Deadly silent, Michelle stands up and then marches toward the back door. A moment later, she disappears into the house.
Danny spins toward me, accusation blazing in his eyes. “See what you did?”
“Are you kidding me? I just chose a random thing! Why on earth would you drink if you were trying to cover that up?”
“Yeah, seriously, dude,” Nick pipes up. “Why would you drink?”
Without another word, a red-faced Danny storms inside after his girlfriend, leaving me and Nick alone on the deck.
“Well, that sure was a fun game,” I say brightly.
That earns me a loud snort from Nick. But then his expression turns, a roguish gleam lighting his eyes. “Who says the game is over?”
“What’s the point?” I heave a sigh. “I haven’t done anything with my life. I couldn’t even drink on the skinny-dipping one, for fuck’s sake. Apparently I’m the least interesting person on the planet.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I have a feeling you’ve got a wild streak hiding beneath the surface, Poodle.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“I always call you that.” He appears genuinely puzzled that I’d object.
“Yeah, and I’ve always hated it.” I get up. “Anyway, game’s over. Help me clean up?”
“Nope.” He stands too, reaching for my arm. “Not until we cross at least one item off the list.”
The warmth of his fingers seeps into my flesh. I eye him warily, needing to tilt my head because he towers over me with that tall, athlete’s frame. “What list?”
“The list of things you’ve never done.” His lips curve teasingly. “So now take off your clothes.”
5
I gawk at him. “W-what?” I stammer.
“Take off your clothes,” Nick repeats. “We’re going skinny-dipping.”
“I am not getting naked with you!”
But Nick is already in motion. He peels his shirt off and drops it on the deck before waltzing toward the stairs. “You coming?” he calls over his shoulder.
My curiosity is too strong for me not to follow. Plus, I think he’s drunk and I want to make sure he doesn’t fall into the lake and drown or something. At the bottom of the steps, I find his discarded cargo shorts. On the path toward the dock, I see his boxers.
I gulp. Oh boy. Is he seriously naked? I can’t see Nick Carmichael naked! It would be too…
Tempting? a little voice taunts.
No. Of course not. That’s just crazy talk.
The first thing I see when I reach the dock is Nick’s bare ass. It’s cast in shadows, but from where I’m standing, it still looks pretty amazing. Tight and muscular and—God, I can’t believe he’s naked.
“Come on, Poodle. This is your chance.”
“My chance for what?” I’m picking up his clothes as I walk toward him.
Nick turns, just briefly, and I catch a shadowy glimpse of his package. It looks…large. My mouth promptly runs dry.
“It’s your chance to have something to drink to in I Never.” He faces the lake again. “Besides, skinny-dipping is a rite of passage. I mean, you’ve come up here every summer for, what, like nineteen years and you’ve never been skinny-dipping? That’s basically a crime.”
I laugh. “A crime against who?”
“The lake,” he retorts, and then he takes a running start and jumps off the dock.
I yelp, even though I know the water isn’t infested with sharks or anything. Still, there is a snapping turtle that used to live under the dock. What if it’s lurking around?
Nick is now floating on his back, staring up at the moon. “The water is so nice, Kate. Get in here.”
I think it’s because he called me Kate. It happens so infrequently. Ninety-five percent of the time, I’m Poodle. Poodle would never cave. But Kate is another story.
I stare at the water. His body is submerged now. Just his head peeking out, those deep eyes fixed in my direction. That cocky grin.
I don’t know what compels me to unbutton my shorts. Nick’s gaze doesn’t miss it. He whoops happily. “That’s my girl!” he shouts.
And oh my God, but my body actually reacts to those words. My girl. No. I’m definitely not his girl, and I shouldn’t be responding to that, and yet my nipples are tingling. Or maybe that’s because I’m in my bra and underwear now and the cold air just hit bare flesh.
From the water, Nick is laughing at me. Mocking. “Skinny-dipping means naked, Kate,” he calls out.
“I’m not letting you see me naked,” I call back. “Turn around.”
I expect him to object or taunt me some more, but he respectfully turns so he’s facing the open lake. Safe from his gaze, I hurriedly unclasp my bra, then wiggle my panties down my legs without questioning my actions. Fuck it. I do want to be able to drink in a game of I Never.
Before Nick can break the rules, I run down the dock and cannonball into the water. The resulting wave propels him forward and soaks his head.
He comes up sputtering. “You little brat!”
I laugh in delight and swim away when he tries to come after me. It doesn’t escape me that I’m naked. Naked and three feet away from Nick Carmichael. And damn it, but my heart is pounding and my body feels a bit weak. That is not right. I blame Chelsea for this. She got in my stupid head by reminding me I used to have a crush on him.
“See, this isn’t so bad,” he teases.
No, it’s not. The water is stupidly warm, the heat wave of this past week turning the lake into a glorified bath. Even the night breeze is balmy, humid, but it still feels heavenly against my wet face. Above us, the moon is bright in the black sky. All around us, the lake is quiet.
“I love it here,” I confess. “This is totally where I want to live after I retire.”
“What would you do all day?”
“Paint,” I answer immediately.
“And at night?” There’s a seductive note in his voice.
“Also paint.” Then I splash him again before swimming away.
He swims up beside me, and we tread water in silence for a while, gazing at the stars.
“Are you excited about college?” he eventually asks.
“Yes and no. I mean, I’m looking forward to the freedom. Mom’s been so clingy ever since I graduated from Jefferson. I could barely enjoy my gap year because she was always in my face. So, yeah, definitely need the freedom. But I’m not overly interested in some of my gen ed classes. They’re making me take English Lit and Sociology and all that. I wish I could enroll in only art classes.”
“You’ll be able to next year. You have a roommate?”
“No, I paid extra for a single.”
“Lucky you.” He pauses. “Danny’s excited to have you at Southern.”
I look over wryly. “Yeah, I’m sure he said that.”
“He did,” Nick insists.
“Well, I’m sure he won’t be happy when I stop by your house all the time and cock-block him. Force you guys to cook me dinner.”
Nick laughs. “Cook dinner? Nah. But I’m really good at ordering food.”