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“It’s okay.” She rises on tiptoe, weaving her arms around my neck. “You can make up for it now.”
“Deal. What did you have in mind?” I ask as my hands find their way down her back, sneaking around to cup her perfectly round ass.
“I have some stuff in my car. I could use some help carrying it around back.”
“No problem. Although I was kinda hoping to deliver a different sort of favor.”
The corners of her pink lips tip up as she unwinds from me. “I do like the sound of that—but it’ll have to wait until later. I have a surprise first. C’mon.”
Grabbing my hand, she pulls us both outside then hits the fob on her keychain. The Volvo beeps and the trunk lifts as we make our way down the driveway.
“I can get this.” Sloane leans into the trunk and hoists out a large rectangular box. “You grab the rest.”
I peer in at six mammoth bags of ice. “You throwing a party this afternoon?”
“Only for the two of us—no one else is invited. Follow me.” She pivots and heads around to the back yard. I grab two bags of the ice and trail behind her, admiring the view.
“Just drop the ice on the deck. I’ll get to work here.” Sloane crooks her thumb at the wooden deck and I do as I’m told, setting the giant bags down before heading backto fetch more. I make three trips while she busies herself in the yard.
“Is that an inflatable pool?” I ask, sidling up next to her. A large plastic aqua rectangle is spread out on the grass in the center of the lawn.
“Sure is. But today it’s not just a regular old pool. No, today it’s your cold plunge pool. That’s good for muscle recovery, right?”
A warmth spreads through my chest like gooey caramel. Sloane could have done anything she wanted this morning—gone to yoga, hit up Java Jolt for an iced coffee—but instead she went to Walmart and bought a blow-up pool and a bunch of ice to build me a makeshift cold plunge pool. She’s exactly how I remembered her—kind, thoughtful—but now she’s so much more. More confident, self-assured, sexy.
Don’t screw this up, Crawford. She’s special.
“Yes. It’s great. We had one in Chicago and I used it after every game and most workouts.”
“Perfect.” She flips her dark ponytail, then bends over to turn on the pump. My eyes rake over her body, the long line of her back, the slight indent of her hip bones peeking out from the sliver of exposed skin.
She pops a hand on her hip as the sides of the pool begin to fill up with air, rising and quickly taking shape.
“Thanks for doing this, Sloane.”
“Well, I did have an ulterior motive.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Really? And what’s that?”
She shoots me a mischievous grin. “Getting you out of your clothes, of course.”
“Trouble, all you had to do was ask.” I hitch my thumb into the back of my shirt, yanking the fabric up and over my head, balling it up and tossing it onto the deck. Sloanewatches me intently, biting at the corner of her lip. I flex my abs for full effect, then kick off my shoes and socks. Finally, I slide my gym shorts down until I’m only wearing boxer briefs.
“I’ll leave my briefs on. Neighbors.” I tilt my head at the fence. “Don’t want to give anyone a scare.”
She giggles, two bright spots of pink staining her cheeks. “Right, sure. Can you grab the hose?”
“No problem.”
I head over to the side of the house and lift the green coil, carry it over to the pool. Handing the hose to Sloane, I jog back to turn on the water. Then I grab the first bag of ice and rip through the plastic, dumping the frigid contents into the water.
“Fill it all the way to the top, right?” she asks.
“Yep. As high as it can go.”
The surface of the pool’s dotted with tiny glaciers and I’m cold just thinking about climbing in.
She glances at me, then the pool, then back at me again, sizing up the situation. “Sorry, this is the largest pool they had at Walmart. Probably not as deep as you’re used to.”
