Page 42 of Those Summer Nights (Sweet Cravings 2)

I laughed. This was going to be interesting.

"Clint!" the girl yelled from across the table. "Let's play strip ping pong."

Hell no. I looked up at my lifeguard and his eyes locked with mine.

"I think that's a great idea," he said. A smile cut across his face.

Holy shit, he wants to see me naked.

Chapter 12

Wednesday

I was about to protest, but I stopped. No one had ever looked at me the way that my lifeguard was looking at me right now. He wanted to see me naked. And I definitely wanted to see him naked, even though I was trying really hard to not want that. Friends were supposed to hang out in clothes. But I never had a friend who looked like J.J. How much could it hurt to see him completely naked just once? Probably not much. Honestly, I was more concerned about the fact that he’d see me naked. Bathing suits were revealing but…not as revealing as no clothing.

I bit my lip and glanced at Clint. He and his girlfriend were probably too drunk to ever remember this. Besides, I was really good at ping pong. There was no way I'd actually have to get naked. J.J. would be the one stripping. So in my case…no harm no foul.

"What are the rules?" I asked. I can’t believe I’m even asking this. Yesterday I had sworn off all men and now I was standing here with a ping pong paddle weighing the odds of how likely I was to see two dicks. So much for my diet.

"How about every time a team scores five points, each person on the opposite side has to lose one article of clothing?" My lifeguard smiled at me. "And once one person on a

team gets fully naked, the other team wins."

I didn't know why he was smiling. He was about to lose horribly. Like the worst loss in the history of losses. I was about to put him to shame. I gripped my paddle a little tighter and picked up the ball. "Game on," I said. I tossed the ball toward them and we began to volley for the serve. Clint and I won easily. This was going to be fantastic.

I served first. It hit the table and sailed between the two of them. My second serve was just as good but my lifeguard effortlessly returned it and Clint missed. I looked up at my lifeguard and he shrugged.

"I told you not to be so cocky, Jellyfish Girl."

I laughed. It was one lucky shot. He was the cocky one. "But..."

"Oh, did I forget to tell you that I'm actually really good at ping pong?"

Seriously? Oh fudgesicles! I shook my head and tried to ignore him. He was just trying to get in my head. He sucked at ping pong, I knew it for a fact. I took a deep breath and served again. Clint flubbed the shot. "Clint, what the hell?"

He laughed. "I don't have any body issues. Besides, everyone here has already seen me naked."

"Well I haven't."

"Maybe it's your lucky day then."

Fuck. I picked the ball up off the ground. “Just because you like running around naked doesn’t mean we have to lose. Don’t you like winning?”

Clint shrugged. “After this game I’m getting naked either way.” He winked at his girlfriend.

Good God. I was going to have to steal all the balls that came his way. He was completely off his rocker. And I couldn’t send it over to J.J. anymore. The whole left side of the table was off limits now. I served it at Clint's girlfriend. She wasn't as bad as I was hoping. Clint lost us the next two points as well.

I picked up the ball and threw it at my lifeguard. They had gotten their first five points.

"Take it off!" he yelled and high fived Clint's girlfriend.

Clint pulled off his shirt. Of course he didn't have any body issues. He was a lifeguard. He was fit and tan and almost had as nice of a six pack as my lifeguard. Stop staring at him, you’re being so awkward.

"Hey, Stalker Girl," Clint whispered to me. "We got this. They're both going to be incredibly distracted now. It's all part of the plan."

"Well, we could just beat them." Ass hat.

"But where's the fun in that?" He winked at me and turned back to the table.

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