I swung, connected gently, and the ball rolled into the porthole with a satisfying plunk. “I did it!” I exclaimed, whirling to face him.
Joe smiled and caught me close, his hands at my waist. I looked up at him and time stopped, everything stopped. It seemed as if an electric current had locked up every muscle, and all I could do was wait helplessly with the awareness of him flooding me.
His dark head lowered, and his mouth came to mine.
In the privacy of my imagination, I had relived his kisses, I had tasted them in my dreams. But nothing was close to the reality of him, the heat and soft, searching pressure, the intense sensuality of the way he brought up the desire slowly.
Gasping, I managed to pull back. “Joe, I… I’m not comfortable with this, especially in front of your family. And my employees. Someone might get the wrong impression.”
“What impression would that be?”
“That there’s something going on between us.”
A series of expressions crossed his face: puzzlement, annoyance, mockery. “There’s not?”
“No. We’re friends. That’s all it is for now, and that’s all it’s ever going to be, and… I have to work.”
With that, I turned and strode toward the house in a subdued panic, feeling more relieved with every footstep I could put between us.
Twelve
T
he band played jaunty surfer-pop as guests began to arrive. In no time at all, the house and patio were packed. People swarmed around the buffet and went out to the boardwalk arcade for dessert. A bartender served tropical drinks at a grass hut near the pool, while waitstaff walked around with trays of ice water and glasses of nonalcoholic punch.
“The mini golf course is a hit,” Sofia said as we passed each other on the patio. “So is the dessert station. In fact, everything is a hit.”
“Any problems with Steven?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Did you say anything to him?”
“I made it clear that anyone who disrespects you will be out on his ass.”
“We couldn’t afford to lose Steven.”
“Out on his ass,” I repeated firmly. “No one talks to you like that.”
Sofia smiled at me. “Te amo.”
For the rest of the afternoon, I stayed busy, taking care not to cross paths with Joe. A couple of times, when I passed by him, I could feel him trying to catch my gaze, but I ignored him, afraid that he would pull me into a conversation. Afraid that my face would reveal too much or that I would say something foolish.
Seeing Joe in person forced me to contend with him not as a friendly voice on the phone, but as a robust male who made no secret of the fact that he wanted me. Any notion I might have had of trying for a platonic friendship with Joe was gone. He wasn’t going to settle for that. Neither would he let me slip away without a confrontation. My mind buzzed with ideas about how to handle him, what to say.
After lunch had been cleared and the caterers were washing dishes, I found Sofia and Ree-Ann standing just outside the kitchen door, drinking glasses of iced tea. They stared intently in the direction of the pool, neither of them sparing me a glance.
“What are you two looking at?” I asked.
Sofia made a shushing motion with her hand.
Following their gazes, I saw Joe emerging from the pool, shirtless and dripping. The sight of his athletic body, bronzed and taut, all those wet muscles gleaming in the sun, was spectacular. He shook his head like a dog, sending water drops flying.
“That is the hottest guy I’ve ever seen,” Ree-Ann said reverently.
“A papi chulo,” Sofia agreed.
Joe lowered to sit beside the pool as his nephew Luke came to him with an orange plastic water wing, the kind that slid over the upper arms. Joe pried open the valve on the plastic wing and blew air into it. I noticed a neat diagonal surgical scar on his side, parallel to his ribs, extending upward almost to his back. The line was nearly invisible, only a shade or two darker than the surrounding skin, but I could tell from the way the light hit it that the scar was slightly raised. After turning Luke around, Joe repeated the procedure on the other water wing.
“I wish he’d inflate my flotation devices,” Ree-Ann said wistfully.
“Can’t either of you find something productive to do?” I asked in annoyance.
“We’re taking our ten-minute break,” Sofia said.
Ree-Ann shook her head in admiration as Joe stood, his board shorts riding low on his hips. “Mmmn. Look at that rear view.”
Scowling, I muttered, “It’s not right to objectify men any more than it is for them to do it to us.”
“I’m not objectifying him,” Ree-Ann protested. “I’m just saying his ass is cute.”
Before I could respond, Sofia said, “I think our break is over, Ree-Ann.” She was struggling to hold back a laugh.
The three of us went to work in the kitchen with the catering staff as they boxed up untouched food to be taken to a women’s shelter directly afterward. Glassware, dishes, and table accessories were washed and dried, table linens were put into laundry bags, the garbage was bagged, and the kitchen was scrubbed until it was spotless.
As the last of the party guests went inside to mingle with the family in the main room, Steven and Tank supervised the breakdown of the cabana tents and the dessert station, while the rest of the crew cleaned the pool and patio. After the caterers and cleanup staff had left, I walked around to make certain we had left everything exactly as we’d found it.
