“I’m so glad you’re here, even though I’m not playing.” I take her hand in mine.
I’m still warming up with the team and doing this new thing Coach implemented. He has us lay flat on the ground and look up at the clouds and call out whatever we see. We did that for thirty minutes and I, along with the other guys, really enjoyed it.
“I’ll be wherever you are. Playing or not.” She smiles at me.
“You’re obsessed with me.”
She shrugs bashfully, twisting a ring. “Yeah? And?”
“Good because I’m very obsessed with you.” I slide a ring off her finger and unhook my chain and add the small gold band to it. “Now I’ll get to have a little piece of you everywhere I go.”
She toys with my chain then drops it, letting it softly hit my chest. “I’m going to go sit down because you’re making it hard for me. You’re in your uniform and then you stand there, look at me like that, and say that to me.”
“Josie?” I grab her wrist before she walks away.
“Yeah?”
“My last name looks really good on you. Really hate that I can’t see you wearing it all the time.”
A breathtaking smile lifts on her face. “What’s that saying? Take a picture, it’ll last longer? Something like that, right?”
My eyes widen and my throat dries because I know what she’s insinuating.
“Good luck, Cap.”
63
JOSEFINE
Three Months Later
“Marco,”Daniel calls out, eyes closed, hands stretched out, floating above the surface.
“Polo,” I quietly say, tacitly wading through the water to get around him.
He stealthy moves with a confidence he didn’t have a few months ago. He’s come a long way and knows how to do almost everything but float in the deep end for a long period of time by himself. But I’m hoping that changes today.
I press my lips together to stop myself from laughing when he lunges at absolutely nothing. I’m certain he knows I’m not there, but he’s trying to get me to laugh. And it’s working because he does it again and I slip up. A tiny noise expels from my mouth.
“Josie, baby, I hear you. You know I’m going to catch you, so just give up already.”
I roll my eyes at the arrogance in his voice. We were playing best two out of three, and unfortunately, he has already caught me twice in a short amount of time. My pride is too big, so Idemanded we play again, and he accepted because he wants to beat his record.
The media is full of shit because they don’t know how not so humble Daniel is.
“Marco.” Like a shark, he prowls through the water on a mission. It’s both hot and frustrating.
It doesn’t help that the hot July sun is making him glow in a way that’s hard to look away from. Damp dark brown hair slicked back, sharp jaw, sun-tanned skin, rock-hard body dripping wet.
I look away before my libido gives me away.
“Polo,” I whisper and use the ledge of the pool to move around until I’m in the deep end. I silently push off and tread to the middle.
“I’m going to get you; you might as well come to me now.”
“You’re really starting to piss me off.”
“Save your anger for later. You’re going to need it.” My favorite kind of smile blooms on his face. “Marco.”
