The next few days passed in a haze. Everything felt riskier, more on edge. It seemed like continuing work on Abel's book was merely an act to cover up the undercurrent of desire and yet that was exactly what they did. She'd feel his eyes on her in the silences and it went deeper now. Too deep. She'd struggle to hold her composure. It was becoming impossible around him. 

"We should just fuck and get it over with," he'd say, when he caught her drifting. "It's going to happen eventually."

She couldn't think about it for too long for fear of losing herself altogether. Her mind would flick back to the night by the pool, his hard cock and the look on his face. The idea of him pushing inside her, taking her, owning her, it made everything inside her race. 

She'd lie awake at night, too hot and restless to sleep. His room was so close. She could walk in and he wouldn't say no to her. She knew he wouldn't. It would be so easy she sometimes wondered why she was even holding back. The nights were endless and frustrating. Maybe he didn't even want her. She entertained the idea to deter herself from getting too lost in him. Maybe she was just the only female he had access to for the time being. She tried to believe it but then she'd remember the way he kissed her, the way he looked at her and everything was grey again.

Abel was pacing more as they worked. Summer tried not to watch him for fear of becoming far too distracted. It felt like a circle from which there was no escape. No. It was a circle from which there was no escape. And the only times she thought she even wanted to escape were the several times a day Cheri texted him. Each one seemed to put him in an irritable mood, and he never replied to her more than once in a day, at least from what Summer could observe. She wouldn’t ask him about it as much as she was tempted, but it wasn’t exactly vague the way he was putting more distance between himself and the movie star, and less between himself and his stranded line editor.

Then there were Brady’s daily texts to her. It was as if he was beginning to blame her for getting marooned. As if she were responsible for the entire, global pandemic that only seemed to grow worse every day.

Four days after their foray into the town and over the cliffs above the beach, Summer was about halfway through her second sweep of the penultimate chapter of the book. It was mid-morning and between bouts of rain. Abel was sitting on the sofa part-way across the room in a pair of shorts and a short sleeved shirt he’d thrown on and never bothered to button. His phone was set an arm’s length away. It had been vibrating every twenty minutes or so, until he finally shut it off.

Summer was wearing one of his large, button-down white shirts again. They made her feel more dressed than his T shirts, although today she was entirely naked underneath. Somehow, she’d been growing more comfortable with non-traditional modes of dress.

“That’s the worst book I’ve ever written,” Abel said out of the blue.

Summer looked up at him, taking a moment to register what he said.

“My eleventh novel,” he went on, “and they just keep getting worse. I don’t know why Harry even bothers to keep publishing me.”

She blinked. “Because you’re popular? And now you’re even getting movie contracts?”

“Right. Worst fucking thing that ever could’ve happened. I mean … have you ever been to Hollywood? For work, I mean? It’s like shoving your whole life in a blender.”

“Well it’s not like you’re obligated to fuck the actresses,” she muttered.

“I guess I’ll just quit after this one. It’s not like I need the money anymore,” he kept going as if he hadn’t heard her. And hopefully he hadn’t.

“Well, we should finish this one first,” she said clearly.

“Just do whatever you think is right. You know my writing better than I do by now.”

Summer sighed and went back to work, but a moment later she was aware of Abel getting up from his seat. He came behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning down close to her ear.

“You know, if I could write something as beautiful and finely crafted as you then everything would be different. That would be something to be proud of.”

“And no one would ever read it,” she said, feeling her face grow hot.

Abel’s voice dropped an octave just then. “And just so you know, the fucking thing? When you finally let me get between those perfect legs? It wouldn’t just be a one-time thing. At least I hope not. You come here and just walk into my house, into my life… like something so … real. Like the taste of a chance for everything.”

He kissed her neck, hard enough to make her lean into it. But just as suddenly as he’d approached, he left, walking out through the open doors toward the pool. She watched over the laptop as he stripped off his clothes and dove in naked. He swam laps while Summer tried to concentrate on the final chapters of his book.

It started to rain as he swam. It was a strong, steady rain without wind, like so many of the downpours they’d been getting now that it was the beginning of the rainy season. It could last ten minutes or an hour. But then he got out of the pool and came back into the house, walking straight toward her, fully naked and soaking wet. He approached the desk and took her by the wrist, pulling her to her feet.

