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Damn, Viv.
I hadn’t taken part in the jury the eight of us had become, seeing as it was a date I had been on with Aaron that started this whole feud. I was involved whether or not I liked it, so it didn’t feel right to air my opinion at all, and I made it clear from the start I wasn’t giving my opinion on it.
Zander cleared his throat. “She’s right. So, on a happier note, who’s up for water sports today?”
Half the table broke out in laughter, myself included, and Zander took a second to realize what he’d said. “Oh, for Christ’s sake. Not those—You know what? Y’all nasty. The fact that your minds went there instead ofactualwater sports...” He threw his head back and barked a laugh, wiping tears from his eyes.
With the tension from earlier broken, everyone started discussing their plans to either windsurf or waterski, while Viv and I planned to hang out here at the house. The last thing I felt like was going back into the water after the snorkeling ordeal.
I was going to take her up on the offer of talking things out. As helpful as Norbert had been earlier, I might need to talk to someone who could actually respond.
Before Oliver said yes, his eyes connected with mine, asking a silent question if I wanted him to stay behind with me. I subtly shook my head, and he looked crestfallen.
I had some thinking to do.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Diego
I pulledmy rash guard over my head, and Amber, our instructor, called out to me. “Diego? Could I use you as an example?”
Her lashes fluttered as I moved closer, and her hands smoothed down the rest of the guard on my body. She trailed her fingertips over my stomach, and I took a step back, putting distance between us.
Cheryl’s eyes were glued to the interaction, and she harrumphed. I didn’t think I’d ever used that word before, but here we were.
I turned away from Cheryl’s judgment and found Amber’s eager eyes still on me. She was curvy, with long, wavy hair and a very revealing swimsuit. By all accounts, she was my type, but I couldn’t get my mind off a certain honey-blonde with curves for days and those strong, thick thighs I wanted wrapped around my head.
Zander chuckled as Amber took another step toward me. Oliver elbowed him in the side, and thankfully, Zander picked up his cue.
“Uh, hey, Amber, how are we going to swim with these things out there with the sails on them?” Zander asked, pointing toward the boards with their sails.
God, I owed them a solid. What was with this woman? I mean, I was a confident guy, but this was overt as fuck.
The last thing we needed was drama being stirred up by the outsiders coming in to give us lessons. Aaron and Kayla had ensured we already had more than enough drama in the villa. With her distracted, I took a few more steps back and out of her reach.
The three lifeguards they had hired on for the day were nearby, and their eyebrows were raised at Amber’s blatant flirting. Apparently, after Sophie’s near-drowning, we needed more supervision. I couldn’t blame them. Their show was on the line if there was a tragedy and they were covering their bases.
Finally realizing she was here to give us lessons, she put on her professional face and explained the basics. “You push the board out until you’re about chest-deep in the water, then you can hop on and get a feel for the wind direction. You won’t need to swim with the sail in the water, just push.”
She turned her predatory gaze back toward me. Maybe I spoke too soon about that professional thing. Usually, when a woman gave me that look, I knew I was in for a good time. But now, it felt all wrong, and it seemed Amber couldn’t take a hint.
“Diego, I want you to lie down on the board, then slowly rise to your knees first and grab the uphaul.”
Daniel cut in, “What’s the uphaul?”
“It’s the cord connected to the sail. You want to have that in hand before you rise to your feet like you’re surfing,” she coached. She turned toward the others. “Make sure you’re balanced, so bend those knees and rock back and forth on your feet to get a feel for it.”
It wasn’t my first time, so I followed her instructions and planted my feet on the white board below me.
“Good. Now do hand over fist on the uphaul like you’re pulling on a rope,” Amber said as I followed the instructions. “Excellent. This will pull the sail toward you, raising the mast.”
Don’t make a dick joke. Now is not the time for a dick joke,I thought to myself. But, come on. Raising a mast? Easy pickings. But the last thing I wanted to do was encourage Amber.
I followed her instructions, showing the others how to stand on the board and get the sail into position.
At Amber’s insistence, I repeated the action a few times, hating as her hands landed on my hips to reposition my stance or guide my arms. After the fourth time, I decided it was enough and jumped away from my equipment. Amber gave me a side-eye, but finally directed the others to try it for themselves and walked around, observing and making necessary corrections.
When Amber wandered down the sand and focused on Zander’s stance, Oliver whispered from beside me, “We need to talk about Sophie.”
