She’s expecting me, of course, but instinct makes her turn away from me, trying to keep the hose from my grasp. A mistake I’m sure she’ll see in hindsight. I’m not coming for the hose, but it might have stopped me from coming for her.
Both arms around her waist, I tackle her, dropping us both to the ground. I take the brunt of our landing, rolling onto my back upon impact. I want her filthy, not hurt.
She’s barely off her feet when she starts screaming a mix of obscenities and demands to be let go.
Still holding her, I start to turn onto my side, bringing her up to face the dirt along with me. She’s at just the right angle, where Icould release her and gravity would take her before she’d have a chance to put out her hands to stop herself from getting a mouthful of mud.
“Sure you want to be free?” I tease.
She fights me another second or two before she realizes her current state. The moment she does, her entire body stiffens and she growls, “Jovi, I swear to God.”
“Threats will get you nowhere here,” I tell her, keeping my voice light as hers grows darker. “You want me to show you some kindness, I’m going to need a little in return.”
Her body goes soft for a split-second and I think maybe she’s about to surrender.
Then, as suddenly as she relaxed, she tenses again. “Never.” Before I know what’s happening, there's a click as the setting is changed. She shoves into me, rolling us both until I’m lying flat on my back, then she directs the nozzle skyward, pressing the handle on the hose and placing us both at the center of a torrential downpour.
In the background, I can hear Remmi laughing so hard she’s getting hiccups. Gavin must have made it back outside too, because I can hear his squeals every few seconds, so beside himself with delight, it’s bursting out of him.
“Remmi, quick,” Liz shouts, “come grab the hose!”
Without hesitating, Remmi runs into the spray, giggling the entire way. I’m so thrown by the turn of events, I don’t think to stop them when Liz hands over the most powerful weapon at our disposal.
A second later, the cold shower stops and I’m lying in the mud still clasping Liz to my chest.
“Now what?” Remmi asks, grinning from ear to ear as the hiccups continue to escape her.
“Now point it at his head and in your meanest, most bad-guy voice snarl, 'drop her or the hair gets it.'”
I let out a laugh so suddenly, my arms loosen and I release Liz as a result of the reflex.
She wastes no time rolling off me and getting back to her feet.
I don’t even care. She won this battle fair and square.
“That was good,” I tell her, still chuckling as I get to my knees and start to assess the situation of mud on my body. I run my hand over my head and retrieve it to find it caked in dirt and grass. “Of course, my hair probably would have benefited from the attack.”
Remmi shrugs. “If you say so.” Next thing I know, I’m being sprayed again.
“Jesus Christ,” I groan, scrambling to my feet to get out of reach. “What is with you Penny girls?”
I’m still trying to get upright when Remmi comes closer, angling the water to keep reaching up toward my head. When I try to get away, it leads to a chase all around the backyard.
While I run, I curse myself for convincing Trent to add extensions to the original hose so Lena could water her flowers in the back without having to bother with a watering can. Then, when I’m done berating myself, I turn things on Liz. “Would you do something?”
She claps her hands with an unbecoming level of glee, chuckling in waves. “I am doing something.”
“Gavin! We’re supposed to be a team. man,” I call over to him. “Come save me.”
Gavin, who up until now was as enamored with the show as everyone else, immediately jumps into action. “I’m coming!”
At last, the hose is turned away from me. The second Gavin became a threat, he had his sister’s full attention. Thankfully, he’s not bothered by the spray. If anything, he's enjoying it, dancing through the drops like I’ve seen him do in the sprinklers countless times.
Once I’m sure I’m not Remmi’s target anymore, I take the long way around the outside of the yard until I reach Liz again. Not the only one who feels safe enough to move freely again, I notice Holly also comes out of hiding.
I wait until both women are close to each other and casually step between them.
“Almost looks fun, huh?” I say as I wring water from my shirt. “Bringing back any memories of running through your parents' sprinklers in the yard?”
