I pulled up behind him and jumped out of my car. “Let’s go. I’m getting you back for that.” I grabbed him by the wrist and made him follow me to the pool where they kept the bumper boats.
“I told you, you were going to get wet.” Jake stripped off his shirt and led me to the front entrance. He hopped over the gate, pressed the key between his lips, and jumped in. “Come on.”
He was facing me, wading in water.
“I’m not getting in,” I said.
I jumped over the gate and emptied my pockets into the footlockers sitting next to the lifeguard’s post.
Jake grabbed onto a boat sitting in the pool and used the key to start it. He moved easily through the water. Swimming was natural to him. When he was done, he swam to the entrance where I waited, then met my eyes. He grabbed onto the pool ladder and pulled himself up slowly, so the water dripped down his chest.
I tried not laugh, but it just exploded out. He hopped out of the pool like he was climbing a step and got right in my face, a few inches away. My breath caught, and he wrapped his arm around my neck before he dipped in to kiss me. His lips were cold, and his arm was wet.
I snatched the key out of his hand and jumped into the water. It was cold and stung terribly, but my body began to get used to it as I swam closer to my goal: a yellow padded boat near the far corner.
I clenched my fingers to make sure I still had the key—good. I flapped around and flailed, but I got to that boat, and I even managed to get it started. When I looked up at the seat, I realized there was no way that I could climb inside it. It was too high up.
“Mercedes.”
I turned back to see Jake. He was pulling a boat up to the edge across from me. “You have to dive into the boat.”
“Shoot.” I had to push the boat closer to the edge if I was going to climb into it. I splashed and threw water everywhere while I struggled to push the boat closer to the edge of the pool. When I finally grabbed onto the hard surface, I was breathless. Jake was coming around to help me, so I braced myself and pulled myself out of the pool, then collapsed on the ground like a beached mermaid.
“You want to skip the bumper boats?” he asked.
“No way.” I was on my feet, hopping into my bumper boat before he knew what was happening. There was a squirt gun attached to my boat that pulled water up from the pool, so I could use it as much as I wanted.
I had my sights set on him long before he got into his boat. I slammed down on the trigger, and he shot me right in the eye. This was serious chemical warfare. There was a boat pressing up against mine. I swung it around and ducked behind the seat to use it as a shield.
A blast of cold water hit me in the back of the neck. “No!” I looked up. His boat was directly in front of mine, and he was only a few feet away. “Let my boat go.”
“No.” He swung the wheel and pressed my boat up against the wall. “You’re not going anywhere.” He slammed into my boat again and sprayed me on the throat.
I lunged forward out of my seat to claw at him, but he pulled his boat back so I couldn’t reach him.
“Oh, no. Don’t you dare.”
He had his finger on the trigger, and the gun pointed right at me. “I’m sorry.” He let the gun drop. “I won’t squirt.” He held up his hands for me to see.
“Is this a formal surrender?”
His boat shot forward and slammed straight into mine. My boat flew back, skirted along the edge, and when I looked back, it was about to slam into the corner. He had me pinned. I held my hand over my face and grabbed my squirt gun, letting off blast after blast from left to right. There was no way I could’ve possibly missed him.
When I pulled my arm away, he was leaning back in his seat, completely dry. He blasted me right in the nipple.
“Hey, that’s a foul.”
He hit the other.
“That’s not fair.” I put my hands over my chest, but he just aimed at the little holes between my fingers. I had to retaliate. This was completely unacceptable. I put my arm over my chest and ducked down to aim. He leaned forward, firing bursts at my neck.
“Okay! Okay!”
“Is that a formal surrender?” he asked.
“Never.” I turned around and climbed out of my boat. Water dripped off both of us when we walked into the lobby, staining the red theater carpet. Jake wrapped his arm around my waist and led me out to the car.
There was a sense of anticipation in his step. It made me shiver when he first touched me. When he moved his hand away to open the car door for me, his touch lingered. His driving was controlled but purposeful. And very fast. The whole