“You have to feel this,” he told her, leading her back outside. 

The warm downpour soaked through the shirt she was wearing in seconds. It wasn’t her habit to intentionally douse herself in a heavy rain, but as Abel stood in front of her and unbuttoned the wet shirt, pushing it off her shoulders and down her arms, she couldn’t deny the raw pleasure of tropical rain pelting her naked body.

If Abel were surprised to find her without panties he didn’t let it show. If anything, he almost seemed to expect it. As he peeled the wet shirt away from her skin, she turned her back to him and leaned her head against his shoulder, her ass brushing up against his cock. She closed her eyes and gave in to the feel of the warm patter of rain against her face and body. Just being fully exposed to the rain might have been enough to make Summer’s pussy ache with heat, but Abel’s lips pressed against her wet shoulder, working closer to her neck while his hands started to explore her body.

His cock was already swelling into the cleft between the cheeks of her ass while he clutched at her breasts, kneading them, fingers moving to trap and roll her swollen nipples. Summer felt her spine arch. She ground harder against the growing shaft trapped between the spheres of her ass. She opened her mouth on a deep sigh and tasted a mouthful of rain.

With his left hand clutching her right breast, Abel pulled her body tighter to his. The other hand searched down along her side, over her hip and onto her mound, his fingers digging forcefully between her thighs. Summer widened her stance, bringing her thighs further apart and giving his fingers enough space to play along the lips of her slit. His cock was marble hard and throbbing against the small of her back as she leaned against him, forcing him to keep her upright.

“Abel, no,” she said, even as she brought her legs further apart. “We can’t. This… isn’t…me.”

“It’s completely you,” he moaned, grinding his cock against her as he pushed a finger between her slick lips and slid it up and inward. Summer bit her lip against a gasp. “It’s us,” he went on, “stripped of everything. Naked to everything that drives us. Baby, if I don’t belong to you I belong to no one.”

But I’m no one, Summer pleaded in her mind. But she leaned back into the trap of his arm, the rhythmic thrust and pull of his finger, the grinding cock against her body. She felt free as the rain beat against their bodies. It was as if Abel’s touch was merging with the rain, all of it blending into the same desperate clawing at her flesh and being. She cried out when he thrust his finger into her pussy down to the bottom knuckle. He pushed in a second and began to massage her inner wall, rubbing against that velvet sweet spot inside her.

The surface of Summer’s skin began to prickle with electric heat. Abel worked his fingers back and forth, side to side. She felt his body drop a few inches as he bent his knees. It brought his cock back into the cleft between her ass cheeks while he kissed her neck and brought his thumb against her clit. She was trapped. Free. Alive.

“Summer,” he moaned against her neck between kisses. “Summer, Summer, Summer….”

In the midst of the downpour, with Abel’s hands both in and out of her body at the same time, Summer felt herself being lifted, but it was only her feet levering her up onto her toes while her legs started to shake from the climax shuddering through her body. Then, before she had a chance to recover, Abel was pulling his fingers free of her aching pussy and turning her by the shoulders.

He kissed her hungrily. Deeply. His tongue pushed into her mouth while the rain felt like it was coming down in sheets. There was no wind, no lightning, but the downpour felt dangerously hard, like the kind of rain that could wash them out to sea. Abel only kissed her more deeply, his cock now pressing at the front of her body. She reached for his shaft and stroked him while she kissed him back just as hard. The more she stroked his solid shaft the more deeply he kissed her, until he was kissing her neck again. Then he was kissing back and forth between her breasts, taking the time to suck each of her nipples deeply into his mouth. His fingers went back between her thighs, stroking her pussy lips while Summer ached for more.

Abel finally lowered himself onto his knees and grasped Summer’s ass with both hands while he drove his mouth against her pussy. She squatted slightly, opening herself wider to his searching tongue. He lapped along her slit and sucked at the tiny swelling of her pearl. She threw her head back and gasped while Abel angled harder and deeper to devour her slit. He finally leaned back and lay prone against the hard, slate tiles. Summer followed him down, her knees arched out on either side of his head while he drove his tongue against her lips and hole.

