Page 15 of Home Run Fiancé
A loud snore has my eyes popping open. I tilt my head and see Jake, completely out, his mouth open, sunglasses laying on his towel. Moving slowly and quietly, I grab my cell phone out of my bag and record his snores while trying to control my giggles.
He jerks awake and I whip the phone down to my towel.
“What are you doing?” His voice is groggy, an octave deeper than normal. There’s something intimate about waking up next to a virtual stranger, something that kicks up the nerves in my stomach.
I open my eyes wide, hoping I appear innocent. “Nothing.”
He stares at me, trying to make up his mind if I’m lying. After a full minute he lies back down, eyes closed.
“Just recording how loud you snore.”
His eyes pop open and then he’s up on his elbows. I let the laughter fly now, enjoying how easy he is to tease. He rolls over cat-quick and lunges for my phone. I swing it behind my back and squeal.
“Erase that right now, Rhys.” His gruff command makes me shiver right there in the bright sunshine. Part of his upper body rests on me, the weight and heat of all those muscles making me hyperaware of how close he is.
“Not gonna happen, big guy.” I poke him in the stomach to get him to back off. To my delight, he not only backs off, he flinches. Considering my finger only hit a hard layer of muscle, I know I didn’t hurt him.
Like a lightbulb going off, I realize this huge, muscly man must be ticklish.
My jaw drops open. “Are you ticklish?”
“Shh. Keep your voice down!” He looks around, like the beachgoers around us care that he’s ticklish. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a loud talker?”
I’ve heard that every other day my whole life. “No, never. Must be your ears.” I bring the subject back to his secret. “Been ticklish your whole life?”
Jake licks his bottom lip and his eyes crinkle in the corners. “Yes, I have. Are you satisfied now?”
I smile smugly. “Yep. I now know you’re ticklish and you snore. Today’s been a good day.”
He narrows his eyes at me, sitting up. “Asher never told me how ruthless you are.”
I shrug. “I have a lot of blackmail on Asher too.”
At his expression, I burst out laughing. He’s just too much fun to tease. “Come on, want to go swimming?”
He pops up and grabs my hand, lifting me up off the towel. “Last one in is a rotten egg!” He takes off running and I know there’s no way I can catch him. Instead, I walk leisurely and enjoy the sight of his athletic body cutting through the sand and diving headfirst into a wave.
By the time I inch my way into the cold surf, he’s already gone under several times and come back up, shaking water out of his hair and beard. He beckons me to come in farther, but I shake my head, my teeth already chattering from the cold. The sun may be warm, but the water definitely isn’t.
He walks out of the water and stalks toward me. When he’s just a few feet away, his intent hits me and I sprint back to our towels. He chases me, letting me win. Well, until we hit our towels and he bear-hugs me from behind before I can sit down. His wet trunks soak my swimsuit and make me shriek from the cold.
“You said you wanted to go swimming. Putting your big toe in the water isn’t swimming, Rhys.” His amused voice is in my ear, taunting me.
A shiver runs down the length of my body and while I wish it was from the cold water, I know it’s not. I can feel every place where Jake’s body touches my skin, heating me from the inside out. His arms feel good around me, so good I break away immediately, needing space so my lungs can work properly again.
“Guess not all of us are cut out for Baywatch there, Hasselhoff.” I reach down to pull my phone out of my bag and stand in front of Jake, my arm extended. “Here. Let’s get some selfies.”
I smile, squinting a bit to see us on the phone screen. Between my sunglasses and the bright sun shining in my eyes, I can’t tell if it’ll be a good one.
“Give me that,” Jake mutters and takes the phone from me, extending it out further with his long arms. His other arm snakes around my waist and he pulls me into him, his face snuggling into my neck. I let out a quick gasp, not expecting him to act so friendly.
He snaps the pic and then a few more, hopefully catching some without my mouth hanging open in shock. I can’t keep up with his mood swings. If I tried, I’d probably get whiplash. First, he’s not talking to me, then he’s asking me to rub lotion on his back, then it’s back to ignoring me and taking a nap. The bear hugs from behind will probably be followed by harsh criticism, just to balance the scales.
Jake steps back and hands me my phone. Then he’s off to lie down on his towel, leaving me standing there trying to figure out how to behave around him now. Be my friendly self or tread carefully around Mr. Grumpy?
“I wouldn’t post any of that until we leave tonight. Otherwise, we’ll get some creepy fans coming down here.” He puts his sunglasses and hat back on, trying to be incognito.
Picking up my towel and carefully shaking it out so as not to hit him with a face full of sand, I towel off. I put my denim shorts back on, as well as my tank top.
