Page 45 of Enemies to Lovers

‘We should do water games,’ Adonis announces, taking in the feral performance we’ve just given him. ‘You guys are crazy!’

I flop down on a chair with my towel, catching my breath. Alex and Laurie are seated at one end of the pool, out of the way of the commotion that has occurred, and Jamie swims to go and sit with them.

‘Only if I’m on a team with these guys,’ Jamie says. ‘I want to whoop your asses!’

I slap my thigh, like what he’s said is the funniest thing in the world.

‘Me, Adonis and Kate against you three losers?’ I ask. ‘That’s barely a competition.’

‘And Mum,’ Laurie says. ‘You have to have Mum on your side, too.’

From her sunbed, Mum tuts, ‘I can actually hear you, Laurence, thank you very much. I’m not that much of a handicap, am I?’

Laurie and I look at each other, and I make azip-across-the-mouth motion. Mum is, actually, that much of a handicap when it comes to water games, as we have all learned through experience. On land? She’s a beast. In the water? It’s actually embarrassing.

‘He’s trying to get in your head, Mum,’ I say. ‘Don’t fall for it. You can be our mascot if you want; even three-against-three, we’ll win.’

‘Game. On,’ Jamie yells, standing up and swiping a finger across his neck, as if we’re dead men walking already.

‘Right. A simple relay to start,’ Kate shouts, sitting in the shade with a whistle and a lemonade. She’s assigned herself judge status, so it’s two-against-three, with Dad prepared to help us out if we ask nicely enough.

‘I’m in a very meaty bit of my book, you see,’ he says. ‘But I’ll help if you need me to.’

I could never tear him away from his reading, so Adonis and I are going to do our best as a two.

Kate continues, ‘Everyone has to swim to the end of the pool and back, with Adonis going twice.’

‘Pfffft,’ yells Jamie. ‘Easy!’

‘Now, now, Kramer,’ Kate warns him. ‘This is only a warm-up game. Don’t get too cocky.’

As she sayscocky, Jamie looks at me and winks. I screw up my face, making a show of being unimpressed.

‘Ready?’ asks Kate, and we tell her we are. ‘Go!’

Adonis dives into the pool, swimming against Laurie in long, smooth strokes that put my brother to shame.Adonis gets the lead and keeps it, getting back to tag me in seconds, before Laurie can tag Alex.

Alex is a good swimmer because he’s strong, even if he’s not the leanest man around. I’m trying my best to do big arms and measured breaths, but by the time I get to the other end of the pool and flip round to head back, Alex has the lead and I don’t swim so much as flail to catch up.

But I do catch up. And Jamie and Adonis dive into the pool for the final lap in seamless synchronicity, absolutely neck-and-neck.

‘Go on, Adonis,’ I cry, as the boys yell their support for Jamie.

At the far end of the pool, Jamie and Adonis are perilously close to each other, like they could physically bump into one another.

‘Did Jamie just hit Adonis?’ Alex asks, as they reach the wall and push back.

‘I don’t know,’ I say, watching Jamie take the lead. ‘Surely not …’

Adonis drops back slightly, but suddenly Jamie lurches in the water, coming to a shuddering stop, where Adonis overtakes.

‘Hey,’ yells Jamie, standing up in the pool. ‘You can’t do that!’

Adonis reaches the wall, Kate shouts, ‘And we have a winner’ and as he clambers out, he grins widely, happy and satisfied.

‘We won!’ I tell him, giving him a high-five.

‘We won,’ he repeats. He reaches over into the water to where Jamie is saying something about cheating – offering a hand that Jamie bats away.

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