Dopplebanger (Meet-Cute #5)

Chapter 8

EIGHT

At first I was opposed to the idea of taking off Evan’s hoodie because it was dang cozy, not to mention smelled like the scrumptious new cologne he’d been wearing the past two days. But at the moment, it was the cool breeze coming off the water that had me clutching it tighter.

“It’s seventy-two degrees,” Evan said, plenty of mocking in his voice as he spread his arms wide, like he wanted to soak in the cool ocean air. The tall grass swayed around the knees of his jeans, the blue sky making a perfect backdrop to bring out his eyes and accentuate his hotness. “How can you be cold?”

“I’m more of an eighty and above girl. But look, I totally unzipped to account for the weather.” Full disclosure: I was considering re-zipping.

Evan wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we neared the lighthouse, and happiness buoyed me up, leaving me light and floaty. Four hours in the car without seeing any sights, and this was already the best road trip ever.

When Evan asked about why I’d moved to North Carolina, a pinch of disappointment went through me. Not just because opening up that can of worms meant talking about my douchehole ex, but also because I’d told him before that I’d moved here with my boyfriend for college. I hadn’t gone into all the nitty gritty, I-want-to-bleach-my-eyeballs details, but I’d mentioned it.

Admittedly, I shouldn’t be surprised. A lot of times I got caught up in talking, and I wasn’t always sure how well he was listening. Distraction constantly got the best of him, but everything was so different now. When I talked, he looked at me so intently, and he seemed to be listening just as intently. It was unnerving and amazing at the time.

“What?” he asked, and I realized I was staring at him like a lovestruck fool. Accurate, but I should probably play it at least a little cool.

Or not. Why bother when it was so fun to put more of myself out there? Especially when he’d been so amazing about my earlier confession. “I’m just having a really good time with you.”

He curled me closer, adding another layer of warmth that traveled right down to my core. “Right back at you.”

We paused at the plaque with all the facts about the lighthouse. Most of the information I’d read before. About the year it was erected—1802 was the original, but the current tower was 1870—and how they’d moved it in 1999.

“How’d they move an entire lighthouse?” Evan asked.

“Very carefully,” I answered, and then received a look that a smartass answer like that deserved. “Come on. We’ve got two-hundred and fifty-seven steps. I’ll tell you about it on the way up.”

“I think I’d rather know it’s steady before we get halfway up there.”

“Halfway? Now you’re underestimating how fast I can talk. By halfway you’ll be able to compose a research paper from all my spewed facts.” I tugged on his hand and he finally relented and followed me into the tall brick structure with a barbershop swirl, only in black instead of red.

The spiral staircase inside was narrow enough that going side by side wasn’t an option.

My thighs began burning from the exertion as I climbed, and so did my lungs, reminding me that I wasn’t in as good a shape as I would prefer. But then I remembered that being in shape for this would mean those hellish stair-climbers at the gym and things like running, and that was a lot of training. Put in that perspective, suffering ten to fifteen minutes as opposed to daily grind sessions seemed like the better option.

Since I’d now gone longer than usual without talking, I started in on the fun facts. “This stretch of shore is home to more than six-hundred shipwrecks. The rough waves and unpredictable currents shift the sandbars around the Hatteras Islands, and one of those old-timey sea captains who’d sailed all around the globe claimed you should do yourself a favor and avoid it completely.”

“Oh, now you tell me,” Evan said, and I laughed.

“Were you planning on boating past here in the near future?”

“Well, not anymore.”

I told him the few other facts I knew, about how lightning once struck the lighthouse and formed cracks in the masonry, and how they’d moved it to avoid the encroaching sea.

Slightly breathless—okay, significantly breathless—I stepped out onto the deck, and what little oxygen I had left caught in my throat at the amazing view.

Green trees morphed into marshy areas that dotted the coast, and the Atlantic stretched out forever, meeting the pale-blue skyline in the distance.

The wind blew harder up here, and I tipped my face to the sun and let the breeze have its way with my hair.

Then I stepped forward, gripped the iron rail, and peered way, way down at the ground, around twelve-stories below.

It took me a moment to catch my name, thrown at me but boomeranged back by the wind before I could fully grip it. I glanced over my shoulder at Evan, who remained near the brick wall of the lighthouse.

“Why don’t you come back over here by me?” he asked.

“Because you can see so much better from here.” I tipped onto my toes, leaning against the rail. A tug on the back of my jacket returned me to flat on my feet. I looked down at Evan’s long fingers and the way they clutched the fabric, then ran my gaze up to his face, noticing the firm set of his jaw. “Are you afraid of heights?”

“No.”

I inched closer to the railing, and he jerked me toward him, the fingers of his other hand wrapping around my wrist as soon as I was within his reach.

“It’s more I’m afraid of plummeting to my death,” he said, his fingers tightening on my wrist. “And I’m afraid of you doing that, too.”

I laughed, and he scowled, which only made it more hilarious. “Sorry,” I said, but a giggle burst free, obliterating my attempted apology. The fact that he was afraid of anything was news to me, and after his constant teasing about my planning to make plans, I couldn’t help being a bit smug over finding this chink in his armor. Not that I tried very hard to smother it.

He pursed his lips together, his scowl still creasing his features. “You told me all about how the tower got struck by lightning, how old it is, and the erosion threats, so pardon me if I don’t feel like it’s the safest structure to dangle off of.”

I twisted to face him. “There was no dangling. And I’m sure they tested it after they moved it again a decade or so ago.”

“That’s another thing. Buildings aren’t meant to be moved.”

I gave him a quick peck on the lips and took a step backward. “Come on, we can take a selfie with our backs to the railing so we get the ocean behind us, too.”

