Page 114 of Swim To Me

“I’ll race you!”

Delilah’s beginner’s breaststroke is no match for the speed I can whip through the water, but I allow her a head start, givingher the advantage for a moment before I lengthen my body, pull my muscles in tight and take a deep breath.

Head dipping under water with each controlled inhale, I see the moment I pass by Delilah, heading back up to do another lap while she practises treading water. It feels good to stretch my body; muscles, tendons and ligaments lengthening and contracting, my body knowing what to do instantly.

“I win,” I say, once I break the surface, smoothing my slicked back hair away from my forehead and pinning Delilah to the edge of the pool with my hips. “I think I’m owed a prize, don’t you?”

Delilah drags her palms over my chest and up over my shoulders. “You can claim your prize upstairs.”

“And what sort of prize should I be expecting? Hm?”

“Anything,” she breathes, her eyes dipping down to my lips and then back up again. “I’ll let you do anything you want as your prize.”

“God, Delilah…”

I tuck my head into Delilah’s chest, huffing out a strangled exhale at her words, feeling my cock swell behind the drawstring of my swim shorts. Adrenaline runs poker hot through my body; a mixture of hormones being released into my system, making my heart race.

Above me, Delilah begins to lightly scratch her fingernails through my scalp, her own body relaxing against mine. I close my eyes at the gentle sensation, listening to the steady rhythmic thrum of Delilah’s pulse.

“Mm, this is nice.”

“Really nice,” I agree, feeling the water lap at our chests. “It’ll be even better when we’re on holiday and the sun is shining down on us too.”

Delilah doesn’t stop running her hands through my hair, but I hear her breathing hitch for just a second. “Where would we go?”

“Anywhere. Some place hot with a pool and the beach close by so we can swim.”

“I’m not sure I’ll be up to swimming in the sea against the current.” Delilah laughs. “But the rest of it sounds lovely.”

Once Delilah begins to complain about her quickly pruning fingertips, we take the elevator back up to my floor, both of us soaking wet and shivering in a damp bathrobe and towel.

I make us two cups of tea while Delilah dries herself off and changes back into my oversized t-shirt, padding into the kitchen, her phone in hand, while I sip the scalding liquid.

“Everything okay?”

Delilah glances up at me, opening her mouth to say something, until her phone buzzes again and she peers down at the screen.

“Yeah, I just… oh for fuck’s sake…”

Amused at the profanities which so easily slip from Delilah’s lips, I take another drink, leaning back into the kitchen counter behind me.

“I forgot there’s a publishing party… a-a work function,” Delilah explains, seeing the confused crook of my brow. “Next Friday night. It’s for a well-known author we work with to celebrate the release of her latest book, and I’m expected to be there. God, I don’t even know what I’m going to wear…”

I watch the cogs turning in Delilah’s mind while she picks up her own mug, staring, unblinking, at the ceramic rim before she looks up at me.

“Will you come with me?”

“Of course.”

Delilah grins. “I’ll need a dress and you’ll need a suit… do you have one?”

“Somewhere in the back of my wardrobe, yes,” I say. “I’ll have to hunt it out for the occasion.”

“I’ll find a dress to match, then and—”

“Oh, we’re going to match, are we?”

“Of course we are.” Delilah stares at me, puzzled. “You’re my boyfriend and—”

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