“Yeah.” I look to her. “You want to come back to The White House?”
“Definitely.”
When we get back to the house, we find Datson already back from the Prickly Pear and playing Xbox in the living room.
“Oh, man, that’s old school. What game is that?” Sydney walks right in and sits down on the couch.
“Tecmo Bowl. It’s awesome.” I tip my head at Datson. “I demand a rematch from this afternoon. You want winner, Payne?”
He shakes his head. “Gonna hang with my girl.”
Chloe and Nathan join us despite acting like they want to be alone. I’m seated next to Sydney. She leans forward watching the game with rapt interest. I get a little too distracted with her beside me. The feel of her leg resting next to mine, the smell of her hair—coconut, I think. I’d really like my hands back—they’re itching to touch her.
“Damn. I’ve never seen anyone lose so fast.” Datson punches me in the arm and then looks to Nathan. “You’re up.”
Nathan lifts a hand. “Shaw, toss me the controller.”
I do and then focus my attention on Sydney.
“You’re terrible.” Those dark eyes are lit with laughter at my loss.
“It’s an old game, I’m still getting the hang of it.”
She doesn’t look convinced. I lay a palm on her thigh and squeeze playfully. “Let’s see how you do.”
Her gaze goes to my hand and then back to my face. “Bring it on, Tanner.”
“Me and Sydney have next game,” I tell the guys and then lean closer to Sydney. “You’re the only person who calls me that. Well, besides my family.”
“Should I call you Shaw?”
“Nah, I like it.” I stroke her smooth skin lightly with my thumb, not moving my hand up to creeper level but exploring the chemistry between us. As I expected, it’s off the charts.
After video games, where I may or may not have let her win (cough, cough, I did not, she beat me straight up), we head out to the pool. Sydney didn’t have a suit so she’s in one of my shirts and boxers. Nathan and I show the girls how to play water ball. What is usually an intense competition between guys is more of a friendly, flirty game. Sydney and I use every opportunity to touch and splash one another. After we score, she throws her arms around my neck and squeals in victory.
We’re killing them. Sydney is as competitive as I am and knowing that every score is another chance that she might hug me in celebration makes me an impossible man to beat. I’m good with incentives.
“All right, we give,” Nathan says after the second game. “We’re going in to watch a movie or something.”
Code, they’re going to make out.
“Thanks for the game.” I wrap my arms around Sydney’s waist underwater and pull her against me. “Are you good staying out here for a while?” I ask her as they climb out and start toward the house. “I love it out here at night.”
“Definitely.” She leans her head back against my shoulder.
The water is perfect in the warm night air. Clear skies mean there’s even a few stars out.
She sighs. “This house, this pool, it’s amazing. I’m insanely jealous.”
“You have a standing invitation.”
“Do you think your roommates would object if I started coming over every day to use this pool?” She swims away from me and then turns over on her back, floating and staring up at the sky.
“Nah, we’re pretty good with hot girls showing up to use the pool whenever they want.”
She tilts her head to look at me and snorts. “Of course.”
I skim my hand through the water and interlock our fingers, using the leverage to pull her back to me. Water drips from her hair down her face and lands on the corner of her mouth. With the pad of my thumb, I wipe it away and then slowly bring my lips to hers.
4
Sydney
My heart is beating so fast I’m certain Tanner can feel it as I lace my fingers behind his neck and press my body against his. His kiss is tender at first. Soft lips and a gentle touch of his thumb at my chin. As I arch into him and tilt my head, he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss.
There’s a niggling doubt in the back of my mind that worries me we’re moving too fast, but everything with Tanner feels so natural. Honestly tonight didn’t feel like a first date. It’s like I’ve known him forever.
He inches back and we stare into each other’s eyes, chests rising and falling with labored breaths. “Do you want to go inside?”
Nodding, I press my lips back to his and tighten my grip on him. It’s so easy to get carried away with him. His fingers slide underneath my shirt to my lower back and he brings our bodies together from chest to knees. An excited shiver shoots up my spine.
His mouth leaves mine and he places warm, wet kisses to my neck. He shifts and his dick, thick and hard, grazes my sensitive core. It’s enough to jolt me back to reality.
“Tanner?”
“Hmmm?” He continues his exploration of my neck with his mouth.
“That feels so good.” My eyes close and I reach for my resolve, barely grasping it. “Wait. I need to tell you something before this goes any farther.”
Peeling his lips away, he straightens, and his brows raise slightly. “You’re married with three kids and a dog named Fido?”
I push at his chest. “No, of course not. The dog’s name is Winston, of course.”
He smirks.
“I like you a lot and tonight has been… amazing, but I sort of have a five-date rule.”
I get a confused stare in response.
“As in, I don’t sleep with guys until we’ve been on five dates.” I cringe a bit. There’s really no good way to tell someone that you’re not down for having sex but you’d like to keep kissing them and maybe rubbing up against them. “It’s just, I’ve done the whole first night hookup, and it’s not for me.”
“Okay. That’s it?”
I nod and smile, thankful to have that out in the open. “I would love to go inside and keep hanging out. Really, tonight has been amazing and I don’t want it to end.”
“Okay, yeah, cool.” He swims to the side and pulls himself up and then holds out a hand to help me.
Later I will replay this scene over and over in my head and think of all the different ways I could and should have worded this conversation. Hindsight is a real bitch.
Tanner and I go in and dry off. I change back into my own clothes and find him splayed out on his bed with his phone in hand. He’s in shorts that are low on his hips and a faded basketball T-shirt. When I walk in, he looks up and smiles.
“Ready to show me your skills again?” He sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed. I’m trying to figure out what he means when he adds, “Datson finally relinquished the Xbox, so it’s all ours.”
“Oh, yeah, definitely.”
He grins and blows by me, flipping the light on the way out. He grabs two beers from the fridge and then we settle into the living room. The house is quiet, and we’re the only ones downstairs but we still sit side by side on the couch.