Breathe In (Just Breathe, #1)(38)

“What?!” Jared retorts.

I glare at him. “You know you’re getting laid tonight regardless, so you better play,” I chide with a smile.

Jared’s eyes look to Nathan who nods in agreement.

Maggie, Henry and Joe look at me a little in shock at my blatant announcement. I’m only this vocal when I’m surrounded by my friends and I seem to not care with two others present. Maggie’s only shocked because Henry is here.

“Emma,” Maggie scolds with embarrassment in her voice.

I smile proudly. Oddly, I find my gaze heading to Joe as I take my position to the left of him.

By the time I get to serve, it’s five to three and my team is losing.

“This one is for you, Dartmouth,” I shout to get Henry’s attention which is on Maggie.

I hurl the ball into the air and jump to hit it with my fist. The ball spirals towards Henry’s feet faster than he expects, causing him to miss the ball.

“Four-to-five!” I broadcast as I look for Joe’s response before the ball is returned to me for my next serve.

His smirk has returned.

“Be nice, Emma,” Maggie scolds.

“What?!” I reply. “I’m just playing the game. It’s not my fault if he’s not going to pay attention.”

She shakes her head at me.

“Fine,” I agree.

Aside from my competitive nature, my eagerness to get the tension out from the nightmare from this morning is going to need to be tempered a little.

“Let the torture begin,” Jared proclaims as he raises his arms above his head.

“Don’t encourage her,” Maggie warily shouts.

Nathan laughs and directs to Maggie, “You better bring your A-Game now, girl! This is no time to be all cutesy for a guy.”

Maggie’s face flushes a little as her eyes widen. Though she’s short, Maggie can play a mean volleyball game when she wants to. She’s nowhere near as competitive as I am, but she starts to get the look in her eye that she’s not going down without a fight.

“There’s my Mags,” Jared coaxes her.

“It’s on,” Maggie confirms with determination.


I serve four more times bringing the score to eight-to-five with my team in the lead before we falter. Maggie sends a sharp serve over that causes Joe and I to almost collide.

“Call it!” Jared shouts.

Joe and I nod in agreement.

“Six-to-eight,” Maggie announces, pleased with herself before her second serve.

Nathan pops the ball up, forcing me to line the ball to the net for Joe to send over towards Maggie. The ball falls to the edge of the court, staying in play by a couple inches. Jared boasts as we win the point.

We continue playing until my team wins by one point, fifteen-to-fourteen. After Jared serves the winning point, I jump up on him with my arms and legs wrapped around his body, almost knocking him to the ground. Everyone has a good laugh at our celebration.

Taking a break, everyone starts hydrating and adds some natural suntan lotion to their exposed skin. Sadie eagerly greets everyone, looking for attention. I pour her some water and a few snacks into her mesh bowls.

Maggie’s team triumphantly wins the second game by two points. Getting ready to start our third game, all of the guys are shirtless. Trying not to directly stare, my peripheral vision allows me to enjoy the sight of Joe’s body. There’s not an ounce of fat on the man with his rippling muscles from his shoulders to his lower abdomen. For an East Coast boy, he’s got a slight tan and no sign of tan lines. His muscles sparkle as a hint of sunlight bounces off his sweat. Joe’s got a little bit of chest hair that tappers down into a happy trail all the way to the edge of his shorts. I feel an increase in moisture between my legs as a small gust of wind lightly swirls around me. Focus, Emma.

A group of four guys join us just as we take the court again, making it five people per team. The new teammates take their turns flirting with Maggie and me, but Maggie tries to ignore them. I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoy the attention and flirt back, even adding Joe to the mix so he doesn’t feel left out.

My team wins again, by two points.

By the end of the forth game, Maggie’s team has won and we decide to call it a draw. The four guys who joined us are sad when our group explains that we are done for the day. I guess they were hopping to see Maggie and I bounce around a little more. They ask for my phone number, but I refuse politely.

“Henry and I are going for a walk on the beach,” Maggie discloses after speaking privately with him and folding up the beach chairs.

“Good idea. Wanna go for a walk, cutie?” Jared questions Nathan mischievously.

“Of course,” Nathan answers with a gleam in his eye.

The four of them head away as Joe, with an adorable smile, states the awkward and obvious circumstance we’re left with. “Looks like it’s just you and me.”

“Yep,” I confirm.

He helps me get the chairs, umbrella and coolers packed into Nathan’s car as Sadie bounces around us.

“I like your car,” Joe states.

“It’s not mine. It’s Nathan’s,” I reply.

“Oh, sorry. I just figured it was yours,” he says nervously. “That’s right, you don’t like cars.”

I wince a little at his words and he catches me.