Boyfriend for the Summer

“No problem,” Krista says. “We’ll beat their ass too.”

I roll my eyes but I’m smiling. “Speaking of wingman,” Michael says, he nods towards the shore.

“What?”

He rolls his eyes. “We’re not idiots, Eric.”

I look in the direction that he nodded, and I see her.

Seph.

The green eyes that I can’t get out of my head.

I’ve seen her everywhere since I tackled her that first day, and I still feel bad about it. The bruising on her face is almost entirely gone. But it’s more than guilt that’s kept me looking at her whenever she appears.

She’s beautiful.

In a way that I’m not used to. She just…is. I’ve never known someone with that color hair. A perfect, vibrant red that lights up like fire when the sun hits it. She’s got this perfect pale skin, and when I knocked her down I got to see her eyes—a gorgeous green that reminds me of the leaves of these woods at sunset.

Michael laughs at my staring and heads out of the water. But not before I can flip him off.

I’ve never had a crush this hard this fast before, but I want to get to know her. Something in my gut is pulling me toward her, and I want to follow it. Now is the perfect chance. Right now, she’s under a tree on her towel, scribbling in that notebook that she brings everywhere—I’ve literally never seen her anywhere without it. But she’s wearing a bathing suit too. A green bikini that hugs her body in a way that makes me really glad I’m in the icy water of the lake.

“Seph!” I call, and she glances up, confused for a moment, trying to figure out who’s calling her name, and I wave. She gives me a tentative smile. That same one that she’s given me whenever I’ve said hello. “I need a new partner. You game?”

“I’m not sure you would want me,” she says. “I’ve never won a game of chicken.”

“There’s always a first time.” And if I were being honest, I gave up caring about winning the moment I realized that she was here. That she would ever ask the question why anyone would want her makes me want to prove in a very public way that everyone should want her.

She presses her lips together a moment before speaking. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

She puts her notebook on the towel and comes into the water with us, wincing for a second at the cold. It’s milder today and the sun hasn’t burned off as much of the chill. “This is Krista and Trevor,” I say, not sure if she’s met them. I haven’t seen her hang out with many people here.

“Hi.”

I lower myself into the water and she climbs onto my shoulders. Holy shit, I didn’t anticipate what it would feel like to have her so close to me, and the fact that my hands would be on her thighs to stabilize her. I need to get my brain under control. I clear my throat. “Okay. Ready?”

“Ready.” She doesn’t sound like it, but that’s okay. Trevor and I step closer to each other, and the game is on. I tighten my hands on Seph’s legs and brace against the lakebed, trying to keep her steady. She gives it her best shot, and she does manage to knock them off balance for a moment, but the pair across from us have been together forever and have been playing chicken here just as long. There’s no beating them, and only a few minutes later Seph reels back, and I follow her into the water.

Kristin cheers with victory and I laugh. Seph surfaces but doesn’t stand. She’s smiling even though her chin is still in the water. “Are you okay?”

That blush that I’ve learned to look for creeps up her cheeks. “My top came off. I’m trying not to flash anyone.”

Before I can stop them, my eyes fly to what little is visible of her shoulders in the murky water, and her straps are gone. I rip my eyes back to hers as quickly as they dropped. “Stand behind me.”

I turn and block her from both Kristin and Trevor and the people lounging behind me. She steps close enough that I can feel her moving, and I’m actively trying not to imagine her naked. And pretty much failing. My imagination is spinning into what might happen if we were alone. Would she let me turn and kiss her? Feel her skin without the fabric in the way? My dick wants that. Stop it, Eric.

Her hand brushes my shoulder. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” I follow her back onto the beach to her towel, grabbing my own in the process, and I sit with her. Close enough to be able to talk but not so close that she would feel uncomfortable. “Is this your first year here?”