Page 71 of The Vacation Mix-Up
“You all right, love?” he asks, turning toward me.
I cough again. “Yep, just swallowed some water.”
“Here, let me help.” He goes to rub my back.
“Heads up!” Riley shouts as the ball careens past Ben’s ear.
Taking the opportunity, I step back out of Ben’s ‘harm’s’ way as he angrily scoops up the ball and slams it back at Riley. “I wasn’t ready,” he grouches.
“Not my problem.”
“Two against one?” the tall brunette prompts, placing her manicured hands on her slender hips. “That seems unfair.”
“It’s not.” Riley serves the ball again, Ben and I almost colliding as we lunge and miss, both of us plunging beneath the water.
Planting my feet, I push up and stand, blinking water from my eyes, when Ben chastises me.
“Love! You gotta call for it.”
I chastise him back. “You call for it!”
“I did!”
“Did not.”
He turns his back on the women, his macho bravado waning as he mutters, “I’m sorry. I just…. We need a game plan. I don’t want to look like a fool.”
I glance over his shoulder at the blonde who blew him a kiss, my heart softening for him as she settles on a lounge chair and takes another selfie, completely engrossed in herself and not Ben. He’s wasting his time with her. If he wants to impress a woman, he’s better off trying to impress someone who’s after more than just his money. Someone interested in his heart, because funnily enough, he seems to have one buried under a load of insulting bullshit.
“I agree,” I say, patting his shoulder. “We need to work as a team. You stick to that side of the pool, and I’ll stick to this side. You be LeBron, and I’ll be MJ. Two GOATs, okay?”
Before I can duck and dive, he pulls me in for a hug. “Two fucking GOATs! Let’s do this.”
Thinking I’m going to have to pry myself loose before his hands roam where they shouldn’t, he surprises me when he releases his grip and swims toward the ball.
“Mind if I join in and even it up a little?” the brunette asks as she slides into the water, her bikini almost flossing her vagina. “I’m Brittany, by the way. And you are?”
“Riley,” I offer.
Her eyes flick from Riley to me and back again.
“Yes,” he deadpans. “Same name.”
She adjusts her bikini top. “Do you know each other?”
I go to say,“We do now,”when Riley waves me toward him. “Riles, you partner with me. Brittany, you partner with Ben.”
“No!” Ben snaps, hugging my shoulder to his armpit. “We’re GOATs. You don’t mess with GOATs.”
Riley scrubs his palm over his face, and Brittany playfully splashes him. “Hey! You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
My eyebrows hike, as do Riley’s.
I laugh.
He doesn’t.
“Can I serve?” Brittany asks, clapping for the ball, her breasts also applauding.
