Page 15 of The Red Zone
A surge of heat trudged through my veins at his snide tone. I must’ve been out of my damn mind thinking we could spark up a chit-chat in passing without wanting to gouge each other’s eyeballs out.
“The only thing I’ll be convincing you of, is moving out of my pool house. You’re already three weeks in… seems you’re overstaying your welcome a bit, huh?”
The teeniest, tiniest knot he made with his eyebrows ignited a hum of triumph in my chest. Funny how quickly hatred can be turned into joy in a few seconds flat. Especially where he was involved.
Even decades later, pissing him off was still my favorite pastime. Nostalgic looking back on it now, but somewhat alarming knowing little has changed between us in over a decade.
“If you want me to leave, kick me out.”
Any other time, I would’ve jumped at the chance, but right now I needed him to take onesmallstep backward so his heels were lined up with the edge of the pool. I couldn’t make it too obvious, though, or else he’d catch on.
Rocking on my heels, I gave him my best attempt at a genuine smile before taking a small step forward. “What would be the fun in that?”
As if he knew my inner thoughts, he shuffled backward just enough for me to execute what I’d set out to do. I could practically taste my victory at this point.
Sweet… it definitely tasted sweet.
When he peered down at me, I looked up at him with big fake doe eyes before briefly dropping my line of sight to his lips, then back up again.
“You’re acting weird.”
Looking back down at his mouth again, I lingered longer this time before lowering my voice, “I told you. There’s something I’ve been wanting—thinking about—for a while now.” I placed one hand lightly against his chest.
October raised an eyebrow, tilting his head downward so that his face was only millimeters from mine. “What are you doing, Mae?”
The small pocket of air between our lips grew more enticing by the second. It was almost as if there was an unwanted devil on my shoulder whispering twisted temptations into my ear that I had to fight away.
Just close the distance.
Haven’t you ever stopped to wonder what his lips might taste like?
Do it. Kiss him.
Leaning into the devilish taunts, I inched forward just enough that our lips brushed together as the next word spilled from my lips. “This.”
Knowing his stupid boy brain was caught in the wave of lust, I made my move before his football player reflexes could catch up. With a hand still on his chest, I pushed against his pecs and watched in amusement as he stumbled back into the deep end of the pool—with enlarged eyes, arms winding in circles, and all.
With a thunderous splash, I was doubled over laughing while trying to catch my breath. I watched as October’s head popped up above the surface followed by him spitting out a mouthful of water.
Hhis eyes ignited with fury as he treaded in place. “You bitch.”
“I might beabitch, but I’m certainly notyourbitch,” I chided, a coy grin spreading from ear to ear. “Best birthday present a girl could ever ask for.”
“My phone was in that that bag.”
Oh? The one that was still on his shoulder when I pushed him in? Too bad, so fucking sad.
“You’re rich. Buy a new one.”
I could’ve sworn I heard him mumble something along the lines of, “God, I hate you.”, under his breath.
“What was that?” I asked with a sarcastic smile.
“You know exactly what I said.”
“In that case… likewise.” I leveled my gaze at him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be masturbating for the rest of the afternoon. So, if you need me… don’t.”
I was attempting to unnerve him during a moment of weakness, but instead of getting flustered by my bluntness like I expected him to, he chuckled as he flicked the water out of his hair, giving me an amused expression.
