Page 117 of Trust Me

Chapter 32

Oliver

I was going to fall for Dean Kennedy.

Scratch that. I already was. Maybe I had been for a while.

Did it matter that it had only been a week since we first kissed? Not one bit. I was wise enough to know that time might as well be an illusion when it came to matters of the heart. All I had to do was let go and trust that he meant the things he told me.

Frankly, it wasn’t all that hard once I gave in that night. Dean was an honest, no-nonsense person. He wasn’t afraid, so neither was I.

When I reached the wall, I lifted my head out of the water and took a breath, then I pushed off of it to swim the other way.

A shadow fell over the water as I approached the other side. Immediately, I straightened, setting my feet on the floor. I lifted my goggles, then looked up at the massive figure standing at the edge of the pool. My lips peeled back in a smile I knew must’ve been ridiculous.

“Hey, Broku.”

The stern look on his face made my expression falter. He didn’t say anything, which made me begin to step back.

He crossed his arms, then lifted a brow. “Stop leaving me alone in bed.”

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I’m gonna put an ankle monitor on you.”

The thought made me smile again. “Oh?” I lifted my foot out of the water, then lost my balance and toppled backward. His laugh was loud, even with my head under the surface.

“Graceful,” he said when I came back up.

Blowing the water from my mouth, I shook out my hair. “Should’ve chosen ballet, huh?”

“I’m partial to football.”

“I think you just like being contrarian. Besides, football is overrated.”

“Just admit you suck at it.”

I stuck out my tongue before I flopped onto my back and started swimming away from him. Looking out of the corner of my eye, I saw him following along, never taking his eyes off of me.

A loud, melodic voice cut through our connection. “A duck walked up to a lemonade stand, and he said to the man running the stand, ‘Bum-bum-bum. Got any grapes?’”

My sudden laugh made me suck in water. I coughed, trying not to aspirate it, but I still couldn’t stop laughing.

“At least someone appreciates my efforts,” Brooks said, coming up beside Dean.

The latter didn’t look at him like he was a devil anymore, so that was a plus.

Tilian stopped at the edge a second later and offered me a tentative smile. “Looking good.”

Brooks narrowed his eyes at me. “I think he looks like an angler fish.”

“Come on.” I rose to my full height and flexed my arms. “Aquaman is more accurate.”

“Whatever you say, buddy.”

“What are you even doing here?” Dean asked.

“Our mini presentation is tomorrow, so I figured we’d make sure you two weren’t canoodling instead of preparing.”