Page 49 of Next in Line
She’s ditched her snowsuit and is dressed in a pair of gray leggings, a sweater, and a thermal vest. In her little snow boots, she looks like she could actually be a ski bunny, but the reality of today has me knowing otherwise. She hands over a steaming mug of hot chocolate, and I take a small sip.
“Is this spiked?” I ask, feeling a faint burn down my throat.
She nods with a grin. “I found some Baileys in the cupboard. They won’t miss a couple of shots.”
I take another fortifying sip, the sweet liquid warming my insides as Maggie positions herself beside me to enjoy the sunset. Breathing a heavy sigh, she states sadly, “I’m afraid snowboarding isn’t in my future, Sam.”
I have to bite back my laughter because she’s asserting it as if I didn’t know. “Yeah, sparky…I have to say you weren’t exactly a natural out there today.”
She giggles around a sip. “But I tried. You can’t say I didn’t try.”
“You tried like hell,” I confirm. “Honestly, I can’t believe you wanted to go back out after lunch. I thought for sure you were going to quit on me.”
“I’m no quitter!” She furrows her brow seriously, and I can’t help but think of the fact that she’s most likely applying that same logic to her ex as well. “But maybe I should have quit earlier because my muscles are killing me.”
She moves to rub her shoulder, and I look past her at the hot tub nearby. “You know what feels great after a long day on the snow?”
She looks over her shoulder at where I’m looking and nods. “Good idea! I’ll go get my suit and some towels.” She turns to walk away but halts in her tracks when I call out her name.
“Maggie.” She looks over her shoulder at me. “I thought you were looking for adventure.”
“I am,” she replies with a frown.
I move past her, walking backward toward the hot tub to open the lid. Setting my mug down, I dip my hand in to test the temperature and then fling some water at her. “Then break some rules with me.”
In one swift motion, I tug my shirt off over my head and smile broadly at Maggie’s shocked expression. Her eyes fall to my chest, and I have to admit, I get a deep satisfaction over seeing a young, beautiful woman like her staring at me. I undo my boots and kick them off to the side and move to my jeans next.
“You’re nuts!” Maggie exclaims, turning around just as I push my pants and boxers down to the ground. “And apparently not at all shy.”
I hop over the edge of the hot tub and sink down into the warmth, letting the water soothe my sore muscles. It may not be the hot spring, but with this kind of view, I’m not mad at it.
I head over to the control panel and turn on the jets, then sit back in a corner spot and let the firm stream pound into my back muscles. Groaning loudly, I say, “It feels really good, sparky.”
Maggie turns to look back at me, her cheeks red and not just from the cold. She walks over and looks down into the water, dipping her finger in gingerly.
“Why are you acting all shy now?” I ask because her demeanor last night was anything but shy.
“I’m not,” she replies like a reflex. Her eyes cast off into the distance for a moment as if she’s thinking seriously about something.
I move closer to her. “Last night you propositioned me, this morning you told me to get condoms…and now tonight, you’re being shy? What gives?”
She bites her lip, her brows furrowed deep in thought as she stares down at me with an expression I can’t quite place. She’s most likely wondering how she can snap photos of herself naked in a hot tub and send them to her ex to make him jealous. Even though she forgot about her phone for a minute last night, today, I’ve caught her snapping selfies when she thought I wasn’t looking. I never called her out on it because it was the gut-check moment I needed to realize that even after I said all those things to Maggie in the kitchen, she’s no different than any other girl I’ve hooked up with before. She is temporary and fleeting, and all I want is to see her naked with me in this hot tub.
Without warning, I bolt over the edge of the hot tub and grab Maggie around the waist. Her hot chocolate goes falling to the snowy ground as I lift her over the side and into the steaming water still wearing her clothes and boots.
“You dick!” she cries and bats me away as she grapples to get her feet under her in the water. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting you out of your head!” I reply with a smile, and splash some water at her.
“I was going to get in…I was just going to go get us towels first.”
She splashes me back, and I can’t help but laugh at her angry little face. She looks like a wet puppy pouting in a bathtub as her clothes cling uncomfortably to her body. She manages to slip out of her now-soaked puffy vest and flings it over the edge.
“God, I still have my boots on,” she groans and reaches underwater to pull them off. She gets a hold of one, brings it to the surface, and dumps the water out right in front of my face. “These boots were expensive,” she states, glaring daggers at me.
“They’ll survive,” I reply, spreading my arms out wide on the sides of the hot tub to enjoy the show of her removing her clothing.
My amusement is immediately halted when Maggie glares straight at me, stands up, and peels her drenched shirt over her head to reveal her petite breasts covered in a black lace bra. She flings the wet fabric over the edge and locks eyes with me.
