Page 51 of Moonlight Feels Right
"No," she replied honestly. "It's actually kind of—" She stopped herself before saying sexy.
"Kind of what?" he pressed, moving slightly closer.
"Impressive," she finished, feeling heat rise to her cheeks that had nothing to do with the warm evening air. "But we haven't won yet." She turned her attention back to Ben, who served the next ball.
The game continued, but something had shifted between them. She found herself hyperaware of Hunter's movements, of the water droplets trailing down his tanned shoulders, of the way his muscles flexed when he reached for the ball. Several times, their eyes met across the small distance, and she had to force herself to remember they were in the middle of a game, with friends watching.
They'd agreed to end the game with the first to fifteen and finally they were up fourteen to thirteen. "Let's finish this," Hunter said as he served the ball.
The next volley battle that followed was fierce. Ben and Paige were just as competitive as Hunter was. She was probably the one who cared the least about winning, but she got caught up in Hunter's excitement and found herself playing with an intensity she had never experienced before.
As the ball lofted over the net, Hunter called, "I got it," but she was going for it, too, and couldn't stop herself. They collided and the force of their collision sent them both underwater.
She came up sputtering, finding herself practically in Hunter's arms. His hands were at her waist again, steadying her, his face inches from hers. For a suspended moment, the rest of the world faded away—the sounds of splashing, of Olivia and Henry playing, of Ben and Paige laughing… All she could focus on was Hunter's dark eyes and the sensation of his hands on her body.
"Did it go over?" she asked breathlessly.
He smiled. "I don't know."
"It went over," Ben said with a grumpy scowl as he and Paige came under the net to congratulate them. "I still don't know who actually hit it, though."
"Doesn't matter. We won," Hunter said.
Paige laughed. "You are cutthroat, Hunter. And Emmalyn, you are no better. I didn't think you were that into beach ball volleyball."
"I didn't think I was, either," she admitted. "I got carried away."
"Yeah, I could see that," Paige said with a knowing smile as she moved toward the kids.
Ben jumped out of the pool and checked his phone. "Looks like our Chinese food delivery is almost here. I'll meet the driver." He threw a towel around his shoulders and walked toward the parking lot.
"Time to get out," Paige told Henry and Olivia. "We need to dry off so we can eat."
"Can we have five more minutes?" Henry begged.
"Two minutes," Paige negotiated as she got out of the pool.
"Same for you, Liv," Hunter said as he moved toward the steps.
Emmalyn swam to the ladder and got out. She reached for her towel on a nearby chair, and as she turned to wrap it around her, she ran into Hunter again, this time with no water to buffer the contact. His chest pressed against hers for a brief moment, both of them still wet, her towel caught between them.
"We have to stop meeting like this," he said, his voice a low rumble that she could feel as much as hear, his sexy smile sending a tingle down her spine.
She gave a nervous laugh, taking a step back. "Sorry, I didn't see you."
"I'm not complaining." He reached out to tuck a strand of wet hair behind her ear. "You look fantastic in that bikini by the way."
She blushed. "Uh, thanks."
"Hunter! Look what I can do!" Olivia called, having climbed out of the pool. She was attempting to wrap her towel around herself like a cape.
The moment shattered, and Hunter stepped away. But the look he gave Emmalyn before turning to help Olivia conveyed everything unsaid between them—the attraction, the tension, the possibility… Whatever they had going on, it was no longer just friendship. She just didn't know what it was.
Chapter Sixteen
Thursday and Friday felt endlessly long for Hunter. While he got in a run each morning followed by weights and stretching, he had too many hours to fill while Olivia was at school, and he looked forward each day to picking her up. But she wasn't really the distraction he wanted most—that was Emmalyn.
After their pool volleyball game Wednesday night, which had amped up the chemistry between them, she'd backed away. She'd told him she had to get to school early the next day and stay late the following two days because she was working on the book fair and ice cream social scheduled for Friday afternoon.
