We had cooled our jets a bit that last week. We didn’t remain celibate, but we didn’t go at each other like dogs in heat either. Everything was slow and steady as if we were memorizing each other. I could close my eyes and imagine him under my hands. I knew where every dip and curve on his body was. He was burned into my memory as well as my heart.
He had been gone less than fifteen minutes when my phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Alex: I miss you already. Are you okay?
Me: No, this amazing man drove off with my heart.
Alex: I’ll keep it safe and return it to you soon.
Me: It’s against the law to text and drive.
Alex: That’s the beauty of voice recognition software. I just tell Siri what to say, and she usually gets it pretty close to accurate.
Me: I miss you. Come back.
Alex: You know I can’t, but we’ll talk all the time. I’m sorry you didn’t get your blue ribbon summer.
I thought for a minute before I answered.
Me: I did. You were my blue ribbon summer. When I met you, I won everything.
When the texting ended, I packed for college.
The weeks passed by remarkably fast. The first week, I found myself looking for Alex to come into the diner. Every time the bell on the door rang, I looked up expectantly. The second week was easier. By the third week, I was used to his absence. He was staying busy in Los Angeles, and even though we talked daily, we talked for less time. He said he was working on a creative project.
I often wondered whether he felt the same about me as I did about him. My heart hurt to know that what I thought was real love may have been a passing thing for him. I would always love Alex. He still had my heart.
But in the end, I realized that I needed to grow up. The entire experience had given me perspective. My life was better because Alex was in it, and he had set the bar very high for future boyfriends.
Four weeks after he left, I was in my car and on my way to Dallas. I’d talked to the girl I was sharing the dorm with, and she seemed nice enough. It was hard leaving my dad. I think he actually shed a tear. He helped me pack my car and then took off in the cruiser. He couldn’t watch me pull away.
I buried myself in my classes right away. I was swamped with homework and didn’t know whether I was coming or going. Three weeks after classes began, a large box arrived from home. I couldn’t figure out what my dad would’ve sent. I opened it and saw books, lots of books. As I pulled them from the box, I saw they were the books from Alex’s house.
There were several mysteries and a lot of books that Alex had written over the years. I took them out in the order in which they were written and packed. I opened the front cover and saw that he had written something on the page.
I’m a writer, Tilly, and so my words come more easily when put to paper.
The message ended there. What was he getting at? I flipped through the pages and saw nothing else written. I reached for book two and opened the cover.
Book two: You are an amazing woman.
Book three: I think I fell for you that first night.
Book four: I had no idea that I could fall so hard, so fast.
Book five: Your kiss changed everything.
Book six: You made me love you.
Book seven: Your love changed me.
Book eight: I love your smile.
Book nine: I love your courage.
Book ten: I love your strength.
Book eleven: I love your innocence.
Book twelve: I love your body.
Book thirteen: I love your spirit.
Book fourteen: I love you.
Book fifteen: Because I love you…
Book sixteen: I let you go.
Book seventeen: I gave you space.
Book eighteen: Because I love you…
Book nineteen: I need more kisses.
Book twenty: I need more hugs.
Book twenty-one: I need you.
Book twenty-two: Because I’m selfish…
Book twenty-three: I want to hold you.
Book twenty-four: I want to kiss you.
Book twenty-five: I want to make love to you.
Book twenty-six: I want to give you your Blue Ribbon Summer.
At the bottom of the box was a small hardcover book. The title was Blue Ribbon Summer; the author, Alex Saunders.
I held it in my hands and pulled it toward my heart. I closed my eyes and imagined what he’d written. He hadn’t forgotten me. This was his creative project. I opened the cover and read the handwritten inscription.
To Tilly,
You seared my soul with your love. Be my one and only. I love you!
Alex
I skimmed through the pages and saw that he had written our story. As I neared the end, I noticed there were many blank pages. I flipped back to the last line, which said, “To be continued.”
I sat stunned for a moment, and then my mind began to function. This box could not have come from my hometown. If it had, how would Alex have gotten this book in the bottom of the box?
