“Got ya covered.” In his room, Nathan pulls out a white one-piece swimsuit from his top-dresser drawer and throws it to me. I catch it by instinct but feel totally weirded out by the fact he has some random girl’s suit in his room that he loans out to whoever might stop by for a dip in the pool.

I hold it out from me by my pinky finger. “I don’t think so. No offense, but sharing suits with your jersey chasers isn’t happening. It’s weird and highly unsanitary.”

He rolls his eyes. “It’s Gabby’s.”

I stay quiet as I stare at the suit with narrowed eyes. A suit that has a name.

“She’s always forgetting to bring her suit when she comes over, so she just leaves it here.”

“Oh.” I still don’t move, and we’re in some weird standoff over a swimsuit.

“It’s clean and, far as I know, no one else has worn it. Gabby and I are just friends so you’re safe from whatever cooties you think I have.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

He levels me with his stunning blue eyes.

“Okay, I did. Sorry.”

A slow smile tips up the corners of his mouth. “You’ll be forgiven when you get changed and meet me in the pool. We’ve got a game to win.”

“So, water ball is just basketball in the pool?” Sydney pushes at Shaw’s chest and then takes the small Nerf ball from him.

Shaw must not have had a loaner suit on hand because she wears a t-shirt tied up tightly just below her boobs and a pair of shorts rolled at the waist to make them shorter.

“Rules are simple,” Nathan says with a cocky glint in his eye that makes my breaths come quicker. “Two on two. First to ten wins. And, I apologize in advance that I’m gonna make your man look bad.”

“Impossible,” Sydney says at the same time Shaw splashes Nathan with water and comes at him like he’s going to dunk him. Nathan grabs me and holds me in front of him to protect himself.

Our bare legs tangle in the water and my butt is pushed back into his crotch.

“Save me, babe,” he says, ducking behind me.

So casual and easy the whole thing seems for him. Save him? Yeah, right. I need someone to save me from falling for my fake boyfriend.

15

NATHAN

I toss a pillow on the floor while Chloe watches me with guilty eyes.

“I’m so sorry about this.”

“It’s fine. This way, I get to spend the night with you again. Not exactly how I pictured it, but at least this time, you won’t kick me out in the morning, being it’s my house and all.”

Her mouth drops open.