Page 23 of The One That Got Away

As I sank into the cool water, I exhaled. It felt so good. The other team were already in the water, which only left Max. I turned around to see where he was and immediately regretted it.

Just as I spotted him standing beside a daybed on the opposite side, Max peeled off his vest, revealing a torso that wouldn’t look out of place on the cover of a men’s fitness magazine.

His body looked like it’d been sculpted from marble. His pecs were toned and of course he couldn’t just settle for a six-pack. He had to go one step further with an eight-pack. No, wait. Maybe it was ten? Was that even possible?

Two, four, six…

I caught myself counting then quickly averted my gaze to his face.

‘Are you getting in?’ I called out.

‘Yep.’ He dropped his vest on the daybed then sauntered to the pool.

I tried really hard not to look but it was difficult. To get a body like that he must live in the gym. Maybe he was a personal trainer. He was always passionate about football, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up doing something sports related.

‘Finally!’ I huffed as he got in the pool and stood beside me on our side of the net. ‘Was it really necessary for you to show off your muscular chest? We’ve got a game to play.’

‘I wasn’tshowing off,’ he replied. ‘I was taking off my vest, which is the normal thing to do before you get in a pool. Nice to know you think my chest is muscular, though.’ He smirked.

‘I… I was…’ I stuttered as my cheeks burned. There was no point in denying it. ‘Anyway, let’s just focus on winning this game.’

Once Jasmine explained the rules, the game started. We returned the other team’s shots consistently, securing almost every point. The fact that Max’s six foot three frame towered over our opponents worked in our favour.

The games were short and it wasn’t long before we won the first round.

After taking a break by the side of the pool whilst the other two couples played their round, we got back inside.

Turned out my volleyball skills weren’t so bad after all. And of course, Max played brilliantly. Now we were just a few points away from winning our second round and securing a spot in the semi-finals.

As the other team hit the ball over the net, Max rushed forward and whacked it back so hard it sped past them, crashing onto the water.

‘Yes!’ he cheered and my stomach flipped. Annoyingly, there was something attractive about his competence.

Max raised his hand in the air for me to high five him. Although I wanted to ignore him, I couldn’t leave his hand hanging, so I slapped his palm triumphantly, trying not to look at his sculpted bicep.

As my hand made contact with his, a shot of electricity raced through me. I quickly pulled away.

‘Next one’s mine,’ I shouted, trying to bring my thoughts back to the game.

‘Okay,’ he nodded.

The man from the other team launched the ball over the net. Determined not to miss it, I jumped up and whacked it with all my strength. Max wasn’t the only one who could hit well.

As the ball flew past them, our opponents’ eyes widened. They must have been impressed with my shot. A warm feeling of pride filled my belly.

I turned to face Max and was just about to lift my hand to high five him again when he grabbed my head and pushed it under the water.

‘What the hell!’ I screamed, water rushing in my mouth and up my nose.

Max joined me underwater and before I could register what was happening, he yanked my arms up to my chest and pressed them against my boobs.

‘Look down,’ he commanded. I frowned, gasping for breath.

When I glanced at my chest, my soul left my body.

My bikini top wasn’t there. It’d flown off.

Shit.

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