AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The game continues in the same manner. Points scored are met with taunts and jeers. Team Groom thinks they can flaunt their shirtless bodies and distract us, but we women are more interested in winning. Or maybe we’re more interested in not losing.
Tess calls for a time out. The score is Team Bride 18, Team Groom 19.
“Alright ladies,” Tess huddles us up for her pep talk. “We are so close to winning this thing. We just need a couple more points.”
Sarah nods and wipes sweat from her forehead. “What do you want us to do?”
By the look on Sarah’s face, she is willing to walk barefoot across a bed of hot coals to beat Team Groom.
Tess exhales a deep breath. “We need to use our assets. Literally.” We look around at each other. “Ladies, it’s time to lose the shirts and rock the bikini tops.”
Again, we stare at one another. No one is saying anything.
“Hey!” Caleb shouts over at us. “Are you girls ready to lose? I’m getting hungry so let’s wrap this thing up, shall we?”
Sarah looks like she could spit fire. “Let’s do it. Shirts off, ladies.”
We walk back to our positions but before Drew can serve, all five of us strip our tanks and throw them on the ground. Who knew bikini tops could bring grown men to their knees?
I feel eyes on me. Lots of eyes. I glance up and see Theo standing upright, eyes fixated on me. For once, he doesn’t look like he has anything to say. But his eyes aren’t the only ones on me. Just like Tess predicted, Isaac stares at me, mouth agape, like a moth to a flame.
I stretch my arms high above my head and slowly bring them back down and clasp my hands behind my back. My chest is on full display, and I know I’ve got them so distracted they won’t even remember what day it is.
“Serve it, Drew!” Tess eggs him on, although his eyes are glued to Ruth’s plentiful, post-pregnancy boobs.
Drew shakes his head to refocus. He slaps the ball, and it barely makes it over the net. Tess sets me up and I slam the ball into the sand.
Theo doesn’t even try to block me. He is as still as a statue. I wink over at him, and it seems to rattle him even more. This is so much more fun than I thought it was going to be.
Sarah is up to serve again. It’s tied 19-19. We need her to carry us over that finish line. She takes a deep breath to center herself, but does it quickly, so she can take advantage of their stupor. She jumps high and torpedoes the ball into the corner of their court.
20-19
This is match point. We need to clinch this victory so we will be one step closer to winning the Wedding Games. No coconut bras. No grass skirts. No traditional hula performance.
I bend forward, just to give Theo a peek at what I’m working with and like a sailor to a siren, his gaze is on me and not Sarah. I don’t move, fearful he’ll come to his senses.
I hear Sarah grunt as she hits the ball and Caleb rattles free from her spell. He dives for the volleyball but is inches shy of a dig.
“Team Bride wins!” Tess claps her hands and we all run together for a group hug.
I’ve reached a new level of competitive behavior and I’m not even mad about it. Tess is going everywhere with me from now on. Trivia Nights, sporting events, game nights. Whatever requires the least bit of strategic competition, she is my girl.
We gather our belongings so we can grab a bit of lunch before the last two rounds of the Wedding Games begins when I hear him behind me.
“You don’t play fair at all.”
I turn around, hands on my hips, arching my back slightly. “Whatever do you mean?”
Theo steps closer, so he is towering over me, his green eyes filled with a palpable passion that shoots through my entire body. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
I tilt my chin up toward him. “Are you mad?”
He shakes his head slowly. “No, Catalina. I’m not even close to being mad.”
I feel his fingertips brushing against mine, but I don’t dare look, fearing if I break eye contact with him now, my spell over him will be broken.
He is still shirtless, and I haven’t put my tank back on. I am fighting every fiber of my being not to jump into his arms, run my fingers through his dark hair, and kiss him with reckless abandon.
