Operation Prom Date (Tactics in Flirting, #1)(58)

“Have you done this before? Because that’s not a good idea. I’m not a strong enough rower for that.” Just like Amber’s not freaking strong enough.

“Just trust me. I’ve got a plan.”

What the hell was happening? “Everyone must’ve taken crazy pills today, or maybe I did, because nothing’s making sense.”

The mayor lifted a bullhorn, outlined the rules, and before I knew it, he shouted, “On your marks…”

“Just focus on the finish line,” Jaden said as that crackling anticipation hung in the air, everyone ready to bolt the second the signal sounded out. “Don’t look back.”

I gripped the handles of the oars, figuring I’d give it my all, even if it was a useless cause. When the starting gun fired, I flinched, then dug my oars into the water.

The boat wobbled as Jaden shoved us off, and I resisted the urge to look back at him. That’d waste seconds and suddenly I thought maybe we would win. Who said we couldn’t?

The push from the oars behind me shot us forward, one stroke after another, the movement so strong I dared a glance over my shoulder.

And dropped my grip on the oars. Instead of Jaden being there, Cooper sat there instead, rowing harder than I’d ever seen him go before.

“What the what?”

He dug the oars into the water again, pushing us farther across the lake. I glanced to the right, where he’d been in a boat with Amber earlier, to find Jaden seated behind her. I blinked, tried to remember if I’d hit my head at any point during the past few days, and then returned my attention to my swapped-out partner.

“Cooper. Hello? What’s going on?”

“Just…a minute…and I’ll…” He continued to row, the exertion making every one of those sexy muscles in his arms and chest pop. “Explain.”

Since I didn’t know what else to do, I grabbed the oars and helped propel us forward. We were close to the lead, too.

But suddenly we slowed. I dug in my oars, but our progress wasn’t nearly as impressive as it’d been a minute ago. One more row and I could tell my partner wasn’t doing his part.

I glanced behind me. Cooper had abandoned his post and moved to the middle of the boat, his oars just sitting behind him, dragging in the water, which was going to totally kill our time.

“Whoa, dude, what are you doing? We’re falling behind—you need to get back to your seat.”

“I don’t care.”

“Yes you do. I’ve been in the boat with you before, remember? You’ve been training for this race for weeks, and we can still win.” I grunted as I rowed as hard as I could, the boat gliding through the water, but not nearly as well or as quickly as before my partner completely lost his mind. “You just need to help.”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay, we’ll talk after we win the race.” I made another attempt to shoot us forward, but we were falling more behind by the second.

The boat wobbled as Cooper moved back into place, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I waited for us to start making forward motion again so we could hurry up and make up for lost ground. Instead the boat continued to wobble, and then Cooper’s chest bumped into my shoulder as he reached forward and undid the fasteners holding my oars in place.

Then he just let them drop into the water. “Are you crazy?” I noticed his oars floating away from us as well.

“Yes,” he said, and he placed his hand on my arm.

“We’re going to lose the race.” I motioned toward the other boats, now inching ahead of us—most a lot more than inches, actually.

“Yes,” he repeated. “But I’m hoping I’ll still win.”

I ran my fingers through my hair and rested my palm on my forehead. “I think this must be a dream. The weirdest things are happening, and I don’t understand it, and I’m just going to pinch myself and wake up, because this is going to be bad for my recovery.”

“Your recovery?”

I shook my head. “In case this isn’t a dream, I’m not making a fool of myself.”

Cooper straddled the seat, one knee behind me, and one pressing against the outside of my knee. “It’s not a dream. Because otherwise my heart wouldn’t be pounding like it’s about to bust out of my chest. I’ve never been so nervous in my life.” He grabbed my hand and moved it over his heart, and sure enough, I could feel the steady beat.

This close, I could smell his familiar cologne. Could see the brown and green swirling through his eyes—eyes I’d missed so badly that I wanted to cry at the sight of them. And those dimples…close enough to touch. To kiss…

“Everything got all messed up, Kate. And I take full responsibility, because I broke protocol.”

“Protocol?”

“On our mission. The deeper in I got, the harder I fell, and then I kissed you, and…” His gaze dropped to my lips and a shock of heat trembled through my core. “I can say with a certainty that you don’t suck at kissing—that was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

Hope and happiness tingled across my skin. “Really?”

“Really.”

“It was pretty amazing.”

He nodded and leaned closer.

“Wait,” I said. “You ruined your shot at winning the race to tell me that I know how to kiss? I just need you to be as clear as possible, before I start getting the wrong idea and end up with a broken heart. Because like I accidentally mentioned earlier, my recovery from you hasn’t been going so well.”