K. Linde - Off the Record

“How would I know that when you don’t even tell me about these people until after?”

“Because you’re all I need, Liz,” he said sincerely.

They turned away from the main lobby and exited the building through the back entrance, skirted the pool area, and walked the path that Liz knew led to the beach. She sure hoped he had something better than the beach in mind, because sand was not a good idea.

They kicked off their sandals when they reached the beach entrance and carried them as they walked through the sand. Brady’s hand found hers, and he threaded their fingers together. Liz froze, surprised that he would hold her hand in public, even if it was two or three in the morning and no one else was awake.

Either way, it felt really nice. He had huge hands, and hers felt dainty in comparison, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. They still fit together perfectly.

The waves crashing against the surf were the music as they walked along the beach. As frustrated as Liz was with their situation, she couldn’t help but feel at peace out on the beach with Brady. It was as close to public as he allowed, and so she wanted to treasure it for what it was.

Brady stopped them in front of a big cabana. Liz had seen these on the beach when she had been out there yesterday, but unless a person paid for them ahead of time they remained closed and locked. Seemed like such a waste.

“Come here,” Brady said, drawing her in closer.

“What are we doing?” she asked anxiously.

Brady threw open the cabana curtains to reveal a plush seaside bed complete with a soft, fluffy comforter and giant pillows. Liz stared forward at the bed, a smile spreading on her face.

He took her sandals out of her hand and tossed them off to the side before picking her up in his arms and laying her down on the bed.

“I’ve missed you,” he told her, running his hand down her body.

“I missed you, too,” Liz responded, wondering whether she would always feel the pain of missing him and the heartache of waiting.

Brady didn’t leave any more room for conversation as he wound his hand into her hair and tugged on it forcefully. She lay flat against the bed, his body moving to cover her. Her hands fumbled for his button-down. She gave up on the buttons after two and yanked the thing over his head.

She didn’t even care that they were in an open cabana on the beach. Anyone could see in and know what they were doing. But Brady had brought her here, and she wasn’t going to stop him.

His lips found her demandingly, forcing her mouth open and volleying with her tongue. The urgency in his kisses was contagious and soon she was feverish. She couldn’t get enough of him. His hands were everywhere, their bodies grinding against each other. Her legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him harder against her. Their breathing mingled, hot and enticing.

Brady pulled back and stepped out of his shorts while she tugged off her clothes. She just wanted to feel him and know that she had him completely to herself. She wanted to forget the rest of the world, the waiting, the hiding, the need to be with other people for public appearances. With him settling down in front of her, she let her mind fade away and reveled in his touch.

Liz slid her arms around his neck and he pressed his lips down against hers. Brady slid forward into her and she groaned into his mouth. He pushed back and let their bodies meet together over and over again.

She didn’t care how angry she had been with him before this. Their attraction when they were together was undeniable. If either of them tried to ignore it, they would only be lying to themselves. They just couldn’t get enough. It was why they were risking the world to see each other. It was why, when he was moving inside of her, pushing her toward the edge of climax, she couldn’t think of anything else but her utter, unquestionable feelings for this man.

“Brady,” she groaned, gripping his shoulders and digging her nails in.

He slammed into her faster and faster, sending her to the brink of release. Liz cried out Brady’s name as her body surrendered to him. The intensity of her orgasm hit him and he lost control, thrusting once more, and burying himself deep within her.

He wrapped his arms around her and they lay there, sweat beading between them, waiting for their chests to stop heaving, and their breathing to even out.

“Oh, Brady,” Liz whispered, “I love you.”

She knew it was true. That against all odds, she had fallen for this man. The one man she couldn’t have.

“Baby,” he groaned, his voice strained, “I know you do.”

Liz remained on her back as Brady dropped his head to her shoulder and kissed a soft trail along her collarbone. She had said it. She had told him. She already knew he loved her, and he had sort of told her, but she would have liked to just hear it.