With the weight of her body bearing down against his face, Abel lapped and probed at Summer’s pussy with his tongue like an animal in a cage. She rocked her hips and moaned at the storm while he licked her from the inside out, curling his tongue around her clit. He clutched her ass hard, his fingers digging into her flesh while he suckled her clit without mercy, finally bringing her to another shuddering climax against his mouth.

Summer moved off of Abel’s mouth and repositioned her weight. She found herself sitting on his cock, the lips of her pussy pressing down hard onto his trapped shaft. Part of her mind knew she should panic. How could he not need to drive his throbbing shank hard and deep into her pussy now? The panic she felt wasn’t about how much he must be wanting to drive his cock into her, but about how much she wanted him to. She knew there was a reason she felt this way, but as she crawled further back she couldn’t remember what it was. She didn’t want to.

Abel opened his legs as she knelt between them. She leaned over and took his cock in her hand. It was an odd sensation to feel the driving pelt of the rain against her rim and pussy, but it felt right as she leaned toward his cock and ran her tongue over his shaft. It made her nervous to catch him watching her. Yet somehow she felt an odd comfort in her position. It felt like she belonged there as much as if she’d been there before.

Stroking his cock, Summer lowered her mouth to Abel’s smoothly shaven balls and sucked each one into her mouth in turn. He groaned and arched his hips. This brought her tongue sliding back up the length of his thick shaft, then curling around the ridge of his head. Precum mixed with rainwater on her tongue. Then, under a gaze that made him look weak and entitled all at once, she took his cock into her mouth, sucking and plunging her lips up and down his throbbing shaft.

With her lips and hand rising and falling on Abel’s pulsing stalk, Summer found herself lost in the feel of his hot flesh filling her mouth. The taste of heavily oozing precum slid across her tongue. She pushed her free hand between her legs and nearly clawed at her pussy while she sucked and stroked. Before much longer, Abel was groaning deeply and grinding his cock back against the plunge and pull of Summer’s mouth.

“Summer,” he growled. “You’re gonna make me cum. Fuck!”

Good, she thought. She imagined he expected her to pull off his cock and stroke out his climax with her hand, but she needed him to feel more. More of her. More of everything. She sucked him harder and faster, needing to take him over the edge he didn’t even know was there. Suddenly his entire body tensed while his cock pulsed into her mouth with hot jets of cum.

Afterward, Summer lay over Abel’s body while they gradually came to each other. His hand was on her ass. The other was stroking her wet hair. It wasn’t much longer before the rain started to taper off. They both dragged themselves to their feet, and Abel led her inside with his arm around her. She leaned into him and knew he wouldn’t let her fall.

He led her upstairs to the bathroom where they dried off with towels. He then did her hair with a blowdryer and led her into her room. It felt strange now, going to lie in a bed without him, but he sat beside her and stroked her face with the backs of his fingers for a long time. 

“Now you know how it rains on the island,” he said.

“Now I know,” she said. She closed her eyes but didn’t go to sleep, so aware of his naked body as he sat beside her on the edge of the bed. She could feel his fingers in her hair. He was talking again. His voice was soft and rhythmic, though she couldn’t discern what he was saying. He was drifting back into echoes, and then there was nothing around her but the warm comfort of sleep.

***

The next couple of days felt different. Sensitive. She felt safe with him. He didn't try to touch her but she knew she'd only need to ask to get what she craved. But she couldn't ask. The words refused to make it out, too caught up on weak excuses.

They worked on the book, every conversation teetering on the edge of something infinitely more thrilling. They ate together and slept apart.

It had been two nights since the rainstorm when Summer woke with a start. For a while she didn't open her eyes, trying to decipher her surroundings. The buzzing was insistent, endless, interspersed with another heavier vibration. In her dream it had been traffic noise; she'd been the passenger somewhere along an endless, serene drive through the mountains. But now that she'd regained consciousness, the sound had quite clearly transpired to be the ringtone of her phone. 

