After about an hour, he stood up and smiled at me. “I’m going to go put on my song for you, and then you and I, we’re going to start the dancing,” he stated, winking at me.

I looked around and laughed nervously. “No one else is dancing.”

“Hence why I said the word start,” he confirmed, doing air quotes around the last word.

“I’m not dancing if no one else is,” I protested, shaking my head.

“Oh yes you are, Stripes, because if you don’t dance with me, I’m going to sing to you at the top of my voice and embarrass you.”

I smiled teasingly. “Are you a good singer?”

He shook his head in answer. “Only dogs can hear me at some parts. This is going to be a car wreck, just remember you brought this on yourself.”

I laughed and watched him walk away, pulling out the iPod that was in the docking station and plugging his iPhone in instead. I smiled as he flicked through to find what he wanted. When he seemed happy with his selection, he smiled over at me, raising one eyebrow and nodding his head towards the empty part of the beach which it looked like would serve as a dance floor.

The song started, and I vaguely recognised it as Already Taken by Trey Songz. I smiled at his choice; this was his song for me?

He walked over and held a hand out to me. “Dance?” he asked, cocking his head to the side challengingly.

I shook my head. “No thanks,” I rejected. Under normal circumstances, I would gladly dance with him, but not while his family sat around watching and no one else was dancing, that was just embarrassing.

“Stripes, I sing baaaaaaad,” he warned.

I shook my head again. He dropped down to one knee, just as the song got to the line “I don’t wanna be a player no more,” Nate sang along at the top of his voice – and man he was right, the boy couldn’t sing a note! I burst out laughing and blushed as he carried on singing the song to me, “Thought I’d never fall in love then I met you. Girl you changed my mind,” he continued.

I squealed and clamped my hand over his mouth as everyone turned to look at us. “Fine!” I hissed, nodding quickly. “I’ll dance, just stop that god-awful racket,” I joked, giggling and trying to hide my burning face in the side of his neck.

He laughed and pulled me up. I kept my face buried against the side of his neck, trying to hide against him, knowing people would be watching. His arms went around my waist, holding me securely against his body as we started to dance to the song slowly.

“That was so embarrassing,” I whined, grinning against his skin.

“Oh, don’t lie, you love that I’d make a dick out of myself, just to get one dance with you. It makes you feel special and treasured,” he countered, teasingly.

True, very true.

I bit his shoulder lightly, before tightening my arms around him. “Whatever, jerk,” I muttered, before pulling his mouth down to mine as the song continued to play around us.

Everyone else seemed to disappear when he kissed me. His hand slid up my back to tangle into the back of my hair, and my whole body started to get that tingly feeling that he always seemed to evoke in me. His kisses were magical and, impossibly, each one seemed to get better and better.

By the time he pulled away and put his forehead to mine, I had forgotten where we were, I had forgotten that everyone was watching us and that we were the only ones dancing. His body moving against mine, the skin of his chest rubbing against mine, the warm feel of the sand under my feet, everything was perfect and it made me feel like we were the only two people left in the world.

“Want me to sing you the rest?” he whispered, brushing his nose up the side of mine.

I smiled and looked at him curiously. “What made you choose this song?” I asked.

He smiled and shrugged. “The words. They just remind me of you and how I feel about you. I guess this song just sums me up. I don’t want to be a player anymore; I never thought I’d settle down until I met you. You really are like no other girl that I’ve seen, you’re different and have something that they don’t. I guess this song is kind of written about me,” he explained, looking a little nervous about telling me. “Plus, I already used the Mrs Right line on you, so I thought that was appropriate too,” he joked, waggling his eyebrows.

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. When you looked at the song that way and listened to the lyrics, it was actually incredibly romantic in a weird R & B kind of way.

