Page 55 of When We Were Reckless
“After I change, I’m going to dive in the pool,” he called like he needed to report his every move to me.
“You do you.”
I heard him chuckle on the other side of my closed door. Two seconds later, he said, “I promise you that the only thing I’ll be thinking about is that your scars are beautiful. That’s if I even notice them at all. Which I probably won’t.” He lowered his voice before he delivered his final words. “Be brave, Quinn.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and listened to his footsteps retreating.
Should I be brave? I was making a big deal out of nothing. I’d already made such a big deal out of it that now it was ahugedeal. If only I’d acted like it didn’t bother me, he never would have brought it up in the first place. But I got the feeling that Mason and Holden must have discussed my insecurities with him, which made me feel even more embarrassed. What else had they told him about me?
I changed into a coral pink bikini, my favorite one, and stared at myself in the full-length mirror on the back of my closet door. Thanks to Pilates and yoga, my stomach was flat and toned. I put a lot of work into my core strength, and except for the scars, my stomach was suntanned. I ran my finger over the raised scars that sliced up my stomach. Tonight they looked red and angry.
Slipping a white cotton cover-up over my suit, I walked out of my bedroom.
After grabbing a couple of beach towels from the laundry room, I crossed the limestone tiles to the French doors and stood in the dark kitchen. The pool lights glowed, illuminating Jesse, who was swimming laps, his strokes long and powerful, his arms slicing smoothly through the water, barely making a splash. When he reached the pool edge, he did a flip turn and pushed off the wall with his feet.
Stepping outside, I dropped the towels on a lounger and turned on some music from my phone, trying to reason with myself as the music piped from the surround sound speakers.
I was hot and sweaty. There was nothing I wanted more than to dive into the water and cool my heated skin. So that’s exactly what I should do. It was my pool, and I’d been planning to take a swim when I got home. The fact that Jesse was currently swimming in my pool should not deter me one little bit.
Be brave, Quinn.
Sucking in a deep breath, I pulled the cover-up over my head and tossed it on the towels. My first instinct was to cover my stomach with my arms.
But Jesse didn’t even look at me when I walked to the pool’s edge and dove into the deep end, which was exactly how it felt. Like I was diving into the deep end.
I think I already knew that I would get in too deep, and he was going to break my heart, but I did it anyway.
Love makes you reckless. All logic and reason flew out the window, and you let your emotions take the driver’s seat.
You took your chances, pretending to be brave while you ignored the consequences.
That’s how it was for me, anyway. But as I swam underwater, bubbles floating to the surface, my hair fanning around me in the cool depths of the pool, I remembered Evie’s words about making him work for it. If he wanted me, he’d have to prove himself. Because I wasn’t chasing after him anymore.
A hand wrapped around my ankle and dragged me down. I kicked out of Jesse’s grasp and swam to the surface. When my head emerged, I started swimming toward the side of the pool, trying to get away from him. Too late. He yanked me back, wrapped his hands around my waist, and tossed me halfway across the pool. I was laughing when I came up for air.
I’d barely had a chance to catch my breath when he grabbed me again. I let out a yelp and struggled to break free of his hold, but I didn’t fight that hard, and my feeble attempts were laughable. Seconds later, I was flying through the air again.
“You’re going to pay for this, Jesse McCallister,” I spluttered, launching my body at his back and pushing my hands down on his shoulders, attempting to dunk him.
He just laughed, all boyish and playful and adorable, and hooked his arms under my thighs, hoisting me up and onto his back. Seconds later, he dove under the water and swam the length of the pool, with me riding his back, my legs cinched tightly around his waist, my hands gripping his broad shoulders. I could have let go if I’d wanted to, but I didn’t. I hung onto him and let him take me for a ride.
Skin against skin. Our bodies slippery. His head underwater for the entire length of the pool.
When he reached the edge, his fingers gripped it, and his head emerged. I unhooked my legs from around his waist and slid off, moving next to him while he took deep breaths of air into his lungs.
I rested my forearm on the side of the pool, and he did the same, so we were facing each other.
Water spiked his long lashes, and his hair was slicked back from his face, making his high cheekbones appear sharper, his face more angular as the pool lights danced across it. For a long moment, we just stared at each other.
My gaze dipped to his mouth, and he licked his lips, just the bottom one.
I didn’t know who made the first move. I think it was both of us, gravitating toward each other.
My back hit the side of the pool, and he caged me in his arms, his palms flattened on either side of my head. Then, as if they had a mind of their own, my arms looped around his neck and my legs wrapped around his waist, my ankles locking me firmly into place. Like this was exactly where I belonged. With my body wrapped around him after a late-night swim with Camila Cabello’s “Never Be the Same” piping from the speakers.
And it was true. Even if I never saw Jesse’s face again, I would never be the same. Because for a little while, I’d known the feel of his skin against mine. I’d known the feel of his lips and his hands. The heat of his gaze when he looked at me like he was doing now. Like I was his favorite food, and he was dying of starvation.
“What are we doing?” I whispered as his eyes lowered to my mouth and my lips parted.
