AllFreeNovel
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I force myself to focus on the rest of the game, and it’s a good thing because any more thinking of Arden in that bikini, everyone will know what’s up. Literally.
We lose the game, and Taylor’s pissed. But it’s not like we didn’t win the last three games before this, so he can pound sand for all I care. I excuse myself and run toward Arden, who’s trying to reach a spot behind her shoulder.
“Need some help?” I ask as she looks up at me.
“That would be wonderful.” She hands me the bottle of sunscreen as I kneel behind her. “You’ve got great form out there. Could have mistaken you for a pro.”
I roll my eyes. “I live right across a sand court, Arden. It would be embarrassing not to be at least good at it. But a pro? Nah.”
I squirt sunscreen on my palm as she pulls her long hair to the side, exposing a tattoo of a simple diamond shape with dots coming out of each point. “Didn’t realize you had another tat. What is it?”
“It’s a compass. I got it while covering a story about the oldest tattoo artist in the Philippines. She came up with the design.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“In the beginning, I thought it represented all my travels, but after a while, I realized it meant something else entirely.”
“Like what?”
“A guide to get me home,” she replies as I finish spreading the last of the sunscreen over the middle of her back.
I wipe the excess sunscreen on my shorts. “Maybe that’s why you’re here. It led you back home.”
“Good try.” She chuckles as she pats the space next to her. “You can have a seat if you want.”
I don’t wait for her to ask me again. I sit beside her on the large towel as she lies on her back. “I hope you make it to the party tonight.”
Arden doesn't say anything for a few moments. Then she props herself on her elbows and looks at me. “I have a better idea. I’ll stop by your party tonight if you take me for a ride tomorrow. Where to, it’ll be up to you. Surprise me.”
“I can do that.” Behind me, I can see Taylor partnering with Ruby and getting ready to play next. I cock my head toward the court. “Want to pass the ball with me? I want to see how much you remember. That is,ifyou remember.”
Her eyes narrow. “Is that a challenge?”
“As a matter of fact, it is.” I grin, my gaze moving down her toned body. “So what do you say? Is that Cali girl still in there somewhere? Or has she bailed a long time ago, and you can’t tell your bump from a handset?”
“They sure are fighting words, Hudson.” She tilts her head, her expression thoughtful. “But as they say, you can take the girl out of California, but you can’t take California out of the girl.”
“Prove it.”
I help Arden move her towel closer to the sand court and start her warm-up with simple arm snaps, passing, and setting the ball. Her form is excellent, from her hand and arm positions down to her knee positioning.
“Guess this is where I ask if you ever kept up playing,” I say as she sets the ball perfectly with her fingers.
“Just a bit of indoor now and then.”
I laugh. “Now and then? Are you sure about that?”
“I’m sure,” Arden replies as Taylor and Ruby’s game ends with them winning.
“We’re up next,” I say. “You ready?”
She grins. “Yup.”
We spend the next hour playing against Taylor and Ruby. If I’d assumed we’d play an easy game, boy, was I so wrong. That thought went out the window when Ruby directed a spike at Arden’s face.
It pissed me off, but Arden dug every hard-driven spike that came at her with whatever she had, passing the ball to me every time.
We lose the first two games but win the next three, and that’s good enough for me. While I dominated the net, Arden’s fast enough to reach every ball that drifts into the backcourt. By the third game, people gathered by our court to watch, and through it all, win or lose, Arden is a good sport and the perfect partner I never knew I needed.
