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And that wasbeforehe slowly grazed his teeth along my bottom lip and pulled it into his mouth.
I drew in an involuntary breath as he slipped his tongue back over mine, invading every piece of me—his hands in my hair, his tongue in my mouth, his chest flush with mine, a low growl rumbling out of his mouth and into every part of me.
I wanted to scream. Because bottling up the way it made me feel had me sure I was about to explode.
It was just so… perfect, and unexpected, and so wholly unlike what Ieverthought kissing Neil would be like.
I didn’t know if it was him or me or a combination of both that had us pushed farther back into the corner of the pool, but there we were—my back pushed up against the wall, one leg lifted in his hand and curled over his hip thanks to his quick and intentional movements.
He was good at this. Way too good. Ruin every kiss I had before this one and every kiss I would have after it, kind of good.
Like I’d said:Obliterating.
But also, I was fairly certain I’d managed to climb inside his head, and inside his world, for just a little while, and he was giving me a private glimpse of his Utopia. I felt myself start to relax into it just before reality violently shoved me back out. Cheering and shouts hollered out around us, Jax’s and Sydney’s louder than any of them, and Neil pulled away from me.
I was dazed.
I didn’t give a shit who, or what, or why; I needed his mouth on mine again.
He chuckled, looking slightly embarrassed but mostly smug, and gave me a quick peck on the lips—again, like he knew the thoughts that traveled through my brain somehow—before lifting me up out of the water and tossing me over his shoulder, plunging me back into the pool. It did a fine job in sobering me back up.Mostly.
Sydney crashed into the pool after me, giggling loud. “Holy hell,” she whispered in my ear. “That kiss was—”
“I know,” I cut in. “I know.” I was there, half participant after all.
“Hot damn! I need to find me my own church boy,” she said, and I wasn’t sure why, but I took offense to it. I didn’t say anything, because again, I didn’t knowwhyI took offense to it, I just did. It picked at something unknown.
My wings were still weighing me down, and so were my boots, so I tore them off and chucked them over the side of the pool, feeling both physically and mentally lighter.
I watched as Neil did the same from the opposite end. He took off his shoulder armor first, followed by the chain-mesh shirt and his regular black tee along with it. I was instantly drooling. No, literally, I was drooling.Shit.I wiped my saliva from my chin, and it mixed in with the pool water. No one would’ve been able to tell. Right?
But since when did he have muscles like that?
I had no clue, but there they were, big and thick and defined and out for everyone to see.
He caught me gawking, and I rolled my eyes—at myself, mostly, and his lips curved up into a shy, knowing smile in response.
After dumping his armor over the edge of the pool, he swam back over to me, gliding effortlessly through the water, and I’d somehow almost forgotten that he was a swimmer. Aswimmer,swimmer—breaststrokes, flip turn, swim meets and all, kind of swimmer.
He looked graceful and at home in the water.
When he popped up above the surface, standing right in front of me, I grabbed his wet face dripping with water and shadowed paint, pulled him into me, and slid my lips over his without letting him think twice about it, or giving him the chance to back away.
I didn’t mind the taste of chlorine. Not like this.
We spent the rest of the night doing a lot more of that. It was the best Halloween first date in the history of fucking ever.
Chapter 12
Friends with Benefits
“You told me you loved me in first grade.”
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
“Oh, so we’re going to act like we’re in first gradenow?” I quipped. I took a bite of my pizza with a hot Cheeto perched on top. Apparently, we’d taken to hanging out at lunch now—after our first date. I wasn’t mad about it.