Chapter 13: Never going to be Over

*Jasmine*

Jasmine

Jasmine held Zain for a long while in the water as the waves washed over them and then gave him another passionate kiss.
His lips moved to the tender skin right under her jaw. “Ready to get something to eat?”
She laughed, thinking of the adage: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach... and almost-sex. “Yeah. I am.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, moving a strand of hair away from her face.
She nodded. “I’m fine. You?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
Then Jasmine thought of something. “Are you going to think differently of me now?”
Zain held her close, looking deeply into her eyes. “Never.” Then a crease formed between his eyes. “Do you think differently of me?”
Jasmine smiled, shaking her head. “No. Never.”
She didn’t want to scare him, but at that moment, she knew it would never be over between them. Jasmine gave him another passionate kiss, her legs still wrapped around his exquisite, naked body, committing every moment to memory. Then she released him, swam to shore, and got dressed.
Zain slowly walked out of the water, a Greek god rising from the ocean in all his splendor. Then he got dressed, too. “What were you thinking about just then?”
Jasmine shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” There was no way that she would tell him that she had secretly nicknamed him a Greek god.
Zain had put on his shorts, but before he put on his shirt, he tackled her, pinning her to the sand under a palm tree as she giggled. “I’ll get it out of you one way or another.” Then he tickled her as she laughed and squirmed beneath him. Then he lay down beside her and looked into her eyes, running his finger along her cheek. “I never want this moment to end.”
“It doesn’t have to,” she said, her voice husky. If she hadn’t made that promise to her mother, she would have been tempted to make love to him and stay in his arms forever. But instead, she got up and brushed herself off. Then she held her hand down to help him up.
But he pulled her into his arms and onto his lap, and his face serious. “Promise me that it’s not over between us now.”
She looked into his eyes with all the feeling she could manage. “It’s never going to be over between us.”
He nodded as passion filled his eyes. “Promise?”
She smiled, pushing back a strand of his dark brown hair. “I promise.”
Then his lips descended upon hers and she opened for him as passion overtook them both.
And she knew it was true. It never would be over between them.
***
She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and released it, letting it fall loosely down her back.
“Don’t worry,” Zain said, slipping into his shirt. “You look gorgeous.”
“I wish I had a brush....”
He reached over and kissed the top of her head. “As I said, you look gorgeous. And I love your hair long like this. Please, don’t ever cut it.”
One corner of her lips curled into a smile. “Already making demands, are we?”
Zain laughed. “Not demands. Just a request.”
“I’m just kidding.” As they both finished getting dressed, she hoped that things wouldn’t change between them now.
Zain led her down the beach toward the parking lot where his pickup truck sat. Then he walked around and held the passenger side door open for her. After he helped her in, he gave her another passionate kiss and closed the door. At that moment, Jasmine knew something had changed between them. She just hoped it wasn’t for the worst.
Zain slid into the driver’s seat a moment later, and his truck roared to life. Then he looked into her eyes and smiled. “So, where would you like to eat?”
She shrugged. “Where would you like to go?” Then she had an idea as she looked over at him. “Your uncle’s food truck?”
He laughed, putting the truck into gear, and steering it out onto the main road. “Not today. I want to take you somewhere else. In fact, will you go out with me sometime?”
Jasmine smiled, thinking how ironic it was after what they had just done. “Yes, of course.” Then she thought of something. “I won’t be at the beach tomorrow. I promised my mother that I’d spend the day with her.”
“Thanks for telling me.” Zain smirked. “After today, I probably would have thought the worst. That you had second thoughts… about us.”
She leaned onto his shoulder, wrapping her arm around his muscled bicep as he drove, watching the road. “Promise me that you won’t give up on me so easily.”
Then he looked directly into her eyes, a serious expression coloring his face. “Never.” Then he smiled. “Do you like seafood?”
She laughed, sitting back on her side, looking out the window. “Sure.”
“Hey. Come back over here.” He extended his arm, and she nuzzled onto his side. Then he kissed the top of her head. “You okay?”
She glanced up at him and smiled. “Never better.” Then she looked out at the scenery. “So, what’s your major?”
“Business Administration.”
Her head snapped up. “Really?”
Zain nodded and smiled. “Why? Does that surprise you?”
She shrugged. “A little.”
“Why? What’s your major?” he asked, turning his attention back to the road.
“Physical therapy.”
Zain chuckled. “Really?”
She nodded. “That’s what I was laughing about. I would have thought that, being a ballplayer, you would have majored in physical therapy or sports medicine.”
He shrugged. “I want to own my own business one day... when baseball’s over.”
“Let’s not think of that now.” Jasmine turned around in his arms to face him. “So, tell me about it.”
He glanced down at her. “About what? Baseball?”
She nodded, smiling. “Yeah. What championships have you won?”
A broad smile spread across his face. “We just won the College World Series this year.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Congratulations.”
He looked over at her and smiled. “Thanks.”
She tilted her head to the side. “So, what position do you play?”
Zain looked down at her and chuckled. “You really want to know?”
Jasmine shrugged. “Yes, of course I do.” She smiled as she waited. “So?”
He laughed as he turned the truck down another road. “I play all the bases and left field.”
She turned in the seat to face him, clearly intrigued. “So, which is your favorite?”
“Probably first and second base.” Then he went into detail about the differences between playing both positions.
She listened carefully, intrigued. When Zain spoke about baseball, his face lit up. Jasmine could tell that it was his first love.
Zain saw her watching him and stopped talking. “You aren’t really interested in this, are you?”
She looked at him as if he had four heads. “Yes, of course I am! I love baseball.”
“Really?”
Jasmine nodded. “Yes. In fact, is there a chance that I’ll ever get to see you play?”
“I’ll tell you what,” he said, suddenly excited. “When you have some free time between semesters, come to USC to see me.”
A smile spread across her face. “Yeah?”
He nodded. “I’d love it if you would come.”
Jasmine snuggled onto his shoulder. “Only if you promise that you’ll come to see me at UT Knoxville when you have time.” Then she chuckled. “But I guess we should let each other know first. It’d be terrible if we bypass each other.”
He laughed. “Yeah, it would.” Then he pulled the car to a stop at an outdoor seafood bar. “Do you like seafood?”
She nodded, smiling. “I love it.”
“Mind if I ask you something?” Zain shut off the car and looked over at her.
“Sure,” she replied, looking into his eyes.
“Can I have your cell phone number?” he asked, holding his phone in his hand.
She took it from him and handed him hers. “Only if I can have yours, too.”
As they put their numbers into each other’s phones, the small gesture meant a lot. It was a small step, but she knew it was only just the beginning.