“Oh, it feels like forever ago.” I sidestepped the question with a half-truth.
“I get that.” He nodded approvingly. “It’s an addiction. How’s your game?”
I was about to say something self-deprecating, but Owen’s advice stopped me. Plus, I was sitting next to a person who needed to believe that I was better than I really was.
“It’s, uh, evolving all the time. Definitely improving. I’m signing up for the Parks tournament.”
“Aw, that’s adorable—good for you,” he said. “That’s a great beginner tournament.”
“Beginner?” I frowned at him. “It’s all levels.”
“Right, but it’s not officially sanctioned by any of the pickleball associations. It’s just a community thing.”
“Owen suggested it,” I said as explanation.
“Well, I’d never question the master’s wisdom,” Kai replied. “If Gripper wants you to enter, you do it.”
I took my last gulp of liquid courage. “You and I should play sometime.”
I snapped my mouth shut as soon as I said it, surprised by my own audacity. The invitation hung in the air for what felt like hours when it was probably only a half second.
“Yeah, I’d love that,” Kai said agreeably. “I’m not at CPA as much as I want these days—”
He was interrupted by a red, white, and blue ambush that made us both jump.
“Bro, we’re taking the Jet Skis out!” one of the three guys said. “Come on.”
Kai frowned at him. “Isn’t that illegal after dark?”
“Brayden plays golf with the chief of police; I think we’re fine,” replied a guy in flag shorts. “And we’re all sober, right?”
He looked around the group and they laughed.
Kai glanced at me expectantly as he stood up. “You in?”
I ran through a split-second decision tree, with one path leading to being wet and half naked pressed up against Kai and the other ending up with someone in the hospital because drunk Jet Skiing in the dark had to be about the dumbest idea ever.
“C’mon,” he teased. “It’ll be fun.”
The smile he gave me made me seriously consider stripping down to my underwear at a party filled with influencers.
“Darn it, wish I could but I didn’t pack a bathing suit,” I said, sounding convincingly disappointed.
“Suits optional,” a floppy-haired guy said as he backed away. “Let’s do this.”
Kai paused. “Last chance...”
The pull to join them was almost impossible to resist despite the risks. Jet Ski hijinks in the dark felt like a sexy, dangerous plot point I’d never considered.
“You guys go ahead. I’ll come down in a minute,” I replied.
“Promise?” Kai pointed at me as he backed away with the terrier triplets.
I smiled prettily and nodded. “Yup!”
They disappeared into the darkness, full of golden retriever energy. I finally exhaled and leaned back to stare at the night sky, filled to the brim with warm, fuzzy, delicioushope.
The noise level was increasing now that it was fully dark andthe crowd was lubricated. After rehashing every second of the interaction with Kai, I finally collected myself and set off to find Meredith again. I glanced to the dance floor, fully expecting her to be throwing her ass in a circle in the middle of it, but I only spotted Colton jumping around with his friends.