She opened her eyes and blinked her surroundings into focus. It was still dark and she was in the study. She must have fallen asleep on the couch. It had been a long day going through the final chapter of Abel's book and at the end of it she'd been too tired to make it to her bedroom. Her phone was on the floor beside her, alight and vibrating. She picked it up, frowning at the screen.

Brady.

She was about to switch to silent mode but then her brows pulled together as she took in the volume of missed calls and messages. It wasn't just Brady either. Some of her friends had called, work colleagues too. Tentatively, she declined the incoming call from Brady only for a barrage of messages to drop down onto the screen. 

He knew. She blinked and sat up with a start. He knew about Abel. It was there between the alternately furious and desperate text messages, the volume of voicemails and the obscene language. The words didn't hurt her remotely. It felt altogether more like relief. We're done. It was the shortest text and the sweetest she focused on, blurring out the surrounding abuse. We're done. 

She sat on the couch in the dark study, almost shivering, though she wasn't remotely cold. The screen of the phone lit up her face. We're done. Finally. It felt like being fired from a job she didn't want or need. Pure relief. She wondered if she should text him back. There was nothing she felt like she needed to say.

Life had become something else entirely. Everything was easier. Urgent and exciting and beautiful. She couldn't think of a single reason for why she should ever have to deal with Brady again.

"Hey." 

She started at the voice, struggling to make out Abel's figure in the doorway.

"I thought you were asleep," he said. He didn't switch the light on. "Did I wake you? I just saw the article, is that what you're looking at?"

"Article?" Summer frowned. "No, Brady was calling. The sound of my phone woke me. What article?"

"Oh." Abel stepped closer uncertainly. He seemed on edge. "You should see it, I guess. My agent is going insane. I had to block Cheri, though that's been a long time coming." He hesitated, even as he held out his phone. "It can keep until morning though. If you still want to sleep, I know it's ridiculously early."

"No, that's okay." Summer took his outstretched phone and frowned as she read the celebrity gossip headline. Abel Edwards defies social distancing measures with mystery brunette.

Summer stared at the accompanying evidence, photos of Abel and her from their misadventure on the mountain road. Laughing. Kissing. Touching.

"Someone on the beach must have taken them," Abel said. "I'm so sorry."

"Makes sense," Summer said softly. She looked up at him. "But why are you sorry?"

"Because I'm sure you'd want to be in control of which parts of you the world gets to see."

Summer half-smiled. 

"Brady must have seen," she said. "He's super pissed."

"He is?" Abel sounded hesitant like he didn't know how much further he ought to probe.

"We're very much not together anymore," Summer offered. "In case you're wondering."

Abel dropped onto the couch beside her. "Fuck. I'm sorry."

"No you're not.”

“Okay. You’re right. I’m not.”

“Well neither am I. I don't care. I don't have to tell him anymore. I guess this is a good way out for me." She almost laughed. "I just feel beyond relieved."

"You do?" Abel asked.

"Yes. I'm so tired of trying. Always trying to be nice. To be the better person. Well fuck it. Make me the bad guy. He can blame me for everything he wants but at least it's over. Finally."

"Finally." Abel repeated. He cast a sidelong glance towards her. "So I get to keep you forever?" 

She wanted him to be serious but she knew he was only trying to make her smile.

"I guess." 

"You guess?" His smile curled as he reached to touch her face. "It was actually a rhetorical question."

"Oh." Summer wasn't sure how to respond. He was studying her intently, his hand stroking her cheek to fit against the curve of her jaw. His thumb brushed her lips.

"Fuck, you're beautiful," he said it like a secret. "From every single angle you are fucking heaven."

She didn't know why his words always hit her so deep. They made her feel soft and vulnerable but so happy to be alive.

"I just want to look nice to you," she said helplessly. "Not even anything. Just nice enough for you. Just so you always want me."

"You have no idea," he growled. "Not a fucking clue."

She gazed at him desperately.

"You just make me feel like this is how it's meant to be," she said, "Nothing ever felt so good before."

He grasped her wrist and pulled her closer so he could kiss her mouth. He kissed it like he owned it. His other hand went to the hem of her t-shirt. It was another of his shirts but an older one, grey and a little soft and faded. She liked the way the cotton felt against her skin, the way he looked at her when she wore it. His hand went underneath, fitting against her waist and tracing further to grasp one of her breasts. She wanted him to touch her harder, to grasp and dig his fingers in until she could feel him as deeply as possible.

