Page 77 of The Best Friend Power Play

I blink. "You did all that for me?"

"Yeah." He says it like it's no big deal, but it is, and it means a lot to me.

"Thank you."

He smiles at me, those cute dimples on full display. "Anything for the hot girl summer, right?" We reach the edge of the pool. "Wanna sit for a bit?"

"No." I'm feeling good, and I don't want to lose that feeling. "I want to do it while I still have the nerve. Let's get in."

"Okay."

Culver grins as he takes a step away from me and unhooks the towel from his waist.

Now I'm the county fair clown.

"What on earth are you wearing?" I exclaim.

He props his hands on his narrow hips, his grin getting bigger by the second. "Captain Jason isn't the only one who can rock a Speedo, thank you very much."

He can say that again. A few hundred times. Because as I take in Culver wearing a bright pink Speedo adorned with a pineapple print, I can't even remember who Captain Jason is or what he looks like.

If I thought Culver's body was spectacular when he was shirtless, seeing him in nothing but a piece of flimsy nylon is next-level scorching hot.

The sculpted biceps. The broad shoulders. The tight abs. Those thighs.

It's a lot for a girl to take in.

"Wait a minute." I drag my eyes away from all that smooth olive skin up to his adorable grinning face. "Were you jealous I was checking out Captain Jason?"

Because now that I think about it, he was a little quieter than usual as we were watching the show. At the time, I put it down to him scoffing his face for pretty much the entire episode. But now I can't help but wonder…

"Do I have anything to be jealous about?"

With a body like that…

"No, you most certainly do not."

"Good." He closes the gap between us and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. He leans in, and I think he's going to kiss me, but instead, he says, "I would love nothing more than to kiss you right now, but since this is my first time wearing a speedo, I am very, very aware of how tiny it is and how it leaves very, very little to the imagination. If I kiss you, things will happen in my southern region that could see me getting arrested for indecency."

"Ah. I see." I giggle. "Let's save the indecency for when we get home?"

"Deal. Now, are you ready to get in the water?"

I nod.

"I'll get in first," he says and begins climbing down the pool ladder into the water. "See? It's not that deep," he says once he’s in, the water reaching a few inches above his waist.

I swallow. "Cool."

I carefully descend the ladder, gripping the rungs tightly with each step, although I'm more self-conscious about how my rear end looks in this ridiculously skimpy bikini than I am worried about being in the water.

Huh. I wonder if that was Beth's plan?

No.

Her plan would have been to, uh, move things along with Culver. But what she doesn't know is that I don't need any help in that department at all.

The water is cool but pleasant, and as soon as I'm in, two strong hands wrap around my waist.

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