After a few minutes of soaking and a whispered conversation, Ashlyn and Aiden climbed out of the water, saying they were going to call it a night, which left Cohen and I sitting alone in the hot water. We sat quietly for a while, just enjoying the stillness of the night. A few minutes later, the silence was broken by voices.
Voices that were making gasping and moaning sounds.
Oh my.
I turned to look at the cabin, realizing the window facing the deck was Ashlyn and Aiden’s bedroom. And the window was open. Ashlyn’s cries grew in volume until she finally choked out, “Ah, Aiden, you’re so big.”
Cohen’s eyes widened and locked on mine. He pulled in a deep breath and shook his head. “Wow, they’re really going at it in there.”
I chuckled nervously. “Sounds like it.”
Ashlyn and Aiden’s loud f**king continued for several minutes, and with each passing second, the vibe around Cohen and I grew heavier, and more intense.
“I need a drink. Do you need a drink?” Cohen said, suddenly standing and exiting the water.
“Um, sure. I’ll take a wine.”
I reached over and turned the jets on, which drowned out a fraction of the noise. I considered pressing myself up against the bubbling stream of water to relieve some tension, but instead took a deep breath and clenched my thighs together.
I couldn’t help but be reminded of the time I’d walked in on their lovemaking in Ashlyn’s living room. I’d made a joke of it at the time, leaning against the wall munching on crackers as I watched, simply because I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise process what I saw without downplaying it. It was the most passionate, uninhibited display of love I’d ever witnessed. And it scared the shit out of me. I’d acted cool and like I found the whole thing funny as a way to fool myself into believing that it was put on, an act. But what I witnessed between them was seared into my memory. You found love like that maybe once in a lifetime, if you were lucky.
Cohen returned a second later with our drinks and slipped back into the water with me. “Damn, it’s even louder inside.”
“I’ll bet.” I took the glass of wine from him and immediately took a healthy swig. Despite my best attempts at getting and staying buzzed today, the intensity of my attraction to Cohen seemed to keep me mostly sober.
Positioned directly across from him, I couldn’t help but notice his eyes lingering on my br**sts. I sat up straighter, pushing them above the waterline and Cohen nearly choked on his beer. I bit my lip to avoid smiling. His weakness was so easy to exploit.
The loud groans and noises of energetic sex continued and even ramped up a notch when Aiden and Ashlyn’s headboard started banging against the wall.
Unable to escape the erotic sounds, I found myself getting more and more turned on. I couldn’t help that a drop of silky heat dampened my bikini bottoms. It was a very intimate experience, hearing every moan, every gasp and grunt, and I knew it was affecting us both. Cohen shifted in his seat, with an uncomfortable look on his face. He alternated his attention between his beer and staring down into the water. But twice more I caught him looking at my chest. Oh God, how badly I wanted him to do something about it. I imagined him tackling me and stripping me of my bathing suit, and bending me over the edge of the hot tub.
When the sounds reached an ear-deafening level for a final outburst from Ashlyn, and then finally died down our eyes met again. It was almost comical how thick with tension the air around us had gotten. But neither of us laughed.
“Think it’s safe to go in?” I asked.
He nodded stiffly.
I climbed out of the hot tub first and draped a towel around my shoulders. I turned to hand Cohen a towel as he was coming out of the water, and there was no avoiding it. He was hard as a rock. He grabbed the towel from me and held it in front of himself, where his thick erection strained against the swim shorts.
I thought maybe we’d joke about the awkwardness of the moment—of listening to my best friends f**k at top volume—but his face was serious, his jaw set tense.
He took off past me into the house without another word.
I stood there, stunned at what had just happened. Cohen was turned on. And he desperately wanted to get away from me.
He didn’t trust himself around me.
The thought was intoxicating. I headed inside to find him.
I wouldn’t push things farther than he wanted them to go. We didn’t have to have sex. But that didn’t mean we couldn’t have a little fun in the meantime. We were attracted to each other, and we were adults. Period.
I crept through the now silent house, feeling strangely alive—all my senses were heightened in my search for Cohen and with the thought of what might happen next. I headed up the stairs to our loft while nerves prickled my skin and an entire colony of butterflies danced inside my stomach.
It was quiet and empty when I reached our bedroom, but I could see light coming from behind the closed bathroom door.
Summoning my courage and feeling bolder than I should, I knocked on the door. “Cohen?”
“Go away, Liz.” His voice was muffled, but the tone was clear. He wanted to be left alone. And I couldn’t help but notice that I was Liz now.
“Cohen, please open the door.”
I waited and practically felt him making the weighty decision, one that would forever change our relationship. A second later the lock clicked and the door opened just a crack. He wasn’t exactly inviting me in, but leaving the choice up to me. If that made him feel better, then so be it. I knew what I wanted.