Never Ever by L.P. Maxa Page A

damn day. “Now stop worrying about me and come have some fun.” I walked into the bacteria ridden water wearing my sports bra and shorts with Baily right beside me.

 
     
    Chapter Twenty Two:
    Taylor
     
    I beamed when I saw Livi swimming towards me. I had seen the stress etched on her face when she was talking to Baily. I wanted to reach for her hand and pull her to me. I wanted to kiss her temple to make her smile. And pinch her ass to make her laugh. I wanted…to know where the hell my balls had gone? Two nights wrapped in Livi and I sounded like a sentimental douche. Gross.
    Cole sent a wave of water into my face, breaking my inner monologue. “Alright ladies, what is the game plan for the rest of the day? The night? Y’all still want to head into town and go to the bar?”
    Allie was floating on her back, sporting some oversized black shades. I thought she was asleep until she suddenly answered Cole. “I say we spend the rest of the day being lazy. And then we all shower and head out for a night on the town. I wanna dance with an old cowboy.”
    I chuckled, “An old cowboy? What’s the difference?”
    Kate cocked her head, “What’s the difference? How about everything. Livi, you have a way with words. Why don’t you describe it for them?”
    Liv threw back her head and laughed, “That is an impossible thing to put into words.”
    I reached under the water and ran my hand up her inner thigh. I loved the way chill bumps broke out on her arms. “Try.”
    She closed her eyes as if she was hunting the right words down in her head. “When you dance with an old cowboy, there is never any rush. You feel it in the way they hold you, steady and respectful. They want nothing from you, other than your company for a song or two. They take care of you for the short time that you belong to them. They have an unwavering rhythm. The way they dance is so ingrained in who they are, there is never a miss step. It’s just peaceful and calm. For those 3 minutes, nothing else matters except for the nice man holding your hand.”
    I wanted to be that man. I wanted to make Livi’s world perfect, even if it was just for a few minutes. But I couldn’t say those words. It terrified me that I was even thinking them. I couldn’t tell her that I was silently praying that I danced like an old cowboy. So instead I said, “You know I’ve been told a time or two that I have an unrelenting rhythm.”
    Livi rolled her eyes and sent water flying into my face, “I said unwavering, you jack ass.”
    Cole narrowed his eyes, “Do you have to be old to dance like an old cowboy?”
    Allie, still floating, answered. “Of course not. It’s in the way you dance. Not your age.” That woman was like a piece of Styrofoam.
    I tuned the rest of the conversation out when it turned to the Disney channel and some kind of dancing man show. I sank down in the water to my shoulders and reached out for Livi’s hand. She smiled without looking in my direction. My head was going a mile minute. What the hell was my deal? I’d had her, I got what I needed, a few times. Why was I still so bent out of shape over this girl? She was just a girl. Okay, so maybe she was gorgeous and sexy and smart and funny and adventurous and compassionate. AND she wrote fucking porn for a living. But still, she was just a girl. And yet here I was, just wanting to hold her hand.
    Kate put her hands on Allie’s stomach and pushed her under water. “That’s enough. It’s unnatural how well you float. Let’s head home, I want to take a nap.”
    Allie came up looking like a drowned cat, shades and all. “You are so lucky I am too hung over to make any sudden movements.”
    As those two started heading back towards shore Baily turned to Livi, “You going to jog home too?”
    My heart did a small victory dance when Livi looked to me for the answer. It meant she was with me, jog or no jog. I shrugged, “That’s up to you, Sugar.”
    Livi tried to hide her smile at the pet