“How about we do that once we’re by the shore?”

“Okay. We’ll get one of us at the shore. I’m just gonna take a quick one up here, so I’ll be right back.”

He tugged on the sides of my jacket—well, his jacket, technically—bringing me back to him.

“I could easily slip out of this, you know,” I said.

“Then you’ll leave me no choice but to grab whatever I can get my hands on.”

“You need to work on your motivational skills. That’s not exactly inspiring me to keep the jacket on.” I was surprised his words from earlier popped out of my mouth, but the way it made his Adam’s apple bob up and down made it worth it. With everything that’d happened in my last relationship, I’d held back with Evan, and it felt freeing and powerful to throw things out there.

Seeing the passion reflected in his eyes made it safer to be me, all out, no holding back.

He tugged me to him, crashed his mouth over mine, and then spun me and walked me backward until I hit the brick wall opposite the railing. His hands slipped inside the jacket, and he gripped the sides of my waist as he continued his delicious assault on my lips.

His hips knocked into mine and I rocked against him, needing more of him on more of me. The feel of his hard length sent heat pooling low in my stomach, and an ache I hadn’t felt in a while formed between my thighs.

His groan sent my nerve-endings into a frenzy, and I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair, dragging my nails along his scalp.

We lost seconds…? Minutes…? Who the hell knew, and who the hell cared? Desire took over my actions, and when he ground against me, I whimpered. I might feel embarrassed if he didn’t look so damn proud of my reaction. Right now it was one of my more subtle reactions, too. For all of Tori’s talk, I hadn’t really been feeling this huge drive to cross into more territory.

Until now.

Part of me had worried that I’d made up the sparks firing back and forth between us so I wouldn’t have to take this road trip alone, but it appeared that once they’d finally arrived on the scene, they were here to stay.

Honestly, I was so hot and bothered that I was entertaining the idea of having sex right here, right now. Never mind that someone else might come along, or that we weren’t very hidden.

It’s midday on a Thursday. Maybe no one will come along for hours. I didn’t really want our first time to be rushed, but?—

Evan’s fingers slipped under my shirt, his thumb dragging intoxicating lines along my skin, and I ran my hands up, resting them on his firm pecs. Okay, now works.

A noise cut through, tickling the back of my mind, but it took a couple of seconds to connect to logical thoughts that could process what it meant. “Someone’s coming,” I said through labored breaths, pushing him away instead of pulling him to me like I wanted.

Seconds later, a group of people stepped out. Judging from the raised eyebrows, signs of our steamy make out were written across our faces. Evan’s hair was mussed, and I raised my fingertips to my kiss-swollen lips.

I glanced down and rearranged my clothes, then cast Evan a smile that undoubtedly confessed all. How much I enjoyed that, how happy I was that he was here with me. How much I wanted to finish what we’d started. “I’m, uh, gonna get that picture now.”

“How about I take it so you don’t feel like you have to practically hang over the railing to get the background in there, too?”

“Oh, sure. Go ahead and take all the fun out of it.”

The closer I got to the railing, the more tension traveled through his muscles and crept into the line of his jaw. Seriously, how cute was it that he was scared of heights? Since giving him a heart attack would prevent more of the making out we’d just done, I resisted leaning my back on the railing. I smiled for the picture, and then my eyes locked on to Evan’s, I smiled just for him.

“Okay. You got your picture. Now, can we return to solid ground?”

I stomped on the concrete under my feet. “Feels solid to me.”

“Ha-ha.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me close, and I probably liked him yanking me around more than I should. I did make him pose for a selfie that we could be in together, even if we got the white brick instead of the ocean view.

He tapped a finger to his cheek. “Why don’t you plant your lips here so we can get one more?”

Since it wasn’t a difficult task, I did as he asked. I loved the way his woodsy cologne invaded my senses, and I couldn’t help reaching up and running my fingertips along his jaw.

His sigh carried so much happiness it echoed through my chest.

When we turned, I noticed a few of the newcomers staring. I tensed, ready for a lecture on not being respectful, and guilt rose. I hated to hamper someone else’s enjoyment, and for all I knew a group of kids could’ve come up and caught us making out. Or more.

Instead of scowling, though, a woman with wind-whipped cheeks smiled and spoke in a heavy Italian accent. “It’s good to see young people so happy. Enjoy.”

The guy accompanying her gazed at her like the world revolved around her, and it sent even more happiness cascading through me. “Thank you. You, too.”

With some more huffing, puffing, and thigh- and lung-burning, we made our way back down the spiral staircase. As we walked over to Evan’s car, I hooked my arm through his and leaned my head on his shoulder. Every little thing reinforced how comfortable I suddenly was with him. I’d longed for this kind of relationship for months, and I could kick myself for not realizing what I had.

Or maybe it just took time to get here. After all, when I’d asked, he’d said it was never like this, so maybe it’d required me fully committing to the idea of us.

Whatever catapulted us to this place, I was grateful for it, and from now on I was going to focus on the positives. Like how I was positive I hadn’t been this deliriously happy in years. Even when I was with the douchehole, he’d never shown as much tenderness and protectiveness as Evan had up on the deck of the lighthouse.

Evan opened the passenger door of the Camaro for me, tucked me inside, and then circled the hood and climbed inside. He fired up the engine and dropped his hand on my knee. “Where to next, navigator? Virginia or bust?”

“Virginia or bust,” I said. But I was thinking I might bust if my thoughts kept dipping into the gutter. If a fully-clothed make out session could turn me on so much, how amazing was a naked one going to be?

I crossed my legs, and while I was usually a sit-back-and-enjoy-the-ride girl, I found myself wanting to fast-forward to checking into our hotel room for the night.