Slicing through the water toward me, he shows me what a good swimmer he is, closing the gap between us in a few seconds.
I tread water, making sure my shit-eating grin is in place when he stops in front of me.
“If dinner is ruined because of your stupidly timed prank, I’m blaming you.” His pointed look makes me laugh all over again.
“That’s the beauty of this prank. It was the most inconvenient time for you. Come on, man. You have to appreciate how awesome I am.”
“You’re a pain in the ass is what you are.” He ends up laughing out the last part, and I know I’m forgiven. As he swims away, I kick forward and wrap my arms around his shoulders, letting him drag me back to the dock.
He climbs the ladder first while I stay in the water. His perfect ass—which I am totally not noticing—brushes right past my face, and yep, I really need to get me some tomorrow night.
And not with Sawyer Richards.
11
BEN
And once again I’mcleaning up.
The kitchen is covered in flour, and I can’t just sit by and let someone else deal with it. I grew up in a home where you cleaned up after yourself or watch out.
Sure, we had a weekly housekeeper, but Mom was strict when it came to tidiness and cleanliness. It didn’t actually botherme. I like my spaces to be organized. I’m not as anal as my mother and eldest sister, but… a flour-coated kitchen?
Yeah, I can’t live with that.
“Where’s a broom, man?” I ask Mac, who’s still wrestling tears as he refuses to give up on the onions.
“Fuck if I know,” he mumbles.
“Great.” I snicker and turn to start hunting the most obvious places.
“Found one,” Jimmy calls from the laundry, and I head his way. Passing it to me, he then grabs out the brush, shovel, and mop from the narrow cleaning closet. The mop is one of those all-in-one things with the water attached to the handle, so that’ll make life easier.
Jimmy starts on the counters, wiping down each surface, while I get busy with the floor. We work in silence until we reach Mac’s feet and I have to ask him to move.
“You’ve got flour all over your back.” I quietly laugh and start brushing it off his shoulders.
Mac doesn’t seem bothered by it. With a sniveling snicker, he wipes the back of his hand under his nose and mutters, “Those two should just fuck and get it over with.”
“What?” I raise my eyebrows.
“Sawyer and Charli.” He rinses off the knife. “They need to get it on.”
“They do not!” Darian shouts from the living area. Spinning around in his seat, he glares at Mac. “Don’t be gross, you asshole. They’re like brother and sister.”
Resting his hands on the counter, Mac smirks at Charli’s irate brother and goes for a little more rage-baiting. Typical. The guy can’t help himself.
“You know, technically, they’re not related, so they could have sex and it wouldn’t be?—”
“Really?” Darian cuts him off, shooting off the couch and dropping the game controller on the floor. “You’re gonna keep talking right now?”
Mac laughs. “You know I’m right. Come on, one little fuck and they’d?—”
Darian growls and lunges toward the counter.
With a sharp laugh, Mac takes off running, and I roll my eyes when I hear them scuffling near the entrance. I’m pretty sure Darian’s on the cusp of turning feral over this thing, but Mac’s having too much fun to back down.
“Nothing wrong with friends with benefits, man.” Mac’s still laughing.
