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“Oh, well that explains it.”
“I never saw the originals either.” She knew the statement would get him.
Clutching at his heart, Rick went down. Laughing, Maria bounced forward to grab for him as his other hand waved dramatically above the water, like he was trying to signal for help. Latching onto his wrist she pulled him back up. It didn’t even occur to her that this was the first time they’d touched since... well, since she’d been in his apartment. And now they were both slick and wet, and practically naked since bathing suits really didn’t cover much of anything.
His hard body skimmed along hers as he came back up, not even an inch away from her. The suddenness of his nearness made her gasp a bit and she felt her nipples immediately hardening. Shaking the water from his hair and face, Rick snapped his arm around so he was holding her wrist instead of the other way around. His strong grip was like a shackle around her arm and she couldn’t even explain why she felt suddenly breathless.
The slow smile spreading across his face made her want to melt and she was starting to lean into him, sure he was going to kiss her, when he gently pushed her away. At the same time, his smile changed into something less fraught with tension. Maria scowled. He was distancing himself again. Acting like she was too dumb to decide for herself whether or not she was interested in him.
Well, maybe dumb wasn’t the right word. But he did act like she was a little kid who didn’t know any better and was about to play with fire. It bugged the crap out of her because, with him, she had started to think she wouldn’t mind getting a little bit singed.
“How can you never have seen the original Star Wars?”
Back to being nothing but friendly. Maria inwardly sighed. “I grew up with all sisters remember? I might have seen them when I was little and just not remember, but I don’t think so. It just wasn’t our thing. We liked some guy stuff, like superheroes and stuff but none of us were ever into Star Wars or Star Trek.”
“Such a deprived childhood.”
Laughing, she splashed him again. “I didn’t know you were such a nerd.”
“Star Wars isn’t just for nerds,” Rick said looking affronted. “Although even if it was, they’re still great movies. You should watch them sometime.”
“Maybe if I had someone to watch them with,” Maria said, giving him a flirtatious little smile. Angling for a little bit of attention from him that would push the boundary line he’d drawn between them.
He just gave her the stupid neutral smile she was starting to hate so much, as he glanced up at the clock. “Yeah, they’re more fun to watch with company. Anyway. I have to go.”
“Alright, bye,” Maria drawled, as if she couldn’t care less, still feeling a bit miffed. She made sure to “accidentally” splash him again as she turned away. It wasn’t that her feelings were hurt, exactly, because she was pretty sure he was definitely attracted to her. The way he acted with her wasn’t quite like rejection, it was just like he was trying to warn her off or something.
So why bother talking to me in the first place?
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, actually sounding like he wanted to. And that was what got her hooked back in all over again. Hope. Always the little bit of hope keeping the door between them open.
“Yeah,” she replied, flashing a little smile over her shoulder. She would be here.
Sneaking peeks at him as he got out of the pool, she almost wanted to fan herself. Seriously, the man was smoking hot. He already had taken over a pretty much permanent place in her sex fantasies. Every time she had a hot one, it was with a guy who looked exactly like Rick. Except he wouldn’t push her away or put up walls to keep her out.
It wasn’t just that he was sexy, and she was attracted to him, she liked finding out the little things about him that broke her assumptions. Like his taste in comedians and love for Star Wars. She felt comfortable with him, like she could talk to him about anything. Rick had to be one of the most nonjudgmental people she’d ever met. He didn’t care if she talked about being a little envious of her sisters, or how she’d once cried when she went jeans shopping for two hours and couldn’t find a single pair that actually fit, or how she once broke into a pool after hours to go skinny dipping. Not something she could do at this pool unfortunately. And no matter what they talked about, he just accepted her for who she was.
If only he would take that one step further and accept the attraction between them.
Lying on her back, Maria floated, determined not to look at him because she didn’t want him to catch her peeking. It was embarrassing enough to keep practically throwing herself at him. He did respond though—he did—before he’d back off. So it wasn’t like she was making a complete fool out of herself, although she was starting to feel foolish.
He’d already warned her he wanted to spank her. If she was still flirting with him, didn’t that send the message she was willing? At least, she was willing to try. Sure it was a little weird, but she could deal with that. As long as he didn’t want to actually beat her or anything.
It was damn frustrating.
Maybe she needed to be more direct again.
Feeling a bit like he had a target on his back, Rick got out of the pool. He enjoyed spending his mornings with Maria, he truly did, but it was getting harder and harder to control himself around her. Today, when she’d touched him, he’d nearly forgotten he’d decided to be hands-off with her.
They were attracted to each other, but that didn’t mean she had any real idea of the things he wanted to do to her... even though she’d stopped acting like all he wanted was a fuck buddy or a one-night stand, she still didn’t seem to take him very seriously. He liked her. A lot. Taking things farther would make it too hard for him not to get emotionally involved–heck he already was, and they weren’t doing anything more than talking on a daily basis.
It was better to just keep things on a friendly basis until he was really sure she wanted something more.
Looking back over his shoulder, he nearly groaned out loud. It was only the nearby presence of a couple of older women, old enough to be grandmothers, that kept him from doing something so obvious. Maria was floating on her back again, her breasts looking like soft purple mounds, water droplets decorating her stomach, her eyes closed as if she was in bliss. It made him want to get right back in there with her.
Fortunately, he was helping out Liam at the dojo today so he was forced to leave the pool area. Otherwise, he didn’t know how much longer his self-restraint would have held out.
If only she was submissive and wanted a relationship.
