Page 59 of Raine Out (Grand Slam 2)

“Thank you,” I say, laughing. I lean down and whisper into her ear, “And did you forget that you stripped at the beer pong table? I’ve already seen your body.”

“What?” she says, frowning at me. “That was for competitive reasons. My dress was getting in my way. You weren’t supposed to look.”

“Everyone looked. Believe me—everyone. You have an incredible body.”

“Hmm,” she says, narrowing her eyes. “That’s cheating, but fine.”

She pulls her dress over her head and throws it on top of my T-shirt. She walks out until the water’s up to her knees. As she reaches up to let her hair out of the ponytail, her suit rides up—revealing a nice portion of her butt. It looks so soft and smooth. I want to run my hands all over it.

“Are you coming in?” she says as she turns back to me. “I’ll hold your hand if you’re scared.”

“Yes, I’m very scared,” I say, walking out to her. “Hold my hand, please.”

She laughs as she reaches down and runs her hand through the water. “It’s so calm here. Why isn’t the surf stronger like it is over at the resort?”

“There’s a huge sandbar a couple of hundred feet out. It’s blocking most of the big waves.” I grab her hand and pull her deeper into the water. “Let’s go out there.”

She pulls back a little when the water gets waist-deep for her.

“You want me to carry you?”

“Maybe.” She looks up at me. “Can we just stay here for a second?”

“Sure,” I say, lowering myself onto my back until I’m floating. I stare up at the stars for a minute before I say, “Hey, I have something to confess to you.”

She looks down at me. “You’re dating Allie, aren’t you?”

“No,” I say, standing back up. “Definitely no.”

“You’re dying then.” She takes a step toward me. “Oh my God, are you dying?”

“I’m not dying. And I’m not dating anyone.”

“You’re not dating anyone,” she says, nodding, “but you’re married, right?”

I grab her shoulders. “You know, this might be easier if you just let me tell you.”

She pushes me back and crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m a little concerned that you didn’t deny the marriage thing right away.”

“I’m not married. Butch told me about the bet you have with him. That’s my confession.”

“What?” she says, taking a step away from me. “Oh my God, Alex, it’s just a stupid bet. Butch is always playing and he—”

I hold my hand up to stop her. “Just tell me one thing: Are you hanging out with me so you can win the bet?”

“No!” She throws her arms down in the water—splashing both of us. She shakes her head. “I swear.”

“Hmm,” I say, rubbing my hand over my mouth. “Butch said he got to choose the guy for you. Has he chosen yet?”

“Yes,” she says, wiping the water off her face. “It’s you, but I told him I didn’t want it to be you. I don’t want you to be a part of this stupid bet.”

“Well,” I say, frowning, “I don’t want him to pick another guy for you, so it might as well be me. What do you have to do to win the bet?”

“Uh, I forgot what we said. Oh, I have to kiss whatever guy he picks for me.”

I lean down and give her a quick kiss on the lips. “There. You won. Can we stop talking about the bet now? Maybe I can even kiss you for real at some point.”

She looks up at me for a second—her eyes wide—then she laughs and looks out at the ocean. “I don’t know. If that’s all the better you can kiss, I’m thinking about giving Samuel a try.”

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