“He worships the ground I walk on,” Gwen continued. It hadn’t taken her long to move on to another guy in our group. It was like she’d pointed her finger at him, deeming him acceptable, and he fell at her feet in gratefulness. It was quite impressive. The other two girls sighed as they looked over at Isaac standing with the other guys around the outdoor kitchen.
My eyes were drawn, as always, to Kevin. He wore blue swim trunks and leaned over the counter, supporting himself on both elbows, listening to Sean, who was telling a story.
Kevin had changed over the summer. Hell, all the guys had. It was like they hit a magical point and started filling out the long bodies they’d acquired at puberty. But I couldn’t help but stare at Kevin’s abs when they contracted on a laugh. He’d always been tall, standing over six feet, but kind of lanky, even though he ate like a horse. Then, his biceps started getting bigger to match his chest. And god, don’t even get me started on the deep ridge on each side of his abdomen.
It was no wonder the girls all sat there holding back drool. I began to wonder what the hell they put in the water they gave to the soccer players.
My shameless ogling of Kevin’s muscles screeched to a halt when Chloe said my name.
“Have you guys seen the way Sean has been staring at Ana?” she whispered.
“Right? He’s been eye-fucking her hard these past two weeks,” Jane added.
“M-me?” When I looked over at him, he was smiling at me. In my shock, I felt my eyes grow wide, and it was hard to imagine what my face looked like. It must have been enough for Sean, because he added a wink before turning back to the conversation.
“No.” I shook my head, not knowing what else to say.
“It’s those amazing boobs you’ve got going on.” Gwen’s words made me look down at my chest. Kevin wasn’t the only one who grew this summer. Somehow, I’d jumped from an A cup to a C cup.
“They’re okay, I guess.” Shrugging, I tried to hide the blush that was creeping into my cheeks. I didn’t want them to know how uncomfortable I was with all of them staring at my chest.
“Better than mine,” Gwen muttered. She was tiny all over. I towered over her.
“Whatever,” I scoffed. “You’re hot and you know it.”
“You’re right. I am pretty hot.” Gwen’s confidence more than made up for her small stature, and it made her more gorgeous and desirable than a pair of big breasts ever would. The girls moved on to another conversation and I zoned out, this time staring at Sean rather than Kevin.
It was impossible not to compare the two. Sean was much lighter in coloring, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was shorter than Kevin but had a thicker build.
Staring longer than was necessary, I admitted to myself that I liked the idea of him checking me out. He was hot and nice . . . and not permanently locked in friend category. That was enough to let my imagination run away with the idea that Sean liked me. We’d hung out in the group together, but never alone. He made me smile with his stories. I didn’t know if he made them up or they’d actually happened, but I didn’t care because they were hilarious.
Yeah. I could picture myself hanging out with Sean alone.
“I call Ana,” Kevin shouted, after the guys decided to play a game of chicken.
“Not fair,” Josh complained. “You guys are the tallest combo. Ana has the longest reach.”
“The taller they are, the easier they fall,” Sean added. He scrunched his face and brought two fingers up, pointing at his eyes first, and then mine, letting me know he was watching me. I shrugged carelessly. But when I turned, I bit back a smile, enjoying his attention on me.
A yelp escaped me when I was suddenly swept up in someone’s arms. Kevin was smiling down at me, a mischievous smile.
“Kevin!” I yelled. “Don’t you d—” My words were cut off by my deep inhale before we were submerged under water. I managed to squirm free of his hold and pushed to the surface. “You dick!” Gasping for air, I pushed wet hair out of my face. I wiped my eyes and glared at him as he laughed. When he laughed some more, I splashed a huge wave of water at him, causing him to sputter.
He was still laughing when he caught up to me in the shallow end where everyone else had eased themselves in the water of their own free will. I slapped his shoulder for good measure.
“Oh, c’mon, Ana. You don’t want to injure your partner before we start. How else will we kick everyone’s ass?”