The Crush

He flashed a mischievous grin. “Wanna race?”

I splashed him. “Why? You think you can beat me just cuz your legs are longer?”

He cocked a brow. “There’s only one way to find out, right?”

Over the next several minutes, Jace and I swam in tandem from one end of the pool to the other. Sometimes he’d beat me to the other side, and a few times, I beat him.

Eventually, we got into a water fight. The next thing I knew, he was chasing me, then lifting me up and tossing me in the water. He did that several times. It was the most fun I’d had in a long time. I hadn’t a care in the world.

Then he lifted me up again, and I was certain he was going to toss me into the water, just like all of the other times. Instead, though, he just held me. Our eyes locked as my legs wrapped around his waist. He was going to have to drop me, because I sure as hell wasn’t climbing off him willingly. As he continued to hold me, the world seemed to stop. I could see the reflection of the palm trees in his gorgeous eyes, made luminescent by the sun. Those eyes then dropped to my lips. I could see his chest rising and falling. He swallowed hard. Holy shit. Something was happening. My heart was going a mile a minute.

And then…

“What are you doing?”

Jace dropped me like a hot potato at the sound of Nathan’s voice. My body hit the water with a loud splash.

What the hell is he doing here? My voice was shaky as I wiped the water from my eyes. “Wha…why are you home? I thought you were driving to meet that girl.”

“She canceled on me, so I came back after the job interview.” Nathan’s eyes traveled between Jace and me. He seemed suspicious.

“Oh.” I exhaled, moving a strand of hair out of my mouth. “How…how did the interview go?”

“It was okay. Too hard to tell if they’re gonna call me back, though.” He looked straight at Jace. “You guys seemed to be having fun. Didn’t realize I was missing out on a…pool party.”

Jace was silent.

I felt the need to chime in. “Jace decided to take his debut dip in the pool. We were just playing around.”

Nathan looked between us again. “I see.”

Jace finally spoke. “Well, it’s hot as all hell today. So…”

“You guys down if I make some dinner?” Nathan finally asked.

“We actually already ate,” I told him. “Jace went to Checkers.”

Nathan turned to his friend. “Since when do you eat dinner this early?”

Jace cleared his throat. “I was starving.”

“We didn’t think you were going to be home,” I said. “Otherwise, we would’ve waited.”

“I guess I’ll give you that.”

Jace got out of the water and dried himself off. He then laid out on one of the loungers, displaying his gorgeous, tanned body in all of its glistening glory. His feet dangled off the end of the chair.

Nathan snapped his fingers in front of my face. “I asked if I got anything in the mail. Earth to Farrah.”

Jesus. I hadn’t even heard him the first time. “Oh. No. Nothing came for you today.”

“Shit. I’m waiting for a part to come so I can fix the toilet in the master bath.”

“Bummer,” I said, still itching to look back over at Jace.

“Guess I’d better figure out something for dinner if you guys aren’t eating with me.”

When Nathan disappeared into the house, relief washed over me. Rather than put my towel back around me, I went over to where Jace was lounging and lay down on the chair next to him.

“How are you holding up?” I asked.

He opened his eyes and turned toward me. “Good. You?”

“Great.” I smiled.

“When we were swimming…” he said. “It definitely got my mind off things. But as soon as Nathan came home, all the shit in my head started to hit me again.”

“Nathan is a buzzkill?” I chuckled. “Is that what you’re saying?”

He laughed. “Basically. It was a nice escape while it lasted.”

“Are you going to tell Nathan about what’s going on at work?”

“I will eventually. But I don’t want him to worry. He’s got a lot on his plate now with the job search and all. So, if you don’t mind, don’t mention what I told you about the money. Let me tell him myself, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay. No worries. I won’t.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you…going to Linnea’s tonight?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I need a break.”

“Yeah. You’ve been spending a lot of time with her. Although, you shouldn’t really need a break from someone so early in a relationship.”

“It’s not a relationship,” he was quick to clarify.

“Something tells me she doesn’t see it that way.”

“Well, I never promised her anything. I don’t lead people on. I can’t help it if she draws the wrong conclusion.”