Georgia’s off the chair in a flash, bare feet slapping the deck as she sprints for the stern, shrieking when I catch up behind her and grab at her waist. I almost lose my own footing when she pivots and shoves me into the railing, a playful, brutal little jab that nearly knocks the wind out of me.
“Oh, you’re going down now,” I promise, trying to recover but laughing as I breathe her scent in.
She hooks a hand through the metal as she rounds the corner to the swim deck, and I only catch her elbow as she starts to leap into the sea.
She launches herself off the deck, a clean, gorgeous dive, her toes pointed, and arms stretched long. I’m so taken with it that Inearly miss my own takeoff, but then I’m airborne too, going for full Olympic spectacle, except…
I over-rotate, and slap down in a bellyflop so spectacular that the world goes white for a second.
The water stings like a motherfucker and I surface, sputtering and blinking salt out of my eyes. Georgia’s already treading water a few feet away, laughing so hard she might go under. I float, gasping, but mostly in awe of the sound—her laughter, sharp and bright, a perfect antidote to every heavy thing that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours.
“You looked like a manatee,” she says, still cackling.
Brody stands at the edge of the deck, gripping his side in laughter. “Holy fucking hell, man. That was the most ungraceful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Clearly, that was not my plan,” I pant, treading water around me.
Georgia swims to me, wrapping her hands around my neck. “You just needed to cool off,” she says, her breath warm and fizzy against my cheek. “You’re always running so hot, Emmett.”
With her lips this close, I can’t help myself. I kiss her, softly at first, then with the heat that’s always waiting to come out whenever I touch her. The saltwater on our skin makes her taste even sweeter. She kisses me back, then shoves me under, not letting me get a big breath, so I have to scramble up, sputtering and laughing like a damn idiot.
“I win.” She kisses my cheek and then swims for the boat ladder.
She climbs out ahead of me, water streaming off her body in little rivers. Brody helps her up, and she’s grinning at him, almost daring him to push her back in. Instead, he wraps her in a towel, pushing her wet hair out of her face.
“Next time, warn a guy before you break the world record for cannonballs,” Brody tells the two of us, but his hand lingers on her face. He leans in to kiss her.
And she stiffens.
I watch the exchange carefully.They must have some shit to work out.
Brody pulls back a fraction, reading Georgia’s face. She leans into his hand, her expression softening, but the kiss she gives is more closed-lipped, almost cautious.
I get it though. There’s a hell of a lot to process when your dad calls you a whore, and the guy you want is best friends with him. That’s some real fuckery.
Still, she doesn’t shy away. She lets Brody wrap her up in a towel and kisses his neck, and when Miles appears, still nursing his sangria, she laughs and pulls him into the circle. The four of us are huddled on the deck, dripping water everywhere.
“So, who won?” Miles chuckles as his eyes bounce between the three of us. “Because my bet was on Georgia.”
“Then someone owes you money,” I chuckle. “Because the race when all kinds of sideways, and then,” I gesture to my still-red abdomen, “I clearly did not stick my landing.”
“That’s very true,” Georgia says, flicking water off her arms. “But also, if it were a contest in pure, unfiltered enthusiasm, you would’ve beat me.” She’s smiling at Miles, and the way her eyes bounce between all three of us, I’m suddenly, acutely aware that this is a wild thing we have going here.
It really is a miracle none of us has punched each other in the mouth.
Especially Brody.
But even more concerning is the fantasy starting to fill my head, as Miles starts toweling off her legs. I imagine him working his way upward, tugging at those pretty blue bikini bottoms andexposing her pussy. He’d lean in and get a taste, while Brody took her lips with his.
Maybe we could all share her at once.
My cock jumps to attention, even as my rational brain tries to short-circuit. I can’t imagine Brody allowing us to do such a thing, and honestly, I’m not so certain about Miles either. Maybe I’m the only one willing to explore those ideas. Maybe I’m the only one whowantsto.
I guess I’ll just have to wait and see, but I do know one thing.
There’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to stop thinking about this now.
Chapter 18
