Page 150 of His Secret Gift

“Fine,” I say before holding Callie like a baby and tossing her into the water.

“You jerk,” Kayla mutters while laughing and clutching around my waist. I’d just been in close proximity to Callie, so our nearness doesn’t seem to elicit a reaction from the rest of the crew. But she also releases me quickly after that.

“Hey Jack!” Denver calls out, and I turn to face him.

“What’s up?”

He has a volleyball in his hand. “Wanna play?” He then points at an empty court nearby.

“You’re on.”

He grins. “Let’s do it.”

As I follow him, I notice that his hair is resembling a mullet these days, and I wonder if that’s the ‘do his lady, Maria, whois constantly going on about, prefers. It isn’t a bad look for him, honestly.

“Boys vs. girls,” he announces after we reach the net.

So, that means it’s he and I against Callie, Gwen, and Kayla.

I’d protest that three against one was unfair, but Callie is so tiny, I figure she will hardly get any blows in.

… but boy was I wrong. The girl is a powerhouse, and her first overhand serve whizzes right past both of us.

“Dang, girl! You’ve got a cannon!” I applaud.

She flexes proudly. “I was the girls’ volleyball champion, three years in a row, baby!”

“We’re screwed,” I utter to Denver.

“No, come on.” He’s resting with his hands on his knees. “We got this.”

Next up to serve was Kayla, and the jiggling of every inch of her body distracts me from moving appropriately after she launches the ball into the air.

“Dude!” Denver calls out.

“Sorry, man.” I clap my hands. “I’m focused now.”

In the end, the girls completely dominated us.

“Way to go, ladies.”

They celebrate their defeat by cracking open a champagne bottle someone brought.

“To vaginas!” Callie proposes with her glass in the air.

Denver’s shoulder knocks against mine. “I can cheers to that, too,” he says before pressing his tongue against his cheek and raising his eyebrows.

I smile and raise my glass as well. “Cheers.”

Then, we all go back to the hotel together and change for lunch.

“Ready?” Kayla asks after knocking on my door. “Oh! That’s a new look for you.”

“Yep.” She’s in a light, white sun dress, and I’m wearing a striped, white, tan, and dark brown polo and khakis. Just to be different, I also put a Panama hat on my head. For her, I do a little spin. “You like?”

“I like!”

I then look out in the hallway, ensure she’s alone, pull her inside, shut the door, push her lightly against the wall before kissing her.

---