Page 41 of Kiss and Tell

“I’ll show you who’s a chicken,” I retorted.

His eyes snapped up to mine. I thought he might say something about my appearance, and I was ready with a snappy comeback.

“Are you going to jump in or are you going to stand there all day?” he asked instead, an innocent enough question.

Without answering, I dove into the deep end, my long dark hair trailing behind me like a swirling cloud. It was colder than I’d expected and the shock of it jolted me wider awake than any of those road trip coffees had.

I broke the surface with a gasp and heard clapping.

“Nine points,” Connor called out from the other side of the pool. “Eight for execution, ten for style.”

“I didn’t know we were keeping score,” I asked. “If so, it’s your turn next.”

“Fair’s fair.” Connor heaved himself out of the pool, showing me the swim trunks clinging to his firm backside. My stomach stumbled over on itself. He turned around to face the pool. Beads of water dripped down his strong, chiseled chest. The cold of the water no longer felt so chilly as I warmed from the inside out.

I averted my gaze before Connor could catch me being the one to ogle.

“Check out this perfect form,” he said. Then he launched himself into the pool, not in a dive, but in a cannonball, his arms and legs tucked into himself.

“No, wait—!” I cried, but it was too late.

He landed only a few feet away from me with a huge splash, sending water toward me in waves, spraying my face and getting into my mouth and eyes as I sputtered.

“You suck,” I griped at him once he surfaced, coughing out lungfuls of liquid as I tried to tread water.

“That was a ten out of ten, don’t you think?” Connor asked.

He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face and slicking it away from his forehead. Rivulets of water ran down his handsome face, following a trail down his cheeks to the corners of his perfectly kissable mouth. The water continued dripping down his jaw, along his neck, and lower. Just enough of his upper chest bobbed above the water for me to appreciate the firm contours.

I hadn’t realized I was staring until the corners of that mouth tipped up in a sly smile. I shot my eyes up to his to find a knowing smirk.

“My eyes are up here,” he said.

Flushing, I sent a handful of water toward his face with a flick of my hand. Now it was his turn to sputter.

“That’s what you get for cannonballing me,” I said.

“You really want to start a splash war?” he grinned.

In reply, I gracefully turned on the spot and swam away, kicking my legs furiously to send more water splashing at him.

A hand gripped my ankle. I squawked, completely unladylike, as I was pulled backward.

“Don’t start something you can’t win,” Connor said.

I kicked to loosen the grip on my ankle. My head bobbed under and I almost inhaled another lungful of water. When I surfaced I immediately launched into a counter-offensive, using both hands to send a tsunami directly into Connor’s face.

He choked and coughed. Now it was my turn to laugh out loud.

“Who’s losing this war, exactly?” I asked.

He hooked his leg around mine under the water and tugged, sending me dunking under. I squealed, struggling to right myself, only to find a barrage of water hitting me in the face. I sputtered again, my hair a tangled mess falling over my eyes and cheeks, impeding my sight. I whipped around, but I couldn’t see where Connor was so I couldn’t attack back.

Two warm hands cupped my cheeks. Callused thumbs parted the curtain of my hair. I blinked to see Connor in front of me. He ran his hands through my wet hair, pushing it back and slicking it against the top of my head.

“You ever think about cutting your hair?” he asked. “There’s an awful lot of it.”

One hand still cupped my cheek. The other cupped the nape of my neck. Long legs brushed mine as we treaded water in the deep end. His hands felt burning hot.