Page 75 of Limbo

“Honey, Kitten needs help with her science homework before I drop her off at school.”

“That’s nice, dear,” she says, not paying attention.

He slips his arms around me, and backward I go into the living room. We keep going until I hit the couch. He lowers me down and crawls on top of me. I laugh as he brings the blanket all the way over us, covering our heads.

“Anatomy, right?” His mouth drops onto my jaw, kissing down one side and up the other. “The strongest muscle in the body is in the jaw,” he says.

“Is that so?”

“Mmhmm. And this is the longest bone in the human body.” His hand runs up my thigh, leaving chills in its wake.

“The smallest is in the ear,” I say. A body part he identifies with his teeth on the lobe.

I sigh, trying to keep our current location in mind. He makes the task even more difficult when he brushes my fingertips over the stubble on his jaw and then grazes his thumb over my bottom lip.

“The lips are hundreds of times more sensitive to touch than the fingertips.”

Whether or not anything else he says holds truth, I can vouch for the last one.

“Any other facts I should know?” I ask, distracted by his thumb still tugging at my lip.

“Kissing raises the pulse to over one hundred beats per minute.” He presses my palm flat against his chest and sets his against mine. In excruciating slow motion, he brings his face down. His heart rate stays steady, but mine picks up, the closer his mouth comes to mine. Just shy of contact, he stops and grins. “This concludes our tutoring session for today. If you enjoyed my services, please recommend me to a friend.”

And the exasperating charm of Jordan Waters is alive and well.

“You want me to recruit competition?” I ask. “Between Felicia and my sister, I don’t have enough?”

He shifts his weight to one elbow, pulling my hand away from his chest. His lips press to my inner wrist as he stares down at me in that amazing way. “Competition implies anyone else would stand a chance. We’ve been beyond that since the first time you increased my heart rate to over one hundred beats per minute.”

I swallow. “You should be careful, saying things like that.”

“Why?” He has a playful tone, his eyes soft, but my pulse thrums harder.

“It could make a girl feel things.”

“Good.” Jordan crushes his lips to mine, kissing me hard, and then he climbs off, the blanket going with him. “My mission is to make you fall in love with me.”

His words shock through me like I’m holding on to an electric fence. The thought terrifies me, the word, the whole concept really. But I grabbed this live wire, well aware of the potential consequences, and it’s too late to let go of it now.

Since Cate refuses to take off her goggles and Jordan packed his swim trunks, we all go swimming after lunch. The Norris County Fitness Center is a far cry from a beach in Mexico, but at least it’s not crowded. The surrounding communities all pitched in to build it between Waymore and Sutterville as an additional revenue source for the county. Unfortunately, not long after the grand opening, a YMCA set up shop a few towns over. Most people choose the higher membership fees and a short drive in favor of a larger pool, weight room, basketball courts, and all-around better facilities.

I pull up next to the only car in the parking lot, a crappy black Grand Am with a crack in the front bumper. Shayna and I started working here together at sixteen. After graduation, I quit, and she went from part-time to full-time.

Cate runs ahead with Connor close behind, carrying our two bags. Jordan’s fingers interlace with mine as we climb the steps to the ugly gray building long forgotten by everyone. Shayna’s attention diverts from my siblings, descending the staircase to the locker rooms, to us.

She hops on the counter and spins around in our direction. “Thank God it’s you, Henders. I thought I might actually have to do some work.”

“Anybody come in today?” I ask.

She laughs, pulling at a loose thread on her jeans. “Not a soul. I fell asleep while reading a bit ago.”

“A normal Saturday afternoon then.” I write my uncle Kevin’s name and membership number on the sign-in sheet before Jordan nudges me, wanting an introduction. “Sorry. Jordan, this is Shayna. Shayna, Jordan.”

“TheJordan?”

Oh shit.

“She’s mentioned me?” he asks, his tone cocky.

---