Calmly, Carefully, Completely(48)

A grin tugs at my lips. He thinks I’m pretty. “You did not.”

“Oh, yes, I did.” He smiles, and my heart trips over. “Prepare to be moved, pretty lifeguard.” He hoists himself out of the pool, careful of his injured wrist as he goes up the ladder, and stalks toward me, water sluicing from his body. When he gets close to me, he stops and lays his crossed arms over my lap, and looks up at me. “You don’t mind me touching you, do you?” he asks.

My heart’s beating so fast I can’t take a deep breath, but it’s not because I’m afraid of him. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. “Apparently, my inner goddess is a slut. Yeah, I read Fifty Orgasms.”

He lays his forehead on his folded arms and laughs into the space, his shoulders shaking. I thump him on the top of his closely shaved head.

He covers his head with his hand and looks up, scowling at me. “What was that for?”

“You laughed at me.”

He snorts. “You were talking about Fifty Orgasms. Of course I laughed.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Do you even know what book I’m talking about?”

“Anastasia and what’s his name,” he says with a breezy wave. “I read it.”

My mouth falls open.

“The last one was the best.” He grins. “His surrender was kind of sweet.”

“He didn’t surrender.”

“What do you call it then?” He laughs. “He totally changed for her. And he loved every second of it.”

I lay back heavily against the chair I’m in and glare at him. “You skipped around and just read the good parts, didn’t you?”

He looks offended. “Just because I’m pretty doesn’t mean I’m not smart.” He chuckles. He lifts my hand with his so he can thread his fingers though my mine.

Pete jumps when my dad slams through the pool gate. Dad glares at him, but he doesn’t move his hand from mine.

“Reagan,” Dad barks.

I blow out a quick breath and say very nicely, “Yes, Dad.”

“Chase Gerald’s father just called.” He looks at where my hand is tangled with Pete’s, and if death rays that shoot from the eyes existed, then Pete would be a puddle of ashes on the ground.

“Is that the guy from the drugstore?” Pete whispers.

I nod, slicing my eyes toward Pete for a second. “What did he want?” I can already guess, and my heart sinks at the very thought of it.

“He said Chase came home talking about you being at the drugstore with some thug.” He glares at Pete, and Pete stiffens, his hand tightening on mine.

“Did you explain who Pete is?” I ask. I don’t want to leave anyone with a misconception about Pete.

“I told him that he’s someone my daughter is crushing on, but that I wasn’t worried about it because she’s a smart girl with her head on straight.” His voice rises on the last words, and his glare at Pete grows even fiercer.

“I’m not crushing,” I protest. But I so am.

Dad faces me. “Then what would you call it?”

I don’t know what to call it because I don’t know what it is. I shrug. Pete stiffens more when I do that than he has since Dad came through the gate.

“Chase wanted to know if you might want to go to the party at the country club tomorrow.”

“I already told him no,” I say. But I can already see the look on my dad’s face. That’s not going to work.

“I told him you’d love to.” He opens the gate and stops, looking at me from over his shoulder. “He’s picking you up at six.”