Playing Hooky with the Hottie - Maggie Dallen Page 0,24

seemed like the craziest thing that had ever happened to me.

I stared for so long that he finally looked up with his brows arched in question. “What’s wrong? Are you a vegetarian or something?”

I shook my head, temporarily speechless. “No, just…” I cleared my throat. “Surprised.”

And touched.

I took a chip and shoved it into my mouth, breaking my cardinal rule against junk food on a week day because...well, this didn’t feel like a week day.

It felt like a holiday. A celebration of a kind, though I had no idea what we were celebrating.

All I knew was...this was the nicest day, the most beautiful outing, the perfect picnic, and...maybe even the best person to play hooky with, because he was just so easy to be around.

And so fun.

He’d definitely perfected the art of having fun, and being around him made it feel contagious.

All at once, I felt a surge of guilt because what I’d said before...about floating. About not trying. “I didn’t mean to sound so judgmental,” I said quickly. “Before, I mean.”

He eyed me oddly before giving me a grin that said all was forgiven and forgotten. “It’s cool, Hazey May. Different strokes for different folks, right?”

I squinted at him. “Did you just make that up?”

He just laughed and tossed a grape in my direction, so it bounced off my shoulder.

“Did you just...did you just throw food at me?”

His lopsided grin was mischievous and sexy. “Maybe I did.”

“Oh, now you’ve done it,” I said, reaching for a handful of cheese puffs. “This is war.”

10

Will

I soon learned that Hazel did indeed take things too seriously. She was also competitive about everything.

Including food fights.

“Okay, I surrender,” I said through my laughter.

She didn’t stop. She was on top of me and grinning like crazy as she tried to smash another grape in my face.

In her defense, her face was currently dripping with various fruit juices, so it was really only fair.

I caught her wrist in one hand before she could see through her latest blow, and we froze like that, locked in a stalemate as we laughed, out of breath after the skirmish and so close she was basically straddling my lap.

She seemed to realize it at the same time, her gaze dropping to the narrow space between us. Her swimsuit and my bare chest.

I couldn’t have been the only one who felt the sudden tension between us. A thick, heavy dose of chemistry replaced the easy laughter so quickly it made the world feel off-center.

My senses sharpened, the scent of her hair, and the feel of her skin, and the sight of her tanned neck and shoulders…

She was all I was aware of.

All I could hear was the roaring of my pulse as it rushed past my ears and the sound of my own labored breathing.

She licked her lips, and my gaze shifted to follow the movement. Her voice was strained. “Um, sorry I didn’t mean to—”

I tugged her arm so she fell toward me, off balance. She pressed her free hand as I moved in to taste those lips.

She froze.

I waited.

If she pushed against my chest, if she pulled her head away—I was steeling myself for the inevitable, ready to let her go if she gave the tiniest hint that it was unwanted.

But instead, she melted into me, her lips parting on a soft sigh that was the sexiest sound I’d ever heard.

I tilted my head slightly, moving my mouth slowly as I absorbed the sweet taste of her, the feel of her soft lips against mine.

Everything in me wanted to pull her tighter, to kiss her deeper, to wrap my arms around her. But even more than that I wanted to savor...her, this moment, this kiss.

When she leaned in further, her chest pressed to mine, I could feel the pounding of her heart in perfect time with mine. Only then did I wrap and arm around her waist, holding her close as I lifted my other hand to the back of her neck.

I teased her bottom lip with my tongue until her lips parted with a little gasp. And then she was exploring right alongside me. Her hands started to roam, her lips kissed back, her tongue teased mine.

Heaven.

I was in heaven.

Until she pulled away with a look of stunned horror.

Both of our breathing was heavy as she scrambled away from me. I let her go—obviously—but I watched her closely.

Crap. I hadn’t meant to scare her off.

“Relax, Hazey May,” I said, sounding extraordinarily laid back, considering my heart was currently