“What point?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Jade snaps, giving Fallon a look of warning. Pulling away from me, she says, “I’m going to get some water before the race.”
“Hold up,” I call after her. “I’ll go with you.” Catching up to Jade, we walk to the stands selling drinks. I hand over the dollar bills and grab two bottles for us. Handing Jade one, I ask, “So I guess it means you also didn’t sign up for the volleyball later?”
She takes a huge sip, then shakes her head.
“Good, you can be with me for that as well.”
Jade’s wet lips curve into a smile, and it has me staring like an idiot. All I can think of is how those lips felt against mine.
Yeah, Hunter. No use in pretending you don’t have the hots for Jade.
Wanting to know where her mind is at with what happened to Brady, so I don’t make a stupid move she’s not ready for, I ask, “How are you handling things after Colton’s visit?”
Jade gestures toward a tree. “Let’s get some shade.” When we sit down on the grass, she begins to pick at a blade. “I’m okay. I just hate that I didn’t know. I feel guilty for not seeing the signs.” She shrugs, a sad look washing over her face.
“It still hurts,” I state, wondering if she’ll ever get over what happened.
Jade brings her eyes up to mine. “I think a part of me will always grieve for Brady. He deserved so much more than what life gave him.”
“Yeah,” I agree with her. Stretching my legs out in front of me, I lean back on my elbows and let my eyes glance over the students and all the fun they’re having.
“But it’s in the past,” Jade surprises me by continuing. “It’s time for me to start living in the present.”
Our eyes lock, and an intense emotion passes between us.
It can’t just be me feeling this way, can it?
“The present’s a pretty good place to be,” I murmur.
“Yeah,” she breathes.
Our eyes remain locked until Mila suddenly asks, “Are you having a staring contest?”
We both quickly look away, and I climb to my feet. “Is it time for the race?”
“Yeah, I came to tell you.”
Passing the booth, I see Fallon managed to get Nate to take over from Jase. He spots us and calls out, “I hope you buy a ticket, Jade.”
“In your dreams, Nate,” I yell back, throwing my arm around Jade’s shoulders. I yank her to my side, and when she stumbles, her hand splays out across my abs, so she doesn’t lose her balance, and she lets out a burst of laughter.
“Mila, how about you?” Nate shouts.
Mila sticks her hand in the air, waving a little slip of paper, and yells, “Got my ticket. See you after the race.”
“Give me that ticket,” Jase growls, and he yanks it from her hands. Ripping it to shreds, he tosses the scraps in the first available bin. “Hell will freeze over before you kiss Nate fucking Sparks.”
“Hey!” Mila shrieks. She darts toward Jase and it has him grinning while he sprints away from her. “Just wait until I get my hands on you! You can’t run forever, Jase.”
I let out a chuckle as I watch Mila try to catch Jase. He keeps darting away from her.
“You think they’ll ever get together?” Jade asks. She wraps her arm around my lower back as we walk towards the stretch of lawn marked off for the race.
“One day,” I sigh. “Hopefully.”
“Yeah.”
When we get to the start line, an attendant ties one of my legs to Jade’s with a piece of fabric.
Mila finally gets to slap Jase upside the head as they come to stand next to us.
I glance down at Jade, and when she grins up at me, I wink at her. “We’re going to kick ass, right?”
“You bet.”
We wait for all the contestants to get ready, and I tighten my grip around Jade’s shoulders as we wait for the whistle to blow.
The shrill sound creates chaos as some manage to get away from the starting line while others trip and fall.
Jade and I manage just fine, but when Jase and Mila begin to overtake us, Jase and I try to push each other off balance. Jade’s laughter echoes over the field, and her hand grips hold of my shirt over my chest as she struggles to keep running.
Fallon and Kao come out of nowhere and race through the finish line. Kao immediately wraps Fallon in a hug. “Yassss, baby! That’s how it’s done.”
When Jade and I cross the line in second place, I pull her against my chest and press a kiss to the top of her head.
“That was so much fun,” she chuckles. When she tilts her head back, and I see the laughter shining from her eyes, everything feels perfect.
Chapter 19
HUNTER
This is easily one of the best days of my life.
When we get to the pool for the volleyball game, I have a permanent grin on my face. But when the girls walk in, only wearing bikini’s, the smile quickly fades, and I ask, “Don’t any of you own one-piece bathing suits?”
“What’s wrong with these?” Fallon asks.
“Skin,” I growl, and it draws a chorus of laughter from the girls.
“Come on, we need to get our heads in the game,” Mila says. “We can’t lose against Nate and Jessica’s team.”
Grabbing hold of my shirt, I pull it over my head and drop it by our towels. Turning back, I catch Jade staring at me… or rather my chest.
“Eyes on the ball, Jade,” I tease her before I dive into the water. Coming up for air, I wipe the drops from my face, and it’s in time to watch Jade jump in, sending a spray of water my way.
When her head pops above the water, I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her to the side. “Climb on my shoulders, monkey.”
“How?” she asks.
“Hold on.” Taking a deep breath, I duck under the water and come up between her legs. I almost swallow water as a thought I should not be thinking right now flashes through my mind.
Dirty and hot.
When I have Jade on my shoulders, I push her into the air as my head breaks through the water.
“Holy crap,” Jade shrieks, her arms wide at her sides to keep her balance. “This is so much harder than it looks.”
“Just find your balance. We have a minute.”
“Right.” Her hands alternate from almost yanking my hair out to twirling wildly in the air.
“Hook your feet behind his back,” Fallon calls out.
Jade listens and finally manages to find her balance, but it causes a problem for me, seeing as the warmth of her pussy is flush with my neck.
Jade’s pussy. Now there’s a thought.
“Hunter.”
“Hunter!”
“What?” I almost glance up but stop myself in time from throwing Jade off balance.
“The game’s about to start.”
“Oh, yeah.” I move us toward our position.
Jade squirms, shifting closer to me, and it only makes my focus snap from the game to the heat between her legs. I almost go under the water, but catch myself in time.
Oh God. I’m going to drown today.
I’m just glad my lower half is under the water because I’m hard as fuck.