Page 23 of The Heartbreakers
Suddenly, I found myself repeating Oliver’s words. “What’s the difference between this and a bikini?”
“Stella, you are wearing a lacy bra!” Drew bent over and hissed in my ear.
“Are you guys coming in or what?” JJ shouted from the pool. I glanced over to see that all of the Heartbreakers were in the pool. Oliver had pulled off his wet clothes with the exception of his swimming trunks and left them in a sopping pile on the edge. They were waiting for us to join them.
“Don’t worry, Drew. With you around, I’m going to be stuck a virgin until I’m thirty.” With that, I left my brother by the table, strutted over to the pool, and plunged in.
The water had a sharp bite, and I felt the hairs on my arms stand up as I sank effortlessly. Bubbles rushed up around me, making it feel as if I had jumped into a fizzy bottle of champagne. I floated at the bottom for a moment with my eyes shut tight before pushing off and springing toward the surface. The tight pressure on my lungs released when I gasped for a deep breath.
“Surprise attack!” someone shouted, and I was dunked back under the water as quickly as I had popped up.
After I struggled back to the surface and pulled the hair out of my eyes, I found a smirking JJ in front of me. “Jerk,” I said and splashed him in the face. He just smiled, looked down at my bra, and then winked at me. He was lucky that his back was facing Drew, who was trying to demonstrate that looks could kill.
Then an idea popped into my head. I swam closer to JJ and trailed a hand down his bicep, my nail digging into his skin. “You have such big muscles,” I told him, and JJ’s mouth slowly dropped open in disbelief. I moved closer and slid my arm around his neck. Leaning in, I whispered in his ear, “But my brother’s are even bigger and he’d love to kick your ass.”
Before JJ knew what was happening, I wrapped both of my hands around his neck and shoved him under the water with all my strength. When he came back up, coughing on water, he was greeted by a room full of laughter. “Surprise attack,” I told him innocently.
I looked over at Drew, who was now smiling ear to ear. He swam over to me and pulled me into a headlock. “Have I ever told you that I have the best sister in the whole world?” he asked as he gave me a noogie.
“Ow! Drew, stop!” I shouted, trying to squirm away from his knuckles. Chuckling, he let me go.
JJ, who had finally stopped coughing, turned to me. “You’re sneaky,” he said with a smile, “but I can totally take your brother.”
“Just like you beat him atCoDand Xander beat him in a breath-holding contest?” I asked.
“Hey!” Xander protested. “Asthma over here!”
Shrugging his shoulders, JJ responded. “We just lost to save your brother the embarrassment.”
Xander looked horrified. “Wait, that’s not true! I never said—”
But Drew wasn’t paying attention. “Is that a challenge?” he asked, his eyes lighting up.
“Damn straight it is. Chicken fight. Best two out of three.”
“I won’t need three tries, but okay,” Drew agreed. “If I win, you have to admit that I am stronger, better looking, and overall more talented than the Heartbreakers,” he said, grinning. Alec raised an eyebrow at him. “Minus Alec, of course,” Drew apologized to him. “He’s cool.”
“Fine,” JJ said, nodding his head in acknowledgment. “But if I win, I get a kiss from Stella.”
I let out a snort, knowing that Drew would never agree to that. But then one shocking word left his mouth. “Deal,” my brother said and held out his hand for JJ to shake.
“Hey!” I shouted angrily and sent a spray of water in Drew’s direction. “You can’t offer me up like a piece of meat. I’m not kissing him!”
My gaze darted to Oliver for a split second, and my heart thumped when I noticed that he didn’t look happy with the situation either.
“You won’t be kissing him,” Drew said confidently, “because we won’t lose. Now get up here.” Water rushed around his neck as he sank down so I could easily get up. Suddenly, a very fun game turned deadly serious.
Grudgingly, I swam over to my brother and situated myself on his shoulders, just like little kids do with their fathers. Drew stood, and I was raised up out of the pool, streams of water droplets cascading off me.
“If we lose,” I warned him, “you’re paying for my therapy sessions.”
My brother grabbed my legs and held on tight. “Stella, when do we ever lose?” he questioned.
“Never,” I responded and ground my teeth.
Alec, who was almost the same size as JJ, was too big for his friend’s shoulders, and Oliver refused to participate, so Xander faced me in the air a few moments later.
“No biting, nail digging, hair pulling, or cheap ball shots.” Xander recited the rules as I stared him down.
