Jessica walked over and he folded them around her, crushing her to his chest. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
She tilted her head back to look at him, and he dropped one final kiss on her mouth. “Of course.”
“Good night, Jess.”
“Good night, Jack.”
“I’m taking you on a proper date tonight,” Jack said matter-of-factly the next morning.
“Oh?” Jessica said, playfully pushing away from him in the pool, splashing him as she swam toward the bar at the other end.
He caught up with her quickly, grabbing her heel and dragging her back into his body. She turned in the water and let him wrap her in an embrace, her legs hooking around his waist. He grabbed a handful of her ass, and their mouths crashed together, Jessica’s tongue sweeping against his. She smiled against him when he groaned low in his throat.
This was dangerous territory, and Jack was glad his bottom half was hidden from view.
“Yes,” he said against her mouth. “I have the whole thing planned.”
“Really?” she said, pulling away quickly, eyes wide in shock. “What are we doing?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said, grinning when she swatted at him.
“That’s not very nice. How am I supposed to know what to wear?”
“Hmm, that’s a good point. Okay, I’ll tell you this: we’ll be outside.”
“And what time will it be? Is this a day date? Night? Give me details!”
He’d prepared for this. “I need you to be ready by six, and dress nice.”
“I always dress nice,” she said with a smirk.
“Fair enough,” Jack said. “Wear a dress. And wear your hair down. I love it when you wear your hair down.” He brushedhis fingers through the ends where they floated on the surface around her like a golden halo, soft even when drenched with chlorine.
He meant it, too, and her cheeks blushed beneath her tan.
“If you say so.” Then she unwound her legs from his waist and dropped down in the water, grabbing his hand and continuing their path toward the bar. “What do you want to do until then?”
“Whatever you want,” he said.
“I want to go down to the beach. We didn’t really get to enjoy it yesterday with all of the excitement around Tyler, and I want to go lay in the sand and listen to the waves.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he promised her.
Drinks in hand, they waded back through the pool toward where Bethani, her and Jessica’s moms, and the boys had set up. The boys, of course, were in the water, playing what appeared to be a brutal game of Marco Polo.
Don’t ask Jack how Marco Polo could be brutal; with his teammates involved, someone was always liable to end up injured. Case in point: they couldn’t even go boogie boarding without someone nearly drowning.
Jack waited while Jessica climbed out of the water—thoroughly enjoying the view of her ass in her tiny yellow bikini—before following.
“Jack and I are going down to the beach,” she announced to the group at large, her voice surely carrying out over the water. “Anyone want to join us?”
“We’re good!” Zach yelled for him, Tyler, and Chad, then immediately went back to their game.
“I’m gonna stay here,” Bethani said, holding her copy ofBeach Readaloft. “I’m almost to the first sex scene, I can feel it.”
“Bethani!” her mother scolded.
“What, Mom?” she said, grinning widely. “It’s just a book.”
