I’ve only gotten to see Paige a few times this week due to an article she’s been working on and a lot of promotional work I’ve been doing. I have a couple of days off and convinced Paige to take a few days off so that we can get away together.
I pick her up Thursday morning and drive us out to Malibu. Max’s dad has a house on a private beach that he hardly ever uses, and when Max offered it for a getaway, I snatched it up. I have to be back Sunday in order to be rested and ready for our Monday night game, but this gives us a couple of days away from everything.
The drive is long, but when we arrive at the house—okay, let's be real, it's a fucking mansion—it's all worth it.
“Holy shit. This place is gorgeous.” She took the words right out of my mouth.
“Fuck, Max definitely downplayed this place.”
We walk in the house and take in the modern extravagance coating every inch. I’ve been in a lot of fancy mansions, but this one is a step above. The house is over ten thousand square feet and has three floors, twelve bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms, a movie theater, gym, tennis court, infinity pool, and private beach access. The kitchen is a chef’s wet dream.
We turn off our phones—our deal while we’re away so we can focus on this time together instead of getting distracted by the outside world—then we go to look around. It takes us over an hour to fully explore the whole property.
We make a quick lunch in the fully stocked kitchen that Max left for us and then we head down to the private beach. The weather is perfect at almost seventy degrees and sunny, with only the slightest breeze.
Paige looks at me saucily. “Think you could do me a favor?” she asks, shaking a bottle of sunscreen.
I give her my most seductive smile. “Oh, most definitely, gorgeous.”
I may or may not take an exorbitant and unnecessary amount of time rubbing sunscreen all over every exposed inch of Paige’s delicious body. She doesn’t complain. By the time I’m done, I’m rock hard, but determined to spend quality time with her, not naked. I know, it’s crazy, but I also don’t want her to think we’re only about sex.
We spend the rest of the afternoon lazing around the beach. Eventually, we decide we’re both hungry again. I fire up the grill, while Paige grabs us some beers. I’m laughing at the story Paige just finished about her and Gina in college when she surprises me by asking about the future.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
With you.
I hesitate. I want to be honest, but this is the first time we’ve really talked about the future. We’ve spent a lot of time updating each other on our pasts and presents, but not the future. Is it too soon to lay my cards on the table?
I turn to her and see her looking at me expectantly and almost hopefully. That’s all I need to make my decision. “I see myself with you.”
I wish I could take a picture of the smile that breaks out on her face. It makes me feel like the king of the fucking world.
“You do?”
I nod my head. “How about you? Where do you see yourself in five years?”
Paige never breaks eye contact. “With you,” she says strongly.
I set my beer down and walk over to her. She follows me with her eyes as I lean down, placing my hands on the arms of the chair she’s sitting on and trapping her body with mine. “You want to be my future?”
“I want to be your everything,” she whispers.
I kiss her deeply, pulling her up from the chair and holding her body as close to me as possible. She pulls away, giggling and looking over my shoulder. “Jack, the burgers.”
I turn around. “Oh shit!”
I release her with one more quick kiss and run back over to the grill, flipping the burgers that are now slightly charred on one side. I let the conversation go and we discuss lighter topics while we eat.
It isn’t until after dinner, when I’m buried deep inside of her that I bring us back to that conversation. I thrust gently, her body arching underneath mine in pleasure. I can tell my pace is driving her crazy with need. It’s doing the same to me, but I know the wait will be worth it in the end.
“You want to be my everything, Paige?”
Her eyes are hazy with lust and something else that she hasn't said since we were seventeen.
“Yes,” she whispers.
I kiss her, letting all my emotions flow between us. “You already are,” I whisper back.
Tears form at the corner of her eyes, and I’m about to panic that I messed this up when she speaks the words I’ve been dying to hear. “I love you, Jack.”
For the first time in nearly a decade, my heart skips in my chest. “I love you, too, Paige.”
She leans up to kiss me, and our mouths fuse together with need, want, and so much more love than I ever knew was possible. We continue to whisper those three words over and over while we make love.