Page 105 of Dirty Pucker

Del was hesitant to leave his mom, but she wouldn’t hear of him giving up his vacation to watch over her. She promised to stay at his place while he’s gone, which made him feel better about leaving.

I close my eyes and breathe. All the muscles in my neck and shoulders relax. The lighting is dim to mimic the atmosphere of a cave, but there are modern touches throughout, like the full-length mirrors placed around the space and the soft mood music filtering through the speaker system.

“My skin feels better already,” Sophie says as she swipes more mud onto her fair skin.

“This so relaxing,” Dakota says. She’s lying along the edge of the mud pool, propped on her elbows, head back, eyes closed.

The four of us are dressed in swimsuits, caking ourselves in mud.

“Do you think the mud is good for hair too?” Maya asks.

“Yeah. It’s mineral enriched mud. Go crazy.”

Maya smiles at me and swipes a palmful of mud through her long, dark brown hair.

“This is gonna be hell to wash out, isn’t it?” she says.

“Yeah, but it’ll be worth it,” I say. “Your hair will be so shiny and soft.”

We’re quiet for a couple of minutes as we indulge in the mud bath.

“Can you believe the guys opted to go deep-sea fishing instead of joining us?” Dakota says.

We all laugh.

“I can absolutely believe it,” Maya says. “I try to get Theo to do spa stuff with me. I tried to get him to do a sheet mask with me a few months ago and he complained the whole time. And the one time I scheduled a couple’s massage for us, he hated it. He said the only kind of massage he likes are the athletic massages he gets from the team trainers.”

“I’m sure if you offered to give him a massage yourself, he would have enjoyed it.” Dakota winks at Maya as she pulls her long brown hair into a ponytail.

Maya chuckles. “You’re probably right.”

“I wonder how long they’ll last out there on the water,” Dakota says. “I overheard the concierge say that the waves might be a little rough.”

Sophie winces. “I hope they don’t get seasick.”

“I’m glad we’re here relaxing instead of puking our guts out on a boat,” Maya jokes.

“It was so nice of Del to treat us to the spa,” Sophie says to Dakota.

“Yeah, it was. He’s pretty great. Sometimes,” Dakota says.

Del and his mom finally told Dakota about the break-in a few days after it happened. She was upset and hurt that they didn’t call her the night it happened, but she seems fine about it now. I think she’s just happy her mom is okay.

Sophie gently elbows her best friend, chuckling softly. “Come on. Your brother has a good heart. I know he annoys you with how overprotective he can be over you, but he’s been a lot better ever since he started playing for the Bashers, don’t you think?”

Dakota nods, adjusting the tie on her bikini top. “I guess you’re right.” She looks at me. The corner of her mouth hooks up in a knowing smile. “He’s been in a pretty good mood ever since he’s been hanging out with you, Ingrid. Maybe it’s all those TikToks and Instagram posts you’re helping him with,” she teases.

I bite back a smile as I swipe mud onto my face in an attempt to hide the blush I’m certain is painting my cheeks.

It’s only been a couple of weeks since Del and I first hooked up in Las Vegas, but it’s been the most amazing two weeks of my life.

Not only is he rocking my world in the bedroom, but we’ve gotten close emotionally too.

I think back to the night of the break-in, when I went with him to check on his mom…how he opened up to me about the guilt he still struggles with after witnessing his dad abuse his mom when he was a kid…

Seeing him struggling to keep it together as he talked about it wrecked me. My heart broke for him, knowing that he still felt shame for something that wasn’t his fault.

The rawness of that moment hit me hard. I could see just how difficult it was for Del to tell me that. And as heartbreaking as it was to witness that painful moment, I also felt special.

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