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IVY
I TRY TO ignore the pounding in my chest as I stare at Conrad, dumbfounded. Is he for real?The two of us working together is theworst idea. Right now, Brady’s reaction is the least of my concerns–because I still want Conrad. I hate myself for it, and I hate even more that he knows it.. That smug look on his face has me seeing red. As if he thinks I’ll be the one to put up a fight.
I realise George is still waiting for my response. I ignore the alarm bells ringing in my head when I force a smile and say, “No problem at all.”
George looks unsure, but he hands me a clipboard with the names of the children who are signed up for the summer program. “Great. Well, Conrad, I’ll leave you in Ivy’s capable hands. She’ll show you where the equipment shed is. The first session is nine until eleven. You’ll get one hour for lunch, then the second session is twelve until two. Help yourself to a bottle of water each from the kiosk. It’s a scorcher out there today.”
Conrad and I hold our fake smiles until George’s footsteps fade and he disappears into his office. “What the hell are you playing at?” I hiss. “Are you stalking me now?”
He rolls his eyes. “Trust me, Princess, I’ve got better things to do with my time.”
I massage my temples, trying to stave off the constant headache that comes with Conrad Foster. “Quit calling me Princess! You don’t even know me. Seriously, Conrad, why are you here?”
“Coach organised it. I’m volunteering for community service.”
“Youvolunteered? Right. So, what is this really? Did you lose a bet? Or are you just here to drive me crazy?”
“That’s just a bonus,” he quips. I shoot him a filthy look and he holds his hands up in surrender. “Look, I had no idea you would be here. I was just thankful it would be something that would still allow me to enjoy my summer break.”
“This is such a bad idea,” I mutter under my breath. I make my way over to the kiosk and grab two bottles of water, tossing one to Conrad, who catches it one handed. “You are so damn infuriating. Do you even know the first thing about surfing?”
“Not really. But George said his ‘most seasoned surfer’ will be able to give me directions.” The corner of his mouth tips up again in that grin that I can’t stand–and I hate even more that my heart races at the sight. “It’s okay to admit it, Ivy–there’s some part of you looking forward to this week. After all, you have no problem bossing me around.”
I choose to ignore him. And his stupid innuendo. And the traitorous butterflies swarming around my stomach. I shoulder past him, heading outside to the equipment shed. He follows along behind me and leans against the brick wall while I fuss with the lock and get the door open. I point to the soft boards leaning up against the back wall. “We need eight of those in the two smaller sizes,” I tell him. “We’ve got the under tens this morning.” I grab a board under each arm and don’t wait for Conrad as I head down to our designated section of the beach.
There are a few other volunteers on the beach as we approach. I wave to BJ and Zahra, who are setting up the flags for the swimmers, while Gibbo sits up in the tower with the binoculars. I’m thankful that Brady isn’t rostered on for lifeguard duty today because there’s no way he would be okay with this. His reaction on New Year’s proved that. I’m going to have to go past his and Wren’s apartment later and give him the heads up.
Conrad lays down his two boards and heads back to the equipment shed without a word. I run my eyes over the roster for this morning’s session, leaving him to get the rest of the boards on his own. Am I being petty? Yes. Do I care? No.
I was really looking forward to this program. I love working with kids, hence why I’m studying teaching. But the last thing I want is to spend four hours a day with Conrad. I’m already messed up enough over him–I don’t need constant reminders. Although, on the plus side, I’ve been too busy over analysing things with Conrad, that I haven’t even thought about Lachy in days. I can’t complain about that.
When Conrad finally dumps the final two boards on the ground, he’s worked up a sweat. I avert my eyes as he whips off his t-shirt. “A bit of help would’ve been nice,” he grouses, wiping his face with his shirt before tossing it aside.
“You looked like you had it all under control.” I check the time on my phone. “We have fifteen minutes until we start. Do you want me to go over the program with you?”
“Sure.” He twists the top off his bottle of water and guzzles half of it. I watch his throat work as he swallows, and my brain short-circuits. “You right there, perv?” he asks, flicking the open water bottle in my direction, dousing me in cold water.
I squeal, snatching my towel to dry my face and chest. I duck my head so he can’t see my flushed cheeks. “Asshole.”
He laughs, the sound sending vibrations through my body. “That’s what you get for checking me out.”
“I wasn’t checking you out.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he says with a wink.
“Ugh!” I shove his shoulder. “Get over yourself. Can’t you just take this seriously?”
“I wasn’t the one eye fucking–”
I clap my hand over his mouth. “I wasnoteye fucking you.” I shriek again as Conrad’s warm, wet tongue darts out against my palm. I jerk my hand away and wipe his own spit across his chest. “You’re so disgusting.”
“What the hell is this?”
My stomach drops as I turn to face the voice. Brady stands behind me, eyes blazing, as they settle on my hand. I drop it quickly, wiping it against my wetsuit. “It’s not what you think.”
“Whatever, Ivy” he scoffs If you want to slum it with the nark, have at it. I thought you were better than that.”
His words cut through me like a knife. “Brady–”
