“Oh, you think that?” I retorted. I pulled myself further up and jumped inside the boat. “That sounded like someone wants to get thrown in!”
She started running to the other side of the boat to get away from me, but I caught her quickly and wrapped my arms around her littlewaist.
She struggled against me, her body shuddering with giggles.
“Can I toss ya?” I whispered in herear.
“You’re asking permission now?!” she hollered. “Now that I’m already wet?”
“Ooh, but I like when you’re wet, baby,” I whispered in her ear again. I could feel her slightly shiver against me and I spotted goosebumps on her arms. I loved having that effect on her. “But I mean, it’s not ketchup packet time, is it?”
Her jaw dropped open. “Did you just use thatagain?”
“Well, is it?” I knew from my sisters that this was a horrible mistake a man could make. I learned the hard way when I shoved one of them in a pool when I was a little kid. I got chewed out for it for about a month.
She huffed. “No, but-”
I didn’t let her finish. I felt a smile spread across my face as I stood up on the pontoon’s bench, fully carrying her now, with one arm under her back and one hooked under her knees.
Guys in the water were now watching us and chanting, “Do it! Do it!” While the girls were yelling at me to stop.
I was never one to let a crowd down, and the boys were a hundred percent louder.
“Here we go, Ellie!” I warned her, and then we were in the air.
The cold shock of the water feltamazing…
Not so amazing: Ellie kicking me in the balls by accident as she swam to thesurface.
She emerged laughing and smoothing her hair back, but when she turned to look at me, she knew something was wrong.
“What?” her eyebrows drew together in concern.
“You kicked me in the balls!” I yelled at her, feeling betrayed somehow as the pain coursed through my entire body.
After all of a single second of concern, she threw her head back laughing, and swam towards me struggling to say sorry due to her laughingfit.
“Oh shoot,” I heard a little cackle from the boat. “She gotcha with a nut shot?!” Johnny said while peaking his little head over the side of the boat. He slowly shook his head at Ellie with an incredulous look on his little freckled face.
“She did, little man,” I said wryly as I swam back toward the boat.
Johnny’s spiky haired head disappeared then, and we heard a little voice begging his mom for another pop.
I hung on to the back of the pontoon for a minute, waiting for the pain to go away. When she reached me, she steadied herself by holding onto my shoulder.
She leaned closer and gave me the quickest kiss on my cheek.
After she pulled back, I could still feel her wet, delicate lips against my skin, and it took me a second to recoup.
“Sorry, Theodore.” She bit her lip trying to hold in more giggles. I just shook my head at her. I guess I deserved it for throwing her in the lake in the first place.
“Know what would make me feelbett-”
“Shh!” she warned and put a dainty finger up to my lips. “Don’t say anything bad to ruin the moment, Theodore Jiffy Vonnie.”
I blew out a sigh, I should’ve never told her my full name.
“C’mere,” I told her, and grabbed her leg and wrapped it around my waist so she was facing me head on. Water clung to her long eyelashes making her eyes look even more shiny than usual. She put her hands around my neck.
