Page 38 of Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

“Yeah?”

“Not just Vivi,” he says, his voice low and deep.

Heat flashes through my system.

Oh my.

That’s how I ended up on the beach, under an easy shade that Jonah put up, sitting in a low-to-the-ground chair and watching them build a sandcastle with different-sized plastic buckets.

The view is so good, and I’m not talking about the water.

Jonah is shirtless with a hat and sunglasses on, and he’s wearing a pink swimsuit that isn’t long and baggie but medium length and the perfect size for his thighs. It should be a sin to look as good as he does. His arms are long and layered with muscles, and his abs look like they’ve been sculpted they are so perfect. I would say I’m envious of how fit he is, but I’m aware of how much work he puts into his body to get it to look that way, and well, no, thank you.

My eyes also find a tattoo that he didn’t have before. It’s not super large, but it’s placed on his left rib cage, just under his heart. From what I can tell, it looks like stars, maybe a constellation permanently inked into his skin.

From my bag, my phone beeps, and I see it’s Camille.

Oh, I might have heard that somewhere. I hope it’s not a problem.

Remember what I said about her having a sweet soul? I take it back. She totally planned this.

Chapter 16

Jonah

Do I even need to discuss my shock and freaking delight at finding Sophie here? I want to be mad at Reid about this, as Vivi and I have been looking forward to this beach week for what feels like months, but how can I? Vivi seems excited that she’s here. She’s someone else that will play with her, and me, well, it’s going to be a rough few days of me trying to keep my tongue in my mouth and other parts calm as I stare at her in a bikini.

A tiny black bikini.

Damn.

I knew she looked good. I’d seen her before, but she’s changed and toned more over the past couple of years. Her ass and her legs seem to go on for days, and her stomach and her arms are muscular to the point where I could drool. And don’t get me started on the tiny triangle bikini top she’s wearing. One little tug on the strings and the whole thing would fall off, and I know what’s hiding underneath it.

My mouth waters.

It waters at the sight, and it waters thinking about all the places it’s explored on this girl and wants to again.

Calm. I remind myself. Stay calm. The last thing I need to do is find myself in a lust-induced mental moment that has a visible effect below my waist to those around me. Namely Sophie. And well, Vivi too. I’m nowhere near ready to have any sort of conversation with her about boys and girls.

“How long are you planning on staying?” I ask her, taking the seat next to her. I’ve done my duty to Vivi for a bit. We built two sandcastles, and I chased waves with her. Now, I just want to sit here in the shade and talk to Sophie.

“Trying to get rid of me already, are you?” She smirks. Her face is half covered with a large pair of sunglasses, and I can’t decide whether I like her wearing them or not. It’s hard enough to be around her; add in staring into her eyes too, and I become a useless fool. But I do like how I feel when she looks at me. From the moment I met her, she’s made me feel seen.

“No, not at all. Just trying to figure out your plans so we either join or work around each other.”

At the thought of being here with her for a whole week, I can’t decide if I’m in heaven or hell. How many times have I imagined being with her? And now that she’s here, I feel like I’m living in some kind of dream.

Dream.

If I could smack myself for how stupid I sound, I would.

It’s only been a couple of hours, and I’m already internally acting like an idiot.

She tilts her head, and I can tell she’s eyeing me suspiciously from behind those dark lenses.

“I was planning to stay until Monday afternoon. I have to be back at work on Tuesday.”

Monday afternoon. That means I basically get two more uninterrupted days with her.