Page 88 of Girls Will Be Girls
I push down the last of my laughter, pulling my goggles back onto my head.
“You ready, dull boy?” I smirk down at him.
He grins. “Five seconds.”
I place the goggles on my face, the snorkel in my mouth, and nod at him.
“Three, two…” He starts, then slaps my ass under the water letting me out of his hold. “Go.”
I let out another laugh as I push off him.
I swim as fast as my already tired muscles let me, and when I feel him catch up and come up beside me, I push him away with my hands, stopping him in his tracks. His hand wraps around my ankle, pulling me back to him. We struggle the entire way, gasping for air from laughing so hard, out of breath from trying to beat each other.
He clearly gets me, because he lets me win. He grins at me from the bottom step of the boat as I hoist my hands up in victory from the top step, my ass fully in his face.
“Such a natural swimming talent.” He says behind me, before flicking my ass for me to move.
I swat at his hand before reaching the deck. We dry off with towels, both of us with dents in our skin from the goggles and huge smiles on our faces.
Otto, Harper, and Naomi were back a few minutes before us, and they’re already gearing up for lunch. They wave us over, so once we’re wrapped in our towels, we join their little picnic set up at the front of the boat.
We eat the fresh bread, salads, and fish laid out for us, as we talk in sentences that mainly begin with“Oh, did you see…”as we recount our time in the water. Skipper and Phil tell us more about the lake, the area, and tell some disaster stories they’ve had with beginners. Someone once managed to rip the mainsail clean in half.
Otto tells a story about Lou learning his knots one summer as a kid and how he thought one was called ashitbend rather than a sheet bend for years. Then Lou tells us how Otto snuck a girl on a boat once in high school, and accidentally knocked her into the water.
They’re both talking like brothers. Like normal brothers who actually like each other.
We pack up lunch, and Skipper checks to see if anyone wants to switch roles — everyone stays quiet. I think we’ve all got the hang of our jobs and have no desire to learn something completely new this late in the game.
As I stretch out my wrists, which are aching slightly from all the rope pulling, Lou notices and stops what he’s doing to pull me towards him with his fingers laced in the belt loops of my shorts.
“You wanna just chill out on the way back?” He asks.
“What?” I shake my head. “No, I’m fine.”
“I know you’re fine, but do you want to?” He sticks me with a stare.
“What does chill out even mean?” I huff.
He grins. “Just chill out there.” He nods to the bench near him. “Help me if you feel like it, or just enjoy the view.” He winks.
I roll my eyes as he adds on. “Just to clarify, I’m the view.”
“Yeah, got it.” I wave him off so he doesn’t see my reaction to that cocky grin.
I take a seat on the bench by him and just chill out. I lounge in the sun while the wind hits me, the water rises up to splash me gently, and a gorgeous man works out in front of me. It is exactly what I wanted in this moment. I’m not sure I knew I wanted that, but I’m certain now.
I never considered sailing a sexy sport.
Like guys in those tight little football pants? That’s sexy.
Tall boys dunking baskets? Sexy.
A baseball player swinging a bat in his hands, basically imitating Jasper inthat scenein Twilight? Definitely sexy.
But sailing had never crossed my mind — until now.
As I watch a now shirtless Lou from behind my sunglasses, maneuvering around sails, pulling on ropes, tying them up with ease, it dawns on me that this has got to be one of the sexiest things I’ve seen to date. I’m basically watching porn right now with the way his shoulders and arms are tensing, how his tan skin gleams from sweat, how he looks over at me and grins, knowing full well I’m oglingthe view.