So far, this weekend had been incredible, and it still wasn’t even night time. Tonight would be even more magical I was sure of it; my winning the bet would ensure that. I silently wished DJ were here; he would love Nate’s crazy family. I desperately hoped that he’d get to meet them one day.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

~ Nate ~

The rest of the afternoon passed almost too quickly, Rosie was just so much fun to be around that the time flew by. My family loved her. The way my mom was looking at her was enough to make Rosie run for the hills, but she didn’t seem to mind, in fact, she seemed to like it. She was happily chatting away to my mom, and joking around with my sisters as if she’d always been a part of us.

When the party drew to a close, my family stayed on the beach and lit a fire, sitting around eating the last of the food up so it didn’t go to waste. I pulled Rosie onto my lap as we sat on the sand around the fire. My hands seemed like they had a mind of their own when I was around her, I couldn’t even stop myself from tracing my fingertips over up and down her legs, loving the feeling of her skin under my hand. A couple of hours ago she had donned my shirt, and holy fuck, the girl somehow managed to look hotter in my clothes than in that cut out little bikini thing. For a joke, I’d made her a sticker that said ‘Team Peters’ on it and had stuck it on her ass just so that all the guys at the party would know to back to hell off.

I nuzzled into her neck. Rosie’s whole aura was intoxicating, just incredible and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get enough of her.

After another half an hour, my parents excused themselves to bed. My dad smirked at me as he stood up. “No cell phone emergencies for the next half an hour, okay?”

I cringed as the image immediately filled my head. “Seriously, go away and leave my mother alone, you two are too old for that stuff,” I complained, shuddering.

My dad laughed as he patted my shoulder. “Whatever. Night guys,” he called to everyone else.

Hannah and Paige stood up too. Robert had left a while ago, and Lisa was up in her room listening to some crap Emo band. “We’re going to bed too. Want me to do the fire?” Paige offered, nodding at the flames that were still burning but starting to go out.

I shook my head in rejection. I wanted a little more time with my girl on the beach, I wasn’t ready for bed yet. Well, it wasn’t that I wasn’t ready for bed, because I was; it was more like I hadn’t built up my strength to say no to her yet. After losing that volleyball game, I knew I was in for it tonight. She would be throwing herself at me, and I wasn’t prepared enough to resist her charms yet.

“Nah, I’ll sort it out. G’night,” I replied, smiling. I watched them walk away before turning my attention back to Rosie who was sitting in my lap. “Want to dance with me some more?”

She twisted slightly and smiled. “Sure. You’re not going to sing though, are you?” she teased, pushing herself up and brushing the sand off her derrière.

I smiled and patted the sticker on her ass. Team Peters. I had to admit, that looked pretty f**king good on her. “Not unless you beg,” I joked, pushing myself up too and grabbing my phone from my pocket. I pulled up some crappy romantic song and pressed play before slipping it back into my pocket again.

She smiled and pressed herself to me. “You’ll be the one begging tonight, Nate,” she countered.

I smiled; she was an incorrigible flirt sometimes. “I don’t beg.”

“Oh, you’ll beg alright.”

“Nate Peters doesn’t beg for anything,” I rejected, pulling her into my arms as we started dancing slowly around the fire.

“By the end of the night, I’ll have you begging for more. I guarantee it,” she whispered, her breath blew across my cheek as her hand ran up my bare chest. My body broke out in goosebumps, but it wasn’t from the cold. I gritted my teeth when her fingers wove into the back of my hair. I knew the words that I had just said to her were untrue – this girl could get me to beg, no doubt about it.

“We’ll see then, huh?” I pressed my lips to hers and kissed her passionately as we continued to dance. When the kiss broke, she laid her head on my shoulder, pressing her face into the side of my neck as her arms tightened on me. I was totally and utterly happy at that moment; I had never in my life felt more contented with one person, everything was perfect.

After about ten minutes she pulled her head back. Tears glistened in her eyes. I frowned, wondering what on earth I had done that had upset her. Had I said something, or maybe, not said something that I was supposed to? Had I done something wrong? I moved my hands up to her face and wiped the single tear that fell down her face as she quickly looked away from me.