“Avery…” Sofia came out to the patio, looking satisfied but tired. “I just went through the house – it’s perfect. The Travises are relaxing in the living room. Ree-Ann can drop me off at home, or I can stay here with you.”
“Go with Ree-Ann. I’ll ask Ella if there’s anything else they’d like me to do.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Sofia smiled. “I probably won’t be home when you get back. I’m going to the gym.”
“Tonight?” I asked incredulously.
“There’s a new combo class with spinning and core training.”
I gave her an arch glance. “What’s his name?”
Sofia smiled sheepishly. “I don’t know yet. He always takes bike twenty-two. Last spin class, he challenged me to a race.”
“Who won?”
“He did. But only because I was distracted by his glutes.”
I laughed. “Have a good workout.”
After Sophia left, I continued to walk around the pool. Sunset wouldn’t occur for another couple of hours, but the low-slung light was already braised with the last red fire of day. I was hot and sticky, and my feet were sore from walking back and forth across the patio. Sighing, I slipped off my sandals and flexed my toes and arches.
As I glanced into the water, I noticed a small, brightly colored object at the bottom of the pool. It looked like a child’s toy. The cleanup crew had left by then; I was the only one outside. I walked to the shed where pool supplies were kept and found a long-handled net hung on a wall rack. It was the kind of net used for skimming debris. After fumbling to extend the telescoping handle to its fullest length, I crouched at the edge of the pool and sank the net as deep as I could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long enough.
One of the patio doors opened and closed. Somehow I knew it was Joe, even before I heard him ask casually, “Need a hand?”
I felt a thrill of worry, shrinking inwardly as I wondered if he would want to talk.
“I’m trying to get something out of the pool,” I replied. “It looks like a kid’s toy.” Standing, I offered the pool net to Joe. “Do you want to give it a try?”
“That won’t reach. It’s about fourteen feet deep. We used to have a diving board at that end.” Joe stripped off his shirt and dropped it to the sun-warmed tile.
“You don’t have to —” I began, but he had already dived cleanly into the water, heading straight to the bottom with powerful, efficient strokes.
/> He emerged with a red-and-yellow toy car. “It’s Luke’s,” he said, setting it on the side. “I’ll take it in to him.”
“Thank you.”
Joe seemed in no hurry to get out of the pool. After pushing back his wet hair, he braced his folded arms on the tiled edge. Feeling that it would seem rude to just walk away, I lowered myself to sit on my heels, bringing our gazes closer to the same level.
“Did Haven enjoy the party?” I asked.
Joe nodded. “It was a good day for her. For all of us. The family doesn’t want to clear out yet – they’re talking about sending out for Chinese.” A brief hesitation. “Why don’t you stay and have dinner?”
“I should probably go home,” I said. “I’m tired and sweaty. I wouldn’t be good company.”
“You don’t need to be good company. That’s the point of family: They have to tolerate you anyway.”
I smiled. “It’s your family, not mine. Technically they don’t have to tolerate me.”
“They will if I want them to.”
Hearing a mockingbird’s raggedy cry, I glanced at the distant tangle of trumpet vines and wax myrtle that bordered the bayou. Another mockingbird responded. Back and forth, one aggressive shriek after another.
“Are they fighting?” I asked.
“Could be a boundary dispute. But this time of year, there’s still a chance they’re courting.”
“So it’s a serenade?” The birds shrieked with all the musicality of torn sheet metal. “God, how romantic.”
“It gets better when they reach the chorus.”
I laughed and made the mistake of looking into his eyes. We were too close. I could smell his skin, sun and salt and chlorine. His hair was disheveled, and I wanted to smooth the wet locks, play with them.
“Hey,” Joe said gently. “Why don’t you come in here with me?”
The look in his eyes sent a rush of hot color over my face. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”
“Jump in with your clothes on. They’ll dry out.”
I shook my head with a flustered laugh. “I can’t do that.”
“Then take them off and swim in your underwear.” His tone was practical, but I saw the mischief in his eyes.
“You,” I informed him, “are out of your mind.”
“Come on. It’ll feel good.”
“I’m not going to do something stupid with you just because it feels good.” After a pause, I added with chagrin, “Again.”
Joe laughed in that soft way he had, smoky and deep in his throat. “Come in here.” He caught my wrist lightly with one hand.
“There’s no way I’m… Hey.” My eyes widened as I felt him exerting tension on my wrist. “Joe, I swear I’ll kill you —”
One gentle tug was all it required to pull me off balance. I toppled forward with a little scream, into the water, readily enclosed in his waiting arms.
