Page 66 of All In Good Time

“Put your arms out, like a starfish.”

Becca giggled, amused by the childish description. He splashed some water onto her face, forcing her to shoot up and wipe it from her eyes.

“No laughing.” He acted serious, but Becca could see the amusement hidden there. “Now lay back again, tilt your head until your ears are covered and close your eyes. It’s easier to focus if they’re closed.”

She lowered herself back again, and covered her hair until it hung suspended in the water around her head. Arms and legs spread out, she willed herself to float. It wasn’t as easy as he made it sound.

Her upper half stayed above, but her legs kept sinking, no matter how much she kicked at the water.

A finger caught her under her chin, and pushed up until her head went further into the water.

“All the way back, sweetheart. Close those eyes.”

With her head bent back all the way, and her face parallel to the sky, she closed her eyes.

He continued his explanation. His voice was muffled by the water, but the touch of his hands moving her to his will was not.

“When your head is back, your hips will follow it.” His touch, which had been at the small of her back, slid to her waist, down to her hip, and guided it up to the surface. In the cool water, his hand was hot on her bare skin. “Arch your back.”

As he had one hand on her hip and the other on her back, Becca inhaled sharply as her entire body floated and her heart pounded in her ears.

It wasn’t like she and Derek had never touched before. Hands, shoulders, backs. She’d touched his face the same day they met, and they were no strangers to one another.

However, his gentle hands correcting her positions and holding her above water were an entirely different experience. One that made her feel like she was both floating above the water and sinking to the bottom.

“Steady your breathing.” It was amazing she could even hear him, because his next words were covered by the loud pounding of her heart echoing in the water in her ears. If someone else had been under there, they’d have heard it too.

She tried her best to take in a deep breath and let it out slowly, but it was shaky and uncertain. No doubt, the speed with which her blood pumped made it more difficult than it should be.

Like ice, the hot spots created by his hands were washed away as he removed them.

Seconds passed. Her mind raced. It raced so fast to catch up with what her body was feeling that it took a moment to realize she was floating on her own. Once she did, her body sprung the rest of the way, and she shot up.

She snapped out of it. The second her ears were out of the water and her eyes opened, the world came back into focus and the heat in her body cooled down. The confusion did not.

Embarrassment? Fear?

One of the two was the reason it took her too long to look at Derek again. What if he could tell how his hands had lit her body on fire?

“Not bad, sweetheart.”

Derek looked proud, while she try to play it cool. “Thanks.”

She needed to get out. Out of the water, out of the area. Just anywhere away from Derek for a moment.

“I think we should call it good for now,” Becca said. She started wading to the side of the pool.

Derek stopped her with his hand on her arm. “We just barely started.”

She pointed at the glaring lifeguard staring at them, “You’re supposed to be working, and Robby doesn’t look too happy to be covering for you.” She was grateful for the excuse.

He followed her gaze to Robby, who tapped an invisible watch on his wrist to show time was up. “He’s fine.”

“Just go back to work. I have stuff to do anyway,” she lied and pulled herself up onto the side of the pool, managing to slip away.

“I thought you were free today.”

“I just remembered.” God, she was terrible at lying, and he was great at reading her. She could tell right away that he didn’t believe her, but mercifully, he didn’t push.

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