Page 53 of Tight Ends & Tiaras
BEN
Cold water lapsat my heels while we listen to the river guy instruct us in all the ways to avoid dying. A river, alcohol, and a bunch of drunk college kids? It’s probably a recipe for disaster.
I think about all the crap we packed in our cooler. There’s some beer, but not enough for our group to get stupid drunk.
What was Janelle thinking? Did she really want to bring Lily with us? It only takes a few seconds for an accident to happen. No way I’d bring small kids to do something like this. The rafting company doesn’t allow children under six anyway.
As I glance around, I find my ex staring at me. I know she’s pissed I plan to share a raft with Sienna, but whatever.
Knowing that Janelle is eyeballing me, I toss my arm around Sienna, who’s standing next to me. She turns and gives me one of those smiles that radiates through me.
A few minutes ago, we all stripped off our clothes and tossed everything in my Rover. Now Sienna’s wearing a sexy little bikini and smells like vanilla and coconuts. Her dark hair hangs in thick waves around her shoulders, and I have to fight the urge to run my fingers through it to see if it’s as soft as it seems.
“Sorry I mauled you earlier,” I whisper in her ear.
Her eyes brighten with a chuckle. “I was thinking it was the other way around, and I mauled you.”
“So a mutual mauling, huh?”
“What can I say? I’m a ‘go hard or go home’ kind of girl.”
I got something hard for her.
Leaning down, I kiss her because I might as well make the most of this. Pretend to be into Sienna? There’s no pretending needed. I dig this girl. More than is probably smart, but fuck it. I have less than a week before training camp starts. I’ll probably never see her once that kicks in because I’ll barely have time to breathe. What’s that carpe diem shit about anyway? Live in the moment, right?
She tastes minty and warm. Christ, she’s delicious.
It’s a slow kiss, just a graze of smooth skin against mine, but something about how she tucks herself against me shoots a bolt of lust straight through my body.
Fuck.
I pull away, turn her around, and wrap my arms around her shoulders to hide the fact that I’m sporting some wood. We listen to the guy finish his spiel and then Sienna launches off the dock with a howl of laughter. Johnny and I follow, yelling like dumbasses.
Cold water shocks my system, but it’s blissful and overrides the South Texas heat.
It’s not until I come up for a breath that I realize I didn’t check the depth of the water before I cannonballed in. While I saw other people in front of us do it and they seemed fine, that’s not usually the kind of thing I can forgo or my anxiety ratchets up.
Sienna swims toward me, a giant smile on her beautiful face, and I can’t help but grin at her. I swear I smile more around her than I have over the last three years.
We head back to the dock to secure our inner tubes in one big group so no one floats away. Olly sets our ice chest on a tube in the middle. After I turn my ringer on the loudest setting possible in case Miss Georgia tries to reach me, I place my phone in the waterproof bag she gave us and tuck it away in a small compartment.
The only drawback is the fact Janelle’s raft is attached to ours. I was hoping she’d be on the other side.
Sienna and I dive under water and come up next to our inner tube.
“It’s colder than I thought it would be,” she says with a shudder. Goosebumps break out on her skin.
“Come here. I’m a furnace.” I wrap her in my arms, and her legs go around my waist.
“Ohhh. You are warm.” She sighs in delight and wiggles closer.
“Careful, tiger. I’m gonna sport another boner if you’re not careful.” I don’t mean to be so honest, but I seem to have no filter around her.
“Another one?” she asks, her eyebrow tilted up comically.
“It seems to be a permanent condition around you.” I lower my voice. “Sorry about that. Not trying to skeeve on you.”
Her arms wind around my neck, and she looks into my eyes. Water drips off her soft skin, and I wanna lick every single drop.