“Damn you!” I began to splash him furiously, flailing. “I can’t believe you did that… Stop laughing, you idiot! This is not funny!”
Snorting and chuckling, Joe grabbed me and pressed kisses wherever he could, on my head and neck and ear. I struggled indignantly, but his arms were too strong and his hands were everywhere. It was like wrestling an octopus.
“You are so damn cute,” he gasped. “Like a little wet cat. Sweetheart, don’t wear yourself out, you can’t kick someone underwater.”
As he played and I struggled, we slid to deeper water, and my feet left the bottom. Instinctively I clutched at him. “It’s too deep.”
“I’ve got you.” Joe was still standing, one arm locking low on my hips. Some of his playfulness melted into concern. “Can you swim?”
“It would have been nice to ask before pulling me in,” I said testily. “Yes, I can swim. But not well. And I don’t like deep water.”
“You’re safe.” He pulled me closer. “I’d never let anything happen to you. Now that you’re in here, you might as well stay for a few minutes. Feels good, doesn’t it?”
It did, although I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of admitting it.
My clothes turned virtually transparent, the wet cotton billowing and undulating like the fins of exotic sea creatures. One of my hands encountered the diagonal scar at the side of Joe’s chest. Hesitantly, I let my fingertips follow the slight ridge.
“This is from the boat accident?”
“Uh-huh. Surgery for a blood clot and a partially collapsed lung.” One of his hands ventured beneath the drifting hem of my tunic to find the bare skin of my waist. “You know what that whole damn experience taught me?” he asked softly.
I shook my head, staring into his eyes, seeing reflected glimmers of sunset like tiny rushlights.
“Don’t waste a minute of your life,” he said. “Look for every reason you can to be happy. Don’t hold back, thinking you’ll have more time later… none of us can ever be sure about that.”
“That’s what makes life so scary,” I said soberly.
Joe shook his head, smiling. “That’s what makes it great.” He lifted me higher, closer, and my hands crept around his neck.
Just before his lips met mine, a sound attracted his attention. He glanced over his shoulder as someone approached. “What do you want?” he asked irritably.
I started as I heard his brother Jack’s laconic reply. “Heard someone holler.”
Mortified to be caught in the pool with nowhere to hide, I shrank against Joe’s chest.
“Did Avery fall in?” I heard Jack ask.
“No, I dunked her.”
“Nice move” came the deadpan reply. “Want me to bring y’all a couple of towels?”
“Yeah, later. For now, I’d like some privacy.”
“Sure thing.”
After Jack left, I wriggled free from Joe and swam toward the shallow end. He kept pace with me, surging through the water with the ease of a dolphin. When I could stand with the water at chest level, I stopped and turned to face him with a scowl. “I don’t like to be embarrassed. And I don’t like to be pulled into swimming pools!”
“Sorry.” He tried to look and sound contrite, with only limited success. “I wanted to get your attention.”
“My attention?”
“Yeah.” He moved around me slowly, his gaze holding mine. “You’ve been ignoring me all day.”
“I was working.”
“And ignoring me.”
“All right,” I admitted, “I was ignoring you. I don’t know how we’re supposed to behave in front of people. I’m not even sure what we’re doing, and —” I broke off uneasily. “Joe, stop circling like that. I feel like I’m in the pool with a bull shark.”
He reached for me, pulling me forward until I was lifted off my feet, the momentum floating me against him. Pressing a scorching kiss to my neck, he murmured, “I’d like to take a bite out of you.”
As I tried to wriggle out of his arms, he gathered me up, deliberately keeping me off balance. “Come back here.”
“What are you doing?”
“I want to talk to you.” He took me to deeper water, where I was forced to cling to the hard slopes of his shoulders.
“About what?” I asked anxiously.
“About the problem we’re having.”
“Just because I don’t want to have a relationship with you doesn’t mean I have a problem.”
“I agree. But if you wanted to have a relationship and you couldn’t because you were afraid of something… then you would have a problem. And it’d be my problem, too.”
The skin of my face tightened until I could feel my cheeks pulsing. “I want to get out of the pool.”
“Let me say something – just give me a couple of minutes – and then I’ll let you go. Deal?”
I responded with a quick nod.
There was something spare and focused in the way he spoke. “Everyone has secrets they don’t want anyone to know. When you reckon all of it up… all those things we did or were done to us… all our sins and m
istakes and guilty pleasures… those secrets are the sum of who we are. Sometimes you have to take a chance on letting someone in, because your gut tells you that person’s worth it. But then all bets are off. You have to trust them, and hope they won’t rip your heart out, and fuck it, sometimes you make the wrong call.” He paused. “But you have to keep taking chances on the wrong people till you find the right one. You quit too damn early, Avery.”