Forever Lovers (2 page)

“Oh,” silence as Lily processed the
information with an expression that definitely suggested that she
was not yet finished asking questions. He braced himself.

“Are you a virgin?” Whoa, what happened to
simple?

He cocked his head, amazed that a
thirteen-year-old could almost make him blush. Considering her
question carefully before he gave her a serious answer, “I've been
in love.” He was trying not to let the conversation get out of hand
and go in a direction that he had no intention of going.

“A lot?” Lily asked with a direct unblinking
stare of her sky blue eyes lined with inky black lashes.

“No,” which wasn't exactly correct as he had
never been in love –
in like
perhaps, but never in love. He
liked women, women liked him. He knew how to make them happy inside
and outside the bed. Most of the time, he treated women with the
same respect to the fairer sex that he hoped the men in Jasmine and
Jade's life would treat them, which was part of the reason women
always still liked him even after the affair went south. That was
all the relationship that he had ever had, but he didn't tell Lily
that.

Lily just nodded her head silently, got up,
and walked with her head held high displaying a quiet dignity way
beyond her years, out the door of the den. She shut it softly
behind her. Somehow he wished she'd kicked it shut or at the very
least, slammed it on the way out. That was the old Lily who was
predictable and he understood, not this new one.

Quinn's eyebrows puckered, he didn't know why
the way she left bothered him so much. Maybe it was the way she
carried herself, like she was hurt or disappointed in him as a
lover would be. But, that was silly. Lily had never acted like he
existed, much least cared. He immediately dismissed such a notion.
He grumbled, “Teenagers!” He could not begin to imagine how Mom and
Dad ever coped on a daily basis or why he got the privilege of
chaperoning this weekend. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the
leather chair thinking that it seemed they often left town when
Lily came for a visit wondering why that was.

Lily did indeed care what Quinn thought, but
she'd slit her wrists before she'd ever give him even the slightest
hint that she did! Not wanting to go near the twins after the awful
humiliating “Dad talk”, Lily walked outside to beautiful Huntington
Beach that overlooked the peaceful Pacific. It was a place where
she often found comfort and solace when she came for a visit. As
she walked, tears began to gather and flow. She was painfully
devastated that Quinn had been in love and that meant that he –. It
was such an awful thought that she could hardly get her childlike
mind around it. Somehow, in her childish dreams, she'd thought
she'd grow up and Quinn would fall deeply in love with her, marry
her, and they'd live happily ever after like her parents, Platinum
and Luke. She cried because she was so naive that she hadn't even
known what a virgin was! It mortified her that she knew Quinn
thought of her as a child and she had just confirmed it with her
stupid stupid question. Why was she always opening her mouth and
inserting her foot? Her dad continually warned her to think before
she spoke. Why hadn't she this time? His favorite quote was,
“
Better to keep your mouth shut and everyone think you're a fool
than to open it and erase all doubt.”

Lily kicked the sand startling a nearby
seagull that took flight over the ocean and into the wild-blue
yonder. Oh, how she wished with all her heart that she could follow
him. She vowed right there under the hot sun and the cool breeze of
the ocean beach that someday all would change and Quinn would look
at her differently, like a grown-up woman!

Three years later, when Lily came to visit
Huntington and Quinn was left to chaperone – again, she got her
wish. It was definitely a turning point in their relationship.

CHAPTER 2

It was Memorial Day weekend three years after
the “Dad talk” and Quinn was meeting the twins and Lily down on the
nearby beach to go surfing. He had already texted them that his
plane had landed and he would soon be there.

Quinn loved to surf. It was a sport that he
started developing with his dad at five. They'd often gone out on
the surfboard together and he'd learned to paddle and ride mini
waves with a life jacket as his dad paddled protectively behind
him.

Ten years later, Quinn was a natural and
began to win surfing competitions at fifteen. He could always hold
his breath under water for a really long time making it much easier
than most to perfect his skills. That kept his proud dad constantly
teasing and checking behind his ears to see if he were growing
gills.

