Page 21 of The Catch

“I’m going to change,” Josh said to Cat. “You wanna borrow some clothes?” The air conditioning and his wet bathing suit had him shivering. She was wearing a lot less.

“Sure. Thank you.”

When he returned a few moments later, having swapped his bathing suit for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Cat was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the couch, dealing out a round of cards. He handed her a pair of cotton pajama pants that he hoped she would be able to roll into a comfortable fit and took the seat next to her, where she’d been collecting a hand for him.

The smile on her face proved she was taking this turn of events in stride, and he decided to be thankful that it looked like she was going to stay and let him spend a little more time with her, even if the agenda had changed.

When she was finished dealing, Dylan pointed to the bathroom. As she shut the door, he broke into a laugh. He stood from his chair and grabbed ahold of Josh’s shoulders, giving them a hard shake. “Man, I did not think you had it in you. I’m being serious here. When you two didn’t come back, I figured you were off getting ice cream cones and holding hands or some other benign shit. But you were about to lay it on that girl.”

“Knock it off, Dylan,” Josh warned, his previous ire coming back in full force. “I’m not kidding around. Watch your mouth around her.”

Dylan held up his hands in mock surrender, still laughing as he fell back into his chair. “All right, look, I’m sorry. I really am. If we had known, we would have found another place to be. Right, Shawn?”

“Absolutely. Cock-blocking was not part of our plan, buddy.”

“It’s fine. Just don’t be an asshole.” Josh’s warning was cut short when Cat appeared from the bathroom. His pants were rolled low on her hips, the legs cuffed to her shins. She had her bikini bottoms in her hand, and the thought of that thin fabric being the only thing that separated him from where he was supposed to be right now had him squirming in his seat. It was a test of his resolve not to kick his friends outside in the rain and carry her back to his bed.

Cat tossed her suit in the bag she’d brought and sauntered back to him, sitting close enough that her arm brushed his. “Tell me the rules,” she said to Shawn as they all took hold of their cards.

Josh listened half-heartedly to the instructions, having played this game before. Instead, he brooded into the drink he’d accepted from Dylan and stole glances at Cat. She still wore the top to her bathing suit, and his sweatshirt hung oversized and unzipped on her, leaving her tight stomach exposed. Despite the lecture that he’d just given Dylan, he couldn’t help but allow his eyes an impolite jaunt across her body, conjuring the taste of her skin on his tongue as he roamed.

He came back to the moment at hand when he noticed Shawn pouring her a double shot of scotch.

“I can get you something else to play the game with,” he offered. “We have beer.”

“No, this is fine.” She gave him a confident smile that made him believe she could probably handle it as well as the rest of them. “Besides, I don’t want to give you any excuses when I kick your ass.”

“Competitive little thing,” Shawn said, laughing. “I like it.”

He liked it too. Christ, she was being cool. As much as he wanted to finish what they’d started, watching her play cards in his pajamas, hanging out with his friends, was maybe turning him on more than touching her on the beach.

He could picture her beside him on all sorts of nights like this—sitting beside the campfire on Shawn’s annual birthday camping trip, lounging around on weekends watching baseball. She didn’t seem to have any trouble dealing with Dylan, and when she leaned her head onto his shoulder and laughed at one of Shawn’s Dad Jokes, he wanted to keep her more than ever.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer.

“I know you’re not trying to look at my cards, Josh.” She folded her hand on her lap and gave him a teasing scowl. He wanted to kiss it off her face.

“I told you I don’t cheat.”

“Actually, you said you would if you had to.”

She tipped her chin up at him, and her face was free of the conflict he usually saw there. It was a pure, unrestrained smile, and he felt himself falling as he imagined what it would be like to have that smile belong to him.

Dylan snickered into his beer, and Josh realized he’d been staring at her for more than a beat. It was his turn.

He cleared his throat and quickly threw a card onto the pile.

They played a few more hands of Shawn’s game, Josh’s lack of focus evident as he was knocked out almost immediately each time. Cat really was putting all of them to shame, but even with her winning streak, the scotch was getting to her. Her eyelids were heavy, and she sank further into his side.

“Joshua, you’ve earned the couch tonight,” Shawn said, throwing down his cards after his final loss. “Thanks for bringing your girl over here to hustle us.” He tossed a throw pillow at Josh’s head, stumbling his way into the bedroom to take the bed opposite where Dylan had already disappeared to after the last round.

“I should walk you home before your friends worry,” Josh said once they were alone. He regretted it as soon as he said it. He didn’t want her to leave.

“Wait until the storm lets up a little.” She looked out the sliding glass door at the rain. It was still coming down in sheets onto the balcony, and she sank down beside him, swiping the pillow that Shawn had thrown and pulling it beneath her head in his lap.

Josh wasn’t about to argue with that. He brushed at her hair with his fingers and watched her eyes close. “I’m sorry about how this turned out.”

“It’s okay.” She yawned. “It was fun.”

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