Page 10 of Aim for Love

“Is it?”

“In my line of business, it is.”

I smile at him across my board and he smiles back across his. It’s suddenly like we’re sitting across from each other on a first date. Making small talk and learning each other’s body language.Shit. I want that to be true so badly it takes my breath away.

“What are you worried about right now?” he asks.

And I can’t tell him the truth, so I say, “That a water snake is going to slither up my pants.” It’s notuntrue.

Hunter throws back his head and laughs. “Don’t worry, I’d pull it out if it did.”

“You’re supposed to say there are no water snakes in this lake!” I conveniently ignore the mental image of Hunter sticking his hands down my pants. Was that flutter in my shorts from him or an actual creature floating around this lake? I decide to hoist myself back up on my board. It takes a few tries.

“Need a boost?” Hunter circles under his board and holds out his hand when I’m mid-way out of the water.

“Maybe,” I huff, clinging to my board with both arms and hoping it doesn’t flip. The next thing I feel is Hunter’s hand on my ass, shoving me up and onto the board. That time the flutter was definitely not a water snake.

Sitting with the board between my legs, I watch Hunter easily climb back onto his and try not to imagine what this metaphor would lead to if we were on a real date. Then he throws another smile over his shoulder at me and says, “Back to work.”

As he paddles away and Nora and Sophie show up to tease me about having a “moment” with my “fling,” I cling to thereminder about having fun. Because Hunter distracted me from my worries long enough for me to realize, I am.

five

HUNTER

I don’t go outwith the guys very often—I’d rather be reading a book at home with my beer on the side table—and when I do, we usually go to one of the bars in town that mostly locals frequent. Tonight, we’re at The Bivy, located in the tourist trap part of town up the mountain.

“What are we doing here?” I grumble to Scott as we’re walking in. Most of the guides are here, another reason I decided to come. One of the benefits ofnotbeing in charge at the adventure center is I get to be “just one of the guys.” I try to fit in, even if it means hiding my nerdy tendencies once in a while.

“Some of the girls suggested it,” replies Scott, who knows all about my nerdy and rule-following tendencies, which is why he didn’t tell me we were meeting up with some of the tour participants.

Of course.I catch sight of them now—there’s Mollie, Nora, and Sophie, a mom who appears to have left her family at the hotel, and a definitely underage teen girl I’ll have to keep an eye on. They’re all parked at a large table near the pool tables and wave their drinks at us as we come in.

Scott approaches the table fast and I notice he acknowledges Mollie and Nora first, putting a hand on both of their shoulders as he greets everyone else.Isn’t Nora engaged? Or is that the other one.I do a quick ring check and see that he has, at least, restrained his impulses enough to stick with the unattached women.

Biting off a sigh, I offer to get drinks for the table to hide how judgy I’m being. Scott’s a great guide, firm but kind about dangers and guidelines. He’s the same way in his personal life, laying out clear boundaries for the guys. Commenting on his rich and varied love life is a hard line and it’s not my business, anyway. Hopefully, he’s as clear about expectations with the women in his life. What do I care if he pursues Nora or Mollie or anyone else? Other than the fact that fraternization between guides and tour guests is against the rules. I’ve pointed this out before, and Scott laughed and said, “We’re not doing rocket science here.” He’d said it in front of Tom, who laughed with him.

Tom doesn’t run things the way I would, but he’s the boss and it’s working for him, so I try to shut up about things like rule-following.

I nod at Mollie across the table as I sit down. She smiles back shyly. The last time I saw her, she was soaking wet, every curve on her body outlined in a clingy fabric. Tonight, she’s wearing jeans and a drapey shirt that dips down to the tops of her breasts. Her short hair and dangling earrings draw attention to the exposed skin of her long neck.

She and Nora are polar opposites, sitting next to each other. I can’t predict which one Scott will go after—hell, knowing Scott, maybe he’ll convince them to share.

The idea makes me uncomfortable. Scott always tells me I miss out on life by following all the rules, and I tell him I’ll livea longer one because of it. We get along because we can agree to disagree on life philosophies.

Still, at the moment I wish I could channel some Scott and be less awkward. “How’s your beer?” I ask Mollie. She’s clutching a half-full pint glass.

“Good,” she replies, nodding. Then she scrunches up her nose and shakes her head. “I mean, I don’t like it.”

“Do you want me to get you something different? Maybe a cocktail?” I shout it over the loud bar.

Sophie, talking to Tyler, one of the other guides, shouts at Mollie, “Why don’t you move to the other side?” There’s an empty chair beside me.

Nora leans over to Mollie and I see her lips sound out what is very clearly the words, “Go get him.”

They’re going to be disappointed in the evening. Tom will never trust me to help run the business if I start breaking the rules. Chatting at a bar is one thing, and bringing a guest back to the house I live inwithmy boss is another.

The back of my neck feels hot as I imagine bringing Mollie to my room, though. What would she think of the tidy bookshelves lining the walls around my bed? “You haven’t left room for anything kinky,” Scott said when he saw what I’d built last summer.

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