"So this is it?" he asked. His lips were against hers as he spoke, his fingers touching everywhere except her nipple. She wanted to moan. "You're finally going to let me fuck you?"

"Please," she whispered. He'd pulled her closer so she was straddling his leg, her pussy urging against the hard muscle of his thigh.

"We've waited long enough," Abel said. He was kissing her and talking at the same time, his hand still toying with her breast. He still hadn't touched her nipple and just when she thought he might, his hand moved to her other breast, feeling the weight of it and groping roughly. 

"You are so fucking hot," he groaned. "You know, you drove me insane the first day you walked in here."

"Really? I had no idea," Summer gasped. She was trying to press against his leg without obviously grinding on it. The hard pressure felt sublime against her aching pussy. 

"You knew," Abel growled. "How could you not know? And you fucking teased me like a little slut every single day."

"I didn't," Summer protested. "I really didn't mean to."

She was getting wet already, her stomach in knots at the thought of him finally taking her. Pushing inside her. It was almost too precious to think about. He kissed her again, his tongue inside her mouth, wet and hungry. Closer. She wanted to be as close to him as humanly possible. 

Her nipples felt swollen, grazing against the cotton of the t-shirt. He still hadn't touched them. She wondered why. It always made her whimper when he caught and tugged at them yet somehow it drove her even crazier to have them ignored. She pushed harder towards him, trying to wordlessly urge him to take more. She felt as though she'd soaked through her underwear and wondered whether he could feel the damp heat against his thigh. It should have been mortifying but it only made her press harder, widening her legs to try and feel the sweet pressure against her clit.

"Take the shirt off," he said. The tone of his voice made her insides shudder. She grasped the hem of the t-shirt and yanked it up over her head, shaking her hair back. It was dark but she knew he could see her well enough. It always startled her to be naked in front of him but it had begun to feel safe. He always looked at her like he could look for hours and find no fault. 

"And the underwear,"

She didn't want to move from her position but she didn't have the voice to protest. She knelt up and slid the boxer shorts down her ass and then off each leg in turn, before dropping them to the floor. She didn't quite dare to lower herself onto his leg again, not when her pussy was bare and felt like it might just start dripping. She moved to sit astride him instead, almost too aware of how vulnerable a position it was.

"Touch it," Abel said. His eyes went from her face to between her open thighs. "I want to watch you."

She gazed at him in the dark.

"You already watched me," she whispered but she needed it too much to refuse. Her fingers slid against her open pussy and stroked. It felt sublime. Her eyes closed as she touched progressively more firmly, her clit hardening against her fingertips.

"Fuck," he snarled.

The knowledge that he was watching her only made her need it more. She grasped her breast, tugging and twisting at her swollen nipple as her fingers slicked harder and faster. She felt open and alive. Reckless. Nobody but Abel had ever seen her so completely and she realised she wanted him to see her, wanted him to know exactly who she was in every possible way.

"Are you close?" His voice was like a drug. She wanted him to touch her but she didn't want to stop the rush that was building in every inch of her. Her eyes were closed. She moaned. So close. Everything was building, urging, her heart racing, her body tensing in anticipation. He touched her then but not the way she craved. His fingers closed around her wrist, urging her hand away from her pussy.

She opened her mouth to protest but he kissed her again, still holding firmly to her wrist. She wanted to close her legs, or keep them open, or just grind against anything at all to push her over the edge but he was holding her in place, keeping her exactly where he wanted her.

She reached out to touch him. Her free hand went down, pressing against his chest, further down to wrap around his cock. His shorts were pushed down beneath his balls and she wondered when he'd done it, if she'd simply been too caught up in herself to realise. His cock felt hot and hard in her fist. All she could think about was how it'd feel inside her. God. She'd been dreaming about it endlessly for weeks and now there was nothing to do but feel.

"Put it in," Abel urged. He was still holding onto her wrist. His voice was taut. "Fuck, Summer, I just need you to fuck me."

