Page 69 of Hot Summer

Cas was more or less willing to sit on the daybed for the rest of the evening mulling over just how bad it was that she’d snogged Ada (and that she wanted to keep snogging Ada for as long as humanly possible), when Ada spoke.

“You kissed me.”

Welp, they were in it now.

“Yup.” Cas put a bit of extra pop into the p, hoping it made her sound casual. “I was thinking, you know. It was about time.”

“I thought it was about time, too,” Ada said. She spun in her seat, swinging her legs around behind her so she could sit almost beside Cas. “I kept trying to drop hints, but you were not picking them up.”

“I thought you were just being friendly.”

Ada laughed and shook her head.

“Well, for future reference”—Ada leaned closer, her hair falling forward over her right shoulder, brushing up against Cas’s arm—“if I’m grinding on you like that, it’s definitely not friendly.”

And before Cas could even catch her breath, Ada’s mouth was on hers.

It felt like a jolt to Cas’s entire system. Like the main power had been switched on and every single inch of her body was humming with electricity.

Where their earlier kiss had been rushed, sped up by the pressure of the game, this kiss was languid, luxurious. It was a thousand sensations all at once—the soft press of Ada’s mouth against her own, the swipe of Ada’s tongue along her lower lip, the brush of Ada’s hair against Cas’s biceps, and all of it combined with the heat of Ada’s body so near her own, the way Ada was tracing her fingers oh so lightly along the back of Cas’s arm...

Cas could have sank into this moment, lived in it for the rest of her life and been totally and completely satisfied.

Where Cas felt like she was disintegrating, Ada was unhurried, and coaxed exhales and sighs and, god, hitched groans out of Cas with ease. Cas gasped as Ada scraped her teeth along her lower lip, and the smile on Ada’s lips, so knowing, made Cas hum and pull Ada closer until their chests were pressed together.

It was a little awkward given how they were sitting, but it was exactly what Cas needed. To feel Ada’s body against her own, to close any distance between them, to seep into her skin. Cas shifted on the bed, moving to kiss the edge of Ada’s mouth, her jaw, the very top of her throat. Ada’s breath caught, her hand coming to rest on Cas’s thigh.

“Fuck.”

Cas grinned, beamed, and let her mouth find Ada’s again.

Cas wanted to feel every single plane and curve of Ada’s body, and her hands weren’t shy in exploring them. Ada’s dress had ridden up and Cas smoothed her hands along the outside of Ada’s gorgeous thighs, squeezing lightly as her fingers traveled toward the seam of her dress. Cas traced the edge of the fabric, teasing, and with each suggestion that her hands might slip underneath, Ada exhaled hard, desperate in a way that was very much going to Cas’s head.

They were probably getting a little out of hand here given that there were about a dozen cameras currently pointing at them. As soon as she remembered that, Cas slowed, moved her hand, tried to calm her breath.

Ada pulled back slightly, just enough that she could rest her forehead on Cas’s. “Are my intentions clear now?”

Cas exhaled a shaky laugh. “I don’t know, you might need to kiss me again. So I can be sure.”

Cas felt Ada’s smile against her lips and she was about to lean forward when a shout from the garden forced them both to turn round.

“Yes!” Freddie and Femi were standing up on their deck chairs, fists in the air. They high-fived, the force of their excitement causing Freddie’s chair to tip and send him tumbling back into the pool.

23

The best night of Cas’s summer should have been followed up by the best morning of Cas’s summer.

It was, however, unfortunately followed by an early morning text message going off in the (now very crowded) bedroom.

Cas groaned and stuffed her head under the pillow, and when the phone beeped again, she grabbed an extra pillow and slammed it on top for good measure.

Rita’s voice was muffled as she read her message. “ ‘Rita—this morning, you can choose one lover to go on a date. Choose now and get ready. You and your date will leave in ten minutes. #SkyHigh #BallooningFeelings.’ ” Rita was quiet for a second, considering, before she said, “Charlie—fancy going on a date?”

Cas was grateful she’d thought to put a second pillow over her head, because Charlie almost immediately tripped over one of the new beds crammed into the bedroom and swore at the top of his lungs.

Cas didn’t really think anything of that first message, but then Leo got a date message of his own when they were all sitting on the pool deck eating breakfast. He’d wrapped his arm around Lucy’s shoulders and, as soon as she agreed, pressed a kiss to her temple and stuffed the rest of his pastry into his mouth before jogging up to the bathroom.

“It must be date day,” Cas said, watching Leo run off. They did something like this every summer, usually during Bombshell Week, a series of dates held outside of the villa for people to get to know one another better. It was an opportunity for lovers to explore a new connection with a bombshell or, if they were planning to stick with their original match, to take their partner out of the villa and spend some quality time together without the pressure of a dozen other people overhearing their conversation.

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