Page 52 of Tame Me

He entwined his fingers with mine and pointed out toward the ocean. “Have you been to one of these before?”

“No, never.”

“Okay. See those yellow buoys out there?” He leaned in so our cheeks touched.

I followed his outstretched finger. “Yes.”

“We start here, run into the water and swim out to that one, go around it, swim to that one, go around it, then swim back to shore. The first one to run under this banner wins.”

“Oooh, I hope it’s you.”

“Me too.” He cupped my cheeks and kissed me again. “Me too. Maybe you’ll be my lucky charm.” The dazzle in his eyes reflected the excitement on his face.

I tugged my lip into my mouth as I gazed up at my hunky chocolatier. There were so many facets to Hunter, and I was truly looking forward to discovering every one of them.

“Okay, I’ve gotta go. Wish me luck.”

I reached up onto my tippy-toes and kissed his cheek. “Good luck.”

Chapter Fifteen

The anticipation had my stomach doing little flips as Hunter jogged toward the start line. With ten more minutes until the beginning of the race, I returned to Lolita.

She had both our towels laid out and was busy rubbing suntan lotion over her legs. “Find him?”

“Yes. He’s so pumped.”

“Oh, good. Let’s go over and watch the start.”

I was so glad she’d said that. We left our towels but grabbed our bags, and together, we raced back to the starting line. At least forty men were lined up, and they were a united bunch, fidgeting as they jiggled from one foot to the next and shook out their arms.

We lined up along the edge of the race track, muscling in between a couple of young guys.

“Which one is he?” Lolly asked.

I pointed him out. “He’s in the red swimming trunks, about . . .” I counted the men, “twenty-fifth from the left.”

“The one between the guy in the blue and the guy in the black swimmers?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

Lolly cupped her hands around her lips. “Go, Hunter,” she screamed.

Hunter looked our way, and both Lolly and I waved madly at him. He gave us the thumbs up.

“He saw us,” I squealed, and I jiggled up and down on the sand.

“On your marks,” a voice boomed over a loudspeaker, and I jumped when the starter gun exploded.

“Go, Hunter!” we yelled in unison as smoking-hot bodies ran past us.

The entire group hit the water in a large splash and continued running until it was too deep. Once they started swimming, it was impossible to see Hunter anymore, yet I couldn’t stop looking for him.

Lolly and I stayed in position as the pack of swimmers glided past one buoy after the next. My stomach was a tangle of knots as they skirted around the last marker. Four men were neck and neck at the front of the pack. It was impossible to see if Hunter was amongst them. I danced from foot to foot. I held my breath. I clapped my hands. The excitement was excruciating.

Lolly let out the loudest wolf whistle I’d ever heard, and several men around us turned toward her, and by their expressions, I’d say they admired her talent.

The contestants hit the beach together, running. My eyes nearly burst from their sockets as I saw one of them had red swimmers on. “Go, Hunter,” I screamed, although I still couldn’t be sure it was him. He had his head down as he dug his toes into the sand and pumped his arms and legs like crazy.

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