She looked at him. His cock felt sublime in her hand. She ran her thumb gently over the tip as she stroked it. She reached to touch his balls with her other hand. He made a sound somewhere deep in his throat. He was watching her every move. 

Inching her body forward, she lifted her weight to bring her pussy in line with his cock. Her fingers were wrapped around it firmly. She was aware of everything. The throb of his cock, her heartbeat in her ears, the tick of the clock on the wall, the trickle of sweat down the line of her torso. 

She pressed the head of his cock against her clit and they both moaned. She felt like she could cum from that alone. But his eyes were still on hers, daring her to stop. She didn't. She went further. Pressed his cock firmly against her entrance and pushed. It was dizzying. The sensation of being opened. The pressure. She knew he was trying not to push but it felt like he was. His cock inched inside her, filling her. She was aware of her own breathing, the way each breath caught in her throat until he was inside her completely.

"Fuck," she breathed. She didn't want to let him go. He felt perfect. The sweet edge of pain. His hands came out then, digging hard into either side of her waist. He pushed a little harder and she clenched helplessly around him.

"Fuck," he hissed. "You could make me insane in a heartbeat."

He pulled back then and she almost wanted to complain. Being emptied so suddenly felt like an affront but then he surged back in and the words were gone from within her. He fucked her like he was the one on top and all she could do was hold on and take it. His hands were tight on her waist and just as she thought she'd figured out his rhythm, he shifted, pulling her around so she was lying on the couch. Her head and shoulders were propped up slightly against the arm. Her right foot was on the floor now and Abel took hold of her left ankle and pulled the other leg up onto the back of the couch.

He finally kicked off his shorts and pulled off his t shirt yet he never took his eyes off her. The raging desire in them seemed foreboding yet comforting at the same time. Then he was between her legs again, bracing himself with his hands on the arm of the couch on either side of her head. His knees were digging into the cushion while the underside of his throbbing cock slid against her slick pussy.

“Put it back, Summer,” he said. “Where it belongs.”

It felt like he was asking her to unravel herself as she reached down for his cock, now just as slick with her dew as her pussy. With a weak whimper, she angled his shaft and pushed the head into her opening. His moan was guttural as he ground forward with his hips, sending his shaft easily into her wet sheath. She was primed and ready for him. His hard, unyielding rod filled her deeply and he was instantly rocking into her, lunging and then pulling back.

There was a different kind of fullness than Summer had ever felt. She watched his sturdy cock plunge and withdraw with gathering force and speed. It was nothing but a man’s hard cock, pumping and stroking her from the inside out. Why should it feel this way? Why should it feel like flying? Then she lifted her gaze to his face, Now that he was so desperately, so ardently, inside her there was something in his eyes she’d seen before but never recognized. Something even more powerful than the hard, anxious thrusts of his throbbing cock. He was staring into her face as if he’d always been alone until now. The realization made her gasp.

Abel’s gaze made her feel like the only woman in existence while the rest of his body was pounding into her as if she were barely there. As if her pussy were nothing but a place to relieve his voracious cock.

She cried out his name and dragged her fingernails down the length of his arms while her pussy clenched. Her climax seemed directly wired to her breath, which held suspended as the waves of sensation spread through her body. Abel gasped deeply, and Summer could feel the intense pulsing of his fully engorged cock as he growled and filled her body with cum. He continued slipping his cock in and out of her cum-drenched core even beyond the peak, gradually slowing his pace until her pussy felt too sensitive and she pushed him away.

Abel reared back and sat back against the couch. Summer took a moment to breathe, then sat up and threw her legs across his lap, putting her arms around his neck while he pulled her closer still and held her there. When they could breathe again, they spent a long time kissing.

“Half the world knows you’re here now,” he finally said.

“Oh god. A couple of days ago I was completely anonymous.”

“Not to me, you weren’t.”

She didn't speak for a while and then, “You knew me all along and I was trying not to see it.”

“Maybe I should’ve been … I don’t know, more patient.”

“I’m glad you weren’t,” she said, resting her face against his shoulder. “Patience is only a virtue when you’re not in love with someone you probably shouldn’t be.”