“Rose, what’s wrong?”

She sniffed and shook her head, smiling apologetically. “Nothing, I’m just being silly. Sorry.”

That wasn’t the answer I wanted. “Tell me?”

She smiled and a blush coloured her cheeks. “It’s just… this is the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me, and I guess I got a little, I don’t know, overwhelmed or something,” she answered, shrugging uncomfortably.

I smiled at her admission. It was a little romantic – alone on a deserted beach, fire, stars, cheesy music, dancing. I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried. Not that I knew how to be romantic at all, but this situation just seemed to make itself.

I pulled her back to me again and smiled teasingly. “You’re such a girl.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks.”

I brushed her hair back from her face, just looking into her eyes. The way she was looking at me was making my palms a little sweaty. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing. Girls are the best.”

She smiled and nodded towards the fire. “How are you going to put that out? I want to go to bed now, I’ve had enough waiting. I want to revel in my volleyball prize before I’m too tired to enjoy it,” she said, smiling happily.

I moaned quietly, and my balls tightened at the thought of what was about to happen. As quickly as I could, I kicked sand onto the fire, extinguishing the flames, checking it was out. I took her hand and looked towards the house.

“Bed then?”

She grinned. “Thought you’d never ask.”

I smiled and led her up to the house, locking the back door behind us. Once we were inside, I pushed her against the wall and kissed her, obviously taking her by surprise. My whole body was pressed against hers as I slipped my hands down to her ass, lifting her off her feet. Instantly, her legs wrapped around my waist as if they belonged there, and I couldn’t help but moan into her mouth at the sheer luxury of having this incredible girl wrapped around me. Pushing away from the door, I carried her up to my bedroom, not once breaking the kiss as her hands roamed my back, tickling the skin lightly.

As soon as we were in my room, I kicked the door shut and headed straight for the bed. My hormones had taken over; I had barely any control over myself. It had been way too long since something like this had happened to me, and even just kissing her made my whole body burn with passion. No other girl had made me feel like this, not even close. I laid her down on the bed, and she grinned excitedly as we began peeling each other’s clothes off.

I pulled her swimsuit down and moaned in appreciation as it exposed her chest. My mouth went a little dry; she was exquisite. My hands roamed her skin, and she arched her back, pressing her br**sts into my hands more. When she made that little purring noise I almost cl**axed in my shorts. Eight weeks. I’d been with this girl for eight incredible weeks, but it still hadn’t prepared me for this. I felt like a virgin, like I was seeing a girl for the very first time. Everything felt new and exciting. I hoped this night lasted forever.

I kissed her as I gripped the sides of the swimsuit and started pulling it down. I’d already rid her of her shorts, so this was the last thing to come off before I had my hot little girlfriend completely and utterly na**d.

Just as I was about to pull her swimsuit down, she gripped my hand and shook her head. “Wait, wait, wait,” she muttered, chewing on her lip.

I stopped immediately and hovered above her, looking at her worriedly. “What’s wrong?”

She closed her eyes and winced. “I’m scared,” she mumbled.

I smiled, still confused. “Of me?” I asked, not having a clue what she would be scared of. Maybe she was scared of being in a full on relationship, maybe she was scared to take this next step after all. Maybe she was still scared that I was using her for sex.

She opened her eyes and shook her head. “Nate, I’ve had a baby.”

“Yeah, I know that. I’ve met him, remember?”

She smiled weakly. “That’s not what I meant… I meant that, my body, it’s… I’ve…” she groaned and closed her eyes again. “I have some stretch marks on my stomach from where I was pregnant with DJ.”

I smiled and felt my tense muscles relax. This wasn’t something I had done wrong, I hadn’t rushed her, she was just feeling insecure about her body. I lowered myself down on top of her, being careful with my weight.