“You think that’s how phobias work?”
“No. But I like to think that I’m hot enough to convince you to get in here with me.”
“Nobody is hot enough, Zack!”
“Oh, yeah?” He splashed some pool water onto his chest. Glistening water droplets slowly slid down the tanned skin stretched over his firm muscles. Fuck your hot chesticles! “What about now? You know you wanna come over here and get some of this. You can’t say no to my rippling muscles and the hot washboard abs I got from working on the water all day. Mm, yeah. That’s the stuff.” He cupped water into his hands and showered it over his head. He looked like the dumbest – but also the hottest – male model to hit a swimsuit catalog.
“Are you trying to seduce me into bed or into the pool?”
“Both, honestly.”
Rachel loosened the towel around her body but did not commit to dropping it on the ground. “It might be working. A little.”
“Tell you what.” Zack waded to the stairs and metal handlebar that might as well have been called the oh shit I’m gonna die! bar to someone like Rachel. “You come over here and I will help you get in the water. I won’t let you go. We’ll spend the whole evening over here on the shallow end. And I’ll distract you with the horrible story of what happened at my family’s dinner tonight.”
Rachel’s feet curled against the flooring. A sign warning her that it was slippery when wet did not give her much confidence to go forward and join him in the pool. “How bad was it?”
“Like… long lost cousin nobody knew about bad.”
“You’re joking.”
“Nope.”
Rachel dropped the towel. He’s gonna have to move his hand off that bar if he wants me to join him. That bar had Rachel’s name all over it.
“Okay.” She took in a deep breath before dipping a toe in. As peaceful as the rippling, illuminated pool water looked, she didn’t have much faith that it wouldn’t turn into a giant tsunami wave and take her beneath its dangerous surface. “Start talking.”
Her dry fingers linked with his wet ones. Shit! It’s cold! Wasn’t this pool supposed to be heated? While her left hand shivered in his, her right one grabbed the railing, both feet now submerged in the freezing water.
“We were there tonight because my brother was going to propose to the woman he’s been dating for years.” Zack threw in a dramatic eyeroll so Rachel knew how silly this whole situation was. “It was a mess.”
Rachel’s teeth chattered with every step she took. How could Zack be so acclimated to it already? Was he a different species? A fish? No wonder he loved the water so much! “Did she know he was going to do it?”
“Yeah, but that’s not the point. The point is that right before he got up the nerve to do it, the doorbell rang and my Uncle Roy waltzed in with my long lost aunt.”
“Your what?
“My grandfather couldn’t keep it in his pants before he married my grandmother. Probably not after, either.” Zack shrugged. By now, Rachel’s feet were on the bottom of the pool, and she attempted to mind over matter the terrible sensation welling up inside of her stomach. She kept one hand on the railing while the other squeezed Zack’s hand. He tried to step away and draw her farther into the water, but she quickly shook her head. “My dad told me that there were rumors about a bastard kid somewhere out there. Never heard anything more than that. Next thing I know, my uncle’s introducing me to his long lost sister. He decided last night was a great time to spring the news on everyone.”
“That’s crazy.” Not nearly as crazy as Rachel felt right now, though. She was in the water! With Zack! She was short enough that the water came all the way up to her chest. As long as it doesn’t touch my head, I’ll be fine. I think. The second to worst thing was floating. The worst thing was feeling like she was going to drown. That came with the floating sensation.
“Awesome. Look at you? You’re in the water!”
“Yeah, uh, let’s not draw any attention to it.”
“Got it. How are you doing?”
“I haven’t panicked yet.” Rachel toyed with releasing the railing. “You promise we are going to stay over here?”
“Hand over heart.”
“Okay.” Another deep breath. As if she were going to go under! “I think I’ll be okay.”
“If it really gets to be too much for you, I can…”
“It’s fine! I said I’m going to be fine!”
Her voice echoed in the enclosure. Zack grinned. “That’s my girl.”
“Your girl? Since when am I your girl, Zachary Feldman?”
“Since I decided you’re the woman I wanna take home and scare my family with.”
That was certainly one way to put it. “From what I remember about your mother, she definitely would be terrified to see me in her house.”
“Don’t think about her. She hates everyone, including those she loves.” Zack took a step back, the water rippling around them. “My mother isn’t the happiest woman in the world. My brothers and I have tried to make up for it by living happy lives in her stead.”
“Are you happy?”
“I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
Rachel cocked her head, almost forgetting where she was. The tip of her ponytail, which she had sloppily curled on top of her head with a single pin when she thought they were going into the hot tub, brushed against the water and dripped cold water onto her shoulder when she lifted her head again. “You always say stuff like that. I can’t ever tell if you’re serious or not.”
“I’ve been in the pool with a lot of women, Rachel. You’re just the first one I’ve stood here with and talked to about my family drama.”
She smiled. “You’re buttering me up to ask me out, aren’t you?”
“I thought we were already going out.”
“I mean…” Rachel changed her mind. No sense talking about it when she wasn’t willing to take him on as her full-time boyfriend. I can’t even commit to going all the way in bed. They had done plenty of other fun activities, though. Most of which would have made her definitely say she was not a virgin! “You really act like you want to kiss me.”
His hands tightened around hers. “Would me kissing you make you forget how shitty this evening has been?”
“How can it be that shitty if I’m in this pool with you?”
“Oh, now, that’s not fair.” Zack took another step closer. Their hands went up in the air, their smiles touching. Rachel forgot how cold the water was. Or maybe that was his warm breath heating her up. “You’re going to spoil me with my own words thrown back at…”
Rachel couldn’t wait any longer. She stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him, their arms instantly falling down into the water with a happy splash.
I knew this was what he wanted. Zack kissed her with fervor, his tongue slipping into her mouth and his muffled groans sinking deep, deep into her throat. She flung her arms around his shoulders and brought him even closer, because damn if she was going to let him get away.
…But she made sure to keep her toes on the floor of the pool. Even when Zack hoisted her up against his chest, she fought to keep at least her big toe on the floor.
“You’re resisting me,” he growled against her lips.
“I’m resisting the water, thanks.”
He squeezed her with another growl in the crook of her neck. “It’s the same thing when you’re in the pool with me.” His hands lowered to her ass, clenching her flesh through her bikini bottoms. “Damn. I love this bathing suit on you. You should wear it all day, every day.”
“You want me to prance around your studio in it?”
“Absolutely. Fuck.”
“I’m sure you would love to. Fuck, that is.”
Zack kissed her again, the strength of his movement almost knocking her backward into the water. When he came up for air, he said, “You ever fool around in a pool before?”
Suddenly Rachel remembered where they were. “One thing at a time.”
“So you’re doing okay?”
She nodded. “I’m not going in deeper, though.” She meant that in two ways. Not going in deeper into the pool, and not diving into a deeper relationship with Zack. She really needed to take things one step at a time.
“You trust me, right?”
“Every time you say that, I know something scary is about to happen.”
“Now, now, last time I earnestly asked you that, we had some pretty awesome sex.”
“Was it really sex?”
“If it wasn’t, then my life is a lie. Because my mind and body definitely told me that was sex. I don’t need to have my cock inside of you to make it some of the best sex I’ve ever had.”
Rachel tested his waters like he constantly tested hers. “So you’re saying that going all the way would feel even better?”
“Uh, duh.”
“You think you’re getting that tonight, huh?”
“I assume nothing. I merely wanted to have some fun in the pool.” Zack wrapped his arms around her torso. “Okay. Hang on. I’m going to twirl you around.”