Champagne Kisses: A Timeless Love Story by Krista Lakes Read Free Book Online Page A

her comfy pajamas, humming as she cooked. When she turned around and saw me, she smiled. "Hey, there."
    "Hey, yourself," I said.
    "You hungry?" she asked.
    "No... aren't you wondering where Jenny and I were last night?" I asked.
    She shrugged. "Tony saw each of you leave."
    I had forgotten all about Tony, and shrieked a little when a masculine voice came from behind me. "It's important to have situational awareness."
    There, sitting at the table, was Redshirt, only he wasn't wearing the red shirt anymore. He was just wearing a pair of boxers, comfortable as he could be. Normally I would be pretty worried about such a good-looking guy practically naked at our table, but I had just walked out of a house with his two naked friends.
    I giggled. "You startled me!"
    He laughed back at me. "Did you girls have a good time?"
    "Yes, I had a blast. In fact, I'm meeting Dean right now to go surfing," I said.
    Tony looked past me at Kim. "Hey, do you want to go surfing?"
    Kim blushed and looked down. "Actually, I was kind of hoping we could stick around here today. Together."
    Tony shrugged his shoulders. "That sounds good to me. Let the guys know not to trash it too badly."
    I smiled at him. "I thought you loved that place; why aren't you rushing back to it?"
    Tony shrugged again. "They don't cook eggs for me there?"
    I laughed and went upstairs. I ran a shower and stepped in to rinse off. Without even thinking about it, I wished that Dean was in there with me. I wanted his strong hands on me, touching me and washing me. I smiled to myself at such an intimate a thought.
    After I was done, I found the bag with my swimsuits in it. For a moment, I agonized over which to wear, the one-piece or the two-piece. If I wore the two-piece, the top might fall off if I crashed into the water too hard. On the other hand, it was sexier than the one-piece.
    You're only young once, I thought. I quickly put on the two-piece bathing suit, slipped a pair of short shorts and a t-shirt over it, and was on my way back to Dean.

Chapter 8
    J une 6th, 1990
    "Okay, now this time I'm going to just give you a little push on the back of the surfboard. Center yourself and get ready."
    We were out in the ocean. Dean was taking the time to show me how to surf and it was not going well. As he gave my surfboard a little tap, I found myself staying up on the surfboard for about a half second before crashing into the water again. Oh well , I thought. At least my top is still on.
    I came to the surface, sputtering once again. Dean grabbed my hand, steadying me before going after the surfboard. He grabbed it and brought it back to me.
    "Quick, get back on the board, I can see a great swell coming," he said, obviously excited.
    "You take it." I unlatched the surfboard from my ankle and handed him the strap. Dean had seemed excited about surfing, yet he hadn't even gotten on the board yet.
    "Please, just ride this wave. Then you can watch me surf for the rest of the afternoon," he said, pushing the strap away.
    I laughed. "Okay." I laid on my stomach, waiting for his signal.
    "Okay, on the count of three, stand up. One, two, three!" I felt the push on the back of the surfboard and stood up. The wave began to carry me away, and I managed to keep my balance. This is it , I thought. I was actually traveling over the water, standing as the wave behind me pushed me toward the shore.
    I screamed a victory scream as I felt the exhilaration overcome me. Then I made the mistake of looking back at Dean. I quickly lost my balance and fell off the board, crashing into the water with an ungraceful somersault. I came to the surface, coughing but cheering too. Dean was there in a minute, holding out his hand for a high five. "You did it!"
    I reached out to reciprocate the gesture, then started to go after the board. In a moment, my feet brushed the bottom. We had hit a sand bar, and the water only came up to the middle of my chest. I kept walking toward the shore, but Dean's hand reached out