Page 115 of Choosing You

We do a few laps at our own pace. There’s no way I’d ever beat Garret at swimming but it’s still fun to try. He’ll never beat me on the track either but that doesn’t stop us from racing. We’re both competitive.Iam even more than him. And competing with each other is a total turn-on. For him and for me.

“I’m ready,” I announce, already in position at the end of the pool.

He gets in line beside me. “Three, two, one. Go!” He takes off, putting himself way ahead of me. I race to catch up. I really should’ve practiced the past few months. It sucks when he’s that far ahead. Even though I know he’ll win, I like to at least be somewhat close behind.

“Had enough?” he asks after his win.

“No. I’m still warming up,” I say, completely out of breath. “You know, I should really get a swim cap. It’s my hair that’s slowing me down. That’s why I lost.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah. I’m sure that’s it. It couldn’t possibly be the fact that you never swim and I swim almost every day.”

“Nope. That’s not it at all.” I pull my long brown hair over to one side. “It’s just this stupid hair of mine getting in the way. If it weren’t for that, I’d be faster than you.”

“They have swim caps in the locker room. Why don’t you get one and we’ll test your theory?”

“Nah. Those things give me a headache.” My eyes focus on his wet lips and all I can think about is kissing him.

“Of course they do.” He smiles and his lips look even more inviting. “Even with the swim cap, you wouldnotbe faster than me.”

“Let’s go again,” I say, challenging him. “I’m warmed up now.”

We get in position. He counts down and we take off. I swim as fast as I possibly can. He still beats me, but at least I’m not as far behind.

“You’re practically a foot taller than me, so it’s really not fair.” I hold on to the side of the pool, trying to catch my breath.

“How many more excuses you got up in that head of yours, Jade?”

I try not to laugh but I do anyway. “I’ve got a few more.”

He swims over and stands up right behind me, placing his hands on the edge of the pool around my head. He’s so close I can feel his warm breath on my neck and it sends a shiver down me.

“When are you gonna admit I’m a better swimmer than you?”

“Never.” I flip around and let go of the pool, quickly grabbing his shoulders so I don’t sink since I’m too short to touch the bottom. But now my legs are dangling awkwardly and I’m having a hard time holding myself up. Garret notices and casually puts his arms around me, pulling our bodies together.

My heart is beating wildly but I try to keep my breath steady to hide it. “When are you gonna admit I’m a betterrunnerthan you?”

“I’ve already admitted that. I’ve told you that several times. I’ll say it again. You’re a better runner than me. Now do you have anything to say to me?”

“Hmm.” I pretend to think. “Nope. Nothing.”

He smiles. “You just can’t give me a compliment, can you?”

“I give you compliments all the time!” I wrap my legs around his waist. He doesn’t even react.

“Like what? Because if you gave me one, I totally missed it.”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ve given you one.”

“I’m sure you haven’t.” He keeps his eyes on mine, barely blinking.

“I told you how much I liked those lights you gave me for my birthday. That was kind of a compliment.”

“Not really.” He slides his hands down under my thighs supporting my weight. It allows me to loosen my grip on his shoulders but it also makes me completely breathless. “Jade, is there anything I do that you like? Anything you think I’m good at?”

I know what he’s implying and yes, there are many things he does that I like. And he’s definitely good at them. Like the way he’s holding me right now? Definitely good.

Before I can speak, he slowly licks the water from my lips until they part, then slips his tongue in my mouth. I wrap my hands behind his neck as his tongue explores my mouth in a way that gets my body so scorching hot that even the water can’t cool me down.

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