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Nineteen
I poppedout of the water and wiped my eyes. I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at his scowl. “That was unnecessary.”
“You splashed me too,” I pointed out.
“Whatever.” He pushed away from the wall and swam to me. I was in the deep end, but I could stand on my tiptoes. He stopped in front of me and glanced down, not even bothering to be discrete. “Damn.”
I kept my eyes on his face, not ready to relive my most embarrassing moment from the cruise.
“I kind of didn’t believe you would do it.” His voice was low. His gaze locked on my breasts.
My instincts screamed to wrap my arms around myself, but the admiration on his face stopped me.
“No staring,” I teased, and he finally pulled his eyes up to my face.
“Sorry, was that a rule?”
“It is now.” I laughed. “I’m not staring at you.”
He pulled back to float on his back. “Stare away.”
I spun around before he could see how red my cheeks were.
“Hey.” His hand wrapped around my shoulder, and he turned me around. “I’ll behave.”
A single underwater light on the opposite end of the pool was the only thing allowing me to see him, but it was enough to take in his vulnerable expression.
My breath caught, and I licked my lips again. “You’re more confident than me.”
His eyes softened, and he ran his hands down my shoulders and took my hands. “Just because I’m comfortable in my own skin doesn’t mean I’m not freaking out inside right now.”
“You are?” I couldn’t believe it.
“I’m terrified actually. I’m smiling and joking to cover it up.”
I stepped closer to him. “Why?”
“Because I’m trying to be the brave one.” He sighed. “I want you to be comfortable around me. Confident. Proud. Whatever you think I am, so I’m going with the fake-it-‘til-you-make-it plan.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you faking?”
“That I’m completely fine being this close to you naked. That I’m not affected at all by having you this close to me. That you’re inches from me, and all I have to do is reach out.”
I squeezed his hands before releasing them to slipping my arms around his neck. I let my body float through the water, getting closer and closer to his.
His eyes closed the moment our skin connected. My chest pressed against his, then our stomachs, then I gasped as I felt him. All of him.
My thighs touched his, and I stepped onto the top of his feet like I was letting him guide me in a dance. His fingers gripped my hips, holding on like I might disappear.
“Ave.” His voice was tight.
“Yes?” I was shocked by the steady sound of my voice. Confidence I didn’t feel came through the single word.
He finally opened his eyes and grinned. “You’re torturing me.”
I smiled back at him. I wanted this side of him, silly and carefree. Being too serious, even for a few minutes, didn’t feel right with him.
“You started it.” I shifted my feet and accidentally rubbed my hips against him.
