Page 13 of Home Game

“Ladies,” he says, lifting his arms out of the water and stretching them out along the deck. His biceps and shoulders dent in all the right places, his body bronzed, probably from playing shirtless at football camp all summer.

“Who are your new friends?” Tasha says, dropping her phone and towel on a chair, then moving toward the hot tub steps. As revealing as my suit is, Tasha’s is ten times so. It’s basically a bunch of purple bikini strings with three tiny triangles in—barely—strategic places.The older man sitting on the other side of Wyatt definitely notices. He doesn’t even mask the gawking as he licks his lips while watching my friend sink into the warm water. But Wyatt’s eyes remain on mine. He doesn’t even flinch.

“This is Sue and Terry. Am I right? Terry?” Wyatt’s question pulls the man’s eyes off my friend, yet Wyatt is still looking at me.

“Yeah, you got it, bub,” Terry says.

I smirk at Wyatt’s new nickname and he rolls his eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Sue and Terry. I’m Tasha, and these are my friends Lexi and?—”

“Peyton,” Wyatt interjects, taking over saying my name. My skin heats at the way his deep tone seems to stretch out the first syllable. I sit on the edge of one of the lounge chairs and slip off my flip-flops, my towel resting on my lap to hide the goose bumps rushing up my thighs.

“You girls having a little getaway?” Sue asks, moving over to make room for Lexi to sit next to her. Everyone’s eyes shift to me, as I’m now the only one not in the hot tub, and now I feelveryaware of how revealing my swimsuit is.

“Yes,” I answer. “We all start school Monday, so this is sort of our last hurrah.” I raise my fist to shoulder height for emphasis.

“Gosh, it’s good to be young,” Sue muses, her gray hair pulled up into a bun on top of her head, her sunglasses nestled against the hair. The pink on her cheeks and pale skin around her eyes leads me to believe she and Terry have been out here all day.

“Oh, I don’t know. Being a young man sure comes with its challenges,” Terry pipes in. He shifts in the water, moving to the railing along the steps, which he grasps as he climbs out ofthe water. His shorts drape below his knees, and his hairy belly hangs over the waistband. His chest is as pink as Sue’s cheeks, minus a few spots where it appears he smeared some sunscreen.

“Yeah, I hear young white men have it really rough,” I let slip out. My eyes widen, and my gaze shifts back to Wyatt in time to see his lips stretch tight to hold in laughter. As much as Lexi puts her foot in her mouth, I’m just as bad. Though, I usually do it intentionally.

“Sure, sure,” Terry says, waving his hand at me before grabbing a towel from the nearby table. He pats his face with the towel, then unfurls it to wrap around his waist. “I get that, believe me. But that’s not what I meant.”

“Whatdidyou mean,” Tasha says, pulling her legs up to rest her arms atop her knees in the water. This is how my friend group works. Lexi causes accidents. I light matches. And Tasha? She comes along with gasoline.

Terry chuckles as he snags a second towel from the table and moves toward Sue.

“I’m sure Bub here could tell you. What was it you were saying about understanding women?” His amused expression lands on Wyatt as he helps Sue step out of the water, and my attention zips to Wyatt.

“Ha, yeah,” Wyatt says through a nervous chuckle. He runs his palm over his face then through his hair, his gaze dancing around all of us before meeting Terry’s. “I think I said Ididn’t.”

“Yeah, and you never will, bub. You never will,” Terry laughs out. Sue nudges him, but he quickly swoops an arm around her and kisses the top of their head. “You kids have fun. And try not to do anything we wouldn’t do.”

“Have a good night, T,” Wyatt says, lifting a palm from the deck. We all look on while the couple flirts their way toward the exit.

I take advantage of the distraction, slipping out of my shorts and moving toward the hot tub’s edge. I’m not fast enough to avoid Wyatt’s gaze as I drop into the water a step at a time. I feel naked under his stare, his attention tracing the curve of my hip, my stomach, my breasts, and finally, my face.

“So, can I call you Bub?” I ask, snapping him out of his overt dog-in-heat mode. His lip ticks up.

“Depends,” he says, a slight quirk in his right brow. For some reason, my upper lip tingles in response.

“They were cute. I hope I have a relationship like that when I’m their age,” Lexi says before I can ask Wyatt whatdependsmeans.

“Same,” Tasha echoes.

“How about you?” Wyatt asks, dropping his arms back in the water and shifting so his body is square with mine on opposite sides of the tub.

I blink slowly and chew at the inside of my cheek. My parentsareliterallythat couple—or they will be.

I shrug.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m meant to be alone.” The notion actually appeals to me on many levels. While my parents have had the fairytale, they’ve also had the heartbreak. And I’m not sure I want to lose myself in someone the way my mom did when she and my dad first got together. Sure, they found balance as they grew. And my dad would tell you that my mom is really the backbone of their marriage. But as much as she has accomplished, the world still sees her as Reed Johnson’s wife.

“That’s sad as fuck,” Tasha says, splashing water at me.

I sneer and hold up my middle finger.

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