Page 48 of Iris Kelly Doesn't Date

Stevie choked on a laugh. “Um... no, not at all. Youwerethere the night we met, right?”

Iris shrugged. “I remember a really sexy woman kissing me first.”

“Followed by evidence that I am the worst seductress in the Pacific Northwest,” Stevie said.

Iris’s expression remained thoughtful as she stepped forward, fingers sliding under the hem of Stevie’s tank. “Then allow me to take the lead. May I?”

Stevie swallowed, acutely aware at how close Iris was. She knew it was fake—this wild woman playing at romance to get into a character’s head or something—but with Iris a mere breath away, Stevie could count every single freckle on her face, and her lungs were having a hard time remembering how to function.

She managed to nod though, and Iris lifted her shirt up, prompting Stevie to raise her arms. The fabric slid slowly—way more slowlythan it really needed to, in Stevie’s opinion—and when the tank slipped free, Iris was smirking.

“What?” Stevie asked, rolling her shoulders back. The single strap of her bathing suit pulled at her neck.

“Nothing,” Iris said. “You’re just cute, that’s all.”

Stevie snorted. “Is that a line for your research?”

Iris’s smile slipped, but only for a second. “Of course it is, my adorable button.”

Stevie took care of her shorts—no way she could handle a woman who could most certainly be featured on some Sexiest People of the Year list taking off her pants—and she and Iris approached the edge of the pool, the water already undulating with swimmers. Stevie spotted Iris’s friends wading by the stairs, half of them with umbrellaed drinks in their hands already.

“Ready?” Iris asked, slotting her fingers between Stevie’s.

Stevie pulled on her suit’s strap, which felt about as thin as a spaghetti noodle. It barely gave, digging into Stevie’s shoulder like a wire. Still, she nodded and tightened her grip on Iris’s hand.

“One...” Iris said, “two... three!”

Stevie leaped, throwing her free arm back and jumping. The water hit her like a slap—sudden and freezing cold. Still, she felt liberated and wild. She lost Iris’s hand on impact, and she let her knees bend all the way, her feet scraping the bottom before she rocketed herself back to the surface. She broke into the sun, swiping her hair back from her face and laughing.

“That was amazing,” she said, blinking into the light and trying to find Iris. “I should do that more—”

“Oh shit,” Iris said, her eyes wide on Stevie’s chest.

Then Stevie realized exactly why she felt so wild and free upon hitting the water—her bathing suit strap had snapped and was currently drifting in front of her while the pool’s waves lapped at her...

“Fucking hell,” she said, crossing her arms to cover herself,because despite the vigorous dive, she and Iris had jumped into the shallow end and her boobs were on full display at this family affair.

“Okay, okay, it’s okay,” Iris said, swimming toward her. She grabbed the floating strap and pulled up, nudging Stevie’s arms out of the way so she could hook it around her neck. Iris moved behind her and Stevie felt tugging.

“Everyone okay?” Claire asked, moving through the water toward them.

“I’d say that’s a no,” Delilah said, but not unkindly. She winced at Stevie, her expression pure sympathy.

“Can you tie it to something?” Astrid asked, now behind Stevie too as she and Iris tried to troubleshoot her ancient swimsuit into functionality. Soon the entire crew had swarmed Stevie, all of them closing ranks to cover her from public view.

Still, Stevie felt like she was five seconds from flashing all of them, and that was not her idea of a great first impression.

“Well, baby doll,” Iris said, “there just doesn’t seem to be any way to salvage this.” She tugged a bit more.

“I can just go,” Stevie said. “I don’t want to ruin your party.”

“Hell no,” Iris said. “My woman is in trouble, and I’m going to fix it.” She released the strap slowly so Stevie could hold the swimsuit to her chest herself. “They sell suits in the club.”

Stevie nodded and let Iris help her out of the pool via the stairs. A few middle school–aged boys pointed and laughed, and Stevie felt like she was eleven years old again as she climbed out of the water and Iris wrapped a towel around her.

“Some romantic first date,” Stevie said.

Iris laughed. “You always make it interesting, I’ll give you that.”