Katie gripped his shoulders, pulling him under with her and wrapping her legs around his waist so he couldn’t get away. He’s all muscle was her first thought, followed quickly by the realization she was skin to skin with him. When they came up for air, they were both laughing and then he was looking into her eyes, their faces just inches apart, and she never wanted the moment to end. His black eyelashes, glistening with droplets of water, were the thickest she’d ever seen, and, as she returned his gaze, her heart began to beat harder. She felt a burning deep in her stomach she’d never felt before.

Matt’s gaze shifted to something behind Katie, and she felt his body stiffen. “I think your dad’s coming.”

Katie scrambled away from Matt, her eyes swinging past the far side of the pool to the stone path leading up to the driveway, where her father was making his way down towards them. “That’s him.” Of all the days he chose to come home early, why did it have to be this day?

Her father stopped briefly to greet the group on the far side of the pool before making his way to them. “What are you doing home?” Katie asked as she looked up at her dad, who was standing two feet from them, still wearing his suit pants and dress shirt. He looked bigger and more imposing than usual, due in part to the fact they were standing in a pool three feet below him.

“And you are?” he asked Matt, ignoring Katie’s question.

“Matt.”

“Do you have a last name, Matt?”

“Hudson.”

“How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” Matt answered, and Katie could tell he was nervous. His face was flushed, and one of his hands was gripping the side of his bathing suit. She stepped closer to him, not wanting him to feel intimidated by her father.

“How do you know my daughter?”

“He’s my friend,” Katie answered.

“I’m not talking to you.” His gaze didn’t leave Matt’s. “When did you graduate?”

“In May.”

“And what are your plans now that you’ve graduated?”

“It’s none of your business!” Katie frowned up at her father. “You didn’t drill those guys.” She nodded towards the boys on the other side of the pool.

“Well, you weren’t wrapped around one of them when I came down here,” he said.

Katie blushed. “We were just playing around.”

“Oh, is that what that was?”

“Yes.”

“Well I like to know who my daughter is playing around with. Is that okay?”

“I’m just working on my music,” Matt answered his original question. “I’m in a band, and I have a job at a lumberyard.”

“No college?”

“No.”

“And your parents are okay with that?”

“I’m eighteen,” Matt said, pushing his jaw out as he stood to his full five-foot-eleven height. “It’s what I decide.”