. She wore a sleeveless short flirty floral dress that showed off most of her gorgeous tanned skin.

“Thank you.”

“Well, you kids have fun.” Mrs. Jobert waved before getting into the car and proceeding to drive away.

“I take it your mom doesn’t object to you spending the night?”

“My mother respects that I’m a grown woman, unlike my father. Besides, she really likes you.”

“Based on meeting me for five minutes?”

“And based on what I told her.” She threw me a wink and sashayed her fine ass toward the door.

Because I was right behind her when we stepped inside, I heard her very audible gasp. She dropped her bag with a thump, placing her hands over her open mouth.

I had scattered small votive candles around the living room that were casting romantic shadows on the wood-paneled walls. The small bouquet of pale-pink roses Kaholo had picked up provided the centerpiece for the table I had already set for two.

When she turned to see me watching, a warm smile spread over her lips. “I’m so touched,” she said quietly.

I placed Marshmallow down and walked closer. “I tried to make it special.”

“It’s perfect.”

“Kaholo helped,” I admitted sheepishly. “The man is a hopeless romantic.” He was. It was amazing what he had come up with on his own, right down to the strawberries he helped me dip in dark chocolate for later.

I had one of my favorite ballads playing on my portable speaker. She tilted her head, listening to the soft, melodic song. Her brows puckered in concentration, I assumed because she was intrigued by the lyrics.

My life was on track. Knew all of my plans.

I knew of my purpose. The reason I am.

But life has no rules. Of this I am sure.

Just one glimpse of you, I wanted much more.

I, myself, never really paid attention to them until recently. Strangely enough, they now seemed like they had been written for us.