Surfing was in his blood. So much so, that he
would soon be trying out for the Navy SEALS at twenty-two -- a
dream that had finally become a reality in nearby San Diego on the
naval base of Coronado. Today, he planned to chaperon and practice
his underwater breathing techniques as he kept his eye on the twins
and what he thought of as his adopted sis, Lily – his nemesis.

Quinn was just coming home for the weekend.
He had text the twins and Lily that they could go on down to the
beach early before he got there. Eager to watch the waves and wait
for Quinn, they left with their surfboards in hand – a five minute
walk from their fabulous beach house. They knew that they
absolutely were not to go surfing until he got there. Quinn knew
that they would follow that rule as women are often not as strong
as men and can more easily get pulled under a pounding wave even
though they were experienced surfers. Lily, coming from landlocked
Kansas City, was not nearly as experienced. She, however, had
learned from the best – himself. So, he was confident that no
problems would arise. He couldn't have been more wrong.

The girls left about an hour before Quinn
arrived home. The minute they set foot on the beach, they were like
magnets to the surrounding males that honed in on them with their
built in satellite of testosterone.

Some college guy saw the eye candy first and
wasted no time approaching the threesome to play a game of
volleyball with his buddies. The girls were flattered and willing –
little arm twisting was needed. They dropped their boards and
rounded out the teams much to the delight and hoots of the other
male players who patted their buddy on the back, congratulating him
on his success at snaring such hot women for their beach game.

The girls were asked not just because they
were cute chicks, but because the guys liked watching the bouncing
boobs as much as they enjoyed the bouncing ball. The guys also
enjoyed frolicking in the sand and showing off for the girls as
they razzed their buddies in camaraderie. When Quinn appear on the
scene, it was obvious to big brother that it was more like foreplay
if anyone had asked Quinn's thoughts on the proposition of volley
ball. Without a doubt, it was camouflaged as an innocent game of
hit and run for the bouncing ball and boobs.

As Quinn approached the sand, he immediately
spotted the twins with Lily right in the thick of things. They
weren’t too difficult to spot as they had acquired a following of
spectators, all young horny men who encouraged the girls to spike
the ball and win the point. All the while, the boys hooted and
clapped, giving points of encouragement at the bounce of the ball
and bounce of their body parts.

Quinn's eyes nearly popped out of their
sockets once he got a load of Lily and her newly developed figure.
He immediately knew he was in for a shitty weekend. She definitely
had changed all right – she had arrived all woman! The promised
curves at thirteen had developed to their potential and there was
definitely nothing childlike about her now. It didn't help that she
had on this short tight little t-shirt that could have been renamed
short little tease-shirt, which accentuated her newly sweet
blossomed mammary glands – a nice load for each hand. What was he
thinking? He looked around – the same thing every other guy was
thinking when they weren't looking at Jade or Jasmine.
Crap!

Lily's dark red hair, filled with blond sun
streaks, now curled down her back almost to her waist. It swirled
around her in all directions as she leaped and jumped for the ball
simultaneous with the “wolfy” college kid. As they collided, the
kid twisted so Lily landed halfway on top of him. It was a
thoughtful thing to have done except Quinn knew thoughtfulness had
nothing to do with it.

Quinn stomped over to the couple rolling
around in the sand. Lily's laughter was cut short the minute she
heard his sharp voice say her name. “Lily!” She shaded her eyes and
squinted up at his voice thinking,
Yip. That was Quinn all
right. The same killjoy I remember!

To add insult to injury, the young male
looked at Lily and asked, “Is that your dad?”

Of course, the twins thought that was
hilarious! They called him “Dad” for the rest of the afternoon much
to Quinn’s chagrin and irritation. It didn't help his mood either
when the spectators booed him as he rounded up his fillies and
left.