I’d spoken to him last night. He had sounded tired and cut our call short. He had been vague about his return to Texas. I looked at the box flaps and realized there was no postage stamp. This box was hand delivered.
I picked up my phone and quickly sent a text.
Me: How does the story end?
Alex: It doesn’t. It just keeps going. If you want to find out the next chapter then come downstairs.
I was running down the steps, taking two at a time. At ground level, I frantically looked around. There were so many people bustling about I struggled to locate him. I ran my eyes through the crowd one more time, and there he was, leaning against a tree. He was dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off his golden skin. I stopped for a minute to take him in. He was a thing of beauty.
He opened his arms, and I ran into his embrace. There was nowhere I would rather be.
“You’re here. Oh, my God, you’re here.” I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist.
“I came for you. Fall is almost here, and I’m determined to still give you your blue ribbon summer. Can I take you away for the day?”
My heart was beating fast. He came for me. He wants me––he loves me. I hardly noticed that we were moving. He carried me to his car and placed me into the passenger seat. I couldn’t help the silly smile that was plastered on my face.
We didn’t go far before he pulled into a beautiful hotel. As the valet parked the car, Alex checked us in. We had a reservation. I smiled to myself. He led me to the tenth floor where he unlocked the door to a room. Instead of stepping aside like he usually did, he bent down and picked me up.
He carried me into the room and sat me on the bed. It was a moment that I knew would be burned into my memory forever. He stared at me with dark eyes that reflected his hunger. He stripped down to nothing, and I was gifted with his nakedness.
He stalked towards me. I should have been nervous, but I wasn’t. I just wanted to be close to him, as close as I could possibly get. Impatiently, I pulled my shirt off and removed my bra. I squirmed out of my shoes, socks, underwear, and pants in one movement. My clothes sat abandoned on the floor.
His body floated over mine before he lay on top of me. His erection sat firmly between my legs. I had wanted this for a long time. I was ready to give him everything today. He had given me everything already.
I settled back and focused on the motions, the texture of his skin against mine, the heat of his mouth on my breasts. I was lost in him––in us. He was correct. This
meant something more. It was the culmination of everything that felt right. It would connect me to him forever.
I felt him shift just as my body soared. He moved between my legs. In one deft move, he sheathed himself and was pushing gently at my entrance. He pressed forward painstakingly slowly. I felt him stop and wait for me to adjust. My body squeezed around him. His groan was my undoing. I pushed up against him and broke through the final barrier. He filled me completely. The burning sensation subsided, and something hot and needy took over. I grabbed him and pulled him into me. I wanted to be one with him. We had spent too much time apart. The friction of our bodies pulled me higher, but it was his eyes that pushed me over the edge. I climaxed around him as I cried out his name. He tensed and threw his head back. He didn’t call out my name. Instead, he whispered the words I love you. The exact moment our eyes met, I knew that I was a winner, and Alex was my blue ribbon.
Thank you for reading.
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Other Books by Kelly Collins
An Aspen Cove Romance Series
One Hundred Reasons
One Hundred Heartbeats
One Hundred Wishes
One Hundred Promises
One Hundred Excuses
One Hundred Christmas Kisses
The Boys of Fury Series
Redeeming Ryker
Saving Silas
Delivering Decker
The Boys of Fury Boxset
The Second Chance Series
Set Free
Set Aside
Set in Stone
Set Up
Set on You
The Second Chance Series Box Set
Making the Grade Series
The Learning Curve
Honor Roll
Making the Grade Box Set
The Decadent Series:
Just Dessert
Brownie Points
Whipped
The Decadent Series Box Set
Stand-Alone Novels and Novellas
True North
Tempo
Blue Ribbon Summer
Holiday Novels: Cole for Christmas
The Trouble with Tinsel
Wrapped around My Heart
Cole for Christmas
Mistletoe and Millionaires
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About the Author
International bestselling author of more than thirty novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping the love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.
Kelly lives in Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains with her husband of twenty-seven years, their two dogs, and a bird that hates her. She has three amazing children, whom she loves to pieces.
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