Page 73 of Blocked Score

Will she freak out? Be weirded out by the way I kept holding a candle for her while she moved on, like I should’ve done?

A splash of water pulls me back to reality. There’s an area of foamy, turbulent water in the pool when I look at the source of the sound.

Scarlett’s already stripped down and jumped in while I was caught in the tangles of my mind worrying about the tattoo.

Probably for the best that I didn’t actually see her tug off her shirt and slide her pants down her legs, even if I feel a sharp jolt of disappointment at having missed it.

Scarlett pops up with a splash from under the surface of the water. Her dark hair is soaked and matted to her face and the sides of her neck. My eyes tick lower, to her full and perky tits lifted in her yellow bra.

My balls tighten, and I have to clench my throat to suppress a raw groan of desire.

“What are you doing still standing there?” she calls from the water. “Need floaties for your arms?”

After throwing that tease, she turns around and kicks her feet, swimming down the length of the pool. I take the opportunity of her eyes being off me to quickly pull my shirt and pants off. I’ll just try to keep my tattoo under the surface of the water and hope she doesn’t notice.

I dive headfirst into the pool. The temperature is perfect.

I already feel some of the painful tension in my shoulder loosening as I swing my arms in long strokes, propelling me through the water.

I take a deep breath and keep my head under the water as long as I can, stroking my way to the end of the pool. When my hand hits the tiled edge, I raise my wet head and open my eyes, pulling in a deep breath.

“What the f—” Thefuckleaves my mouth muffled with a spray of bubbles, because I say it underwater. I shrug away from the force that just shoved my head down and pop back up, hearing nothing but peals of Scarlett’s laughter when my ears are back above the surface.

A devious grin slants my lips. “Oh, you asked for it.”

She lets out a sharp squeal before lurching away from me, kicking up a fountain of water as she swims away.

It’s futile. I push off the wall of the pool, and with one stroke I’m already caught up to her. She yelps when I curl my hand around her ankle. My smirk stays pasted to my face as she struggles against it, but she can’t move an inch as I float in the water, my grip keeping her in place.

Fuck, just holding her ankle feels so damn good, so soft and slicked from the pool water.

I give her a tug. Her body slides through the water back to me. I plant my palm on the top of her matted hair and dunk her underneath, just like she did to me.

The soles of her feet glide against the jagged muscles of my abs as she kicks me away. The sensation sends a bolt of arousal straight to my cock.

Scarlett slinks out of my grip and surges back up. With a quick kick of her legs underwater, she pushes herself up like a jump. For a split second I’m totally mesmerized as her torso comes into view, and my brain scatters at the sight of her ribcage, the dip of her waist, and a glimpse of underboob that almost gives me a heart attack.

The total collapse of my defenses lets her close the distance between us and plant both of her hands onto the top of head.

Now that I see it coming, I could easily tense my muscles and resist, but I’m more than happy to let her push my head underneath, and drag her down with me.

The water rushes in above us to fill the space our bodies just occupied as we plunge deeper, tangled together. In the uncoordinated jumble of our limbs, her leg hooks around my waist, and I can’t resist shaping its curve with the palm of my hand.

One of her hands plants on the plane of my chest while another traces the deep-cut lines of my abs. Is it just an innocent, incidental touch while we’re horsing around, or is she taking advantage of the plausible deniability to take liberties with my body like I’m doing with hers?

Her palm slides off my chest, to the side. It slides under my arm and grazes over the spot on my body where the memory of her is inked into my skin. The outlines of the tattoo burn against my flesh, the fingers of the girl who inspired it dancing over them without her knowing.

My hand traces the shape of her hip one more time before continuing down the length of her leg, landing on her knee where I tighten my grip.

Fuck. The thought of curling my grip tightly around her two knees and pressing them apart, spreading her legs open for me, rattles through my brain. Electricity crackles in my blood, and it feels like the water between our bodies—where there’s any space left—could start boiling.

I wish for a set of fucking gills so we could be like this forever. Underwater, our inhibitions melted away, our hands exploring each other’s bodies, reveling in the moment that feels like enough of a step outside of reality to do what we’d never dare to do otherwise.

Instead, we both have to come up for air.

But I have one more excuse to touch Scarlett.

I loop my arm around her waist, pulling her flush against me so I can swim us both to the edge of the pool by kicking my legs.

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