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I’d
been around a lot of guys like Mason, but if I had to pick my type,
it wouldn’t be him.
    So why was I holding my breath?
    He loosened his grip, but his hands remained
on my arms. “I wasn’t really going to do it today, but once I get
you out here in your bathing suit….” He clicked his tongue. “No
telling what’ll happen then.”
    I turned to face him, breaking his hold. “I
just remembered that I need to make a call, but I forgot my phone.
Can I borrow yours?”
    Patting his pockets, he said, “Sorry, but
since we were just going on a short walk, I didn’t bring anything
with me. Not even my keys. You didn’t lock the door, did you?”
    I maneuvered behind him and shoved with all
my strength.
    I watched as he plunged into the pool,
wondering what in the hell had come over me. I never did stuff like
that.
    He came up sputtering and splashing, and he
disappeared back under the water. I watched, beaming, pretty darn
proud of myself for besting him. He wasn’t expecting that, and this
could very well mark the first time ever that I’d gotten someone
before they had gotten me.
    I waited for him to surface. When he didn’t,
my smile wilted, and victory gave way to worry. Finally, he
appeared, gasping for air.
    “ Help me,” he pleaded,
bobbing awkwardly in the water. Submerging again, he quickly
recovered and pulled his head above the water. “I can’t
swim.”
    “ Yes, you can.” I put my
hand on my hip, refusing to fall for that.
    He didn’t respond, just sank below the
glittering liquid.
    “ Shit.” I stared a moment
more. When he didn’t surface, I dove into the water, the frigid
temperature shocking my system. I couldn’t believe I’d pushed him
in. What a foolish thing to do! I thought I was being so careful by
making sure that he didn’t have his phone on him. I never even
considered that he couldn’t swim.
    I finally reached him and wrapped my arms
around his torso, kicking to the surface. Once our heads were above
water, I held him firmly with one arm while trying to swim to the
nearest side of the pool.
    I heard him laughing, and I stopped
mid-stroke and turned to look at him as my teeth began to
chatter.
    It was evident from looking at his face that
he’d never been in distress. “That was mean,” I grumbled.
    “ And pushing me in
wasn’t?”
    He had a point.
    I started for the ladder, and he reached out
and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to him. “Backfired, didn’t
it?”
    I stared at him. “You scared me.” My heart
pounded. He’d done worse than scare me. I was terrified, afraid
that he was drowning and it was my fault.
    “ I’s just messing with ya.”
He pulled me against him, wrapping an arm around my waist as he
kept both of us upright in the water.
    “ I should’ve let you
drown.” Clasping my arms around his neck, I could feel the
displacement of the water as he kicked.
    He barked out laughter. “You remember that I
wasn’t really drowning, right?”
    I rolled my eyes. “Merely a technicality.
The sentiment’s the same.” My words came out broken and breathy as
I fought the deep chill permeating my body.
    “ You’re freezing.” He
nodded toward the ladder. “We should get out, so you can warm up.”
He released me, and relieved to put some distance between us, I
swam to the edge of the pool. Mason swam to the opposite side and
easily lifted himself to the edge.
    I climbed up the ladder, water cascading
down my body. Goosebumps covered my flesh, and I clamped my teeth
together in an effort to stop the chattering. I walked around the
pool and met him on the other side.
    He pointed beyond the pool. “The
playground’s over there. See it?”
    I shielded my eyes from the sun and focused
on the direction in which he pointed. “Yeah. I see it.”
    “ I would take you over
there, but considering we’re both drenched, maybe we should sit on
the bench we passed earlier and dry off a bit—unless you’re ready
to go back to the apartment.”
    “ The bench