***

Abel grasped Summer's hand as he helped her out of the limo. He was grateful she'd decided to come to the premiere of the movie version of the book she’d worked on. It gave him something beautiful to focus on as they stood on the red carpet with throngs of people either side of the cordon. Abel took a deep breath and managed a smile for the crowd, lifting one arm to wave and placing the other hand on the small of Summer’s back.

She had resisted the dress he urged her to wear, but he'd insisted it was appropriate for a movie premiere. The slim-fitting style had a short skirt and was covered with cut glass embellishments which caught the lights and glittered brilliantly. The neckline tapered down into a deep v, which along with the open back left enough tanned skin on show to endlessly distract Abel from the rest of the world. She was easily the most beautiful woman at the premiere and the cameras couldn't get enough.

The attention she was getting clearly surprised her, but not Abel. He'd known this would happen. He’d wanted it for her. Though he’d been back to L.A. a few times to meet with his publisher and the film director, this was the first time Summer had left the island since being stranded during the pandemic two years before.

“Don’t forget to smile and wave,” he told her through the clenched teeth of a grin he hoped didn’t look as fake as it felt. “Pretend you’re happy to see everyone.”

“This is insane,” Summer replied through her own phony smile, waving along with Abel. "I can't believe how many people are here."

The scandal that followed the leaked photos of them had gradually morphed into a kind of Cinderella story as Summer ended up with her own fanbase. She and Abel had both turned down numerous interview requests, but the news gradually filtered out that it was Summer who'd had a huge impact on Abel’s book, and that he’d insisted she get co-writing credit on the film. Without so much as leaving the island nor granting even a brief interview, Summer had managed to become as popular as Abel.

They worked their way through the crowd and into the theater lobby where they were obliged to smile and pose for more photos with the director and Abel’s publisher. News of a new contract for another book to be completely co-written by Abel and Summer had hit the trades months ago. What no one knew was that they’d already finished the book, and Abel already knew it was without doubt the best project he’d ever worked on.

The couple finally extricated themselves and went into the theater, taking their reserved seats in the section that was set apart for the major players who’d worked on the film. They were surrounded by actors, producers and film editors. Sprite Lonsdale, the lead actress, was already there. Cheri had initially been cast in the role but had dramatically quit the franchise after meeting and subsequently eloping with Buz Swift, the lead singer of globe trotting boyband, No Direction. As it turned out, Sprite had been a far better fit for the role and the cast and crew adored her. Tonight, she was wearing a silver gown with a slit all the way up the side to her hip. When she spotted the two writers, she rolled her eyes dramatically at the sight of Abel and then blew Summer a kiss. Finally, the theater lights went down and the screen lit up with the credits.

As Abel’s and Summer’s names both flashed on the screen at the same time, he surreptitiously slid his hand onto her bare thigh. She gave him a startled sidelong glance, but he squeezed his hand in deeper between her crossed legs. And instead of pressing her legs more tightly together, Summer eased the top leg slightly higher, giving him easier access.

“Not here,” she whispered, leaning toward his ear.

“No one’s paying attention,” he whispered back.

“I like it when it's just us," she said. She reached down, her fingers intertwining with his. "I can't wait to get home. Do you think we could go back tonight once this is over?"

Abel sighed. "I wish. There's an after-party."

"We can skip it," Summer said. She leaned closer to him. "We'll go back to the island and have our own exclusive after-party. Just us."

He laughed. "We can skip it. But on one condition."

"Anything."

He looked at her. Somehow she was more beautiful every time he looked.

"Well," he said. "We drive through Vegas. I figured we could stop off and get married before we go back into hiding."

Summer laughed before realising he hadn't joined in. She blinked and gazed at him in the dark.

"You can't be serious," she whispered.

"I've never been more serious about anything in my life,” he nearly growled.

“Oh my god, you are serious,” she admitted, with disbelief sparkling in her eyes. “I can't imagine anything I want more,” she said as the music behind the opening credits swelled.

Abel's hand tightened around hers as he smiled. “Maybe we should get going before you change your mind.”

They would hit the tabloids and social media pages once again, after a lone photographer caught the pair sneaking out of their own movie premiere.