Broken Rules

“How was your day, sweetie?” Jase took her hand and noticed how it melted into his, perfectly. “Good. Even better now!” A large smile spread over Kelsey’s face. Jase melted like a piece of chocolate on a hot summer day. He loved that lopsided smile and bent his head down to place a kiss in the corner of her mouth. Jase’s eyes studied Kelsey as she climbed in the back seat of the truck. His body hummed with excitement admiring her curvy ass on prominent display in tight jean shorts. “How’s it going, Kelsey?” asked Ryan while turning the radio’s volume down. “Good. How about you?” Kelsey replied scooting over so Jase could slide in beside her. They made small talk until arriving at Caitlin’s house. Ryan jumped out of the truck, leaving Jase and Kelsey alone. “I’m glad we get to go to our lake again.” Kelsey leaned over close to her man. Jase could feel the temperature in his body go up a couple of degrees, and it wasn’t from the hot August sun. “It will always be our lake,” Jase said the words not sure if this was fair to Kelsey or not. She would be in her last year of college next month. Kelsey had talked about wanting to return to Atlantica to teach elementary kids. The lake would be part of her life as she grew old and raised a family. Jase, on the other hand, would never see their lake again. Kelsey muttered, “Yeah.” She draped her arms around Jase’s neck and kissed him needing to savor his lips. They held each other tight letting their lips continue the conversation. “Can’t you two keep your hands off each other?” Caitlin teased as she gathered momentum to spring up into the passenger seat. Kelsey and Jase laughed as they watched Caitlin’s short stature jump up to get into Ryan’s jacked up truck. She toppled into the truck and closed the door. Ryan started the engine. They arrived at the beach to find it more empty than usual for an August afternoon. The ladies spread their beach towels out while the guys opened the cooler. Ryan stood up and grabbed Caitlin. They began dancing and giggling in the sand. Kelsey started laughing while watching them. Jase kept his eyes on Kelsey loving that she was laughing given they’d had their share of depressing conversations recently. Once again Jase’s stomach knotted thinking about leaving Kelsey and never seeing her again. He looked at Ryan and Caitlin dancing like fools, thinking how lucky they are -- no problems, no worries, and no future obligations. Jase turned back to Kelsey who was slumped over drawing a picture in the sand with her finger. It was a big heart with their initials in it. Jase pushed her long hair off to the side to expose her neck. He began peppering the tender skin with kisses up and down. It was their last 12 hours together, and the world around them disappeared. Jase’s finger began tracing little circles on her shoulder feeling it was essential to touch her until they said their final goodbye. “Good picture, Kels. You have artistic talent that I didn’t know about,” Jase teased. His hands began kneading her shoulders. “I have a lot of hidden talents that you don’t know about,” she flirted. A sigh escaped her mouth as her shoulders relaxed to his expert touch. Kelsey turned to face her man. Jase drew her close so they were nose to nose. “Care to tell me about another one?” “Nope. If you were sticking around, I might have shared another one with you.” Jase was worried that her words about sticking around would sour the mood. He was relieved when she giggled. Jase tickled her rib cage causing Kelsey to burst into laughter. She squirmed but couldn’t escape his fingers. Jase playfully pushed her down on her back and gently sat down on her. He carefully straddled his legs on both sides of her to support most of his weight. One of his hands secured her two smaller hands over her head. His free hand began drawing little crazy eights in the shallow, exposed area between her breasts of her bikini top. Her amused eyes widened and the giggling immediately stopped. As his fingers traced over the edge of her bikini top, goose bumps appeared all over her arms. Jase let go of her hands. Her arms fell to her sides like wet noodles. Kelsey’s eyes glazed over as if she were lost and needed to be found. A small, wicked smile appeared on his face. Kelsey was captivated by his touch; but when he kissed her, it was confirmation she loved him. She loved him and couldn’t change her feelings even if their time together was over. It was a stark reminder that love didn’t have a switch that you could just turn off. There were two small boys playing catch at the edge of the water, but it didn’t matter. They were always able to close off the world and encapsulate moments in their own bubble. Jase swept strands of hair off her face. He lowered himself to kiss her. Her lips tasted sweet, and her mouth was minty from her gum. Please stay! Please don’t go! Kelsey wanted to beg even though the words weren’t fair. How was she ever going to get over him? Pangs of hurt went through her heart, but they didn’t stay long. His hardness against her softness was enough to refocus her thoughts. Jase’s hard stare said everything words couldn’t. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. He was the match, and she was the fire. As Jase stared into the most beautiful blue eyes he’d ever encountered, he couldn’t help wondering how it would feel to make love to this woman. If he could, would it help him find closure in knowing their forevers didn’t include each other? Damn Century and its rules!