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Nav
Navchuggedthebottle of water Eagle handed to him before they climbed up the stairs back toward the house. Although he wasn’t feeling as drunk now, spending the entire day drinking in the sun had really worn on him. He was hoping some food and water would perk him back up so he could keep hanging with the crew throughout the night. The stairs were darkened by the thick overhanging trees, only illuminated by little solar balls that had been stuck into the ground along the way. He stepped cautiously, placing both feet on each step as he climbed. As he made it back to the large patio, twinkling lights dangling above filled his vision. The lights were reflecting off the blue of the pool and steam was billowing from the hot tub. He could hear the giggles and hollers from his friends as their voices echoed from the basement of the house. He stumbled in, allowing his bare feet to slap against the cool tile flooring. He was headed for the stairs when Lexie’s familiar voice called out to him. He spun on his heels and turned to face her. She was leaning against the bar holding a beer in her hand, still wearing her tiny red bikini that made his pants twitch with an anxious need.
“Don’t you dare go near that kitchen. I’ve tasted your cooking before and we don’t need to burn the island down,” she said.
He narrowed his eyes and took several steps toward her until they were standing only a few feet apart. As she leaned against the counter her long torso stretched, dropping her bikini just slightly exposing the deep v leading down beneath. He rolled his eyes up to meet hers and she shook her head slowly with a purse of her lips. Realizing he had been caught fully checking her out he rubbed his hand over his mouth and cleared his throat.
“Sorry, I uh. Sorry. It’s been a while. I uh,” he stuttered, clearing his throat again. “But I’ll have you know, my cooking has vastly improved over the years. You can thank the firehouse for that.”
Lexie nodded, but he could sense her hesitancy to believe him. “Right, well I’d rather not risk it.” She winked at him before pushing off from the counter and walking toward the glass doors. He turned to watch her from behind, her cheeks swaying with each movement of her legs. The familiar twitch returned, putting pressure against his shorts. He turned toward the counter and adjusted himself in an effort to make his attraction less obvious. When he turned back around, Lexie was gone. He stepped away from the counter and saw her sitting on the edge of the hot tub. Her red bikini bottoms were situated between each of her cheeks and the strings from her top dangled down her back. Her auburn hair was tucked up loosely on her head. The steam flowed around her and he felt like he was in a dream. Every movement was in slow motion. He had thought about Lexie a lot after their break-up. He had longed to see her again, to feel her skin against his own. His dreams were forming into reality in front of him and he didn’t know how to feel. He needed to go upstairs and eat, but his feet were walking toward the hot tub before he could say no. On his way there, he stopped by the bar and grabbed a bottle of the closest thing to him, which happened to be the bottle of whiskey Lexie had brought out earlier in the day. He took it to the hot tub and stood next to her. She slowly turned her head to face him and a single chunk of hair dropped into her face.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
She shook her head so lightly he wasn’t sure he actually saw her motion, yes, but he also wasn’t going to ask for clarification and risk getting a solid no. He’d take a hesitant yes over an absolute no any day. Especially when it came to simply spending time with his former best friend. He stepped over the side of the hot tub and lowered in, letting his upper half stick out, mimicking Lexie. They were sitting close together along the edge--close enough to touch if they wanted to.
He gazed out at the dark abyss around them. The light from the house and patio made it hard to see out onto the water, so it looked as if the hot tub was suspended on top of a massive cliff with no bottom in sight. Lost in the enormity of it all, Nav almost missed the graze of Lexie’s hand against his as she reached for the bottle of whiskey. He loosened his grip on the bottle and she smoothly pulled it into her own grip. He looked over at her, noting the empty beer bottle behind her. He unconsciously licked his lips as he watched the bottle press against the smoothness of hers. She extended it out to him before placing the lid back on it and he nodded, grabbing it from her and taking a swig himself. As the warm liquid slipped down he felt the heat rise to his face reminding him he was already pretty drunk but also felt as if he was floating on cloud 9.
“So, what’s your favorite thing to cook?” she asked as she turned slightly toward him, the fabric of her bikini top shifting slightly.
“I have to cook in large quantities for the firehouse and it has to be something that reheats well. So usually casseroles or pasta. Lots of soup in the fall and winter.”
She tilted her head back against the concrete ledge allowing her arms to bobble above the water. “So you’re telling me you’re a renowned chef whose best meal is spaghetti?” she asked with a laugh.
He rolled his eyes. “Sometimes. I don’t know. The guys seem to like it.” He shrugged.
She pulled her head up to meet his and pushed off from the back of the wall, sliding herself toward him. She extended her arm and he handed her the bottle, watching her take another swig, this time longer. As the bottle pulled away from her lips, she let off a little sigh. Everything about her presence was turning him on and he had no idea how to shut it down. He knew how good her body looked beneath that bikini and seeing it just a few feet from him... he wanted to take back what was once his and claim his territory all over again. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear the wanting from his mind. He wasn’t going to make a move unless she made one first. He wasn’t sure if she was ready for that and he wasn’t going to push it.
“Well, my favorite meal of all time is omelets. Do you think you can make an omelet?” she asked as she moved back to her spot against the edge of the tub.
He narrowed his eyes. “Omelets are not something that can be made in large quantities,” he retorted.
She stared at him as her hands wove in and out of the water, running over the bubbles and under. “So you’re saying you only cook for your fire people.”
He let out a hearty laugh. “Fire people?”
She shook her head. “Whateverrrr,” she said with a sly smile. She again moved against the water toward him, centering her body directly in the middle of the tub. Her body brushed against his as she moved around in the center. As their skin collided together, she caught his eyes with a look he wasn’t familiar with.
“Well Lou, I guess that is what I’m saying. I don’t have anyone other than my ‘fire people’ to cook for.”
She moved an inch closer to him, an eyebrow raised. “Oh, well what about Victoriaaa?”
A shudder ran through his spine. Fucking Victoria always ruining everything good in his life. “Nah, she’s not in the picture. Hasn’t been for a while.”
“So no lucky ladies have been graced with your cooking skills?” she asked, inching even closer. Her body was now only a foot from his. If he pulled his legs together, she’d get stuck between them. His breath was shallow and unstable with her so close. She leaned in, close enough that he could feel her breath, and right as his heart leaped she bypassed him and grabbed the whiskey from the ledge where he’d sat it.
Nav managed to choke out, “Nope, I’ve never cooked for any woman but you.”
He watched a smile start to break free from her lips. She was trying not to give in to what he knew both of them were feeling. She took another swig of the whiskey and Nav reached out to grab the bottle from her. “I think maybe you’ve had enough.”
“I didn’t realize I was your responsibility for the evening,” she fired back at him. He sat the whiskey bottle on the ledge again and reached his arms out, grazing against her skin under the water. She pulled her face to meet his and he brushed a loose curl from her eyes. As his hand caressed her face, Lexie leaned into his touch. His thumb brushed against her cheek in tender strokes as her eyes shuttered closed. The intimacy of the moment said so much more than either of them could say out loud.
