She took it, looking completely baffled. “A squirt gun? What...”
That was when all the kids came out. Tyson and most of the other kids at camp all emerged with squirt guns and began an all-out epic water battle.
Dylan had planned it all. It was a water free-for-all. He had large plastic storage bins full of water balloons and filled squirt guns placed around the pool area. He’d gotten all the camp hoses and had them spraying sprinkler style to create a water playground for the kids to run through as they squirted and threw balloons at one another.
The air around the pool filled with the sounds of water and shrieks of laughter. He looked over at Bonnie and for a split second was terrified he’d done something wrong. But, then her beautiful brown eyes lit up. She dropped her swim towel and aimed her gun directly at his chest, letting out a long stream of water and drenching him. With a laugh, she then ran to squirt Tyson next.
He tried to follow but was ambushed by a group of kids with squirt guns. He emerged a few moments later, completely soaked and his squirt gun empty. He needed to reload and get back into the fight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bonnie trying to sneak up on Tyson to get him with her squirt gun.
Dylan ran to the nearest bin of water balloons as and threw one at Tyson. The kid ducked, and the balloon sailed over Tyson’s head and landed squarely in on Bonnie’s chest. She narrowed her eyes and ran at him, with her gun pointed directly at him once again. She squirted him until her gun ran out.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her to where he had several loaded squirt guns ready to go. They each grabbed one, and he made sure to squirt her before she could get him this time. She laughed as the water splattered against her swimsuit.
Dylan couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun. He was laughing so hard his chest hurt, and he was fairly sure his face would be frozen into a smile for the rest of his life.
A water balloon smacked square into his chest. If his shirt wasn’t already drenched, he certainly was now. He looked up to find the attacker and saw Tyson reach for a second water balloon. But, Dylan didn’t care about the balloon.
He cared that Tyson was soaking wet. His hair was drenched, and water was streaming down his cheeks. And the best part was that Tyson was having so much fun, he didn’t care. Dylan found Bonnie grinning as she noticed the same thing. Their eyes met, and she smiled.
She gave him a thumbs up, and her eyes told him he’d done a good job.
Dylan had been having an amazing time, but her smile sent him to the moon with joy.
Chapter 15
Bonnie
“That was amazing,” Bonnie declared. She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, des
pite the fact the water fight had ended fifteen minutes earlier. “I can’t believe you organized all this in one night.”
She motioned around the pool area. It was a disaster now, but she was impressed with everything he’d set up. There were empty squirt guns laying haphazardly on the ground. They mixed with broken balloon pieces in the grass. She bent down to pick up a discarded squirt gun and put it in a bucket she carried on her arm.
“Every once in a while I have a good idea,” Dylan told her, picking up a gun and putting it in the tub he held at his hip. He winked at her, making her grin.
“This was beyond brilliant,” she told him. “Did you see how much Tyson enjoyed it? He didn’t even realize his hair was wet, and even when he did, he was having so much fun he didn’t want to stop.”
“He was having a blast. I’m really getting to like the little guy,” Dylan agreed, picking up another squirt gun. He still wore his wet swim trunks, and his gray t-shirt hugged his chest and abs like a second skin. She was just as wet in her own swimsuit and soaked sweatpants.
“This was fantastic. I had a lot of fun,” she told him. She wished she had better words to describe how happy the water fight had made her, but she couldn’t seem to find them. “Thank you.”
He grinned at her. His smile made her feel tipsy when he looked at her like that. It made her think that he knew how she felt. That he knew she was happy.
“I think we should bring some of these to our swim lesson tomorrow,” she said, shifting the nearly full bucket full of squirt guns to her other arm. “I think it would make the lesson even more fun.”
“That sounds great,” he agreed. He looked around. “I think we’ve gotten all of them.”
She looked around the pool area. Most of the kids had helped pick up the squirt guns before running off to dinner, and it did look like she and Dylan had found most of the guns that didn’t make it into the bins. One of the ranch hands was carefully sweeping up the balloon pieces that were on the concrete by the pool with a broom.
“And you’re sure the balloons are okay to leave out?” she asked, looking at all the brightly colored pieces in the grass.
“Yes,” he assured her as they walked to the pool shed. “They’re biodegradable. They’ll be gone by tomorrow morning.”
“That would have been so nice when we were kids,” she remarked, remembering her parents making her pick up all the tiny latex pieces of summer fun.
He opened the pool shed, and together they walked inside to add their squirt guns to the pile inside. He set his bin down in the corner next to the others before taking her bucket and adding it to the pile.
“Would you be interested in some dinner?” he asked nonchalantly as he organized the plastic weapons.