Page 65 of All In Good Time

Becca frowned and rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Derek. How would I have ever been able to say that myself?” The sarcasm was thick. Unlike him, she didn’t have sunglasses to hide her annoyance.

“Oh, hey, Stokes.” Chance was oblivious to the silent passing of words between them, and his acknowledgment of his teammate was brief. Then he turned back to Becca. “You can’t swim? I don’t mind helping you out. Maybe show you a few things. I actually taught my younger brother to swim, so I guess I have some experience. We could—”

“Sorry, man. She’s scheduled for lessons with me today.”

Blanching, Becca shook her head in confusion. “Derek.”

“Oh, okay.” Chance stepped down, his friendly smile faltered, and his eyes shifted back and forth between them. Becca could read body language enough to note his shifting feet as he grew uneasy in Derek’s presence. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

Becca deflated in disappointment. A cute boy showed a little interest, and Derek just had to come in and ruin it. “See you.”

Chance gave her one final close-mouthed smile before leaving.

Becca spun on Derek in frustration. “What the hell?”

“What?”

She scoffed. “Jesus, I know you’re not blind. I was talking to him.”

“He wasflirtingwith you.”

“So?”

“So, he wants to get into your pants.”

“So?” Becca leaned forward, waiting for him to give a better reason.

He paused, his frown deeper than before. “What do you mean,so?”

How could he be so oblivious? “So, what if I wanted to get into his pants too?” She wasn’t serious, of course, but Chance was cute. Hot even. She didn’t mind flirting with a hot guy and seeing where things went. She didn’t get to do that kind of thing very often. “Believe it or not, you’re not the only one who likes that kind of stuff.”

Derek’s expression was an enigma. She wasn’t sure what to expect him to do next—laugh, or yell, or walk away. He didn’t do any of that.

His hand reached out and closed around hers, face unchanging. Then he was pulling her behind him straight toward the water of the pool. “What are you doing?

“Swimming lessons.”

“Wha…? I thought you were kidding.”

The back of his hair swung back and forth as he shook his head. “I’ve never been more serious.”

Becca tried to pull her hand from his, but his grip was solid and unrelenting. “What about your shift?”

Derek stopped for a moment, looking toward the pool house, where a few off duty guards chatted. “Robby,” he called out, and a kid with blond hair looked in his direction.

“I’m taking my break.” He didn’t wait for Robby’s response, but kept pulling Becca toward the shallow end of the pool.

She stopped resisting as he helped her walk down the stairs into the refreshing water. She sighed as they walked a little deeper until it reached up to her chest. He made a show of ordering people to clear an area for them, and Becca cringed at the attention it brought to them.

“Do we really need to do this right now? People are watching.”

“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate, and then, lower than before, almost too low to hear above the splashing of water, he added, “He needs to see.”

Becca stared at him. He moved on before she could question him, and she let it drop to follow his instructions.

“You can’t swim if you can’t float, so let’s float.” One of his hands came to her back. “Lay back.”

Becca sighed but did as she was told. Derek had done this a lot for dozens of kids, and the words were rehearsed. Step by step, he guided her into the necessary movements needed to float on water.

---