Page 70 of Make It Without You

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Don’t you need to change?” I ask, unsure if she’s wearing her suit under her clothes.

Emily pops a hand on her hip. “What if I told you I swim nude?”

I blow out a breath and run my hand through my hair. She flusters me and I refuse to let her know that. Although I doubt I’m fooling her. “Then I’ll be glad I don’t have neighbors so close to me.”

She shakes her head with a smile and turns towards the open door, crossing the threshold to my outdoor oasis. Shaking myself out of the trance she put me in, I gather our towels and follow after her. I drop our towels on a chaise lounge and turn on the radio. When I turn around, my mouth hangs open at the sight of Emily’s dress pooling around her feet.

Her bathing suit leaves little to the imagination. The dark blue of her suit is a strapless top and her bottoms showcase the very asset that’s taunted me from the beginning with the color of the suit bringing out the warm undertones of her skin, despite the colder months that plagued us.

“Do you trust that top of yours?” It’s a valid question.

“Do you trust those bottoms of yours?” Her gaze goes to my very defined crotch. And I love that we can volley like this.

“Not in the slightest,” I tell her.

Emily walks backward to the pool with a smirk on her face. “Well Mr. Montgomery, I for one think I need to cool off.”

She executes a perfect dive into the deep end of the pool. When she surfaces, she pushes her hair off of her face and searches for me before finding me still on land.

“Adam, get in the pool,” Emily demands.

Kicking my flip-flops to the side, I cannonball into the pool and the sound of her laughter hits me right as I go under. Opening my eyes under the surface, I swim to where she’s treading water.

My hands trail up her legs before I resurface to take in a much-needed breath. As I’m breaking the surface, she swiftly swims away from me. Indulging the playful side of her, I chase her until she slows down. Sinking under the water I snatch her leg and pull her back to me.

When we both come up for air, I greet and wrap my arms around her waist. “Hi.”

Her arms go around my shoulder and her legs go around my waist in return. “Hi. Anyone ever tell you how hot you are?”

“Sure,” I start and she narrows her eyes at me. “The line cooks tell me all the time.”

She tugs on my hair which in turn sends a jolt of awareness right to my cock. “You’re such a jokester.”

Lifting up on my torso she lays her body backward gracing me with a spectacular view. I let her enjoy the water of my pool and the weightless feeling that comes with submerging yourself.

“How were your summers as a kid spent?” Anything I can get to know from her, I’ll take it.

Her abs flex under the bright sunshine as she returns to an upright position. Her legs slide back down my torso and I swallow a groan when she lays her arms over my shoulders again.

“Honestly? My summers were spent either cooped up in our New York brownstone or I was left alone on some island while my parents worked in the office. It wasn’t until high school when I was making a life for myself that I told them to stop the pity invites. I was sixteen when I enjoyed my first true summer break.”

I twirl us around in the water and lower us further into the water to soothe the burn from the sun. And my heart hurts for the woman who never enjoyed the true freedom of summers. “Consider this me making it my goal to give you the best summer ever.”

“What all does that entail?” She questions.

I feel water falling down my back as Emily pours water on my drying hair. “The zoo is a top one.”

“Oh, of course. What else?”

“Carnivals.”

Her hand runs through my hair and I revel in the feel. “I have always wanted to ride on a Ferris Wheel.”

“Consider it done. Then we have amusement parks and water parks. Although the water park may be more Dylan’s speed.”

Her forehead scrunches. “How do we tell him?”

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