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Are you my girl?he was silently asking—that perfect in-between, not quite a smile, not quite a smirk thing twisting his lips. He was too attractive for his own good sometimes.
I gave the butterflies in my stomach a slow and painful death by not taking another breath, figuring out my course of action.
Of course I was his girl, but was I going to admit it in front of Sydney and Matt? And the other four teammates of Neil’s that now crowded up behind him?
Sure, why not.I shrugged.
I was never one to back down from a challenge. And who was I to tell a half-naked Neil he didn’t own me right now?
I stepped forward, pushed up onto my toes, and planted a kiss on his mouth for everyone to see. (Chlorine, and Neil.A strange yet always satisfying combo.)
Hoots and cheering broke out around us.No, literally.Like a goddamn cheesy ass nineties film, his friends were hollering Neil’s praises—Sydney included.
I wasn’t all that mad about it.
Yep, people. Mine.I kissed him again, claiming him right back.
When we separated, we were both smiling.
Yeah, I could get used to this,I thought as he leaned down, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Can we hang out tonight? Watch a movie or something?” he asked.
Um, duh.“Yeah, for sure.” I played it cool.
“Sweet.” He stepped away with a smile. “I’ll see you in a bit, then; I have to go get changed now.” He directed his attention to Sydney. “Thanks for dragging her here.” He nodded toward me, and I rolled my eyes. There would be nodraggingabout it next time. I wasn’t telling him that, though. Or Sydney.
He planted a kiss on my cheek, and I watched him walk away.
Matt spun around on the heels of his feet and directed a shout at Sydney from halfway across the natatorium. “Maybe next time you could scream my name instead?!”
I snorted in laughter as he threw her a wink that probably had her panties melting. Her fingers tightened around mine in confirmation. Yep. Nuts, this one.
I loved the shit out of her.
“Beautiful, intense, strong, breathtaking,” I read the four words out loud, one on each wing of the paper butterfly I held in my hand.
A blush worked its way up my neck and through my cheeks.
We were sitting on the tailgate of Neil’s truck in my driveway, and he was wrapped around me from behind. I wasshroudedin Neil. Legs hugging my legs, arms around my waist, chin resting on my shoulder. At least he couldn’t see me blushing this way.
He cleared his throat, pulling his arms around me tighter. “Remember when you when you said all those things in my pool, about my name and the way you see me?” he asked. The breath of his words breezed over my neck, sending a slow trail of goose bumps up my spine and down my arms.
I shook my head. “Nope. Not at all. You were half-naked, Neil. That’s all I remember,” I lied.
His fingers pressed into my sides, threatening torture.
I tensed up. “Don’t you dare,” I whispered through my teeth, and he chuckled, his fingers digging in a millimeter farther. “Shit, yes, I remember. I remember!” I relented—much to his amusement.
He laughed into my neck, forcing a shiver through me.
“Well, this is how I see you,” he said. Sweeping my hair over the front of my shoulder, he placed kisses down the back of my neck between each word he spoke. “Beautiful.”Kiss.“Intense.”Kiss.“Strong.”Kiss.“Breathtaking.”
Every single one of my reactions to him turned up a notch—the blushing, the goose bumps, my heartbeats, my breaths. I turned around in his hold, meeting his dessert-colored gaze.Uh-huh, yeah.This was really it, wasn’t it?
“You really love me, don’t you? Like,actuallylove me.How?” I asked, stunned. Becausethatwashow he saw me? I could’ve easily argued that he was missing a few adjectives.Brash, stubborn, mouthy,rudejust to name a few.
He chuckled. “What do you meanhow? I just do.” He shrugged. “I don’t think we choose these things.”
“So you’re saying you wouldn’t choose me?” I immediately responded in challenge, like the total pain in the ass I was.