“Five bucks, huh? How about we make it more interesting, and we each get to pick our winnings.”
Her lips crack a smile. “Hmm, I get to pick what I win?”
Nodding, I reply, “And I get to pick mine.”
She thinks for a few seconds. “Well, part of me would love for another coffee to show up Monday morning at work, but I know you have work yourself. So, how about this… If I win, you have to mow my backyard like you offered. But you have to do it without your shirt on.”
I bark out a laugh.
Oaklee shrugs, her cheeks turning darker than I’ve ever witnessed. “I mean, if I’m going to sit on my back porch, sipping lemonade while you do manual labor, I might as well get a show.”
“Deal,” I agree readily. “Now, if I win,” I start, leveling her with a serious look of contemplation. “If I win, I get to mow your yard, shirtless, and at the end, you have to give me a kiss.”
She looks completely unamused. “If you win, you want to mow my yard?”
“Yep. I actually enjoy it, and if you think walking around your backyard without a shirt on so a gorgeous woman can gawk at me is a hardship, you would be completely wrong.”
“That’s dumb,” she retorts.
“It’s brilliant, because after I win, I’ll mow your yard and get a kiss as a thanks.”
Her eyes narrow a bit and she fights her smile. “You don’t think you would have gotten a kiss regardless?”
“Well, I didn’t want to assume. This way, when I win, it’s guaranteed.”
Shaking her head, she sighs. “Fine. If you win, you mow my yard shirtless, and I’ll give you a kiss. You have a deal.” Oaklee steps forward and extends her hand for me to shake.
“Deal.”
We play the game, shot for shot, and providing a little extra back-and-forth banter. She distracts me by shaking her ass and dancing around. I’ll admit, she easily achieves her goal, because I can’t keep my eyes off her. But in the end, with one ball left on the table for each of us, I sink my last one and the eight ball.
I win.
“You cheated,” she declares, setting her pool stick down on the table.
I bark out a laugh. “How so? Because I wasn’t the one trying to completely distract the other one with boob shots when I bent over.”
She gasps and blushes. “I did no such thing!”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I raise an eyebrow. “You literally squeezed your boobs together when you were bent over the pool table and looked up at me.”
She giggles. “I was dancing to that song.”
Now it’s my turn to giggle. “Whatever, temptress. The fact remains; I won. Therefore, I shall be collecting my winnings shortly.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m not really sure this can be considered a loss for me though.”
I give her a wink and move to where she stands. My hand wraps around her hip as I gently move her closer to me. “I told you; it’s a win-win.”
“Come on, let’s go up and say goodbye to Lizzie and Collin. I want to make sure I’m mowing in the heat of the day, so I get nice and sweaty while you’re ogling me shirtless.”
I love the chuckle that comes from her lips as we make our way back up to the bar. The crowd cheers as the Bengals score six on a touchdown run, and even though I’d usually be front and center in front of the TV, watching the game, all I want to do is be near Oaklee. Even if that means mowing her yard.
“We’re taking off,” I say to my brother, who is now sitting at the end of the bar, off by himself where he can watch the TV and Lizzie at the same time.
“All right,” he replies, allowing me to pull him into a hug. I’m a hell of a lot more touchy-feely than he is, which is something he’s had to just deal with over the years.
“You go on shift tomorrow morning, right?”
