Page 25 of The One That Got Away

I never thought I’d say this, but I was grateful that Max was here.

Who knows how long I would’ve flashed everyone if he hadn’t pushed me under the water when he did.

And if he hadn’t got his vest, I would’ve had to get out of the pool topless. My hands weren’t big enough to cover my boobs completely, so it would’ve been so humiliating.

‘What a hero!’ A grin spread across Jasmine’s face. ‘I bet you’re glad Max was there to help.’

‘Yeah,’ I said, quickly stepping back from him. It wasn’t a good idea for us to stand too close, especially given how my body had reacted when our palms touched earlier. ‘Thanks.’ I looked up at him.

‘It was nothing.’ He waved his hand dismissively. As his gaze met mine, butterflies fluttered in my stomach and I chastised myself.

Max had done a kind thing and I was grateful. I truly was. But that didn’t mean I’d forgiven him. And it definitely didn’tmean my feelings had changed. One nice gesture didn’t mean I was about to fall for him. I was too smart for that.

But then he smiled at me and the butterflies started dancing again.

Shit.

My mind might have decided not to be affected by Max’s presence, but unfortunately my body hadn’t quite got the message.

11

MAX

If some sadistic force was trying to test my willpower, they’d succeeded.

When Stella’s bikini top had flown off, my first thought waswow.She’d always had a hot body and the most amazing tits, but now? They were incredible. I wasn’t proud of the indecent scenarios that flicked through my head at that point of what I’d like to do with them, but I was only human. Even though things between us were strained, you’d have to not have a pulse not to be affected by the sight of her.

Stella wasall woman.

Luckily, I’d quickly dragged my thoughts from the gutter and my second thought wasshit: she doesn’t realise that she’s standing there topless. And that’s when I knew I had to do something.

Pushing her under water wasn’t ideal, but every second counted. Telling her to put her hands over her chest would’ve added another ten seconds of embarrassment, so I thought it was better to do that below the surface where no one else could see.

In the end I think she appreciated my intervention. When she thanked me, a weird warm feeling filled my chest.

I was under no illusion, though. Just because I helped out didn’t mean I was off the hook. Even if I did something nice every day for a decade, it wouldn’t change the fact that she hated me.

Doing an activity with Stella every day was going to be challenging enough. And when they mentioned that shit about choosing photos together and doing playlists, I was tempted to throw in the towel. That was gonna be awkward as fuck.

But I’d made a commitment to stay. So I had to see it through. Starting with winning this first task.

Stella returned in a different bikini and as she walked to the pool with her head down, I tried my best not to look, but it was difficult.

I got up from the sun lounger and went over to her.

‘You good?’ I asked.

‘Yeah,’ she said softly. Even though she was wearing sunglasses, I could tell from her body language that she was still embarrassed.

‘Come on. Let’s go and win this thing!’

A small smile touched her lips and I felt that weird fluttery feeling again in my chest.

At least we still had one thing in common. We both liked to succeed. Stella wanted to win this tournament just as much as I did.

We won the rest of our games and now we were only one point away from being declared champions.

As the ball hurtled over the net, we both raced forward.

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