“Oh my God.” Her face turned even redder, but then she rolled her eyes so hard, I was surprised she didn’t injure herself. “You really are full of yourself.”
“Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“And yet, I’ve chosen to receive it as one.”
She laughed, and this time, unless I was very much imagining things, she sounded just a little breathless.
CHAPTER 16
RAQUEL
“It’s impossible to be stressed when you’re floating in one of these,” I murmured, my head resting on the tube and my face tipped toward the sun.
My eyes were closed, but I heard Theo’s answering chuckle drifting from my side. He and I had ended up together again, but I hadn’t questioned it when Avery had fastened our tubes securely together.
I probably should have, but honestly, I’d rather spend the time next to him than tolerating one of the other idiots. People were splashing all around us, Avery nearly flipping himself over every so often to grab a drifting beer.
Just a few minutes ago, one of his friends had gotten stuck sideways between two rocks and had to be rescued while the rest of us had laughed at the predicaments they kept getting themselves into. Despite everything that had happened this week, I was actually having fun and the fact that it was Theo I was joking with as we floated definitely helped.
“Yeah,” he muttered, his arms spread across his tube and his own eyes closed under his sunglasses when I cracked mine open to peek at him. “I know what you mean. Real life feels really fucking far away out here.”
Once again, I was tempted to ask him about his so-calledreal life, but I was too blissed out right then to be bothered. Instead, I just stared at that dark hair, black now that it was wet and slicked back from his striking features, and I took a few mental pictures for later.
Theo shirtless with water sliding lazily from his broad shoulders to his chest was my version of live-action porn. No way was I letting something as trivial as reality ruin that right now.
“We should stay here,” I finally said when I managed to swallow the drool and turned to look up at the sky instead. “What do you think? We’ll build a little cabin and just forget the rest of the world exists.”
“I’m in,” he agreed without hesitation.
I’d noticed that he did that a lot, like he was intent on living his best life and was doing it by grabbing whatever opportunity came along with both hands. So far, he was proving to be the most spontaneous, adventurous person I’d ever met and I liked that. I admired it, even.
“This cabin we’re building,” he murmured a few seconds later. “How many bedrooms does it have?”
My head turned so fast, I nearly gave myself whiplash, but then I laughed when I saw the teasing smirk on his face. “It has six. Two for each of us, one for Avery when he visits, and one for your entire mystery family.”
His nose wrinkled, but there was still a curve on his lips and I was willing to bet that if he hadn’t been wearing sunglasses, his eyes would’ve been twinkling. “Bold of you to assume I’d invite them. I thought we were forgetting the real world existed.”
“Fair enough,” I said after a beat. “Okay, I’ve reconsidered, and if the real world doesn’t exist at all, then I guess we could get away with only two bedrooms.”
“Two, huh?” He let out a sigh that sounded vaguely disapproving. “If you insist.”
A thrill shot down my spine at the implication that he would have preferred only one bedroom, the cool water the only thing keeping me from overheating completely at this point. Steam had practically started coming out of my ears when I’d realized he was getting naked only feet away from me and I’d felt myself go beet red when he’d caught me checking him out.
As the creek wound through the Pass in lazy curves, our tubes bumped against each other every so often, the current carrying us steadily to the lake below. The water was shaded in places by trees and desert brush, and the water was already cooler than it had been a few months ago, but not cold.
Most of the group had spread out naturally, some farther ahead while others lagged behind. They floated in clusters, drinking beer and joking back and forth, but Theo and I were mostly alone, tied together, with the chemistry that had been simmering between us for the last few weeks now crackling so palpably that evenIcouldn’t ignore it anymore.
My heart pitter-pattered every time he smiled at me and the things that were happening to the rest of my body were entirely foreign to me at this point. This whole situation felt new, actually. Flirting. Chemistry. Yearning for someone I didn’t have.
Hunter had been my first—and last—boyfriend, and my first just-about-everything-else.
We’d gone from teenagers to engaged adults without much in between. After that had blown up in my face, I’d had no interest, desire, or patience to put myself back out there, but the idea of spending time with Theo made my heart sing.
It was so fucking embarrassing, but at least today, I could tell myself it was the beer, the sunshine, and the fact that he lookeddisgustingly good wet. So while I had the excuse, I fully intended on enjoying it.
I took another sip of my beer and finally faced him again, definitelynottracking a drop of water sliding down the curve of his neck from behind the safety of my sunglasses. “You fit in here surprisingly well.”
