Page 18 of Wish You Were Mine
OWEN
“Here’s your drink,”I said, handing Lucy her cup once she was settled in her seat.
“Thanks.” She took it from me, our eyes briefly locking. And wow, she had really pretty eyes. Dark blue—at least out here with only the hot tub lights and the full moon above to light the night sky.
"Is it comfortable sitting like that?" I asked when I noticed she was actually sitting on her knees instead of her butt.
"It’s all right," she said, glancing at me with a smile. "Kind of necessary when you’re short and don’t feel like sitting with your face in the water.”
"I guess that’s probably right," I said, chuckling lightly. "How tall are you?"
"Five-one."
"Nice," I said. A tiny but mighty little thing.
“You?”
“Just over six feet,” I said. Then gesturing to the other guys in the hot tub, I added, “Basically a midget when I stand next to these guys.”
“Six feet is not short at all.” She giggled lightly. “But I get how you feel. When I’m with my gymnastics friends, I feel normal. But put me at a party like this and I feel like a little kid.”
“You have a lot of gymnastics friends?” I raised my eyebrows, intrigued and suddenly understanding where that muscle tone must have come from. “Does that mean you’re a gymnast?”
“Been doing it since I was three.”
“You any good?"
"I’m all right." She chuckled. "At least I should be after doing it for most of my life.”
"Dang," I said, impressed. "I’m guessing you did it competitively, then? Not just as a hobby?"
"You could say that."
"Did you do it in college?"
“Yeah…” She seemed to think for a moment before adding, "All four years."
"That must’ve been intense," I said. "Balancing school with training that hard all year."
"It was." She hesitated, like she was considering whether to say more, then shrugged and left it at that.
“Did you go to Eden Falls University?” I asked, wondering if she’d been there at the same time I’d been getting my PhD. Maybe we’d crossed paths before?
“I did...”
She probably knew Theo’s sister then, since from what he’d told me before, it sounded like he had a sister who was on the team. Which could explain why she and Theo had been chatting at the club.
“Okay, guys,” Ky shouted as he approached the hot tub with the last two drinks in his hands, his voice cutting through the conversation. “Who wants to start usoff?”
“Start with the Never Have I Ever questions?” Nora asked, a playful grin already pulling at her lips.
“Yep,” Ky said, stepping over the edge of the hot tub and sliding in between Miles and Alessi. “Everyone knows how to play, right?”
“One of us says something we’ve never done, and anyone who has done it takes a sip of their drink, right?” Bash clarified, looking around to make sure everyone was on the same page.
“Exactly,” Ky said, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
“I’ll start then,” Bash said, his voice rising with confidence. He scanned the group, raising an eyebrow. “Never have I ever flirted with someone just to get a free drink.”
