“What was that for?” He shook his head, simultaneously getting some of the water out of it and making the waves fall back into place instead of sticking awkwardly to his forehead.
“I don’t know,” I said innocently. “I just wanted to swim with you.”
Charlie shook his head and laughed. “You will be the death of me, Madison McKinnon.”
I glanced over his shoulder to the corner of the room where he’d been sitting with someone before. Whoever he’d been talking to was now gone, leaving us completely alone in the pool. What that should have meant to me was that we needed to be extra careful in there because there was no longer anybody else watching out to make sure we didn’t drown. But my mind was totally elsewhere.
“You know,” I said, taking a couple of steps towards him. I probably looked stupid since it was hard to walk through water flirtatiously, but I did my best. “We probably shouldn’t be in here together.”
“Oh yeah?” Charlie asked.
“It’s dangerous,” I said. “Something could happen.”
“Something?” He raised his eyebrows and took a step towards me as well. “Like what?”
I bit my bottom lip and grinned at him. His eyes were shining under the fluorescent lights, and I could see the outline of his muscles through the water. He was so beautiful... and I hated how weak that made my self-control. Luckily, I didn’t have to make the next move. Charlie’s arms came around me, and he pulled me close. His lips met mine, gentle and persuasive. I melted into him, my body responding shamelessly to his touch. He deepened the kiss, his hands exploring my body as he pulled me closer.
I gasped for air as our mouths parted. “We can’t do this,” I said breathlessly. “Anyone could come back.”
“One more minute,” Charlie said. And who was I to argue with that logic?
When we finally pulled away, my brain felt foggy. Was this what a good kiss was supposed to feel like? I’d had many boyfriends in my day, but nothing had ever felt like this. Not that Charlie was my boyfriend, mind you—I had to make sure I kept that straight in my mind. We needed to draw the line somewhere.
“I bet we can still go for another minute before somebody comes in here,” Charlie said. He took another step towards me, but I shook my head and took a step back, a grin on my face.
“Uh-uh. I am not risking getting fired over you, mister.”
Charlie pouted. “What? Am I not worth it?”
I pressed my tongue against my cheek, holding back a laugh as I looked away. “You’re too cute for your own good.”
“Exactly,” Charlie said. “We won’t get in trouble because I’ll just throw my puppy dog eyes around and make it all better.”
“Even if that would work,” I said, “it would only work for you. No way your puppy dog eyes are getting me out of trouble.”
“Fine,” Charlie said. “We can stop… that.”
“What do you?—”
I didn’t have time to brace myself before Charlie dove at me. He grabbed me around the waist, hugged me close to his body and spun around and around, making waves around us in every direction. I threw my head back and laughed. It was a stupid game that shouldn’t have made me nearly as giddy as it did, but as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my face to his, I found myself laughing harder than I had in a long time.
I wished I could laugh like this for the rest of my life.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Courtney’s shrill yell cut through the air.
Charlie and I both froze in place before he slowly put me down. I had to press my lips together to stop myselffrom laughing at what this must have looked like from her perspective. I slowly turned to look at her, where she had just come out of the women’s locker room.
“Well?” she demanded. “Do you think this is a playground or something?”
“Relax,” Charlie said. “We’re just messing around.”
“You’re not getting paid to mess around.”
“No, we’re getting paid to teach and lifeguard swim classes,” Charlie said. He looked dramatically around the pool. “And the crazy thing is... there are no kids here to teach.”
“Your point?” Courtney asked.
“I think my point is pretty obvious,” Charlie said. “But if you need me to spell it out for you… why are you making Madison stay here when there are no students?”
