Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Justin’s flirting wasn’t completely unexpected, but it did seem a little out of character. Was it really the bikini that changed his demeanor? Or was it something else? That was something I intended to think about during a quieter moment.
Tye swam over, with Justin nearby. “Can you two handle yourselves in a fair fight or can you only do sneak attacks?” He looked pointedly at Dominic and me.
“I can do either,” Dominic said lightly.
“Good. Then Justin and I challenge you to a contest.”
“We do?” Justin asked.
“Yep,” Tye continued. “Somebody get the volleyball net.”
“Excellent,” Justin said. “You and me against them?”
“Wait,” I said as Tye nodded. “How is it a fair fight if I’m playing against two professional athletes?”
“But you’ll have me on your team,” Dominic said.
“That’s two professional athletes against one pro and a massage therapist.”
Justin shrugged. “Probably shouldn’t have ambushed us then. But it’ll be okay. Just give the ball one of your special rubdowns with the massage oil, and it’ll be too slippery for either of us to hit.”
I rolled my eyes and retreated to the side of the pool while the guys got the next set up. When they were done, Dominic swam over to me. “It’s just for fun. They’re not really mad.”
I thought of the way Justin had eyed me in my bikini and nodded. “I know.”
The net had two poles that fit into groves at the side of the pool. The bottom of the pool sloped, so I stood on the side where my feet could touch and let Dominic take the deeper area. Justin was across from Dominic and the water was barely chest height for him.
Tye palmed the volleyball. “The rules are to try to get the ball down in the water on the opposing team’s side. Don’t hit it as hard as you can, or we’ll have to chase it all over the patio.”
Justin scoffed. “If I hit it as hard as I can, you’d have to retrieve it from the ocean.”
I rolled my eyes as I bit back a grin. Sometimes these guys acted like jocks, and other times like frat boys. Or maybe they both had similar personalities?
Tye tossed the ball to Justin, who did a modified serve. The ball slammed down in the water in front of me, splashing me in the face. I wiped the water out of my eyes, and did my best to serve the ball back. I grinned when it went over the net.
Justin caught it easily.
“Wait, is he supposed to catch it?” I asked Dominic.
“It’s still his serve,” he explained.
“You can serve if you’d like.” Justin pushed the ball away from his chest. It floated under the net, and I grabbed it.
“Wait, what?” Tye asked.
“He’s right. Let’s just play. We’ve had enough of strict rules, and there are definitely no umpires around here.” Dominic turned to me. “Go for it.”
I threw the ball up like I’d seen in movies and hit it with the side of my fist. It hit the net, but Dominic lunged forward and knocked it over to their side. Justin’s long arm appeared out of nowhere, and he hit it back to me where it plunked down in the water.
I pushed it at Dominic who served it and got us our first point.
But that was our only point. Justin was like an octopus. His long arms were everywhere. Tye barely even got to play.
“Teams are too unbalanced,” Tye said when it was eleventy-billion to one.
“It’s still fun though,” Dominic said, raising his eyebrows at me.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Let’s even things up.” Tye ducked under the net and joined our team.
Justin centered himself on his side and grinned, ready for the challenge.
More than ready. His arms seemed to be at least ten feet long.
“This would help if you were taller,” Dominic muttered to me at one point, only half sounding like he was joking.
The real problem wasn’t my height, I wanted to point out, but the fact that I wasn’t an athlete like them. But Tye seemed to think otherwise.
“So, let’s make her taller.” He ducked under the water.
“What’s he mean?” I asked Dominic, staring at Tye’s distorted underwater image as it moved closer. Then I gasped as strong hands grabbed my thighs, easing them apart.
I yelped, thinking he was trying to pull me under, but instead, he pushed his head between my legs. He emerged from the water with me on his shoulders, grasping at his wet hair for balance. “Put me down,” I shrieked as the others laughed.
Instead, Tye wrapped his arms around my legs, hugging them to his chest. “Should have thought about that before you dumped me off my raft. Now get ready to block.”
I held on for dear life as he moved toward the net, terrified I’d fall backwards. But it was kind of cool to be taller than Justin. And there was only water behind me, so it wasn’t like I’d get hurt if I did fall.