Page 13 of Praising the Pitcher

He starts swimming away from me, and I have to admit, he’s a faster swimmer than I assumed he would be. I guess being as great an athlete as he is, there’s probably not much he’s bad at. But within a minute, I’ve caught up to him, and I launch myself onto his back, pushing him down into the water.

“Take that, you jerk!” I yell, laughing. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you splashing is annoying.”

“It got you in the pool, didn’t it?” he challenges, fighting me and keeping his head above the water. “Not to mention you’re in that bikini. On my back …”

“You’re a pig!” I smack the top of his head and get off him, quickly going underwater before swimming on my back.

“Yeah, probably.” Coming closer, he studies my face before reaching for it. Brushing his hand against my cheek, he swallows. “You had a loose strand of hair,” he says lowly, but instead of moving away, he stays close to me.

In the center of this pool, with my almost bare body just inches away from his, my chest flutters. Noah’s face is wet from going under, and his hair is soaked, making him look like a literal snack I wish I could taste.

Or maybe lick.

If this was a scene in a book I’ve read, maybe we’d kiss. He’d hook his hands around my thighs, and I’d feel his erection pushing into my core. Okay, that’s too far. At the very least, we’d almost kiss, and then one of us would pull away and say it was a bad idea. Sometimes, romances can be predictable, but honestly, I find comfort in that. But this is the first time we’ve ever hung out, and after everything that’s happened today, emotions are high, and neither of us is in a place to do that.

“Hey, Smoke,” he utters, his eyes on mine.

“Yeah?” The word comes out much breathier than I wanted it to, and instantly, I’m embarrassed.

He moves in, his face close enough for me to smell his minty breath. I must be dreaming, because there’s no way he’s going to kiss me. Is there?

Just when my heart rate begins to pick up … he smirks and darts away.

“Last one to the wall has to go outside and run around the building!”

I’m still so dazed that it takes me far too long to gather my thoughts enough for my body to respond and swim toward the wall. By the time I do, he’s almost touching it, and it’s too late. Even so, I swim my hardest to the wall where he’s got his arms leaned over the edge looking all cocky.

“Took you long enough,” he drawls.

Looking through the windows beside the emergency exit, I frown. “It’s the middle of November … it’s freezing out.”

He looks over at the door and then back at me. Turning so his back is against the edge of the pool, he lifts himself up. Water drips down his rock-hard abdomen, and I breathe in so fast I’m slightly scared he heard me.

“Fine, I’ll go with you.” He stands on the pool deck, holding a hand out.

Reluctantly, I take it with both hands, and as if I’m nothing, he pulls me up in front of him. The tension is so high I feel like I may actually explode, but I do my best to stay calm. Even if that is impossible with Noah freaking King’s nearly naked body inches away from my fingertips.

He keeps one hand around my wrist, leading us toward the exit. “Ready?” he says, grinning at me, and I think my nipples harden at the thought alone of how cold it’s going to be.

“I guess,” I utter, swallowing thickly.

Within seconds, the door is pushed open and we’re running into the darkness. It’s cold on my feet, but the air hitting my wet hair is enough to make me wince.

“Fuck, it’s colder than I thought!” he shouts. “We can turn around!”

“No!” I say instantly. “We had a deal. We’re going to do a circle around the building!”

I wish I had it in me to just turn around and say we tried, but my entire life, I’ve been raised to do anything I say I’m going to do. And I suppose I can’t let that go.

Even when it’s something as stupid as freezing my ass off like I am right now.

We get halfway around, and his hand moves from my wrist to my hand, his fingers lacing into mine. He’s likely just caught up in the moment, but that slight touch from him is enough to warm my core and help me push through. I pick up the pace, damn near pulling him along with me.

“This was a stupid idea,” he grumbles, running beside me, and when we round the corner, and I know we’re in the homestretch, I remember the whirlpool.

“Good thing for the hot tub!” I call back, imagining I’m in it right now.

When we reach the door, I sigh in relief when it opens back up because part of me wondered if we’d be locked out.