Page 16 of Meet Me in the Valley
Her arms circle the water, a way to keep herself warm and to keep afloat. I look on with disbelief, and a bit of adoration at her effort to stay in the frigid water. But when her eyes dance with mischief, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip, I know I’m about to get an earful of taunting.
“Bet you’re too much of a pussy to get in here.”
There it is.
I accepted her challenge before it even leaves her lips. We lock eyes, and I grab a fistful of my hoodie from the back, pulling it over my head along with my shirt. Sharp, cold air hits my bare chest, contracting the muscles in my stomach at the drop in temperature.
Tia leisurely swims around to keep her body warm, but her impish gaze doesn’t leave mine. I shake my head with a laugh, unbuttoning the fly on my jeans and pulling down the zipper until I’m in nothing but my black briefs.
“You’re enjoying this way too much.” Shaking my head at her taunting nature. A minx if there ever was one.
“Oh, don’t I know it, Harper.” Her laugh vibrates through the stillness of the night, wrapping us in the easiness that always seems to find us. Just like it did the very first night here at Torren’s spot.
My thumbs slip under the band of my briefs, and when Tia refuses to look away, I pull them down without a second thought. With only the light of the moon, I’m mostly covered under the night sky, but I’m just as shocked as Tia when I look down between my legs.
I’m hard.
Tia’s lips form a soft O, her eyes going wide as she stares at my length. I catch the way her throat works as she swallows, and the sight alone makes me twitch down there. Impure thoughts slam into me like a freight train, filthy and unstoppable. Confused and strangely aroused, I dive into the lake, the cold slamming into me harder than any guilty conscience could.
By the time I resurface, I’m raking in gulps of air to reset my lungs. It’s not my first time taking a swim in this lake, but it’s definitely the first time since being this cold. Disoriented, I blink the thick drops of water that clump my eyelashes together, treading in a circle to find Tia.
I find her smiling, then splashing me with a whip of water like she’s five years old. “Real mature,” I sputter, swimming toward her and shaking out my hair in her face. I’m careful not to swim too close—being naked and all.
Thankfully, she puts a little distance between us, but her eyes are still bright with mirth.
The cold is long forgotten. We move through the water in an easy, comfortable silence, our bodies fully adjusted to the chill. The lake feels almost warm now, loosening the tightness in my muscles as we wade deeper. I drift toward a shallower spot where my toes find purchase as they sink into the soft, mossy lakebed.
“What’s going on with Isabel?” Tia questions me with a sort of sharpness in her tone. She sees the confusion on my face, but continues to stare at me with a pointed gaze.
“How do you know if something is going on with Isabel?” I retort, slicking my wet hair back and out of my face. I catch her eyes lingering—first on my arms, then on my mouth, her lips parting just enough to notice. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s checking me out. Same as she did back on the dock when I peeled off my clothes. And I don’t know what to do with how that makes me feel.
“I know things. I just want you to be careful. She’s not another one of your casual playthings.” I laugh with disbelief, searching her eyes for sarcasm. Waiting for the punchline. When it doesn’t come, I rear back at her seriousness, my smile falling from my face.
“Since when do you care about my playthings?”
“I don’t know, since Isabel is our friend and not just some random girl you picked up off the street? I ignored the receptionists even though I didn’t fully agree with you involving girls from work—but Isabel is a friend. I don’t want you fucking up the dynamics of the friend group by hooking up with her.” Tia’s tone is stern and clipped.
Annoyance bubbles in my chest, sharp and rising. Jaw tight, fists clenched, I dunk my head under the water, trying to drown the heat building inside me.
I hear what Tia’s saying. And maybe that’s the worst part—the frustration comes from knowing there’s truth in it. Isabel’sbeen my friend for a long time. Longer than Tia, if we’re being technical about it. The urge to tell her that is on the tip of my tongue, but that’s not us.
We never fight. Hardly even argue for real. Sure, we throw jabs and give each other shit, but this? This undercurrent of judgment radiating off her has me grinding my teeth.
As I come up for air, my eyes flutter open, only to find Tia closer to me, standing almost toe to toe. The moon beams reflect off her wet collarbones, leading down to the swell of her breasts that rise and fall with each breath she takes.
She’s under the water just enough to cover anything that could lead my mind further astray. I recognize her beauty. My best friend has always been a stunner, there’s no question there.
But her eyes flicker—seriousness giving way to lustful possession in a single blink. If I hadn’t been watching her so closely, I would’ve missed it.
“Wait a second,” I rasp. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”
Now she’s the one who’s rearing back, looking at me like I’ve just spoken another language. Possessive hazel eyes turn to dark pools of annoyance.
Now this I can handle.
This is familiar. Whatever weird lustful, desire-filled gaze she was casting my way had my brain going haywire.
“Of course you’d make this about you. You’re such a dick,” Tia taunts, splashing water into my face. A smirk tugs at my mouth before I can stop it, and just like that, we drift back toward something that feels like normal.
