Page 37 of Hide and Keep

Ever’s voice pulls me from the sight. “You tried to drown me!”

“I warned you and I plugged your fucking nose.”You’re welcome.

Not that she’d ever thank me.

Red colors Ever’s cheeks.

“You exposed yourself to me.”

I rear back. Not this shit again. “By accident. I was about to get a shower before I came down here.”

“To catch my boyfriend?” she mocks before shrugging, all feigned innocence. “Well, where is he?”

Ripping my eyes off her because I can’t stand the mere sight of her right now, especially in a bikini top that’s a size too tight, mashing her small tits together into a mesmerizing display of cleavage, I turn in a circle, surveying our surroundings. Obviously, there’s no one at the end of the infinity pool. If there was, he’d be dead. RIP. So I focus on the grounds, only finding a really fucking nice setup. All around the pool are enough tables and chairs and loungers to host forty people, at least. There’s nobody out here, yet every umbrella is open. And clean. And new? Not a cobweb or sunspot in sight, they gotta be brand new.

Beyond those is an expansive yard with gardens everywhere—every bit of it professionally maintained, of course.

This is how peoplelive? It seems almost like a waste. So much money being dumped into a yard nobody even uses.

“Find him yet?”

I give up on my perusal.

“Where’d he go? In the woods?”

“Uh-huh,” Ever says with an exaggerated nod. “You should get out right now and go chase after him. Preferably over the cliff.”

“And give you the satisfaction? Never. I’ll stay here, with you, instead.”

“I doubt you’ve ever given anyone satisfaction judging by that acorn between your legs.” She makes a grimace and lowers her eyes down me even though the bottom two-thirds of my body is underwater and not easily visible. “Don’t even try to blame it on the water either. It’s notthatcold.”

The pool is heated but it still has aslightchill to it.

“It was your hand coming closer that made it shrink in horror,” I reply, despite being ninety-nine percent sure she didn’t see my dick.

She did get one thing right though. I am circumcised.

“Oh, you thought…” She covers her mouth, a laugh escaping through her spread fingers. “That I was…gonna…”

Grinding my teeth, I turn away from her and dive under the water so I don’t have to hear her annoying fucking voice. No, I didn’t think she was actually going to grab my dick.

Maybe for a second, but…

Look where that got me. A kick to the gut, exactly what I deserve for assuming in the first place.

A million dollars. A million dollars. A million fucking dollars.

A swarm of bubbles pass by me, and at first, I slow to let Ever go ahead, but then all her insults about me turn to liquid fire, propelling me forward until I’m neck and neck with her, racing toward the opposite end. When we reach the wall, there’s a moment’s hesitation from both of us.

“Twenty-six, you said?” I ask in challenge.

“Try to keep—”

I kick off the wall before she can finish, gaining myself only aslighthead start because Ever’s on my heels instantly, her presence quickly moving to my side for the entire way back. I don’t let up once, going as hard as I can, until the thirteenth lapwhen I gas out completely and have to float over to the side to catch my breath. Ever doesn’t miss a beat though, continuing on without me. Sitting on the pool’s edge inside, I alternate between looking at her and the fading bite mark she left behind on my palm.

One of the times she dips under the partition, I bring my hand up to my mouth and fit my teeth to the impression of hers and bite down. I let my lips relax against my palm, sucking the flesh.

Nothing. No trace of her whatsoever. The pool washed it all away.

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