First and Tension (Summersweet Island 4)

I don’t know why, but I believe her. I really hope I don’t regret it. I seem to regret every decision I ever make with the opposite sex.

“It sucks not knowing what you should do with your life,” Emily continues, a sadness coming over her voice, no longer shivering now that the fire is crackling. “Not having a crystal ball to see if the decision you make is going to be the right one or just make everything worse.”

“Exactly.” I nod, staring at her profile while she stares into the fire, the glow from the Edison lights strung through the trees above us letting me see every emotion as it plays across her face. “So, what do you do about it?”

After a few seconds, she turns her head back to look at me, giving me another smile that I seem to keep holding my breath in anticipation for.

“Cross your fingers and hope for the best. Or in my case, drink half of someone else’s top-shelf tequila, and regret all your life choices up to this point.”

We both share a laugh, sipping our coffee in silence for a few minutes, staring into the flickering flames of the fire, and listening to the quiet thumping bass coming from inside my house, where Billy must have decided to liven his party up a little. All of a sudden, Emily sets her coffee down in the grass by her feet before clapping her hands together twice.

“All right, enough of this depressing nonsense. We’re at a party, and this is my last night… to have fun before I’m doomed for all eternity with a job I hate.” I laugh at her dramatics when she presses one hand to her stomach and the back of her other hand to her forehead, pretending to swoon. “If we’re not going back inside to enjoy the party, then we need to do something fun.”

I set my cup of coffee down in the grass by hers, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees, bringing myself closer to her.

“What did you have in mind?”

She mirrors my pose until our faces are just a few inches apart, my eyes focusing right in on her lips when her tongue darts out to wet them before she answers me.

I have never wanted to kiss a woman I just met more in my life. I’ve dated a handful of some of the most stunning women in the world, and I would rather kiss a woman who just puked less then fifteen minutes ago than spend even a second with any one of the others.

“Well, there’s a perfectly good basketball court over there on the other side of your pool that looks sad and pathetic, just like your walls.” Emily smirks, making that tight feeling in my chest return.

“Ha, ha,” I reply sarcastically, even though I just want to giggle like a little kid every time she speaks. It’s like she put some sort of spell on me. “You thinking about a little one-on-one?”

“I’m wearing heeled boots that go up to my thighs,” she reminds me, sitting back up and away from our close proximity to point one long, gorgeous leg wrapped in a tall, sexy black boot out to the side of us. “I can do a lot of things in heels, but running up and down a basketball court isn’t going to happen tonight. We’re playing a game of PIG.”

“Make it HORSE and you’re on,” I challenge, knowing the longer word means more shots we’ll have to take.

Giving me more time to spend with her, while I kick her ass.

“I can’t believe you beat me.”

“I can’t believe you’re being such a big baby about it. You’re a football player, not a basketball player.”

“No, it’s fine that you beat me. But you beat me in five minutes. I don’t even remember what happened. I think I blacked out. What are we doing next?”

“What, do you need to play a different game you can win, so you can feel like a man?”

“Maybe.”

“Poker?”

“I just so happen to have a set of playing cards in a drawer in the outdoor kitchen.”

“I’m being swindled.”

“What are you, an old-timey detective? I didn’t swindle you. I’m just better at poker than you are.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“Just want to check and make sure I still have a penis. Maybe cry for a few minutes.”

“Can you bring me another water when you’re finished?”

“What you should really be mad about right now is the fact that you spent good money on a ping-pong table to put out here by the pool, and you never even practice on it.”

“I practice! You just cheated. You have a third arm hidden under that skirt somewhere.”

“Did… Did you just accuse me of having a penis?”

“Since you turned down my idea of skinny-dipping pool races, I guess we’ll never know.”