When their breathing evened out, Brady rolled over to his back, with a heavy sigh. His hand found hers and laced their fingers together once more. The moment was so peaceful. Maybe in the end, just knowing how he felt was good enough. And what really showed the way they felt was this…in this moment.

Liz turned back over and rested her head on his chest with a sigh, thinking about how easy it would be to fall asleep like this with him next to her.

“No sleeping yet,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “I got you something.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything. You already did all of this,” Liz said softly.

“Well, it’s not all that much…compared to this, I suppose. I still wanted you to have it.”

He adjusted her so that she was lying on the pillows instead of his chest before finding and sifting through his shorts. He returned a second later, looking a little…embarrassed. After everything that had happened between them, she didn’t know why he would be embarrassed. Actually, Liz had never seen him like that.

“Here you go,” Brady said, handing her a small box.

Liz sat up and took the box from him, narrowing her eyes. “What’s this?”

“Just open it.”

Liz bit her lip, wondering what she would find inside. She opened the box and stared down at the small necklace. Her heart sped up. Brady had gotten her jewelry. No one had ever bought her jewelry.

She pulled it out of the box, the long chain falling and pooling against the cabana sheets, and brought the face of the necklace closer to her.

“It’s, uh…called a memory locket,” he whispered, running his hand through his hair. “It made me think of you.”

Liz was stunned. The necklace itself was a small, circular, see-through locket with a silver border that could be opened, and even smaller charms were placed inside. Her stomach twisted when she saw what charms were in her necklace—an airplane, a key, the number four, and a yellow gemstone.

“I love it,” she whispered. How could he be so completely sweet like this…knock her right off her feet?

“Good. I was worried…well, I don’t know if you wear stuff like that,” he said with a shrug.

“No, I do,” she told him, staring up into his deep dark eyes. “But why the number and the gemstone?”

The other two were obvious.

“I got the four for the Fourth of July, when I won your vote,” Brady said, his eyes showing what that day had meant to him. “And the yellow stone is the birthstone for November.”

“I don’t have a November birthday,” Liz said. It didn’t even matter to her that he had gotten her birthday wrong; she loved it.

“That’s when the election is over,” he said quietly.

Liz didn’t see Brady again before school started. The primary was now a week away, and he barely had time to breathe, let alone sneak away to see her. She expected nothing less, though she did find herself wishing more and more that she could be there for him.

The primary made it hard to concentrate on anything else…like school starting, or her new research job, or the paper. Knowing that so much was on the line for Brady made her nervous and irritable.

Liz had tried de-stressing by hanging out with Victoria, but by the end of the day Victoria had claimed to need a Xanax to deal with the stress rolling off of Liz in waves. Even though Liz wouldn’t tell Victoria what was going on, Victoria still loved her.

By the time the Friday before school got there, Liz had totally forgotten that she had agreed to help Hayden move. He had called her that morning and asked if she had still planned to help. Hoping that it would get her mind off of everything, Liz had agreed and headed over to his old place.

The moving process had certainly been a distraction, as it was physically demanding, but it did nothing to clear things up with Hayden. They had hung out and joked together along with his track friends. When they finished the move, the group got lunch and Hayden drove her back to her car.

“I really appreciated your help today,” Hayden said, hopping out of his car and walking with her over to where hers was parked.

“I don’t know how helpful I was,” Liz joked.

“You were great. Everyone thought so.” He smiled his charming smile and moved closer to her.

“Well, I’m glad I could help. Thankfully I don’t have to move or else I’d be calling up you and all your friends to help me.”

“You know I’d help,” Hayden said.

He moved forward to wrap his arms around her, and Liz backed up quickly. “I’m in desperate need of a shower,” she said, embarrassed.

She just couldn’t have him touch her. She felt bad enough about D.C. She couldn’t lead him on to believe this was going anywhere as long as she was still trying to figure things out with Brady.