As soon as Quinn could herd his
responsibilities from the volleyball mob, he hiked his wards down
from the bouncing boob’s activity and away from the center of
things as far as he could get. The girls followed in sullen
silence. As soon as he indicated that this was a good spot for
surfing, however, the girls forgot about the volleyball game from
which they had been interrupted and excitedly started to strip down
to their bikinis. They hadn't worn their wetsuits as it was a hot
day in the Pacific, which was about as warm as it ever gets any
time of year. So, little was left to the imagination as the three
of them peeled off their tight little t-shirts and short shorts
that showed nothing, but promised a lot.

Each of the girls had bikinis with bottoms
that showed a hunk of their thighs and smooth flat tummies. They
were not allowed to wear string bikinis – thank Dad for that! Jade,
however, wore a hot pink bikini that had two little strings on the
side of her smooth thighs as close as she could get to skimpy
without disobeying Father. Jasmine in her neon yellow, who also
liked to push the boundaries, wore a silver belly button ring that
he'd bet his little pinky, Mom and Dad didn't know about either.
The twin's tops looked like they had a little push up to their
boobs. Lily, on the other hand looked like she needed no such
enhancement as her turquoise suit drew the attention of even the
seagulls. If there had been any burkas around, he would have thrown
them over Lily’s head and his sisters. His only strategy at this
point was to get them in the water as soon as possible, but not
before he prayed to the swim gods that none of them lost their tops
or bottoms in the process.

Finally, everyone was in the water. The waves
were fun without being overly challenging. Quinn watched as he
hovered from his surf board in the near distance among the barking
seals. The girls seemed to be having a good time. All three
actually handled the surfing quite well, even Lily; although, he
wouldn't mind giving her a few pointers just to be able to ride
behind her on the same surfboard with his hand on her tummy guiding
her and trying to keep his hands from dipping lower. He wondered if
her hair still smelled like strawberries. To this day, he couldn't
see the succulent fruit without reminding him of her.

After a couple of hours and near drowning’s,
the girls drew tired and the three of them headed to the sandy hot
beach to get a little summer sun and nap. By this time, the waves
had begun to get a little higher and a little rougher signaling
danger to the inexperienced. For Quinn, it was just the kind of
waves he enjoyed. They were ones that contained a challenged – like
his women. Besides, it gave him a chance to practice for his SEAL
testing. He went under the water holding his breath and exploding
for air only at the last possible moment as he barely skimmed the
surface. He enjoyed the thrill of the underwater sights and the
churning foaming water that he battled. The near danger always gave
him a rush. He liked that kind of high. It would be what would make
him a great SEAL.

Lily had been sitting on her beach towel for
a while, peering out of her white rimmed sunglasses at the Pacific,
nibbling on her lower lip. She had already mentioned to the twins
that she hadn't seen Quinn for quite a long time. They just mumbled
that he always disappeared under the water for long periods at a
time as they rolled over on their tummies totally unconcerned, but
Lily was worried. So much so, that she quietly grabbed her
surfboard, threw down her sunglasses, and headed out to sea,
oblivious to the darkened rough waters that had changed the
dynamics of recreational surfing.

Quinn was not too far from the shoreline
practicing his maneuvers when he came up for a breather. Out of the
corner of his eye, he picked up a flash of turquoise with flowing
red hair. “What the hell?” He squinted his eyes. “Doesn't she know
that she has no business being in this water?” he muttered to
himself. He glanced around for the twins. They were parked securely
and safely on the beach relaxing under the rays of the summer sun
as they should be. At least, he didn't have to be concerned about
them.

Quinn’s head swiveled back to Lily. He knew
she was in trouble before she did as he watched the rogue wave
crawling menacingly towards her. Not taking his eyes off her, he
immediately started for her with strong powerful strokes. When she
went under, so did he, praying all the while that he would get to
her in time.

Lily, suddenly, knew she had not made a good
decision. It was a mighty big ocean. How did she ever think she was
going to find Quinn? For the life of her, she had no idea what had
come over her. Why was she so concerned about Quinn anyway? He'd
never treated her any other way then like a step sister and one
that he didn't particularly like at that.