Page 69 of Half Baked

After a few more questions about how many episodes there will be and what we are making, everyone returns to their plates, the normalcy of the exchange reassuring me further. But before dropping his focus to his meal once again, Hayden lifts my hand and brushes a kiss along the back of it.

He’s achingly sweet, I’m not sure how I ever missed that detail about him. Or maybe I just never gave him the chance before. But Hayden doesn’t hold it against me, he seems to appreciate my stubborn heart.

I watch his lips move across my skin and feel a thrill run up my arm. Even after he releases my hand, I still feel him there. I feel that tender kiss all through dinner.

And when dinner comes to a close, and the crowd thins out, Hayden leans over until his lips just barely brush my ear and asks, “How about a swim?”

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Hayden growls, rising up from the water to lean his arms on my float. The side of the striped ring dips from the weight and a rush of water hits my skin.

“Why is that?” I look to the side, taking in the way the water beads off his broad, tanned shoulders. His hair is slicked back, and there’s a mischievous glint in his eye.

He looks so natural in the water, like this is actually where he belongs—not on land. Lifting my hand that’s dangling in thepool, I drag my fingers up his jawline. His perfectly chiseled jawline.

In a swift movement, he catches my wrist and flips my hand up so he can place a kiss in my palm. And just as my heart is fluttering from the gesture… he yanks.

I tumble off the raft into the water, slipping fully beneath the surface in my surprise. Orienting myself, I rise and slam both hands against Hayden, not moving him in the slightest. Instead, he guides me backwards until I’m pressed against the edge of the pool and his arms have me trapped from either side.

He dips his head, so his lips are against my ear. “You’re going to be the death of me because I think you knew exactly what you were doing, putting this tiny little bikini on.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I blink innocently.

“Oh, you don’t, Poppy Seed?” There’s a challenge in Hayden’s voice, causing a stir low in my center. He wraps his arms around me, slipping a finger under the string at my neck.

“You’re going to have to tell me,” I whisper, my own hands coming around his waist beneath the surface.

“You, pretty girl, are my own personal siren, luring me in and leaving me helplessly at your mercy.”

I raise my chin until our lips nearly brush together. “Show me.”

“You know we have an audience, right?”

“I don’t care?—”

Smack.

A volleyball sails off the back of Hayden’s head.

“Romeo, we need a sixth,” Tripp calls from across the pool.

Apparently, while we’ve been busy whispering sweet nothings to one another, they’ve gotten a net set up across the water. Nash, Jamie, and Tripp stand on one side, Wes and Beckett on the other.

“Sounds like he’s referring to you,” I tease, giving him a shove towards the guys.

Just before Hayden swims away, I hear a mumble of profanity under his breath. Chuckling, I pull myself up and sit on the side of the pool.

Stevie drops into place beside me, her feet kicking back and forth below the water. “I’m glad you haven’t needed that scrunchie.”

“Me too.”

“Having fun?” Ivy asks me as she and Wren join us at the pool’s edge.

“What’s not fun about that?” I motion to the fit, shirtless men throwing their bodies through the water before us.

“And things with Hayden?”

I’m silent for a moment, continuing to watch the game. Hayden lunges out of the water, the muscles in his back rippling as he spikes the ball down across the net. As it soars towards Nash and Jamie, they dive for it at the same time. They both miss, splashing under the water and the ball landing between them.

Wes lets out a whoop, turning to high five Beckett as Jamie comes back up with Nash in a headlock. Behind them, Tripp is already reaching for the ball to pass it back over to the opposing team.

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