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“That’s strange. Feels like bathtub water,” I say, kicking some of the water toward Kallista and splashing her. She shrieks again, and I laugh as she shoots me the most adorable glare I’ve ever seen.
“Asshole! You’re going to get me wet!”
Oh, if only.
The rush of the water against my calves brings me back to a time when life was simple. Sure, there was the stress of the game, of coach breathing down my neck, of doing my best by my teammates. But once I was in the water, everything around me would come into perfectly clear focus. There was just me and the game. Everything else in life could wait.
Until it all came crashing down. My entire life’s dream crushed because I did the right thing. But if what I did was the right thing, how come I’m not where I’m supposed to be? Why was I the only one punished? The universe hates heroes. That much is obvious.
“What are you thinking about?” Kallista’s voice interrupts my depressing train of thought, and I look up at her with a feigned grin.
“Nothing much,” I say, but she narrows her eyes at me in suspicion. She’s getting too good at deciphering my facial expressions, I guess.
“Bullshit. You got really quiet all of a sudden when we were having a good time. Am I really that much of a bummer to spend time with?”
I shake my head immediately. “Absolutely not. I was just thinking about Terraball. I miss it, is all.”
“You could try again.” Kallista wades through the water and clasps my hand, weaving her fingers between mine. It’s not a romantic gesture, but it is a welcome one. She swings my hand lightly and smiles. “You should. Try again, that is. We could find you a better agent. Better … everything.”
I snort. Right. As if anyone would pick me up at this point. I’ve been out of the game for a couple of years now. No one is going to want me on their team. Not with my kind of setback. I smile softly at her, running my fingers through my hair. “I appreciate your optimism, princess … but I don’t think that’s going to work out.”
Her face twists into a tiny scowl, and I have to bite my bottom lip to keep myself from laughing. She’s being so damn serious right now, but all I can think about is how cute she looks. So small, yet so feisty. And then I feel guilty, because she’s being serious and I’m fawning over her when I shouldn’t. Kallista shivers against the wind, and I step closer, offering her my hand.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” I say. “It’s too cold out here. We can come back when it’s sunny.”
“Sun ages you,” she says, wading deeper into the water.
The image of her sinking to the bottom of Lacie’s pool has me racing after her, my arm outstretched, but she pulls away at the last second.
“Come on, Kal. It’s not safe.”
She responds with laughter, but when a wave tumbles into us, she loses her balance and stumbles forward. Suddenly, I’m in the water, pulling her into my arms before another wave crashes into our bodies. I hold her tightly to my chest, the sound of her teeth chattering making me want to run for the beach. But I can’t. I’m frozen in place, clutching this woman in my arms as she lets out another gasp of laughter.
All I can think to say is, “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”
“Yeah,” she says, then plants a kiss on my cheek. Her lips are cool and wet, but warmth radiates through my skin anyway. “I know. I’m sorry. Just wanted to see what you’d do.”
My throat tightens. “Are you serious? You’re being dramatic on purpose to see what I’d do? I’d throw myself in the ocean for you, Kal.”
“Because that’s what you’re paid to do,” she says flatly, and looks at me with those gorgeous hazel eyes that I can’t get out of my head. How should I answer this? Honesty is the best policy, most of the time. But honesty in this case is going to get me in trouble.
This woman is trouble. I knew it right from the start.
“Because that’s what I’m paid to do,” I murmur, and watch with a pang in my chest as the light leaves her eyes. Her smile fades next. “And,” I add, against my better judgement, “because life without you in it would be pretty damn dull. The world needs you, Kal.”
She smiles again, but it’s not as bright as before. I’m not sure what she was looking for, but clearly, I didn’t deliver.
“Oh,” she says. “You think people need over-produced pop songs about drinking until three in the morning and hooking up with strangers in the bar bathroom?”
I blink. “Is that what your music is about?”
She nods. “The songs I don’t get to write. Yes. Gotta keep up that party girl image.”
As we wade out of the water, I feel her grip tighten around my neck before I set her down in the sand. She doesn’t want me to let her go, and if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t want to let her go, either. But this is already going too far. Being out here with her like this, playing in the water. She’s goading me toward a future that can’t exist. Because she’s Kallista, Star Princess, and I’m her hired help. The contract was clear. No fraternization with the client that goes beyond the professional.
For a brief moment, I wonder if this is why all her other bodyguards quit after a week. Did she tempt them, too?
Kallista stares up at me with a soft smile and says, “What if I asked you to kiss me?”
