Page 57 of The Friend Scheme
“Hey, stop. Let’s make it official. First to get the other in a headlock wins?”
I take him in. He’s buff, sure, but I’ve wrestled with Luke since I was a kid.
“What are the stakes?” I ask.
“Winner gets to decide what we do next time we hang out. Could be anything.”
“Deal.”
We get into position, facing each other, our hands up. I look into his eyes and am distracted for a second. They’re so pretty, such a delicate shade of light green. God. He’s so pretty, with his short, spiky hair and dangerous smile and that freaking body.
How did this even happen?
How did I end up here?
He takes advantage of my distraction, easily swatting my hands aside and then putting his hands on my shoulders.
He pushes me under.
I struggle, but it’s useless.
When his grip slackens, I kick off the bottom of the pool and tackle into him hard. He grunts and loses his balance. We tussle. I manage to get my hands on his shoulders, so I jump up and push down as hard as I can.
He barely budges. He just plants his feet, so instead of sinking under, I’m held up.
Defeated, I fall back down.
“Is that all you got?” he asks, then he laughs.
“Not even close. Wait, I have an idea, don’t move.”
I swim around, so I’m behind him. Slowly, I loop my arms under his, and squeeze his back to my chest. It feels really good, but I’m not going to think about that.
Not even a little.
Nope, not at all.
“What are you doing?” he asks. “This is…”
I jump forward and grip him like a koala, my legs looping around him. I didn’t want to hear the end of that sentence. I pull back hard, pushing my knees into him, making his spine arch. I twist to the side, trying my hardest to get him under.
He grunts and shrugs me off more roughly than before. I stand up, and he gives me an additional push on the chest for good measure. But he’s smiling, so I know it’s okay.
I totter back.
“Too rough?” I ask, and I grin at him. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re good. I just didn’t know you had that in you. Nice work.” He flicks my chest. “Try again. Really try and beat me, don’t hold back even a little. I can take it.”
“All right.”
I grab his wrists and try as hard as I can to bring them together. He grits his teeth and pulls his hands apart, easily overpowering me. His biceps bulge as he does it.
“Come on, try,” he says.
“I am!”
“Barely. Give me everything you’ve got, I want to see it.”
