Casey saddles up beside me with a frown. She squintsand asks, “Where? You mean that one halfway across the lake?”
I glare at her.
Casey snorts. “It’s all good. It’s headed parallel to us anyways.”
“Just take the wheel back.” I try to push around her; the captain’s seat feels way too suffocating, but she holds up a hand to stop me.
“Hold on. I should take a photo of you.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, and I’d find it super cute if I wasn’t freaking out. Nope. Actually, I do find it super cute even while freaking out.
“You can use it on some dating apps,” she explains. “A gorgeous woman driving a boat? You’ll have every girl in your DMs.”
My skin flushes with heat as my brain short-circuits on the word “gorgeous.” Which is so stupid. Casey has complimented me more times than I can count. Hell, I’ve said the same thing to her before. We are each other’s biggest hype woman. So why is it that every time my best friend has told me my outfit was hot or that my haircut was beautiful, it felt good, but it’s nothing compared to the warmth spreading across my skin at hearing her say I look gorgeous while driving this monstrosity? Besides, it can’t be true. I look petrified. She’s just being nice. That’s all.
“Smile.” Casey holds up her phone.
I try to smile, but it’s stilted, and I know the photo will be hideous. It will never see my Instagram feed, let alone a dating app, whenever I build up the courage to sign up for one.
“You’re a natural,” she says and leans in close to show me. I barely glance at it, only making out the outline ofmyself and the bright blue sky behind me, before refocusing my gaze on the lake.
“Okay. Sure. Very nice. Can you take over now?”
Casey grins. “Come on. You’re doing great.”
She squeezes my arm, and I chuckle humorlessly.
“See? This isn’t so scary,” she says.
“I beg to differ.”
“Nah, you’re a natural.” She edges behind me and points toward the throttle. “Go ahead and give it a little gas.”
She’s standing directly behind me now. So close her warm body pressed against mine sends tingles down my legs. She takes my hand and guides it to the throttle.
“Just a little …” Her breath tickles my ear, and I jerk, giving the boat way too much gas, and we rocket forward. I’m propelled backward and land on top of Casey, who falls into the captain’s seat.
My heart beats wildly in my chest as adrenaline floods my veins. My gaze darts across the water, checking to make sure I didn’t accidentally crash into some poor unsuspecting kayaker, and blow out a sigh of relief to see the coast is clear. Then Casey’s chuckle tickles my neck, and the sound fills me with heat as I cut my gaze toward her.
I’m still sitting in her lap. Her eyes are bright with amusement, her smile wide. “Okay, maybe not so much a natural.”
I frown. “Hey, I was doing fine until you jumped in.”
Casey nods, placating, and I playfully slap her shoulder.
“I’m just teasing you,” she says with a squeeze around my waist. It’s only then do I realize her arms are wrapped around me.
My breathing slows as the whole world narrows to her expression. Her soft smile. Her gorgeous emerald eyes asthey lock onto mine. Our faces aren’t far apart. It would be so easy to kiss her. Icouldkiss her.
Her tongue pokes out as she licks her lips. Our faces are closer now, I’d only have to move a couple inches. Her plump lips look so soft. Would it really be so bad if I did kiss her?
“Casey Greene? You asshole! Why didn’t you text me you’re here?”
We jolt apart by the sudden shout. A boat has pulled up beside us. There’s a small group of people our age onboard. A beautiful woman stands by the edge, and I presume she’s the one who shouted at Casey. She’s holding a seltzer while raising both hands in a way that says,What the hell?
“Oh, my god,” Casey groans and stands. I edge back to give her more space. My skin is flushed with heat, and I miss the warmth of her arms around me. “Don’t give me that! Did you text me?”
“Yes. Check your phone, bitch!” The woman has long auburn hair that falls to the middle of her back. She has fair skin, tinged pink with what will surely be a wicked sunburn. She’s wearing a pair of bold, black sunglasses and lifts them to sit on top of her head.
Casey scans the area before fishing her phone from the cup holder. She snorts. “This text is from two minutes ago.”
