She smiled as she watched him dart away to change into a swimsuit.
Josh stepped onto the icy porch in bare feet, carefully balancing his two cups of cocoa. Only as he approached the tub did he realize not only were Olivia and Derek sitting in the bubbling water, but also Charlie. He’d never seen Charlie in a swimsuit. He was almost grateful the bubbles obscured his vision of her firm bikini-clad body. Almost.
He forced his eyes back toward Olivia, who was also quite attractive in her swimsuit. But unfortunately for him, he’d already seen her plenty of times in a bikini, and had trained himself to view her like a sister. Undoing that training would be a feat in and of itself.
Josh noticed Derek had a huge smile plastered on his face, and eyes that were practically bugging out of his head. He fought a strong impulse to make a remark about Derek’s tongue hanging from his mouth.
“I brought you some hot cocoa,” he told Olivia, as he climbed in and forced his way between her and Derek, who moved around on the opposite side next to Charlie to escape Josh.
“Thanks so much,” Olivia replied in an acidic tone. She moved a respectable distance away from him and focused on her cocoa.
Derek, on moving next to Charlie, draped his arm casually around her shoulder. Although she made no move to stop him, Josh noticed she looked incredibly uncomfortable, with rosy patches blooming on both cheeks and spreading down her neck. The bubbles kept him from determining how far down her blush continued. That is, until the jets abruptly shut off.
Josh concentrated on slowing his breathing while attempting to force his eyes away from Charlie’s body. Derek, on the other hand, stared unabashedly across the hot tub at Olivia. He grinned, and she responded by coyly stretching her arms over her head. “Wow! This hot tub feels so good on my sore muscles. I’m so glad we did this.”
“Yeah, me too,” Derek agreed, still smiling at her, even though his arm was around Charlie, who promptly poked him in the side with her elbow. “What? I’m simply agreeing with her. What’s wrong with that?” His face was the picture of innocence.
“Would someone like to turn the jets back on?” Charlie suggested.
“Nah,” said Derek. “It’s easier to... uhmm... to talk with the jets off.”
Olivia chuckled outright. “Good grief, Charlie! I can’t believe how shy you are. I never knew.”
Charlie blushed crimson, objecting unintelligibly under her breath to Olivia’s accusation.
Josh was about to take pity on her and turn the bubbles back on, when Derek took his arm off Charlie’s shoulder and let his hand rest casually on her thigh under the water. She quickly clamped her hand over his, pushing it downward, closer to her knee, vainly attempting to keep her expression neutral. Josh decided he didn’t want Derek to have the cover of bubbles to continue his exploits, so he left the jets off. He scowled at Derek, who returned a benign smile.
“Did you have a good day skiing?” he asked Josh.
“It was fine,” he answered, with his jaw muscles tight.
“Well I had a fantastic day!” said Olivia. Then she told Charlie, “Derek was so sweet to me today. Every time I fell, he collected my skis and poles for me and helped me put them back on.”
“I helped you put your skis back on, too,” Josh objected
.
“Did you? I guess you did—I forgot about that.”
“Both of these guys are pretty chivalrous. I’m sure you had plenty of help. But in a few days you won’t be falling so much, anyway. I could give you some lessons if you want.”
“That’s okay, Charlie. I think I’d rather blunder on by myself and keep getting rescued by a handsome man.”
“Suit yourself.” Charlie pulled her mouth sideways.
Josh tried to imagine Charlie wanting help from a guy, and couldn’t suppress a chuckle. As they relaxed in the hot water, he saw snowflakes in the air.
“This is my favorite thing,” Charlie exclaimed. “I love when it snows while you’re sitting in the hot tub.” In her zeal, she sat up, forgetting about her lack of coverage. Josh couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
“Hey buddy,” Derek said with a chuckle. “Her eyes are up on her face. You should know that, since you were the one who told me about it a week ago.”
He felt his face heating. He’d been caught, and he didn’t even have a good defense. He was angry with himself for a lack of self-control. But he was furious with Derek for pointing it out in front of Charlie and Olivia.
He opened his mouth to blast Derek when Charlie abruptly climbed out of the hot tub, blinking at tears in her eyes. She grabbed a towel and retreated into the house, while he watched, feeling helpless.
“Good job guys,” said Olivia. “Why would you embarrass her like that?” She stood and exited the hot tub, leaving the two men alone in the hot tub.
As she disappeared inside, Derek said, “Sorry, I was kidding, you know... paying you back. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”