Page 8

Chapter 7

DANI

Ouch. My head was killing me. Too much tequila.

I glanced down at the sheets, moving my gaze to Jordy. He was sleeping peacefully on the cot, with his sheets draped around his hips and exposing his tanned abdominal muscles. I must have had an aneurysm of some kind. I was pretty sure I’d kissed him, let him grab my ass, and I—no, I fucking didn’t. Did I?

He moved and I flew back under the covers, flipping onto my side and pretending to stay asleep. A knock on the door sounded as Jordy flew up, his feet stomping across the wooden floor to the door.

A faint “Thank you” sounded and my eyes opened to see a messy haired Jordy standing at the edge of my bed, looking over the card we had just received. I sat up and his eyes flew to mine. “Well, good morning to you,” he murmured. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?”

I stretched my arms out in front of me and replied, “Yep. How about you?”

He sat down, tossing the card to me. “I mean, yeah, but it got a little noisy. I don’t know who it was but… someone was getting railed before I fell asleep last night.”

Oh, so he did hear me. Success.

I looked over the card. Put on your best swimsuit and sunscreen. Meet us under the beach sign at 9:00 A.M., ready to play some games!

“Games? They want us to play games today?” I groaned, falling back onto the mattress.

“Should I order something to eat?” Jordy asked.

“Yeah, go ahead. Make sure to get extra fruit. Whatever it is, I want it.”

“You got it boss,” he said, walking to the phone and dialing room service. I admired the muscles that strapped his back and arms. He was… fit. Or hot? I don’t know. This was all so confusing and I wasn’t sure how to relax. He made me anxious, he made me… shit, he made me a lot of things.

This couldn’t happen. I needed to get it together.

While he was on the phone, I jumped into a cold shower to wake myself up and put on my swimsuit, trying to avoid my thoughts. When I walked out, I was met with Jordy lying on the bed, stuffing his face. “Hurry up and come eat before I eat it all,” he mumbled with toast falling out of his mouth.

I laughed. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?” I said, hopping on the bed next to him. Lying on my stomach beside him, I reached for the bowl of cut pineapple. I took a bite, letting the delicious juices coat my tongue before I glanced up to meet Jordy’s blue eyes piercing into mine.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” I asked him.

He shook his head while taking another bite of toast. “No. I just—you’re beautiful.”

A warm blush fell across my cheeks as I chewed up the citrusy fruit. I swallowed and said, “Thanks, I guess.”

He wiped his mouth with the napkin and added, “We should probably get going. Also, could you put on my sunscreen when we gets outside?”

I smiled. “Sure. But I need help with mine too.”

“Fine by me.”

***

The sun was extra crisp today, and it was humid. Thankfully, the breeze off the ocean was cooling enough for me not to want to fall over from the heat.

“All right, turn around,” I directed Jordy, rubbing the sunscreen over his back. He took care of his legs, arms, and chest. But of course, just like everyone else in this world, his back was unreachable.

After I finished, I tapped his shoulder. “Done. My turn.” I turned my back to him and he began to rub the lotion over my shoulders, under the back of my swimsuit and to my hips. I knew I shouldn’t ask him, but… “Could you also get my cheeks?”

He coughed. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Can you get under my swimsuit in the back? I can’t reach it.”

I could hear an audible gulp before he answered, “Sure.”

Jordy’s hands pressed into my ass cheek, rubbing the lotion in slowly and grazing underneath my bottoms just enough to protect my skin if they slipped up. He moved to the other cheek, rubbing the lotion in just as slowly. I thought I could hear his breath near my ear and chills ran down my spine, causing goosebumps to rise.

“Is it cold?” he asked. I nodded my head in response. He didn't need to know that it wasn’t because of the temperature—it was because of him.

***

The first set of games were fun and not as competitive. But when we moved to the beach volleyball court, all sportsmanship went out of the window. Jordy and I were best friends for many reasons and one of them was our competitiveness.

“Watch the back corner behind Elena. I watched their last game, and she could never get there in time,” he instructed.

I saluted him. “You got it.”

We took our spots on the court and immediately became unhinged athletic volleyball players. I hit the spot behind Elena at least a dozen times, and not once could she get there. I knew winning was important to Jordy but beating her meant a whole lot more.

“Game point, Dani!” Jordy yelled at me before I served. No pressure or anything.

The ball soared over the net into play. As Elena and John volleyed it back over, I passed the ball to Jordy. He set me up and I jumped with all my might, slamming the ball down and over the other side of the net. Winning the game.

Everything else turned into slow motion. I jumped, turning around to face Jordy whose face was beaming like he just won the Superbowl. We ran toward each other and I hopped into his arms. He grabbed me, spinning around until suddenly we fell.

Jordy took the brunt of the hit, with me straddling on top of him in the sand. My hands pressed against him as I sat up and arched my back against him. His sandy hands gripped my ass, holding me in place. “Don’t you dare move,” he whispered.

I looked into his eyes. They were a lighter shade of blue, almost gray in the sunlight. “Why?”

“Because everyone is looking and if they think we are together, we need to not be repulsed by each other.”

I chuckled. “But I’m not repulsed by you?”

“We both know that, but everyone else doesn’t.”

I glanced around at the crowd that was watching intently and thought I’d try something. “Kiss me.”

Jordy smirked. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

His right hand reached around my neck and pulled me flat against him as his soft lips pressed into mine.

This shouldn’t feel this good– was that his tongue?